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Facilities News - Since 2001
California auditor slams dirty and run-down schools in new report-- Courthouse News Service California: November 19, 2024 [ abstract] Schools across California don’t meet state standards for cleanliness and maintenance, according to a new report from the state auditor, jeopardizing both students’ health and safety and their chances of succeeding academically.
The report, published on Tuesday, details California State Auditor Grant Parks’ assessment of 18 public schools in six school districts across the state, ranging from large urban districts like Los Angeles Unified School District, to small rural ones like Calaveras Unified School District.
Even with their differences in student population size and average income of the counties they’re located in, a disturbing pattern of improperly stored hazardous cleaning supplies, leaky roofs, structural deterioration and fire safety issues emerged in classrooms across the state.
“Of the 983 rooms we reviewed across the 18 schools, 359 had hazardous materials stored in an unsecured manner. The hazardous materials we identified included chemicals such as cleaning supplies,” Parks wrote in the report. “We also observed insect poisons.”
Four schools — in Calaveras Unified, Chico Unified, Palo Verde Unified, and LA Unified school districts — had barbeques and propane tanks inside of classrooms, Parks found.
Ultimately, the problem comes down to money and oversight.
-- Sam Ribakoff With defeat of bond issue, New Philadelphia addresses issues at existing schools-- TimesReporter.com Ohio: November 12, 2024 [ abstract]
NEW PHILADELPHIA â€' New Philadelphia City School District is grappling with maintenance problems at its existing buildings after voters rejected a 5.9-mill bond issue on Election Day. The measure would have funded construction of a new elementary school.
The district's facilities committee recently met to discuss the need to replace the furnace at York Elementary School, which has stopped working because of a cracked heat exchanger. The furnace, a 1941 coal-fired unit converted to natural gas, heats the majority of the rooms in the building. When it stopped working about three weeks ago, the temperature in some classrooms dropped into the mid-40s.
A separate boiler on the main floor of the building heats four rooms.
Until the district comes up with a permanent solution, New Philadelphia is renting a temporary furnace at a cost of $2,575 per month, using the existing ductwork to supply heat to the building.
-- Jon Baker Henrico School Board proposes $26.5M funding request to address aging buildings, HVAC concerns-- Henrico Citizen Virginia: November 11, 2024 [ abstract] The Henrico School Board is seeking to increase its annual school maintenance funding by several million from last year to help tackle a list of $56-million worth of HVAC projects.
Each year, the Henrico Board of Supervisors provides funding for the school board’s Capital Improvement Plan, which designates funds for building maintenance at Henrico Schools facilities. Last year, the school board received $19 million of the $21 million it requested to fund the CIP – a big boost from years before – and the board has proposed an even bigger ask this year of $26.5 million.
A significant amount of the CIP funding would be used to address a list of 70 prioritized HVAC projects totaling $56 million at different Henrico schools. For school board members, HVAC concerns are top of mind, especially with several school closures due to broken AC units this fall and last school year.
-- Liana Hardy The West Ada verdict: $1.1 billion need over 10 years for building maintenance-- Idaho ED News Idaho: November 11, 2024 [ abstract] The West Ada School District needs $1.1 billion over the next 10 years to upgrade and maintain its buildings, according to a long-range facilities assessment presented at Monday’s school board meeting.
West Ada is the latest district to complete an assessment that’s required under House Bill 521. The state spending package — which the Idaho Legislature and Gov. Brad Little adopted earlier this year — will give Idaho’s 115 school districts $1 billion to finance new construction and major upgrades along with ongoing aid for locally-supported bonds and levies.
The state’s largest school district, West Ada will receive the biggest share of the funds — about $140 million. District staff and trustees expressed gratitude for the state assistance Monday but acknowledged that it won’t be enough. More than seven times as much is necessary to address all of West Ada’s long-term construction and maintenance needs, the assessment showed.
“We’ll apply this money to those things the bill covers,” David Reinhart, West Ada’s chief operations officer, told the school board. And district staff “will find creative ways to maintain our buildings and continue to make them the great places they are.”
-- Ryan Suppe Voters back $1 billion bond measures for Denver, Aurora and Cherry Creek schools-- Colorado Hometown Weekly Colorado: November 06, 2024 [ abstract]
Colorado voters on Tuesday greenlit billions of dollars in spending by school districts, with major bond proposals in metro Denver winning significant support.
Denver Public Schools, Aurora Public Schools and the Cherry Creek School District each put bond measures on the ballot that approached or reached $1 billion. All three had tallied a majority of voters’ support as of 11 a.m. Wednesday.
A smaller $490 million bond measure by the Douglas County School District passed with 58.97% support. That measure will be used to build schools and for maintenance projects. It was the district’s third attempt in three years to get a bond measure passed.
“I am so grateful for our entire community for shouting loud and clear that they support our schools, our kids, our teachers,” Douglas County Superintendent Erin Kane said in a statement.
Voters also passed Denver Public Schools’ $975 million bond Tuesday, with returns showing 73.94% in favor of Ballot Issue 4A.
-- Jessica Seaman Criticism in Montgomery County over school construction delays and maintenance problems-- WJLA.com Maryland: November 05, 2024 [ abstract]
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — “We are in school for 180 days. 180 days of mice, mold, moldy ceilings, and underfunding if you are a Magruder student,” Magruder High School junior Justin Tom told members of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MPCS)Board of Education on Nov. 4.
Tom was one of several who came to the hearing to testify about school maintenance problems and delayed construction projects.
“We are concerned that the recommended CIP [Capital Improvement Program] moves 3 million to other projects and delays construction funds,” Rockville Mayor Monique Ashton told the board.
The testimony came after 7News reported on October 22 that Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor acknowledged MCPS will not receive $39.3 million in expected state aid due to “an error in the MCPS submission for aid in the Charles W. Woodward Project,"
-- Kellye Lynn West Paris voters to decide on $6 million repair or closure of local school-- Fox23 Maine Maine: October 19, 2024 [ abstract]
WEST PARIS (WGME) - Voters in RSU 21 will soon go to the polls to decide the fate of a deteriorating school in West Paris.
In February, a report from Agnes Gray Elementary School showed safety violations including a failing roof, dangerous fire escapes, and eroding plumbing.
According to the superintendent, tight budgets pushed off maintenance.
The board of directors will now vote to either raise six million dollars to fix the school building or vote to close the school permanently.
Officials say they could also replace the school for twenty-five million dollars.
-- Staff Writer Wyoming lawmakers hesitate to increase major school maintenance funding ahead of projected revenue shortfalls-- Buffalo Bulletin Wyoming: October 17, 2024 [ abstract] CHEYENNE — In the face of projected revenue shortfalls, some Wyoming lawmakers are hesitant to change the state’s major maintenance formula that would increase funding for school facilities projects.
Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, voted against a bill draft Wednesday, during the Legislature’s Select Committee on School Facilities meeting in Cheyenne, that changes how the state calculates its major maintenance funding for schools.
The bill, as written, increases the allowable square footage in the formula from 115% to 135%, which would make 18 out of 48 school districts eligible for total coverage. However, this still leaves 1.9 million square feet unfunded, according to Legislative Service Office senior school finance analyst Matthew Willmarth. To fund all 48 school districts, the percentage needs to be raised to 235%, he said.
The bill also increases the replacement cost value multiplier from 2% to 2.5% and comes with a $43.6 million appropriation from the Public School Foundation Program (SFP) account.
The SFP is largely funded through Wyoming’s federal mineral royalties (FMRs). A Consensus Revenue Estimating Group (CREG) report in January projected a decline in FMR distributions to the SFP over the next two bienniums.
-- Hannah Shields District 28 Seeking Public Input On Aging Schools In Northbrook-- Patch Northbrook Illinois: October 10, 2024 [ abstract] NORTHBROOK, IL — With each of its schools aged between 58 and 75 years old, officials from Northbrook District 28 are seeking input from residents regarding the future of Greenbriar School, Meadowbrook School, Westmoor School and Northbrook Junior High School.
In January, potential building improvements, adding up to a total of $80 million,were proposed at the four schools as part of a 10-year facilities master plan. The recommendations were made by DLA Architects at a board of education meeting.
Officials said the improvements would address the areas of accessibility, life safety, operation and maintenance, and capital improvements, with the proposed money spread out as follows:
-- Eric DeGrechie MSCS building evaluations could lead to school closures-- WREG.com Tennessee: October 10, 2024 [ abstract]
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Shelby County Schools is taking a close look at all of the buildings it owns to help determine if some schools should close or consolidate.
For the first time in a decade, a top-to-bottom assessment of all of MSCS’s 200 buildings could impact future school closures, consolidations, and school district investments.
This week, during a school board committee meeting, Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins unveiled that the results from an evaluation she had requested had been completed and she wanted the findings before moving forward with decisions on buildings owned by MSCS.
Earlier this summer, Dr. Feagins talked about how the school district has accumulated $1 billion in deferred maintenance while addressing aging infrastructure and air conditioning problems.
“We face an aging infrastructure that continues to plague our best opportunity to provide the type of educational experience that our students desire,” said Dr. Feagins.
The MSCS school building evaluations are expected to examine conditions and replacement expenses for improving the district’s buildings.
-- Alex Coleman Leaky roofs, hot classrooms: A parents’ guide to school repairs-- LAist California: October 02, 2024 [ abstract] Maybe your child’s classroom leaked during this year’s winter storms or shut down early — or entirely — during recent heat waves.
This guide is for parents and families that want to better understand the condition of their child’s school — and how to advocate to get it fixed.
My school has a problem right now — how do I get help?
Start local. Your child’s teacher and the principal should be able to explain how to request repairs.
Here’s how it works in Long Beach Unified, where Alan Reising oversees facilities and operations:
Every school has a plant supervisor. This person is in charge of custodial services and investigates maintenance issues — whether they’re identified by a student, teacher, administrator, or parent.
If the repair requires any of the district’s 85 skilled craftspeople like an electrician or plumber, the plant supervisor submits a work order to the district. These orders are categorized as emergency, urgent, or routine.
The district prioritizes work orders based on severity. Response times vary from minutes for problems that could lead to serious injuries to “ I don't know when…but we'll get to it” for routine maintenance.
“We don't have the latitude of having an unlimited resource budget to have individuals waiting for a call,” Reising said.
Reising, who’s also the chair of the Coalition for Adequate School Housing, says smaller and rural districts may have even fewer resources.
-- Mariana Dale Wake schools list $200M in HVAC needs, as school board weighs how to fix them-- WRAL News North Carolina: September 24, 2024 [ abstract]
The Wake County school system needs to reverse its growing backlog of facilities maintenance — including air conditioning replacements and repairs — school board members said Tuesday. But they’re still working on a plan to do that.
Wake County schools are $214.3 million behind on updating heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, the board learned during its monthly facilities committee meeting Tuesday. That’s only about a quarter of the $752.2 million the district is behind on replacing or updating facility needs across its about 200 schools. Just $114 million is planned to alleviate that backlog over the next four years. Other needs don’t have funding sources for them yet.
And that’s likely an undercount of pastdue maintenance; the numbers provided by Wake on Tuesday were only for equipment that was five years past its expected lifespan.
It means the district has fallen short of maintaining its facilities based on industry standards for various equipment. Now, the cost of getting equipment back to update is $752.2 million — on top of the regular equipment maintenance the district already must do for equipment that is not yet past its life expectancy.
-- Emily Walkenhorst and Destinee Patterson Building Solidarity: School Construction Employees Speak Out-- DC 37 AFL-CIO New York: September 23, 2024 [ abstract] Members of Local 1740 assembled a strong display of solidarity on July 25, in response to standstill contract negotiations between the union and their employer, the School Construction Authority (SCA). Representatives from DC 37, Local 1740, and the SCA attended a total of 14 bargaining sessions and were unable to come to an agreement. The previous contract expired in 2021.
The local, formed in 2018, represents architects, engineers, and other technical professionals responsible for the construction and maintenance of approximately 1,900 public school buildings in New York City. The city’s public school system is the largest in the country, servicing more than 1 million students daily.
With a 15% vacancy rate and high attrition at the agency, the workers tasked with ensuring the safety and reliability of City public schools are taking on more work to meet construction timelines for new building projects.
“There’s a revolving door. Why do people come and leave? Because they’re not getting paid their fair share, and they’re being dumped on with excessive workloads,” Local 1740 President Charles Komlo said during the rally. “Tell me anywhere in the country where an architect has 100 projects concurrently under their belt. This agency needs to have reform, and it needs a fair contract for those who are doing the work.”
-- JUSTINA RAMLAKHAN Anchorage School District moves ahead with plans to close, consolidate schools with new public survey-- Alaska's News Source Alaska: September 17, 2024 [ abstract]
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The Anchorage School District sent a letter to families and staff on Monday with more information about what it calls “rightsizing” the district in the face of declining enrollment.
The letter from district Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt urges parents and family members of students to express their preferences in a district survey that includes questions about what special programs, staffing and building conditions are most important when it comes to considering which schools to close or repurpose.
For example, the survey asks participants to rank the importance of “School sizes that allow a full range of classes such as art, music and PE at the elementary level.”
Another question asks participants to rank the importance of maintenance and utility costs at schools.
The survey closes on Sept. 30.
“Your feedback has been invaluable as we move forward with the next phase of the Rightsizing process,” Bryantt wrote in the letter. “Now, we’d like to seek your input on the metrics that will be used to evaluate our facilities. The insights you provide will play a key role in shaping the District’s Rightsizing plan, which will be submitted to the Anchorage School Board for review and discussion later this year.”
-- Lauren Maxwell Some Idaho school districts are ‘scrambling’ for maintenance money after House Bill 521-- News From the States Idaho: September 12, 2024 [ abstract] Some school districts are struggling to cover routine maintenance costs — even as the state is delivering the largest single investment in school facilities in Idaho history.
House Bill 521, enacted this year by Idaho Gov. Brad Little and the Idaho Legislature, directed an additional $1.5 billion in state funding to schools over the next decade. The biggest slice is a $1 billion state bond, which will soon be divided between school districts for capital projects.
But HB 521 had some give and some take. The legislation eliminated August elections for school districts, and it created new rules governing minimum instructional hours and days. The bill also altered the way school districts receive lottery funding — in a way that’s leaving districts cash-strapped in the short term.
The facilities bill rerouted about $50 million in annual lottery dividends to a restrictive property tax relief fund that must be used to pay off local bonds and levies. Many districts used the lottery money for routine upkeep, from asphalt repairs to new light bulbs, as well as maintenance staff salaries. Those funds can now only be used for debt repayment, and that’s left a potential $30 million gap in funding for day-to-day upkeep.
The Ririe School District, for instance, is short about $100,000, according to superintendent Jeff Gee. That’s a significant chunk for the 700-student, eastern Idaho district with a total budget around $2.7 million.
“We’re kind of scrambling, honestly, to figure out how we’re going to move forward with that,” Gee told Idaho Education News.
-- Ryan Suppe Monroe City Schools prioritizing safety with facility updates-- knoe.com Louisiana: September 04, 2024 [ abstract] MONROE, La. (KNOE) - The Monroe City School Board is focusing on safety and security with updates to its school campuses.
The school board held its facilities committee meeting at the administration building on Wednesday morning (Sept. 4) to talk about maintenance and facility conditions. Within the next two weeks, the school board will work with architect Brian McGuire of The Architecture Alliance Group to begin security assessments at certain schools.
“The safety assessment - I think that is definitely the right direction... to move for our district, so we can get back those reports to see the direction we need to go and prioritize our needs because as we know, majority of our buildings are 50 plus-year-old buildings,” said superintendent Sam Moore III of Monroe City Schools.
At this time, the pavilions at Martin Luther King Junior High School are out for bid, according to McGuire. Those pavilions will be for the new outdoor learning center. McGuire also said that the steel got delivered Wednesday for crews to begin building the new softball batting cage at Neville High School.
-- Kenya Ross Teachers and activists are rebuilding crumbling schools with sustainable retrofits-- Fast Company National: September 04, 2024 [ abstract] Students and teachers experience the challenges of climate change firsthand, including struggles with extreme heat exacerbated by poor air quality and ventilation, and more and more missed days due to heatwaves and wildfire smoke. All harm student performance and make it harder to learn.
A newly coalescing coalition of school districts, teachers, and nonprofits see a solution available to all schools, one that can not only alleviate these inconveniences, but also address inequalities and funding shortfalls and upgrade our crumbling schools. Half the nation’s elementary schools are over a half-century old, with near-failing maintenance scores from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Taking advantage of the IRA
By tapping into funding sources and incentives found in the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, schools can defray the costs of all manner of infrastructure investments that can help improve their resiliency and save money. Organizations such as Undaunted K12 are pushing schools to take advantage of the nation’s largest clean energy investment; of the roughly 13,000 districts in the U.S., just a couple dozen have applied so far.
-- Patrick Sisson VIBE Joins Opening of Schools Tour and Commits to Addressing School Maintenance Needs-- The St. John Source U.S. Virgin Islands: August 31, 2024 [ abstract] The Virgin Islands Board of Education (VIBE) participated in the recent Opening of Schools Tour, during which it had the opportunity to visit various educational facilities and engage with school leaders and teachers. The board remains dedicated to ensuring that every student in its community has access to a safe and conducive learning environment.
During the tour, the board, through its School Plants and Facilities Committee, identified several critical areas of need within USVI schools, particularly regarding maintenance and infrastructure. The board recognizes that these challenges, including ongoing issues related to the heat in classrooms, require immediate attention to ensure students and educators can focus on what truly matters — teaching and learning.
-- Staff Writer Old schools, broken system: Maine's struggle with aging classrooms and how to fix them-- WGME.com Maine: August 30, 2024 [ abstract] STATEWIDE (WGME) --As students in Maine head back to the classroom, many are returning to buildings that are decades old, with some over a half-century or more.
Many of these aging schools were built long before modern code standards and the Americans with Disabilities Act were established, leading to significant challenges with both their maintenance and the quality of the learning environment they can provide.
Old and Outdated
At Sebago Elementary School, the situation is urgent. The school is 144 years old.
While the original section, built in 1880, is now used as offices and storage, even the newer additions on the building are decades old. Superintendent Steve Connolly, now in his second year, is already seeing growing problems with the building's age.
"We have some life, health, safety compliance issues that we need to deal with," Connolly said. "And not in another decade or so."
-- Dan Lampariello Wake County schools face $140 million in HVAC repair needs-- CBS17.com North Carolina: August 27, 2024 [ abstract]
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The Wake County Public School System continues to struggle keeping up with HVAC repairs.
Dozens of schools have been forced to close this year because of cooling issues. Over the last year, WCPSS maintenance workers received about 3,000 HVAC work orders.
It’s started to impact learning and teaching in classrooms.
“Not just students aren’t learning but her teacher working survey- she lost teachers because they’re in rooms that don’t have adequate heating and air,” Monika Johnson-Hostler, a WCPSS school board member, said during a facilities committee meeting.
She shared her frustrations with the board after hearing from principals in her district.
Officials said the district is working to make repairs, replacing parts and entire systems as needed. Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor knows they have a huge task ahead.
“That fix that we need, is not going to come in a short while – unless someone comes in and drops $300 million on the table and says ‘Use this to fix the HVAC’,” said Dr. Taylor.
-- Judith Retana Wichita school board approves $450 million plan to rebuild some schools, close others-- The Wichita Eagle Kansas: August 26, 2024 [ abstract]
The Wichita School Board has unanimously approved a plan to significantly reshape the state’s largest school district — a plan filled with school closings, consolidations and new “right-sized” buildings as the district braces for shrinking future enrollment. School district officials also laid out the stakes of a $450 million bond issue that would be needed to pay for the plan. The specifics of the bond issue are expected to be discussed and voted on by the board on Sept. 9. A bond issue would require approval from voters during a special election.
Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld said the “newer and fewer” plan is necessary because the district has $1.2 billion in future deferred maintenance needs that it can’t afford and declining enrollment. The school district already closed two middle schools — Hadley and Jardine — and four elementary schools — Clark, Cleveland, Park and Payne — earlier this year. The plan approved Monday calls for closing L’Ouverture, OK, Pleasant Valley and Woodland elementary schools and converting Isely and Cessna elementary schools to K-8 schools.
-- Chance Swaim Failing facilities: Behind one rural school district’s fight to keep students safe-- The San Diego Union-Tribune California: August 25, 2024 [ abstract]
There are certain things Mannix Gonzalez will remember from his four years at Mountain Empire High School.
Rain hitting his head in class. Showering in his shoes because the locker room drains overflowed. School canceled for water pump failures, drinking water contamination and wildfire evacuations. The wind wearing away the school walls to little more than thin plywood.
All his life, Mannix attended school in the vast Mountain Empire Unified School District in rural East County.
Since he was a toddler, this has been home for the redhead with a black cap and a frankness that makes adults laugh and think. Both of his parents work for the school district — his mom as an executive assistant, his dad as a maintenance technician. He has friends here; he appreciates his teachers.
But Mountain Empire’s facilities have been failing for years, and failing them.
“Our experiences are: We don’t get to come to school because it’s windy. Our experiences are: There’s E. Coli in our water, so we got no school,” he said.
-- Kristen Taketa School mold prevention programs help keep schools healthy-- USGBC.org National: August 22, 2024 [ abstract] Learn the key elements of an effective mold prevention program for schools.
As students and staff return to school, anticipation for the year ahead is palpable. However, one unwelcome surprise that everyone hopes to avoid in their classrooms is the presence of mold.
During summer break, the combination of reduced ventilation to conserve energy and increased cleaning and construction projects can contribute to elevated indoor humidity levels, which creates the perfect conditions for mold to thrive in schools. Understanding the factors that contribute to mold growth in schools and engaging staff in the preventative maintenance and early reporting of moisture problems can be effective strategies in school mold prevention programs.
Understanding suitable conditions for mold growth
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends keeping indoor relative humidity between 30 and 50% to prevent mold growth, which presents a unique challenge in regions with high relative humidity in the outdoor environment. When warm, moist air enters a building envelope, water vapor may form condensation on building materials. Saturated wallboard, insulation or ceiling tiles can serve as a food source for mold spores and a catalyst for fungal growth in the indoor environment.
Exposure to mold may cause respiratory or allergic symptoms, especially for building occupants with existing health conditions. Mold is able to grow wherever there is moisture and an organic substrate, like wood or drywall. Therefore, the key to prevent or minimize indoor mold growth is to actively maintain, inspect and correct buildings for moisture problems.
-- Lauren Bolton Schools struggling with maintenance backlog, thousands of open work orders-- News 4 San Antonio Texas: August 14, 2024 [ abstract] SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Independent School District says it only experienced minor air conditioning problems as classes got underway this week. Heating and cooling failures caused school closures and resignations at the district last year. The News 4 I-Team has uncovered the district still hasn't resolved a maintenance backlog that was a major factor behind the outages.
The I-Team requested records showing SAISD still has a total of 4,765 open work orders for buildings across the district. Of those, 1,725 are for heating and cooling equipment that needs repair. 1,081 are for plumbing problems at schools and support buildings.
As parents and students returned to Highland Hills Elementary Tuesday they were reminded of the AC problems last school year.
“Quite a few times they sent the kids home from school because it was hot and at meet the teacher everybody was dripping sweat really bad,” said parent Corina Hernandez.
-- Jaie Avila Substitute Raises Concerns About School Facilities-- Clayton News-Daily Georgia: August 14, 2024 [ abstract]
JONESBORO — During a recent public hearing about the Clayton County Board of Education millage rate, a local substitute teacher spoke before the board not only about the tax rate but about some school facilities being in disrepair.
“Being a substitute teacher in Clayton County, I have noticed that there are a lot of things that go unrepaired in our schools,” Shawana Jackson said during a July 29 public hearing.
She told school board members some of the maintenance issues included mold, carpet, pests and roof leaks.
“Nothing is being done,” she said.
In an email to the Clayton News, school system leaders and others, Jackson specifically cited problems at Callaway Elementary, Kemp Primary, Suder Elementary and Tara Elementary.
“My concern is for our children,” she said at the July 29 meeting.
In a July 29 work session, school board Chair Jessie Goree said she had also been made aware of a flooding issue at the Professional Learning Center and there were carpet issues at the Performing Arts Center. She added that there needs to be some renovations at the PAC, including lighting and sound.
-- Anthony Rhoads Mountain View School District 244: Building upgrades for entire district estimated at $18 million-plus; overall, average-- Idaho County Free Press Idaho: August 07, 2024 [ abstract] GRANGEVILLE — “I’m impressed with the upkeep of your district’s buildings and the proactive stance Ty [Reuter] and the maintenance crew, the board, the district as a whole has done to keep things upgraded and maintained,” Richard Bauscher told the Mountain View School District 244 board of trustees.
Bauscher is a retired Middleton superintendent and current clinical associate professor at the University of Idaho. He is a facilities planner consultant who assesses and appraises school buildings and provides numbers of what it would cost to “make them whole.”
Bauscher’s survey of the school’s buildings came as a caveat to receiving upcoming state money (see sidebar), in that districts receiving the funds must produce a 10-year plan to the State Department of Education. Bauscher had already provided 35 district reports in the state.
-- Lorie Palmer Defying decay: a strategy to enforce infrastructure standards in rural schools within the Eastern Cape, South Africa-- frontiers International: August 01, 2024 [ abstract] The Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE) in South Africa faces significant infrastructure challenges in rural schools, including inadequate funding, poor maintenance, and a shortage of essential facilities. These challenges hinder quality education provision and violate the Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure (MUNS-PSI) regulations. This study investigates these infrastructure challenges and proposes strategies to improve adherence to MUNS-PSI regulations. An interpretivist philosophy and inductive approach were adopted, focusing on a case study strategy. The study employed a mono-method qualitative approach, collecting data through semi-structured interviews with ten school managers and senior managers within the Chris Hani East District infrastructure delivery section. Purposive sampling was used to select participants, and thematic analysis was applied to the data. The findings revealed that the ECDoE lacks credible plans, sound systems, and effective leadership, resulting in poor governance and non-service delivery. Key challenges identified include the absence of a retention plan and a shortage of technological expertise. The study suggests forming a cross-functional group led by the head of the Department of Education to manage school infrastructure effectively. Training officials on technical skills related to the built environment and implementing the Infrastructure Delivery Management System are recommended. These strategies aim to enhance adherence to MUNS-PSI regulations, thereby improving the educational infrastructure and quality of education in the Eastern Cape.
-- Buyisiwe Ndungane, Gerrit Crafford, Tirivavi Moyo Supervisors OK park transfer to school district-- Nevada Appeal Nevada: August 01, 2024 [ abstract] Approximately three acres of Park Terrace Park in eastern Carson City will be transferred to the school district at no cost following the Board of Supervisors unanimous approval of a resolution Thursday.
According to the resolution, the Carson City School District will cover all improvements and costs associated with the transfer including maintenance. CCSD will also provide public access to the acreage through a new fence when not in school use.
“When school is not in session or the property is not being used for school purposes, CCSD must permit public access and public recreational use of the field,” reads the resolution.
After a lot line adjustment, the 5.4 acres of Park Terrace Park will be reduced to 2.4 acres, but the transfer will benefit students at Empire Elementary, which is the smallest school in the district by acreage, according to school district officials.
“The city and the school district have been great partners for a very long time,” said CCSD Superintendent Andrew Feuling. “When Empire was built back in ’88, what was happening across the country is we were trying to find these joint-use opportunities, and so the idea that the elementary school is right next to the park, it was a very simple way to kind of be more efficient with land use — but clearly the world has changed a lot since then.”
-- Scott Neuffer TCAPS bond could mean more energy efficiency for schools-- Interlochen Public Radio Michigan: July 31, 2024 [ abstract] Central Grade School, a stately, red-brick building in Traverse City, has a long history. The first school building was constructed there in the 1870s, got expanded, and was severely damaged by a fire in the 1930s before getting rebuilt.
“You can see on that sign it used to be a junior high school,” said Suzannah Tobin, walking around the outside of the school, which is three stories tall at its highest point and stretches for a block on each side. Tobin is an architect who grew up in the area. Until recently, she served on the Historic Districts Commission.
Discussions of maintenance and renovations to Central Grade go back years; officials have said it needs major updates, like reopening a shuttered third floor that hasn’t been used by students since the 1970s due to health concerns. A 2023 facilities assessment recommended replacing the entire electrical distribution system.
-- Izzy Ross Summer break means building maintenance for Bloomington-Normal school districts-- pantagraph.com Illinois: July 20, 2024 [ abstract] NORMAL — For the 12 weeks of summer break, school teachers prep their upcoming classes, students enjoy what freedom they can, families go on vacation and administrators hammer down plans for the upcoming year.
But maintenance technicians have to sprint through whatever repairs and upgrades the actual school buildings need in a very short amount of time while the buildings remain mostly empty.
"We have 148 projects this summer to do in 45 working days," said Tom Rockwell, operations manager for McLean County Unit 5.
The maintenance staff of 13 has roughly three projects a day to complete this summer between school years.
Those projects include everything from installing portable classrooms, repairing geothermal water pumps, refinishing basketball courts and pools, all the way down to painting offices, Rockwell said.
-- D. Jack Alkire Fire alarm defects prompt 'fire watch' in Wake schools-- WRAL News North Carolina: July 18, 2024 [ abstract] Wake County system schools will need to operate a “fire watch” after inspectors discovered more than two dozen schools’ fire alarms could no longer signal needed maintenance to school staff.
The school system has been operating under a fire watch since Wednesday, the school system announced Thursday. That means a staff member walks the entire building searching for fires when the buildings are occupied. They can’t do any other tasks, per state law on fire watches.
The problems with the fire alarms don’t affect how they function when a fire is detected; the alarm would still sound and sprinklers would still go off, the announcement states. However, the affected alarms can currently only signal a need for maintenance — similar to how a home smoke detector beeps when it needs new batteries — to off-campus officials.
-- Emily Walkenhorst Most school districts plan to take facilities money in lump sum-- IDedNews.org Idaho: July 18, 2024 [ abstract]
Most Idaho school districts want their new facilities money all at once.
House Bill 521, passed into law this year, will deliver $1 billion to schools for facilities upgrades, and districts have the option to take their share in a lump sum or in annualized installments over the next decade.
The $1 billion comes from state bonds, part of a total $1.5 billion investment in school facilities through HB 521. The Department of Education — which is responsible for distributing the funds — doesn’t yet have concrete data on school districts’ preferred method for receiving the money.
“But everything we’re hearing from schools anecdotally is that most plan to take the lump sum payment,” said Scott Graf, communications director for the department.
That includes large and small districts. Murtaugh School District — enrollment 388 — plans to take the lump sum, said Superintendent Michele Capps. Same goes for the Lewiston Independent School District, which has 4,512 students.
Lewiston will receive about $17 million from HB 521. The money is slated for upgrades to windows and doors along with potential building expansions that would give programs, such as orchestra, more space, according to Lewiston Superintendent Lance Hansen.
Hansen said there are a couple reasons that the lump sum is more advantageous. First, districts can maximize the value of the money in the short term. Facilities construction and maintenance costs increase regularly, making far-off expenses difficult to predict.
“We’ve seen projects escalate 10, 15, 20% just in a year,” Hansen said.
At the same time, inflation is driving down the value of the dollar, meaning $1.7 million — what Lewiston would receive in 10-year installments — won’t go as far in years to come if inflation persists.
-- Ryan Suppe Several construction projects underway at Modesto City Schools ahead of new school year-- abc10.com California: July 18, 2024 [ abstract]
MODESTO, Calif. — There was no silent reading time at James C. Enochs High School in Modesto Thursday. Instead, the on-campus scene involved cones, caution tape, scissor lifts and drills.
"We’re painting the exterior and we’re also adding a solar array in the front large student parking lot," said Roger Orth, senior director of maintenance and Operations for Modesto City Schools. "We’re also adding a synthetic track and field."
The ruckus doesn't stop at Enochs High School.
"In the 36 years I have been in the school district, we've never done anything close to what we're doing right now," Orth said. "We have 34 total schools. Most of our campuses have work going on right now and that includes new gyms, cafeterias, solar projects and shop buildings."
With just 26 days until the hard hats are replaced with backpacks for the Aug. 13 start of the fall semester, it’s crunch time.
"All the projects that entail having instructional space ready for the start of school... those will all be ready for school to start," Orth said. "These other projects will run into the fall and sometimes beyond the fall."
-- Gabriel Porras With federal money available, Montana aims to make schools more energy efficient-- WEAA.org Montana: July 18, 2024 [ abstract] Later this summer, states will find out if they'll get millions of dollars to reduce planet-warming pollution. The money comes from the Inflation Reduction Act the Democrats and President Biden pushed through Congress two years ago. Earlier this year, states submitted plans for how to lower emissions, but every state has a different idea of what that looks like. In one conservative state, the plan is largely about schools. Here's Ellis Juhlin with Montana Public Radio.
ELLIS JUHLIN, BYLINE: The high school in Big Sandy, Mont., was built in the 1930s and is in desperate need of upgrades to make it energy efficient, including a new boiler.
DAN SCHROCK: It's so bad that we actually have to turn our heat off to try to regulate the heat as opposed to simply turning the thermostats down.
JUHLIN: This is superintendent Dan Schrock.
SCHROCK: You can only do more with less for so long before you're actually doing less with less, and then you're compounding the actual cost of that deferred maintenance down the road.
JUHLIN: Big Sandy isn't alone. Many districts can't pay for major updates without help. But a coalition of environmental groups and retired teachers see the need for updating schools as an opportunity to help the state reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
WINONA RACHEL: At some point, we're going to have to deal with it.
-- Ellis Juhlin Clovis Unified School District utilizes summertime to do 'heavy lifting' on facility maintenance-- abc30.com California: July 12, 2024 [ abstract] CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- As students soak up the summer, staff is hard at work in the Clovis Unified School District.
With kids out of class, crews are working to keep schools in tip-top shape.
Cole Elementary School has plastic-wrapped windows and doors.
Without kids on campus, crews are using the summertime to give it a new coat of paint.
"This is when we get all of our heavy lifting done," Asst. Superintendent Facility Services Denver Stairs said.
This is just one of multiple "deferred maintenance projects" going on across the Clovis Unified School District.
Stairs says the site will also receive new roofing this summer.
He says district-wide, there's always a running list of items that need to be maintained to keep all facilities in working order.
"If you think about it in terms of your house, it's just normal maintenance that we need to do, and so we try to stay up on that," Stairs said.
When it doesn't happen, major issues can pop up, like last year at Clovis High when there was a power failure.
-- Jessica Harrington Addressing Excessive Heat in the Workplace Including Schools-- NEA.org National: July 03, 2024 [ abstract] Extreme temperatures affect every member of the school community, from food service workers preparing lunch in poorly ventilated kitchens, bus drivers driving students home without air conditioning, school groundskeepers doing campus maintenance, and students testing on hot days. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration published a proposed rule that aims to protect workers from excessive heat in the workplace, including public schools in in states with OSHA-approved State plans.
Currently, there is no federal OSHA heat standard. The proposal has the potential to create significant change, especially for educators working in buildings without proper ventilation and air conditioning.
Few school districts have mandated temperature maximums. “The absence of standards …means we are allowing kids to sit in 95-degree classrooms leaving students unable to concentrate on learning due to high heat and humidity levels,” Connecticut Education Association President Kate Dias told NEA.
Under the rule, OSHA would require covered employers to create a plan to evaluate and control heat hazards in the workplace with the goal of reducing the number of occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. This regulation applies to workplaces which fall under OSHA’s jurisdiction, including public schools in OSHA-approved State Plans, general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture sectors.
-- Grace Hagerman Portland Public Schools’ construction bond wish list nears $3 billion-- The Oregonian Oregon: June 29, 2024 [ abstract] Portland Public Schools has a $2.9 billion wish list for a proposed construction and maintenance bond it plans to put before voters in May.
That massive tranche of money would pay for new high schools in three quadrants of the city, plus deferred maintenance, new athletics facilities, updated curriculum materials and more.
Were the district to settle on that figure, it would be far and away the largest bond ask in Oregon history, nearly 2 ½ times the $1.2 billion that the district sought and won approval for in 2020.
By comparison, the San Francisco United School District, which enrolls about 6,000 more students than Portland, is seeking approval for a $790 million bond this November, while voters in Austin, Texas — a district nearly twice the size of Portland — passed a $2.4 billion bond in 2022.
-- Julia Silverman 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 Swanson: Over 1,000 school ACs installed, but more work to be done by department-- The Guam Daily Post Guam: June 23, 2024 [ abstract] The Guam Department of Education is making progress in reducing the heat in classrooms across the district, GDOE Superintendent Kenneth Erik Swanson said, but there continues to be an issue with funding for lease maintenance support.
The superintendent reported to the Guam Education Board last week that 1,111 air-conditioning units have been installed.
“(The) contractor has begun the second round of installations for classrooms that require two split units. Some new units have begun failing, and the contractor is repairing or replacing (them) under the terms of the contract. The installation contract should be complete across the system by the beginning of the next school year, with two years of warranty service to follow installation of new units. Each school has identified units that are failing and were not considered in the initial contract for replacement. (Capital improvement projects) estimates an added 300 units will require a new procurement process to replace,” Swanson reported.
-- Jolene Toves Website on Philadelphia school building conditions goes down-- Pennsylvania Capital-Star Pennsylvania: June 14, 2024 [ abstract] An interactive website that gave families crucial information about the physical condition of Philadelphia public schools went down last month.
The site contained data on 211 schools, more than two-thirds of which were found to be in “unsatisfactory” or “poor” condition, according to a previous analysis by the Logan Center. Parents could use the site to see the results of their school’s latest inspection and which aspects of the school were in the best and worst shape.
The district is currently developing a “warehouse” for data on all schools’ academics, environments, educational suitability, safety, maintenance, and enrollment, among other data points, said Alexandra Coppadge, the district’s head of communications. They anticipate it to be completed by December.
The website going down “is deeply problematic,” said City Councilmember Nina Ahmad, a member of the Education Committee. “This lack of information is very disempowering, and I think our constituents just feel like, what is going on?”
-- COLIN EVANS CHALKBEAT AND JULIA MEROLA County Commissioners To School Officials: ‘Uh, Hello? You Have $2 Billion.’-- Rhino Times North Carolina: June 12, 2024 [ abstract] The members of the Guilford County Board of Education weren’t happy at all with the amount of money Guilford County Manager Mike Halford proposed for Guilford County Schools in his recommended 2024-2025 fiscal county budget.
It was $47 million shy of what school officials had asked the county for, so, at a Tuesday, June 11 work session in the Old Guilford County Court House, school leaders explained to the commissioners why they needed more money for both ongoing operations and school maintenance.
Just last week, in a lengthy public hearing, school staff, students and school advocates made the case passionately to commissioners that the county’s school system needs more money – however, the cozier, more relaxed June 11 work session allowed school leaders their chance to make a final plea to the commissioners in an afternoon work session.
Usually, the school officials spend this final school/commissioner work session each year making their case for more money for school operations – and they did that this year too. They spoke of a need to increase salaries to retain teachers and also a need for more pay for “classified workers” such as bus drivers, cafeteria staff and janitors, among other operations’ needs.
-- Scott D. Yost USD 253 Board of Education approves emergency maintenance purchase for Logan Elementary-- The Emporia Gazette Kansas: June 12, 2024 [ abstract] The USD 253 Board of Education approved an emergency maintenance purchase after a recent condenser failure at Logan Elementary during a meeting Wednesday evening.
Superintendent Allison Anderson-Harder said a twenty-ton condenser unit had multiple parts fail at Logan Avenue recently. As the condenser unit is over 30 years old, parts have become difficult and expensive to find, and in some cases, would have to be machined specifically for the application.
Replacing the condenser would include a 21-week lead time, meaning that the work would not be completed until October, long after the school year resumes in August. Instead, the board approved replacing the condenser and the air handler with heating capability while cutting the lead time down to under eleven weeks for $137,699
-- Shayla Gaulding The replacement of one of Anchorage’s oldest schools is underway-- Alaska Public Media Alaska: June 11, 2024 [ abstract] Anchorage School District officials and local elected leaders broke ground at Inlet View Elementary School on Monday before a crowd of dozens of teachers, students and neighbors.
A new school will be built over the next year and a half alongside the existing building in South Addition. Supporters of the project, including Inlet View parent and teacher Beth Daly-Gamble, say the upgrade is vital. The current school, built in 1957, is overcrowded and old.
“The rooms are small, we have tiles coming up from the floor all the time,” Daly-Gamble said. ”We call building maintenance probably every single day from things that are falling apart and our sewage backed up two years ago into the playground area, and sat like that for a while.”
The school also does not have a sprinkler system or a separate cafeteria. Students eating lunch share a room with other students taking gym class.
The new school will have more space.
-- Tim Rockey School district weighs options following defeat of $99 million Woodstock high school bond-- Valley News Vermont: May 31, 2024 [ abstract] WOODSTOCK — On Monday night, the Mountain Views School District Board will consider cost estimates on three options for addressing the maintenance needs of the Woodstock Union Middle and High School buildings. The board hopes to bring another bond measure to voters in September.
The board’s consideration comes following the voters’ defeat on Town Meeting Day in March of a $99 million bond to fund construction of a new middle and high school building. Voters in the Vermont school district’s seven member towns — Barnard, Bridgewater, Killington, Plymouth, Pomfret, Reading and Woodstock — rejected the proposal by a margin of 340 votes, 1,910-1,570.
Following the defeat, the board conducted a survey of community members and began to explore other strategies to meet the needs of the aging school building, which serves 440 students and was built in 1956, with the middle school addition completed in 1968.
-- Christina Dolan In a ‘do-over’ meeting, Seattle families question staff about school closures-- The Seattle Times Washington: May 30, 2024 [ abstract] Children will not necessarily travel farther on average than they do now to get to school if Seattle Public Schools goes through with a plan to close and consolidate about 20 elementary schools. School-level employees — such as, maintenance workers, office staff, principals, and food services workers — will likely be affected by staff reductions.
Those are just some of the details that emerged Thursday night as Seattle school officials answered questions from about 200 parents and community members at Garfield High Schoolduring its second community meeting on its plan to create “a system of well-resourced schools.”
But big questions, such as how much the district will ultimately save through the closures, were harder to answer.
Thursday’s session was an about-face for the district, after the first meeting Tuesday at Roosevelt High School ended with frustrated parents shouting questions at Superintendent Brent Jones and Chief of Staff Beverly Redmond.
Jones said the Garfield meeting was a chance for a do-over, even as many details remained elusive.
-- Denisa R. Superville FWISD trustees shown poor condition of schools, urged to be transparent about closures-- Fort Worth Report Texas: May 20, 2024 [ abstract] Fort Worth ISD trustee Wallace Bridges wants the district to be careful in its consideration of school closures.
At a May 14 board workshop, Bridges highlighted the district’s need to balance fiscal responsibility with community impact. There’s a lack of trust between the community and the district, he said.
During the meeting, trustees and Superintendent Angélica Ramsey received an update on the district’s $2 million master facilities plan. The presentation revealed that Fort Worth ISD’s middle schools face $130 million in deferred maintenance needs, with nearly half categorized as in poor condition.
“We must consider not just the numbers but the impact on the communities we serve,” Bridges said. “It’s more than just numbers on that paper. People’s lives are affected by this.”
In April, Fort Worth ISD hosted community meetings at six middle schools, informing parents and residents that closures could be coming.
The plan indicated that renovations to the schools would be costly and student consolidation would be more cost-efficient. The district is considering the closure of McLean 6th Grade Center, Daggett Middle School, Kirkpatrick Middle School and either Morningside Middle School or William James Middle School.
-- Matthew Sgroi School facilities drive Mississippi COVID spending-- K-12 Dive Mississippi: April 26, 2024 [ abstract] Many Mississippi districts are using notable portions of their federal COVID-19 emergency funding to improve school buildings, most likely to address long-standing issues around underfunding for capital projects, according to research from FutureEd, an education analysis organization affiliated with Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
Of the 60% spent through March of this year across the state in American Rescue Plan funds, 42% — or $362.6 million — had gone toward building improvements, according to FutureEd.
The lion’s share — $296.8 million — funded reconstruction and remodeling projects like HVAC replacements and upgrades. That was followed by maintenance and upkeep at $27.6 million, new building purchases and construction at $20.5 million, and architecture and engineering fees at $14.8 million.
-- Kara Arundel Why Are So Many Puerto Rico Public Schools In Disrepair?-- Refinery29 Puerto Rico: April 25, 2024 [ abstract] On the week of February 5, several stalls in the bathrooms at public high school Luis Felipe Crespo in Camuy, Puerto Rico, had padlocks on them for no apparent reason. Fed up with the many other maintenance issues at their school, three students, including 17-year-old Alaisha Torres Soto, decided to make a video showing the bathrooms’ conditions. The text overlaid on the video, which they posted on their graduating class’ TikTok account, read: “Uniforme completo jóvenes” (Students, wear your full uniforms). As they walk around the restroom, they point out the ridiculousness of having to wear their uniform correctly when the school can’t even provide running water, toilet paper, mirrors, functioning soap dispensers, and working stall doors.
-- VALERIA RICCIULLI Wichita district wants bond issues to rebuild, consolidate schools. Check out four options-- The Wichita Eagle Kansas: April 23, 2024 [ abstract] Wichita school officials want to know if voters would support a series of bond issues to rebuild and renovate schools over the next two decades. On Monday, consultants hired by the school board laid out four options ranging from a major investment in 27 new or renovated schools to doing nothing but focusing on deferred maintenance needs at existing buildings. All four plans outlined by the Ohio-based firm Woolpert include consolidating either 18 or 19 schools — a process district officials say is different than a closure because students and staff at low-attendance schools would all be moved together into a different building.
-- MATTHEW KELLY Sinking fund renewal would help Concord schools continue building maintenance-- Mlive Michigan: April 22, 2024 [ abstract] CONCORD, MI -- Voters are being asked to consider a millage renewal to fund continued building maintenance for a western Jackson County school district.
A five-year renewal of Concord Community Schools’ sinking fund is on the May 7 election ballot. Last renewed in 2019, the millage is set to expire along with the 2024 tax levy, according to the proposal.
If passed by voters, the currently authorized millage rate of 1.9213 mills - or about $1.92 on each $1,000 of taxable property value - would be renewed for 2025-29. Concord Community Schools would collect about $358,034 in 2025 if the millage is approved and levied in May, officials said.
-- Michell Kukulka SAD 17 requests $2 million for capital improvements-- Advertiser Democrat Maine: April 17, 2024 [ abstract] PARIS — Maine School Administrative District 17 will ask voters to establish a $2 million capital improvements plan to address critical needs of several school buildings throughout the district during statewide elections this June.
In previous years’ budgets, building maintenance and repairs fell into the overall Facilities Department’s accounts, a cost center that also covers building operations and ever-increasing utilities expenses.
The move comes in the aftermath of recently closing Agnes Gray Elementary School in West Paris and a districtwide assessment last year which showed that four other elementary schools need overdue maintenance.
-- Nicole Carter School facilities funds cut as part of agreement to reduce California’s budget shortfall-- EdSource California: April 16, 2024 [ abstract] An agreement between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature that will reduce the state’s budget shortfall by $17.3 billion also will mean less money for school facilities.
The agreement, signed April 4, cuts the state School Facility Aid Program by $500 million, reducing the funding from $875 million to $375 million. The program provides funds to school districts for school construction, deferred maintenance and emergency repairs.
-- Diana Lambert New Haven students demand the city budget for functional bathrooms and facilities-- New Haven Register Connecticut: April 15, 2024 [ abstract] NEW HAVEN — Dismayed by school bathroom conditions, students are calling on the city to fund an education budget for the upcoming year that includes more janitors, building maintenance and additional gender-neutral bathrooms in each school.
Toilets, stall doors, ceiling tiles and dispensers have been damaged in bathrooms across the district, according to a March report by the district’s facilities director that said vandalism in school bathrooms is “significant." Students say vandalism is one reason for the poor bathroom conditions, but not the only one, and they say many bathrooms are closed or unusable.
Thailynn Taylor-Morehead, a senior at Engineering and Science University Magnet School, said instead of just complaining, the students want to work with officials on solutions. She said having clean bathrooms should be a “no-brainer."
-- Elizabeth L. T. Moore Constitutional concerns hang over blockbuster facilities bill-- Idaho Ed News Idaho: April 01, 2024 [ abstract] Nearly two decades after the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that the Legislature was shirking its constitutional duty to fully fund public school facilities, lawmakers recently took a major step to address the problem.
On Friday, Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 521, which the Republican governor co-authored with a handful of powerful GOP legislators, including House Speaker Mike Moyle. Under the sweeping legislation, the state will spend an additional $1.5 billion over the next decade to help fund building construction and maintenance.
While tidying up one constitutional conundrum, however, the bill sponsors may have created another: HB 521 itself could be unconstitutional. That’s because it doesn’t only address school facilities; it also cuts income taxes, eliminates a school election date and even gives the state’s public defender’s office a funding boost, among other things.
Why does the bill’s broad scope matter? The Idaho Constitution explicitly prohibits legislation that embraces more than one subject.
-- Ryan Suppe Canada - B.C. puts $291.9 million towards school upgrades-- Journal of Commerce International: March 25, 2024 [ abstract] VICTORIA – The Government of British Columbia is putting $291.9 million towards school maintenance projects as part of its 2024 budget.
To reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency, the provincial Ministry of Education and Childcare is providing up to $26.8 million in energy and electrical upgrades across 51 school districts through the Carbon Neutral Capital Program including upgrades of heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
The province is increasing the Annual Facility Grant by an additional $3.1 million for routine repairs throughout the year and $150.2 million is also available to districts to address maintenance needs, as well as other improvements, such as replacing playground equipment or enhancing traffic safety, a release said.
Other school spending in the budget includes $5 million annually through the Feeding Futures program to “create, improve or expand infrastructure through projects, such as food-delivery vans and kitchen upgrades, including electrical upgrades and the purchase of commercial-kitchen equipment,” the release said, as well as $23.8 million to purchase school buses, of which $9 million has been allocated for the purchase of electric school buses.
-- Staff Writer Facilities advisory board forming to address building issues in Peninsula School District-- Gig Harbor Now Washington: March 14, 2024 [ abstract] Peninsula School District is putting together a Long-range Facilities Advisory Board to address issues related to school buildings and district support facilities, like its transportation and maintenance building.
Among other topics, the group will discuss a possible future bond or capital levy. No measure is on the horizon, according to district officials. The district hasn’t even started public discussion of any proposed bond, a critical early step. But part of the advisory board’s mission will be to evaluate whether and when a bond or capital levy is needed, according to Chief Financial Officer Ashley Murphy.
-- CHRISTINA T HENRY Decatur School Board to discuss facilities and maintenance needs-- decaturish.com Georgia: March 11, 2024 [ abstract] Decatur, GA — The City Schools of Decatur School Board will meet on Tuesday, March 12, at 5 p.m. for a regular meeting. The meeting will be held in person at the Wilson School Support Center, 125 Electric Ave., and virtually via Zoom.
During the work session, Chief Operating Officer Sergio Perez will present the state of operations report to looks at the district’s facilities and maintenance needs.
“It emphasizes the crucial role of the Operations Division in maintaining the district’s functionality and normal operations,” the agenda packet states. “Despite facing challenges such as rising material and energy costs, extended lead times for equipment, and increased vendor labor costs, the division ensures smooth operations in areas like lighting, HVAC, utilities, meals, transportation, medical services, and safety and security.”
“The report discusses the life cycle of assets, highlighting the continuous process from creation to use, maintenance, and disposal,” the agenda says. “It notes that the average age of [the] buildings is 78.3 years and focuses on addressing aging HVAC equipment to prevent disruptions in heating or cooling.”
-- Zoe Seiler $150 million would fund school projects across the state â€" and be a signal to federal authorities-- WV Metro News West Virginia: March 04, 2024 [ abstract] Delegates reviewed a $150 million allocation for school construction and maintenance, and they were a little puzzled. It was just that the list was so… expansive.
Delegate Clay Riley, R-Harrison, asked if the allocation would take care of everything proposed but not already funded by the School Building Authority. “So this wipes the backlog completely clean?” he asked at a House Finance Committee meeting last Thursday.
Delegate Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer, had a similar reaction.
“Every application is on this list. When was the last time the School Building Authority funded every single application?” Gearheart said. Then he responded to his own question. “I can answer that. I think it’s never.”
These are unusual times with an unusual, big pressure.
West Virginia is under pressure from the federal government to make good on the terms for hundreds of millions of dollars from covid relief meant to support education. The main requirement is known as maintenance of effort, which means the state had to keep the same proportional level of funding for schools as it had before the pandemic.
The state fell short, as a matter of percentage, in 2023 and now is negotiating to try to get a waiver and avoid a clawback of about $465 million.
-- Brad McElhinny Bayfield school district looks to address long-term needs for aging buildings-- The Durango Herald Colorado: March 04, 2024 [ abstract] Bayfield School District officials look to put together a “Master Facilities Plan” to address long-term maintenance needs for multiple, decades-old school buildings.
The district’s Board of Education on Feb. 27 authorized Assistant Superintendent Bill Hesford to issue a Request for Qualifications proposal to launch the plan, which partially stems from the Bayfield Middle School building – which was built in 1977 – having various maintenance issues like a leaking roof, according to a news release on the district’s website.
“The master plan should explore a variety of options, based on a thorough assessment of the facilities, to develop a strategic implementation plan for the long term facility needs,” the proposal document says.
The district is in the process of searching for a company that will put together a plan about what to do with the buildings. Prospective planners interested in responding to the proposal are invited to attend an optional site visit on Thursday.
The deadline for applicants to submit their proposals is March 28.
Finalists will be interviewed on April 8, and the committee will decide on the top candidate that same day.
-- Matt Hollinshead Alaska’s education board sends a $500M wish list for construction and maintenance to lawmakers-- Alaska Beacon Alaska: February 29, 2024 [ abstract] The state’s Board of Education and Early Development approved a priority list for half a billion dollars in construction and upkeep for schools at its regularly scheduled meeting in Juneau on Wednesday.
The list will go to the governor and the Legislature to be considered for funding.
Typically, only projects from among the top 10 funding requests are granted. This year the governor’s proposed budget includes funding for only the No. 1 school construction priority and top two maintenance projects, totaling less than $9 million.
The construction priority is $4 million towards a project to relocate and replace the Newtok K-12 school. The school was partially destroyed in a fire last year and was threatened by erosion from the Ninglick River.
Major maintenance would include a nearly $4 million rehabilitation at the elementary and middle schools in Craig and nearly $300,000 copper pipe replacement project in the Allakaket School.
State School Finance and Facilities Manager Lori Weed said that in the last 10 years, due to fiscal constraints, the state has funded fewer projects for school construction and maintenance projects. Between the fiscal years from 2015 to 2025, the state has funded anywhere from roughly 1-35% of the grant requests.
-- CLAIRE STREMPLE New Middletown School Building Update Turns Heated-- Newport This Week Rhode Island: February 29, 2024 [ abstract] Tension was high and questions were raised at the Middletown Town Council meeting on Feb. 20 over the cost and size of the new middle-high school building. Town administrator Shawn Brown passionately defended the recently approved Stage II application for the Middletown new school building after saying he received numerous concerning emails. One of the main concerns, he said, was the $20 million in capital reserves that fall outside of the narrowly approved $190 million bond. According to Brown, the money is part of the capital improvement program requirement of the application and is meant to address future needs of the new buildings, while being eligible for reimbursement from the Rhode Island Department of Education.
“Quite frankly, it’s irresponsible to continue to defer maintenance,” he said. “What would be negligent is if we don’t spend the money when repairs need to be made and we don’t take advantage of the reimbursement.”
Brown said the potential repairs are eligible to be reimbursed by 55 percent over the next five years. Utilizing capital reserves, he said, is not uncommon with such projects and the town has done so in the past.
-- Kelsie Crough Maintenance needs highlighted at Paso Robles schools-- The Paso Robles Press California: February 28, 2024 [ abstract] PASO ROBLES — A comprehensive list of maintenance needs was presented to trustees at the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) for the district’s campuses. The Tuesday night meeting on Feb. 27 compiled an evaluation of needs amongst the facilities.
The plan covered the Winifred Pifer, Kermit King, Glen Speck, Virginia Peterson, Pat Butler elementary, and Daniel Lewis and Flamson middle school campuses. A plan for the high school campus will be provided by early April.
PRJUSD Director of maintenance Operations and Transportation Kelly Stainbrook created an extensive spreadsheet detailing life expectancy and replacement costs of major components along with budget considerations. It is a live document that is actively updated. Her report showed that many of the carpets at the campuses have never been replaced and, while in decent condition, are past their life expectancy.
-- Camille DeVaul ‘We have a crisis situation:’ Marion County schools in need of major repairs-- Click Orlando Florida: February 19, 2024 [ abstract]
MARION COUNTY, Fla. – The superintendent of Marion County Public Schools confirmed her district is in a crisis as it deals with aging schools and record growth.
“It’s not to be overly dramatic. When you look at the data, the growth and our facilities. When you have about half our facilities are over 50 years old, the cost of maintenance continues to climb,” said Dr. Diane Gullet, superintendent of Marion County Schools.
News 6 went inside some of the schools in need of repairs and upgrades.
At East Marion Elementary School in Ocala, none of its classrooms have doors. Instead, a large room is broken up into four pods. Each pod contains a different class.
“The students are adaptable. They are resilient, but there are times when you know we’re doing fun and exciting things and maybe the class next door is needing to be testing,” said Sarah Dobbs, principal of East Marion Elementary School.
East Marion Elementary was built in the early 1970s, and not much has changed.
“Thinking safety wise, these doors we walked through are the original doors for this pod, so they’re on a magnet system. When we release the magnet they lock us in. This is between us and 80 students,” Dobbs said. “Student safety is the first thing that goes through my mind when talking about this concept, this layout.”
Fort King Middle School was built in 1963. The school’s gymnasium still has its original bleachers and is now just getting air conditioning.
-- Erik Sandoval Local parents share maintenance needs, budget frustration at Chicago Public Schools roundtable-- Hyde Park Herald Illinois: February 16, 2024 [ abstract] At a meeting with Chicago Public Schools officials last week, local parents said area schools are in need of infrastructural repairs and program improvements, and pushed back on schools being characterized as “underutilized.”
The Feb. 8 meeting was a roundtable discussion to gather input on the state of local school facilities for CPS’ upcoming five-year Educational Facilities Master Plan, which will inform how CPS spends its money on building repairs and improvements over the next five years. Held at Ray Elementary School, 5631 S. Kimbark Ave., the meeting was the latest of 16 planned across the city.
As part of the master plan process, CPS conducts a neighborhood-by-neighborhood analysis of the current state of its facilities, as well as enrollment trends, program offerings, demographics, and unique community needs, per the plan’s description.
-- Zoe Pharo Aging schools deteriorating, PASD chief says-- Peninsula Daily News Washington: February 14, 2024 [ abstract]
PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles School District’s aging infrastructure has been kept in good working order through regular preventive maintenance and responding promptly to emergency repairs, Superintendent Marty Brewer told the board.
Nonetheless, five schools that are between 45 and 70 years old have deteriorated to the point where they need to be replaced.
“We have a responsibility to address our facilities’ needs before it gets to the point where we don’t have solutions,” Brewer said during a review of the district’s 30-year plan on Thursday.
Brewer’s presentation and that of Nolan Duce, director of maintenance and facilities, were preludes to the district’s intention in November to ask voters to support a bond issue that would fund construction of new Port Angeles High and Franklin Elementary schools.
The board would need to approve such a measure and it has not yet been presented with one.
-- Paula Hunt Tribe breaks ground for new school after old building linked to cancer deaths-- Las Vegas Review-Journal Nevada: February 13, 2024 [ abstract] The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in northern Nevada broke ground Friday on a new school that will replace a 70-year-old building tribal leaders have linked to many cancer deaths in the community.
“It’s quite the accomplishment,” said tribal Chairman Brian Mason. “It was a big effort by just not myself, but everybody involved. And it couldn’t have benefited a better demographic group than the children. And that’s all that really matters.”
The Owyhee Combined School, where generations of tribal members were educated, sits adjacent to hydrocarbon plumes that Mason believes is the cause of more than 100 cancer cases among tribal members over the years.
In the 1950s, a maintenance shop owned by the Bureau of Indian Affairs began disposing of diesel and other oils through a shallow injection well. By the 1980s, the school’s water began tasting and smelling like fuel, according to Mason.
Although the old drinking water wells were capped and replaced by new ones, tribal leaders fear the contaminants could remain in the old school pipes.
-- Jessica Hill Bay City Schools hopes millage passes for facilities’ maintenance, care-- wnem.com Michigan: February 12, 2024 [ abstract]
BAY CITY, Mich. (WNEM) - Heading to the polls in just over two weeks, voters will decide if they want to keep paying to help one school district maintain and care for its buildings.
Voters in Bay City approved the millage when it first appeared on the ballot in 2018 with 56 percent saying yes and 44 percent no.
The Bay City Public Schools Superintendent, Stephen Bigelow, said he’s hoping for the same outcome this time around.
“Something that is incredibly important for Bay City Public Schools,” Bigelow said about a 10-year renewal of the sinking fund millage.
He said voters renewing the sinking fund millage through 2034 is vital to the school district.
“What a sinking fund does is, it provides districts with money that they can count on to put specifically towards maintenance and care of facilities,” he explained.
If approved, the sinking fund millage will bring in about $1.4 million annually for the upkeep of 13 buildings in the school district.
“Our newest building is 50-years-old and our oldest building, Bay City Central, is over 100-years-old, so they take a lot of care,” Bigelow said. “We certainly want to make sure that we’re keeping all of our buildings up to spec and making sure that things are looking good and working properly.”
-- James Felton and Emily Keinath New Kensington-Arnold to address neglected maintenance on Valley High School flood prevention facilities-- TribLive Pennsylvania: February 12, 2024 [ abstract] Flood control measures installed to protect Valley High School and its campus, including the New Kensington-Arnold School District’s football stadium, are overdue for needed maintenance.
A debris basin at the upper end of the campus is 80% full and “minimally functioning,” said Jim Pillsbury, a hydraulic engineer with the Westmoreland Conservation District.
A dozen V-shaped deflectors in Little Pucketa Creek, made from rocks and intended to help the stream keep itself clean as it flows past the school, also need maintenance, he said.
And while the district is working to replace the twin pedestrian bridges over the creek, it also would be helpful if the district avails itself of the opportunity to remove sediment from the channel, which Pillsbury said there would be less of if the basin had been maintained more regularly.
School board member Bob Pallone and other district officials recently met with Pillsbury about the creek. Pallone, who returned to the board following last year’s election, heads the board’s buildings and grounds committee.
-- BRIAN C. RITTMEYER ‘A perfect mess’: School construction needs may fall by the wayside in a chaotic budget year-- vtdigger Vermont: February 12, 2024 [ abstract]
In fall 2023, the leaders of the Milton Town School District unveiled the design for its new elementary and middle school.
The existing Milton Elementary School was first built in the 1950s to serve grades 1-6 and expanded piecemeal over the following decades, eventually becoming the district’s pre-K-8 school.
By 2020, the oldest parts of the building had long been showing their age. A perennial mold problem had plagued the school for decades, and the school boilers were on their last legs. Leaders said upgrades were sorely needed.
The initial cost estimate of almost $200 million gave the community pause, but it was the challenges of the current annual budget cycle that ultimately led the district to table the much-needed project this year.
The latest projections indicate that property taxes could increase statewide by an average of 20% next year. That figure, local and statewide school officials have said, is largely due to ballooning health care costs, maintenance and student mental health needs resulting in higher education spending, with less federal support available as a result of expiring Covid-era relief funding.
Some are also pointing fingers at Act 127, a new law taking effect this budget season that changes the way statewide education funding is distributed. Its purpose is, in short, to direct more funding to schools with pupils who are more expensive to teach, such as English language learners, rural students and students living in poverty.
-- Habib Sabet and Ethan Weinstein Idaho Legislature Takes Up Bill to Help School Districts Repair and Replace Buildings-- ProPublica Idaho: February 09, 2024 [ abstract]
Idaho Republican leaders introduced a bill Thursday that would provide $1.5 billion in new funding over 10 years for school districts to repair and replace their aging and overcrowded school buildings — a proposal they said would mark the largest investment in school facilities in state history.
The bill would create the School Modernization Facilities Fund, which districts could use for construction and maintenance needs. It would also provide money through an existing fund to help school districts pay off their bonds and levies, which are used to finance school facilities and district operating costs.
School districts across Idaho have for decades faced challenges to fixing or replacing their aging, deteriorating schools and to building new ones to accommodate growth. Last year, an Idaho Statesman and ProPublica series showed how the state’s restrictive school funding policies and the Legislature’s reluctance to make significant investments in school facilities have challenged teachers and affected student learning. Some students have had to learn in schools with leaky ceilings, discolored water, failing plumbing and freezing classrooms.
During Gov. Brad Little’s State of the State address earlier this year, he announced he wanted to make funding for school facilities “priority No. 1.” He proposed putting $2 billion toward school facilities over 10 years, or $200 million per year.
-- Becca Savransky - Idaho Statesman Richmond Public Schools hopes a new audit system and $16 million will help fix its ‘aging facilities’-- WRIC.com Virginia: February 07, 2024 [ abstract]
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond Public Schools recently rolled out a new facility audit system and a newly proposed budget to help address significant maintenance concerns — but it’s possible the funding simply won’t be there.
From air conditioning to fire alarm issues — Several Richmond families have expressed concerns that their students’ classrooms are unsafe.
Richmond parent Adiel Chavarria, whose children attend Elizabeth Redd Elementary School, said his child became sick due to recent air conditioning problems.
“Kids and teachers stay in the school 100 degrees all day, all seasons,” Chavarria said.
However, Chavarria said Elizabeth Redd Elementary is not the only place he has heard of these concerns, with other schools throughout the city needing repairs.
“We have aging facilities — we’re just severely underfunded year over year,” said Dana Fox, Chief Operating Officer at Richmond Public Schools. “So it’s hard to stay ahead of it.”
-- Rolynn Wilson Several AISD schools had damage from recent arctic blast. Here's how the 2022 bond may help-- Austin American Statesman Texas: February 05, 2024 [ abstract]
After an arctic blast plunged Central Texas into dangerous, subfreezing conditions in January, some parents were frustrated to learn of heating and plumbing issues at 39 Austin schools.
Austin Independent School District officials immediately sent employees to fix the problems once they were discovered, according to the district.
Administrators hope the $2.4 billion bond package that voters approved in 2022 will alleviate many of the issues that surfaced at Austin schools last month due to a combination of the subfreezing weather and aged infrastructure.
The arctic blast enveloped the Austin area Jan. 14-17. Most area students returned to class Jan. 16, a day after the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
Because the roads were largely clear of ice, the Austin district decided students should return, though with a two-hour delay. That decision came as schools across the state reported issues with busted pipes and heating equipment, including more than three dozen campuses in Austin.
The district found weather-related maintenance issues at 39 campuses, said Michael Mann, AISD's executive director of construction management. However, none of the issues was severe, he said.
-- Keri Heath Dept. of Education Provides Update on School Maintenance Efforts on St. Croix-- The Virgin Islands Consortium U.S. Virgin Islands: February 03, 2024 [ abstract] The V.I. Department of Education on Friday made public its ongoing efforts in a series of maintenance repairs and improvement projects across public schools in the St. Croix District.
These initiatives, which follow several student-led protests in September of last year, aim to enhance the learning environments by addressing the many deficiencies of the educational structures.
The projects, managed by the district's Operations, Facilities, and maintenance Divisions, cover a wide range of improvements, according to D.O.E. — from essential maintenance to significant infrastructure upgrades.
-- Staff Writer ‘It's not conducive for learning’: Eastmont building conditions pose challenges for students and staff-- ncwlife.com Washington: February 02, 2024 [ abstract]
EAST WENATCHEE — On Jan. 16, it was 58 degrees in Amelia Lehman’s classroom at Cascade Elementary School.
Lehman, who teaches fourth grade, said her students were bundled up in their winter coats as they sat in class. That week, it was too cold outside for Eastmont students to go outside for recess as a bitter cold froze North Central Washington. For kids at Cascade and Kenroy schools, they'd need to go outside anyway if they were going to the library or cafeteria.
Students and teachers at Lee and Rock Island Elementary Schools are familiar with heating and cooling issues. They’re also familiar with security concerns and maintenance problems.
Cascade, Kenroy, Lee and Rock Island are all named in a $117.1 million school construction bond that Eastmont modeled from the community input they gathered after a similar bond failed in 2022.
This bond aims to modernize Cascade, Kenroy and Lee, and construct a single point of entry and replace the roof and HVAC systems at Rock Island. The bond would also upgrade safety and security at all the other schools around the district.
In an attempt to learn more about the building conditions that would be addressed by the bond, NCWLIFE was granted access to all four schools over a several hour period and was given tours of each school.
Throughout the day, NCWLIFE learned about how the buildings are posing challenges to the students and staff inside.
-- Jordan Gonzalez Smithfield school board tour shows deep need for facility upgrades-- The Valley Breeze Rhode Island: February 01, 2024 [ abstract] SMITHFIELD – Classrooms with outdated furniture, windows and sills, asbestos floors, outdated restrooms and more issues were discussed during a tour of the Smithfield High School and Gallagher Middle School. The tour was meant to show town officials and the budget committee the problems that deferred maintenance causes.
Members of the School Committee, Town Council and department heads from the town and school district met Monday night to tour to identify things that need to get fixed in the next two to three years.
Both schools are plagued with similar issues, such as the need for modern furniture, new windows, and renovations to the intensive special education classrooms. School Committee Chairperson Richard Iannitelli said restrooms in each school are also a top priority.
-- Jacquelyn Moorhead Low maintenance expenses don't spare Hintgen from La Crosse public schools closure list-- La Crosse Tribune Wisconsin: January 30, 2024 [ abstract]
As the School District of La Crosse looks to reduce the number of K-5 elementary school buildings, Hintgen Elementary School is listed as a lower maintenance option.
Hintgen parents see it differently. A Hintgen parent who identified herself as Vanessa during a Nov. 27 virtual meeting of the La Crosse School Board said Hintgen is a school with motivated teachers and staff who work to create a positive learning atmosphere. She said the school has achieved a student attendance rate over 94%.
“Hintgen has been a model school in the district,” she said.
If the board follows the recommendation of its Facilities Advisory Committee, Hintgen and North Woods International elementary schools will close at the end of the 2023-24 school year. The committee paired north- and south-side schools and recommended closing those two buildings instead of Emerson and Spence.
Committee members determined that Emerson and Spence were more geographically centered and offered lower transportation costs. Several options in the district’s new Long-Range Facility Plan 2050 also target Hintgen for closure either next year or sometime before 2028.
-- Steve Rundio Pressure to Close Schools Is Ramping Up. What Districts Need to Know-- Education Week National: January 24, 2024 [ abstract]
Just before the pandemic began, administrators for the Oneida school district in upstate New York started pondering a plan to consolidate two elementary schools where enrollment had been steadily declining for years.
The onset of COVID-19, and the burst of federal relief aid that followed it, put those plans on hold. In recent months, though, the 1,700-student district has revisited the possibility that it could better serve students and spend resources more prudently with five schools instead of six.
On paper, the decision might seem simple. Having one less building reduces the cost of facilities maintenance, as well as compensation for principals and their deputies, nurses, counselors, and other building aides. That, in turn, frees up funds that could be redirected to staffing and support for students at the remaining schools.
But closing a school is almost always a logistically and emotionally arduous process.
The Oneida district’s students live across 42 square miles, which means closing a school could lengthen bus rides for many. Staff at the shuttered school might not be keen on shifting to another school, meaning the district could find itself needing to fill positions it otherwise wouldn’t. And the school building slated for closure, North Broad Street Elementary, has been a fixture in the community since it opened in 1911, meaning the 10,000-person city would be losing a part of its identity.
-- Mark Lieberman Facing a $42 million budget gap, Wichita will close some schools at the end of this school year-- Kansas Public Radio Kansas: January 23, 2024 [ abstract] WICHITA, Kansas — About a half-dozen Wichita public schools will close for good at the end of the school year, as the district deals with declining enrollment and a massive budget shortfall.
Wichita Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld said four to seven schools will likely close. Officials plan to present a list to the school board at its next meeting Feb. 12, and board members plan to vote on closings before spring break in March.
Wichita faces a $42 million budget gap, and leaders say closing buildings is the only way to prevent job cuts.
Susan Willis, chief financial officer for Wichita schools, says resources are spread too thinly over the district’s 90-plus schools. Wichita’s enrollment is trending downward. Meanwhile, the district faces about $1.2 billion in needed building repairs and maintenance, and staff shortages continue.
“It’s hard to even say the words, right?” Willis said. “Because it’s emotional to say the answer that solves those three problems is: Reduce the number of school buildings.”
Wichita is the state’s largest district, but enrollment has been declining since 2016.
-- Suzanne Perez Maintenance woes: Recent closures raise questions of future for aging VISD facilities-- Victoria Advocate Texas: January 20, 2024 [ abstract] The moment something big breaks, (we’re) not going to have the money to pay for it.”
This is the worry of Deputy Superintendent Randy Meyer and others at the Victoria Independent School District.
This week, the district’s maintenance headaches came from a busted boiler at Vickers Elementary School and a frozen section of pipe at Mission Valley. Though relatively small when compared to other potential costly catastrophes like half-a-million-dollar air conditioner chillers or a school bus, it still resulted in students missing a day of school.
With aging campuses, this week’s woes once again prompted Meyer and others to wonder when they will be able to stop patching equipment in use well-past their intended lifespans and employ a solution to replace things on a healthy schedule.
-- Patrick Sloan-Turner Hamilton County Commission to consider more than $3M in school maintenance needs-- Chattanooga Times Free Press Tennessee: January 19, 2024 [ abstract] With officials hoping to make some progress on addressing a backlog of maintenance needs, Hamilton County commissioners are considering more than $3 million worth of school projects that include paving, security upgrades and more.
The request, which totals almost $3.7 million, would also cover boilers and chillers at several schools in addition to roof repairs. The panel will decide whether to fund those projects at its next meeting at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday on the fourth floor of the Hamilton County Courthouse, 625 Georgia Ave. Commissioners discussed the item during a meeting Jan. 10, with plans to vote on it the following Wednesday, but the panel's meeting was delayed a week because of inclement weather.
The funding would come out of a $6 million pot commissioners withheld from the school budget last summer to lower ongoing funding obligations to the district.
-- David Floyd Pine City School facilities in decline, reasons for referendum-- Pine County Minnesota: January 11, 2024 [ abstract] Over the past year, the Pine City School District has been diligently addressing critical challenges facing facilities and programs. It’s been almost two decades since the school has undertaken any significant building projects including maintenance. Now, after nine months of thorough examination, it’s evident that the school needs your support.
Areas of decline and need
The 1962 addition to the elementary school is sinking, causing substantial damage to the walls, floors, and plumbing. This affects 10 classrooms, the kitchen, the cafeteria, and restrooms. And there are large areas of roofing, wall panels, and code issues needing to be addressed in all buildings.
The district has an annual budget of nearly $300,000 for general repairs, but when a roofing project is nearly $1,000,000 there is a considerable funding gap. In fact, the growing number of projects and those anticipated over the next 5 years are estimated to cost over $12.5 million for necessary building repairs. To keep pace with building needs and cover the costs of substantial projects like roofing and wall repairs, the school needs your help.
-- Troy Miller School board approves Facilities Master Plan-- thecabin.net Arkansas: January 11, 2024 [ abstract] The Conway Board of Education approved the 2024 Facilities Master Plan during its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday.
The facilities division of the Arkansas Department of Education Division of Elementary and Secondary Education requires all school districts across Arkansas to submit a master plan every other year.
The plan includes a list of the district’s buildings, the dates they were built, the square-footage of each and enrollment projections. The plan also includes a maintenance, renovation and repair schedule as well as a list of any possible future project where state funding could be requested.
-- Jordan Woodson Delaware Releases School Facility Tools-- Delaware Department of Education Delaware: January 10, 2024 [ abstract] The state today released tools to help assure the safety of public school buildings throughout Delaware.
Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill SB-270 (SS1 for SB270) directed the Delaware Department of Education (DOE) to establish an evaluation and assessment system to determine whether a school facility is in good repair. The facility assessment tool will help school districts review and assess conditions in a standardized way. The assessments will help identify areas in need of attention, so school facilities are clean, safe, and functional for staff and students. As required by SS1 for SB270, DOE worked with experts in school facilities maintenance, the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), district superintendents, the Delaware State Education Association, and the Delaware Association of School Administrators. Stakeholder conversations have confirmed that the tool will help schools assess areas of concern and develop the plan to address concerns required by SS1 for SB270.
The facility assessment tool will be provided to districts to begin assessments, which they are required to provide in May each year, along with a board-approved repair and maintenance plan to the state. The assessment tool allows for basic school information, including address and building size, to be confirmed or updated so DOE information is complete and accurate. The assessment tool provides a guide of areas and conditions to be assessed to help determine if specific areas of a facility are in good repair. Additional parts of the assessment help districts evaluate building system age and useful life and provide insight into modernization efforts at each school.
-- Alison May 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 PSS secures $4.99M through school infrastructure program-- Saipan Tribune Northern Mariana Islands: January 08, 2024 [ abstract] The Public School System has secured a $4.99-million grant it will get over five years through the Supporting America’s School Infrastructure program, according to Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP) over the weekend.
Sablan disclosed in his e-kilili newsletter that this funding, as the U.S. Department of Education announced on Thursday, is rooted in the concept of Minetgot, the Chamorro term for resilience, and focuses on three objectives: the creation of a comprehensive 10-year school facilities master plan, transitioning to a cloud-based maintenance system, and implementing a maintenance training program for district staff.
Sablan said the facilities master plan will address reducing emergency repair costs, ensuring modern safety standards, and increasing sustainability.
-- FERDIE DE LA TORRE Federal grant will provide nearly $5 million to AZ for school facility improvements-- kjzz.org Arizona: January 05, 2024 [ abstract] The Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) is getting nearly $5 million from the U.S. Department of Education.
The funds come from one of eight grants being disbursed under the federal government’s Supporting America’s School Infrastructure (SASI) program.
The goal is to help districts in various states to improve their school facilities.
ADOA received endorsements from the Legislature, Governor’s Office, school districts and statewide education organizations to get the grant.
A department spokesperson said the money will help modernize Arizona’s Building Inventory Database so the state can more quickly address preventative-maintenance issues and new-school construction.
-- Bridget Dowd 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.
A grand vision, with few specifics, for the overhaul of Boston Public Schools buildings-- wbur Massachusetts: January 03, 2024 [ abstract]
Boston Public Schools officials shared their long-awaited “master plan” for school facilities Wednesday, after narrowly meeting a deadline set by state education officials.
The plan is presented as an opportunity to address long-standing problems with Boston school facilities, including under-enrolled schools, deferred maintenance and, generally, inadequate spaces for working and learning for students and staff.
And it imagines a future of larger, newer, greener — and fewer — standalone schools as it seeks to address present-day problems. The 80-page plan suggests that, at the very least, a little more than a dozen district schools eventually should merge or close.
Of the 119 school buildings citywide, the report finds that dozens are “underutilized,” or well-below capacity, after years of sliding enrollment. According to district data, just 18% of them are equipped to provide what it calls a “high-quality student experience.”
For example, the district has long argued that its many small, single-strand elementary schools — with just one class per grade — can severely hinder enrichment opportunities and administrators’ ability to best serve students with disabilities or those who are learning English.
-- Max Larkin and Carrie Jung The Cost of Unusable Toilets in Schools-- CleanLink International: January 03, 2024 [ abstract] Nearly 540 million children globally go to a school with no usable toilet, affecting them physically and emotionally during crucial education years. New research from Economist Impact reveals that almost half of these children are affected by 'toilet loss' — toilets have been built in their school, but they have been lost and are not usable due to lack of operation and maintenance (O&M). This hidden worldwide problem puts school infrastructure maintenance sharply in focus.
Economist Impact's year-long study supported by Unilever across Ecuador, India, Nigeria and the Philippines found that poor maintenance led to 1.2 million 'lost' school toilets; that's toilets that have been built but are no longer usable. This equates to a combined infrastructure loss of US$1.9 billion and a societal and economic cost amounting to US$10 billion. The four countries, indicative of others worldwide, could be 10 percent closer to the goal of providing all children access to usable school toilets if toilet construction had been supported by maintenance.
-- Staff Writer LPS Maintenance Director completes first-of-its-kind apprenticeship-- Lewistown News-Argus Montana: December 29, 2023 [ abstract] They say there’s a first time for everything. For Lewistown Public Schools’ maintenance Director Jason Fry, the old adage is certainly true.
Fry was a member of the first cohort to complete the Montana Facilities Director Apprenticeship Program through the state Department of Labor. After wrapping up the program on Oct. 31, Fry, along with public schools maintenance directors from, received his certificate of completion for the apprenticeship last month.
“It was a great opportunity,” Fry said. “I feel like this program could be really beneficial for the future of facilities directors in the state of Montana.”
-- Will Briggs GDOE facilities and maintenance staff repair schools during holiday break-- Kuam News Guam: December 25, 2023 [ abstract] The holiday break offers time for the Guam Department of Education to roll up its sleeves and get back to fixing what they can at local schools. A good plan, as students are out of the classroom. Now, meet some of the members that make up the small team working to get 41 public schools up to par.
Aging facilities, mold, and more. Ray Meno with GDOE told KUAM News when asked about the largest challenges for the very small team working on the campuses, “Getting materials and having enough man power to do the work and coordinating everything.”
Meno has worked with the Facilities and maintenance Divsion for 27 years. KUAM linked up with him and his crew at Harry S. Truman in Santa Rita. The crew getting those materials like bathroom sinks, which must be ADA compliant, other requirements include installing exhaust fans in a restroom, along with lighting, and making sure bathroom stalls are at the proper height.
Supervisor John Palomo added, “You’re implementing standards now that we have to abide with and we’re not prepared…so we’re trying to get prepared and we’re trying to get whatever materials we need to start.”
-- Destiny Cruz 'These problems aren't going to fix themselves:' Lorain Schools looks at facility needs over next five years-- The Chronicle Ohio: December 22, 2023 [ abstract] LORAIN — Lorain Schools’ “new” buildings aren’t looking so new, with maintenance needs making themselves known as some buildings hit the 15- to 20-year-old mark.
The district has estimated a nearly $35 million price tag over the next five years to keep its facilities in working order — with everything from parking lots to HVAC systems now in need of routine maintenance, repair or replacement.
But other issues are also making themselves known, like cracks in walls at Washington Elementary School. Those cracks point to potential structural issues in the 20-year-old space, and the storm in August highlighting potential inadequacies in the masonry.
“You realize you don’t do anything to your house for 20 years and see what kind of shape it’s in,” Executive Director of Operations Mary Mayse said.
At a school board meeting last month, Director of Operations Tony Dimacchia gave an overview of the projects he said the district needs to complete to maintain its buildings. Earlier this week, Dimacchia, Superintendent Jeff Graham and Mayse met with The Chronicle-Telegram about those upcoming costs.
-- Carissa Woytach Hirono bill would give $1B to federally impacted school districts-- Spectrum News National: December 20, 2023 [ abstract] WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, introduced legislation Monday that would devote $1 billion over the next four years for Impact Aid Construction Grants to ease the backlog of facility needs at federally impacted school districts.
A companion bill was introduced in the House by Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif.
“Federal Impact Aid provides critical funding for federally impacted schools,” said Hirono, co-chair of the Senate Impact Aid Coalition, in a statement released on Monday. “But too often, that funding is not enough to meet maintenance needs. By providing $1 billion for needed upgrades, this legislation will enable schools to address the significant backlog of school construction, repair and maintenance needs to help our students learn in a suitable learning environment.”
Under the Impact Aid Infrastructure Partnership Act, 25% of funding would be made available via formula funding to all eligible school districts. The U.S. Department of Education would disburse the remaining 75% as competitive grants with priority given to those school districts with acute emergencies in their facilities.
-- MICHAEL TSAI Nampa to close 4 schools amid declining enrollment-- Idahoednews.org Idaho: December 19, 2023 [ abstract]
Nampa school board trustees embraced tearful district patrons after a Monday vote to close four schools.
The proposal was years in the making but drew significant attention in recent weeks as trustees neared a decision spurred by looming maintenance needs and declining enrollment.
The Nampa School District has lost roughly 2,000 students over the last decade and faces hundreds of millions of dollars in needed building repairs. District staff proposed closing schools with the smallest number of students to limit costs, and trustees signed-off Monday.
“We live here, in your community, we’re your friends,” board chairwoman Brook Taylor said during the school board meeting. “It truly is a hard choice, and each of us have worked very hard to get to this place.”
An emotional Taylor hugged patrons who wore West Middle School gear, after trustees voted to close West and three other schools at the end of the school year. West, which opened in 1972, will be repurposed to host Union School and Nampa Academy, two non-traditional schools currently housed in aging buildings.
Centennial, Greenhurst and Snake River elementaries are also closing. The Centennial building will be decommissioned, and possibly torn down, while Greenhurst will host the district’s pre-school and online programs and Snake River will be retrofitted to house Gateways, Nampa’s alternative school for at-risk students.
-- Ryan Suppe Albert Lea school board approves intent to issue bonds for school maintenance projects-- Albert Lea Tribune Minnesota: December 18, 2023 [ abstract] The Albert Lea school board on Monday approved its intent to issue about $4.07 million in general obligation facilities maintenance bonds to complete work next summer on mechanical systems at three schools in the district. That includes the steam boiler system at Southwest Middle School, the hot water boiler system at Lakeview Elementary School and the pool heater and air handler replacement at Albert Lea High School. Aaron Bushberger with Ehlers and Associates Inc., who the district works with for long-term maintenance projects, said the proposed payback on the bonds is 14 years and 11 months and noted the bonds could be callable — or essentially able to be refinanced — in 2033 if interest rates are lower than what they are originally issued at.
-- Sarah Stultz 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 Eastwood to address aging facilities; enters state funding program-- Sentinel-Tribune Ohio: November 29, 2023 [ abstract] PEMBERVILLE – Eastwood Local Schools has started to address the future of its middle school and high school.
At its Nov. 20 meeting, the board of education approved a resolution of intent to participate in the Expedited Local Partnership Program with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.
Superintendent Brent Welker said the district was starting a fact-finding process to fully understand the scope and costs associated with new construction or renovation of the two schools.
“So we will be ready if our number is called,” he said Monday.
He said the district sent a letter of interest to OFCC in 2021, but at that time was far down the list for funding. The district was bumped up in the last couple months due to completion of the elementary school portion of its master facilities plan.
Functionality and maintenance have become issues at both the middle and high schools, Welker said.
The high school was built in 1960 and added onto in 2000.
“We’ve kept it in pretty good shape,” he said. But finding replacement parts for the mechanical systems “is a big deal.”
The middle school was built in 1970.
There has been some interest in getting the middle school and high school under one roof but providing a 21st-century learning environment is a priority, Welker said.
-- Marie Thomas Lorain Schools looks toward growing maintenance needs over next five years-- The Chronicle Ohio: November 29, 2023 [ abstract] LORAIN — As Lorain Schools’ “new” buildings start to age, the district is looking at a $35 million price tag over the next five years to keep the facilities in shape.
During a brief presentation at Monday’s Board of Education meeting, Director of Communications and Marketing Tony Dimacchia gave an overview of the costs and projects Lorain Schools will need to complete to maintain its buildings. Those projects range from resurfacing parking lots to replacing ceiling tiles and gym floors. It also includes security upgrades like kick-plate lockdown devices for classrooms and a mass emergency notification system.
Lorain Schools is also looking at purchasing the former health department building at 1144 W. Erie Ave. for about $200,000. The building would need about $909,000 in renovations and a 2,000-square-foot addition costing about $629,000 to meet the district’s needs. If the purchase moves forward, Lorain Schools would look to relocate its administrative offices to the former health building, while using the office space at the high school to expand career tech programming.
To build a new building to meet the district's needs would cost an estimated $2.5 million, Dimacchia said.
“We certainly don’t want to increase the costs of the district, but it is critical for us to maintain safe and healthy facilities,” Dimacchia said.
-- Carissa Woytach State fire marshal draws attention to schools with lack of basic safety system maintenance-- abc3340 Alabama: November 29, 2023 [ abstract] During a School Safety Advisory Commission meeting on Tuesday, Alabama's State Fire Marshal, Scott Pilgreen, drew attention to a lack of basic safety system maintenance in schools. The advisory commission provides recommendations to the Alabama legislature regarding school security.
Maintainance of safety measures such as door locks and fire systems were issues discussed among the group.
"I'm not trying to indict anybody in these schools, but you talk to the leadership of the school you get a mixed bag. Some of them are extremely apologetic and want to get on it quickly to get it fixed. A lot, 'we don't have the money,' and they want to point to the superintendent's office. When that happens, my people call me," said Pilgreen.
-- Erin Wise Bridgeport schools to use $2M in COVID aid to replace Curiale School's aging HVAC system-- ctpost Connecticut: November 20, 2023 [ abstract] BRIDGEPORT — Bridgeport Public Schools plans to tap nearly $2 million in federal COVID-related aid to replace the aging air conditioning and heating system at James J. Curiale School.
The new HVAC system will be installed over the summer and is expected to serve the K-8 school in the city’s West End for at least for the next two decades, according to Jorge Garcia, a district official who oversees school facilities.
In a recent school board meeting, Garcia said the existing air conditioning system at Curiale has become so outdated that maintenance officials have struggled to locate and purchase new parts to replace damaged ones.
-- Richard Chumney D91 elementary school levy declared illegal and voided by district judge-- East Idaho News Idaho: November 17, 2023 [ abstract]
IDAHO FALLS — An Ada County District Judge issued an order on Wednesday voiding the latest Idaho Falls School District 91 plant facilities levy.
Voters overwhelmingly passed the 10-year $33 million levy in May to build a new elementary school on the south side of Idaho Falls.
According to Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Randy Neal, the court “adopted the determination by the Idaho State Tax Commission that Idaho Falls School District 91 could not have a second plant facilities levy until a similar levy passed in 2022 expires.”
Idaho law says districts can have one levy fund. At that time, the district and its legal counsel interpreted that to mean the district could have two plant levies – one for the new school and one that has been used for the maintenance of schools – if the levies both go into one fund.
However, in August, the Tax Commission challenged that interpretation.
District 91’s Board of Trustees filed a complaint with the courts “seeking a declaration of the interpretation of the statutes in question,” the board said in a news release at the time.
-- Mary Boyle School districts work to meet requirements of Clean Buildings Act-- King 5 Washington: November 17, 2023 [ abstract]
PUYALLUP, Wash. — The Puyallup School District is one of many school districts across the state preparing to meet the requirements of the Washington state's Clean Buildings Act.
The district said the requirements accelerate the need for work already being pursued, but there are some challenges in regards to funding. The district is hopeful voters will support its efforts.
Meanwhile, the Washington State Department of Commerce is offering one-on-one assistance and other resources to try to help building operators meet the requirements passed by legislators.
The Clean Buildings Act passed in 2019 and expanded in 2022. It is meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the state's largest buildings. The original legislation applies to buildings over 50,000 square feet, and requires them to evaluate energy use in the building, keep maintenance and operations plans, and make adjustments to buildings to reduce energy use if they are over target amounts. The expanded legislation applies to buildings between 20,000 and 50,000 square feet, and for now only requires benchmarking and maintenance and operations planning. There are some exemptions, including for manufacturing, agriculture and industrial buildings. In many cases, incentives, and financing help are available.
-- Erica Zucco Reed Delivers $877K for RIDE School Modernization Plans-- Warwick Post Rhode Island: November 16, 2023 [ abstract] WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jack Reed today announced a new $876,792 federal grant for the Rhode Island Department of Education – RIDE school modernization , preventing environmental health risks, improving maintenance, and planning long-term, under the Supporting America’s School Infrastructure Grant Program.
With this funding, RIDE’s School Building Authority would increase necessary supports to assist local education agencies (LEAs) with improving building conditions and educational environments for students and teachers. Additional staff would coordinate energy efficiency and air quality audits, while aiding districts with procurement, technical assistance, and professional development.
Senator Reed helped the U.S. Department of Education recently launch the Supporting America’s School Infrastructure Grant Program to enhance the ability of state departments of education to address school facilities matters.
-- Rob Borkowski “Toilet Loss†in schools costs $1.9bn finds Economist Impact study-- Unilever International: November 16, 2023 [ abstract]
Launched for the upcoming World Toilet Day, the research supported by Unilever, identifies urgent need for school toilet maintenance. The cost of neglecting toilets has now hit $1.9bn in lost infrastructure, with an additional hidden economic cost estimated at over $10bn.
But an extra cent per education dollar would help countries get clean and safe toilets for all school children by 2030.
Nearly 540 million children globally go to a school with no usable toilet, affecting them physically and emotionally during crucial education years. New research from Economist Impact reveals that almost half of these children are affected by ‘toilet loss’ - toilets have been built in their school, but they have been lost and are not usable due to lack of operation and maintenance (O&M). This hidden worldwide problem puts school infrastructure maintenance sharply in focus.
Economist Impact’s year-long study supported by Unilever across Ecuador, India, Nigeria and the Philippines found that poor maintenance led to 1.2 million ‘lost’ school toilets; that’s toilets that have been built but are no longer usable. This equates to a combined infrastructure loss of US$1.9 billion and a societal and economic cost amounting to US$10 billion. The four countries, indicative of others worldwide, could be 10% closer to the goal of providing all children access to usable school toilets if toilet construction had been supported by maintenance.
-- Staff Writer St. Croix District Provides Update on 30-day School Maintenance Projects-- The St. Croix Source U.S. Virgin Islands: November 12, 2023 [ abstract] The Virgin Islands Department of Education (VIDE) released its 30-day project list for public schools within the St. Croix School District in October. This list was comprised of maintenance repairs and ongoing projects that were actively being managed by the operations, facilities and maintenance divisions of the St. Croix District. As part of the Department of Education’s commitment to transparency, it is sharing updates on the status of these outlined projects with the public.
Each school had its own specific set of projects to be accomplished within the 30-day timeframe. The detailed documents, which include the project type and status for each school, can be accessed online at www.vide.vi or via the Virgin Islands Department of Education’s Facebook page.
Considering the nature of these projects, multiple phases are involved before work can commence for some tasks. Some projects necessitated the solicitation of bids, development of scopes of work, securing of contracts, execution of purchase orders and requests made to the United States Department of Education for the reappropriation of federal funds.
The process from start to finish for certain projects is still ongoing.
-- VI Dept. of Education Texas schools asked voters for $18 billion in new debt to fix its campuses. They largely said yes-- The Texas Tribune Texas: November 09, 2023 [ abstract]
ODESSA — Delma Abalos was stunned.
In the years she has served as a vice president of the school board in Ector County, there was never enough cash to pay for every pressing maintenance repair that came up. She would fret over every loose wire, broken air conditioning unit, or portable classroom, never mind building new facilities.
The lifelong Odessan had attempted over the last decade to bring together her community to create a blueprint she and the school board would translate into a bond proposal, one of few ways schools can obtain cash for large-scale infrastructure projects by asking voters to approve new debt.
Voters said no. Until Tuesday night.
Ector County voters surprised Abalos this week when they approved the school board’s plea for over $400 million to finance extensive upkeep in the local schools, which public school officials and civic leaders have said was long overdue.
“It’s unbelievable,” Abalos said at the school district’s watch party. “But now the real work starts.”
Similar scenes took place across Texas as school leaders crowded around laptops examining results of bond elections trickle in. Seventy-five Texas school districts put bond measures on the ballot, asking voters to allow districts to borrow nearly $18 billion, according to the Texas Bond Review Board.
According to an early analysis of results by The Texas Tribune, at least 50% of those proposals passed and some 30% failed. Failed bond proposals included the construction of new athletic facilities, such as swimming pools and football stadiums, and some new school buildings.
-- CARLOS NOGUERAS RAMOS AND POOJA SALHOTRA The Missing Data For Systemic Improvements To U.S. Public School Facilities-- Federation of American Scientists National: November 07, 2023 [ abstract] Peter Drucker famously said, “You can’t improve what you don’t measure.” Data on facilities helps public schools to make equitable decisions, prevent environmental health risks, ensure regular maintenance, and conduct long-term planning. Publicly available data increases transparency and accountability, resulting in more informed decision making and quality analysis. Across the U.S., public schools lack the resources to track their facilities and operations, resulting in missed opportunities to ensure equitable access to high quality learning environments. As public schools face increasing challenges to infrastructure, such as climate change, this data gap becomes more pronounced.
Why Do We Need Data On School Facilities?
School facilities affect student health and learning. The conditions of a school building directly impact the health and learning outcomes of students. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the importance of indoor air quality into the public consciousness. Many other chronic diseases are exacerbated by inadequate facilities, causing absenteeism and learning loss. From asthma to obesity to lead poisoning, the condition of the places where children spend their time impacts their health, wellbeing, and ability to learn. Better data on the physical environment helps us understand the conditions that hinder student learning.
-- NAOMI STERN Soddy-Daisy community considers how to retain students in response to school facilities plan-- Chattanooga Times Free Press Tennessee: October 25, 2023 [ abstract]
As the Soddy-Daisy community gathered to give feedback on the school facilities plan released in August, many of the comments centered around one idea: keeping Soddy-Daisy students in the community.
Among other recommendations, the plan proposes expanding Daisy Elementary and closing Soddy Daisy Middle to create a K-12 experience on the current shared campus of Daisy Elementary and Soddy Daisy High.
The two-phase, seven-year plan calls for campus closures and renovations in the interest of lowering maintenance costs by having fewer buildings.
"This is a 50-year decision. We cannot afford to get it wrong," said School Board Member Rhonda Thurman, R-Hixson, whose district includes the three schools.
The community meeting was Tuesday.
Many students leave Soddy-Daisy when they reach middle school because of the condition of the school, Thurman said. The school has had a lot of improvements over the past few years but more are needed, she said.
"We have $200 million, and they're trying to get it to stretch as far as it can be stretched, and I can understand that, but I do not want them to do it at the expense of Soddy Daisy Middle School and Daisy Elementary," Thurman told attendees. "I just want you to know I'm fighting for you. I'm going to try to do the right thing and get the kids to stay in the community when they get to the middle school."
-- Shannon Coan Ensuring safe and adequate schools for children is an investment in Nevada's future-- The Nevada Independent Nevada: October 23, 2023 [ abstract] Nevada is at a crossroads, and the topic of aging school infrastructure couldn't be more pertinent. We find ourselves discussing this issue daily from our workplaces and at education advocacy events. We discussed it during the 2023 legislative session.
Across our state, schools are either in dire need of immediate replacement or are on the brink of requiring such action. The urgency is palpable, especially in our urban districts such as Clark and Washoe counties, where some of our newer schools, which are less than 20 years old, are bursting at the seams.
We often talk about chronic absenteeism and teacher retention as crucial factors affecting our education system. However, it's rare to hear these issues tied directly to the conditions we force our children to learn in and our educators to teach in. Yet having a safe and healthy environment is not just important; it's fundamental to the success of our entire school system.
To understand the gravity of this problem, it's essential to recognize the limitations of the Nevada State Education Fund, also known as the Pupil Centered Funding Plan. This fund, unfortunately, does not cover capital projects. Instead, local school districts are required to raise money through capital bonds to finance major building maintenance and new facilities.
The sad reality is that some of our school districts and counties lack the population or tax base to afford such endeavors, as highlighted in a recent article by The Nevada Independent highlighting the challenges in White Pine County.
-- Felicia Ortiz - Opinion Teachers & Parents Report Facility and Special Ed Problems at BOE Meeting-- Tap Into Soma New Jersey: October 21, 2023 [ abstract] SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – Many teachers and parents spoke about the multitude of issues facing the district during this week’s South Orange-Maplewood (SOMA) Board of Education (BOE).
President of the South Orange Maplewood Education Association (SOMEA) Rocio Lopez told Taylor that she wasn’t being apprised of policies and SOMEA must be kept informed.
SOMEA Vice President Shira Lincoln recounted her experience with asbestos in her classroom. She shared that she is a cancer survivor and being around asbestos is especially harmful for her. She told the BOE that the buildings have to be maintained. “The expense of good and efficient building maintenance is nominal in comparison to the health and welfare of the children and adults who spend a good portion of their lives in these buildings.”
Margaret Pickron said she supports Intentional Integration but opposes D leveling. She listed some of the other district challenges and implored the BOT to focus on those. “Our district is facing a tidal wave of change at this moment from the integration plan to rectifying decades of harm from the Teachers College ELA curriculum, which undoubtedly has contributed to our districts shameful achievement gaps. In addition, we are facing a capital crisis with buildings that are quite literally falling apart and need an additional $200 million to repair beyond the Long Range Facility Plan.” She urged the BOE to handle those things before considering the D leveling policy.
-- Elise Margulis 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 School district provides one-year update on storm damage-- Sanibel Captiva Florida: October 16, 2023 [ abstract]
Hurricane Ian damage continues to be repaired by the School District of Lee County.
The school board received an in-depth review of where the district stands in regards to damages and recovery, as well as the financial impact and recovery during a meeting on Oct. 2.
DAMAGES AND RECOVERY
maintenance Services Assistant Director Toni Dent-McNair said the Operations Department received 2,317 total service requests. Of those 1,713 have been closed leaving 604 still in progress.
“Advancements are made daily. As of last Friday (Sept. 29) an additional 11 were completed reducing to 593. This means we have now completed over 74%,” she said.
Damage was sustained throughout all district sites with the most common being restoration of campus roofs, drywall, floors, ceiling tiles, canopies, sunshades, athletic fields and fencing.
“Prioritization of securing building envelopes and restoring interior learning environments and guaranteeing student safety has been paramount and has been assigned to completion,” Dent-McNair said.
There should be full completion by the end of 2023 with the exception of Hector A. Cafferata and some roof repairs, she said, adding the district has been proactively implementing additional processes to piggyback contracts to help mitigate foreseeable issues to keep them on track of completing projects.
The presentation broke down the closed project percentages, in progress and open projects within seven categories — athletics and fields, electrical, exterior, HVAC, interior, portables and roof.
-- MEGHAN BRADBURY Vail schools to pay hiring bonuses to maintenance, grounds workers-- tucson.com Arizona: October 15, 2023 [ abstract] Faced with a worker shortage, Vail Unified School District will pay signing, attendance and retention bonuses to groundskeepers and maintenance technicians.
The district board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the incentive program after being told 63% of Vail’s groundskeeper positions are unfilled and 27% of its maintenance technician slots are vacant, while there are “1,230 open work orders that need to be completed at school sites across the district.”
“Due to the number of outstanding work orders, there are times when maintenance staff members are working on repairs in specific areas such as electrical, plumbing, etc., without the needed background,” the board was told.
The shortages persist even though Vail recently raised hourly starting pay for the workers, administrators told the board.
New hires in those categories will receive $200 when they complete training, $200 after 90 days of work and completing 50 work orders, and $200 after 180 days of employment and completing 100 work orders.
-- Arizona Daily Star Orleans Parish school officials want to see school maintenance tax approved-- WGNO Louisiana: October 11, 2023 [ abstract] Orleans Parish voters are being asked to renew a millage dedicated to the maintenance and repairs for school facilities.
In advance of the vote, NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Avis Williams and Orleans Parish School Board President Olin Parker stopped by WGNO’s Good Morning New Orleans show to discuss the millage.
“In 2014, New Orleans voters overwhelmingly approved a millage to keep our school facilities in good condition. After the storm, the federal government invested $2 billion in our schools. The voters of New Orleans stepped up and said, ‘Yes, we want to continue taking care of these schools this Saturday.’ We’re just asking voters to do the same thing, renew a tax that they’ve already been paying. It’s not a new tax and it’s something that benefits every single student and every single teacher in our parish,” said Parker.
This time, voters would be asked to renew the tax for a 20-year term.
“It’s important for long-range planning. When we think about capital planning, we know that even with our newest facilities, they’re going to need new HVAC systems and new roofs, and heaven forbid we have any natural disasters. We have to be ready to make those repairs and renovations as necessary. We just want to make sure that we have an opportunity for long-range planning and commitment for our new strategic plan of action is operational excellence. This is part of it. Our scholars deserve to learn in safe and healthy buildings that allow them to do innovative things to prepare them for their future,” said Williams.
-- Staff Writer What Cincinnati's $400M+ deferred maintenance problem looks like-- WVXU.org Ohio: October 09, 2023 [ abstract]
Cincinnati is at least $400 million behind on maintaining city infrastructure like roads, parks and recreation centers. Several City Council members took a tour Monday of some facilities most in need of attention.
Council Member Jeff Cramerding arranged the tour to see the oft-cited deferred maintenance problem firsthand. He says the idea for a tour predates the proposed sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway. Officials are proposing a sale of the city-owned railway to Norfolk Southern for $1.62 billion, with the city investing the money and only spending the earned interest, which would only go toward maintaining and improving existing infrastructure.
The city's entire capital budget averages about $60 million a year. About $25 million a year comes from leasing the railway.
Some critics, however, say it's foolish to sell an asset that has brought the city steady revenue for over a century.
"The need is so immense," Cramerding said. "The railroad would be a tremendous help, but it's not going to be enough. So as a city, we're going to have to continue to be creative and continue to address it."
Last year, City Council allocated a few million dollars from the carryover budget to deferred maintenance projects. This year's carryover budget is expected to be on the City Council agenda next week. Here are some places the tour visited.
-- Becca Costello School Maintenance Rx: ​“We Need More Staffâ€-- New Haven Independent Connecticut: October 06, 2023 [ abstract] The school district currently has 12 repair workers to cover 56 buildings — posing perhaps the largest roadblock to keeping schools open amid heat waves.
The Board of Alders Education Committee discussed the dearth of maintenance workers in New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) at the committee’s Sept. 27 meeting.
The meeting occurred a few weeks after numerous school air conditioning systems failed to function during record-hot temperatures, leading the school district to send all kids home for the day.
According to NHPS spokesperson Justin Harmon, the district employs three electricians, three carpenters, two plumbers, two steam fitters, and one painter, with two unfunded and vacant positions among the district’s planned maintenance and repair staff.
In addition to employees specifically trained to make repairs, each school building has a building manager and an assistant building manager in charge of generally supporting school facilities, and the district also employs 186 contracted part-time custodial cleaners along with more than a dozen other custodial staff members.
Those employees cover 41 school buildings as well as other properties owned by the district — amounting to a total of 4,390,940 square feet, Harmon wrote in an email after the meeting.
At the September alder committee meeting, Supt. Madeline Negrón said that when she first started her position at the helm of NHPS this summer, she was shocked that the district did not have more staff to make building repairs
“I almost died when [NHPS Chief Operating Officer Thomas Lamb said] you only had one painter and one plumber. I said, ​‘What? For 41 schools?’” she recalled.
-- LAURA GLESBY Kansas City Public Schools will maintain tax levy to deal with $400 million in maintenance needs-- NPR Missouri: September 28, 2023 [ abstract] Kansas City Public School’s Board of Directors voted unanimously Wednesday night to maintain the district’s current tax levy.
That’s despite skyrocketing property assessments across Jackson County, and a Missouri law that requires other districts to lower their levies if property values rise faster than inflation.
Since 2021, assessed property values rose by an average of 40% in Jackson County. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index increased about 13% over the last two years.
Kansas City Public Schools expects to see a $32.9 million increase in revenue because of the bump in property values. And the district is exempt from what’s known as the Hancock Amendment because its levy was set by a federal judge in 1995, as part of desegregation litigation.
“We're recommending the maximum amount, because we haven't changed this tax rate for 25 years,” said KCPS Chief Financial Officer Erin Thompson.
Part of the reason for making that ask, she said, is because the district’s buildings have more than $400 million in deferred maintenance.
“Of course we're going to ask for all we could get for our children in the classroom to have safe schools,” she said.
-- Jodi Fortino New Report Reveals Decline In Harford County Schools Maintenance Standards-- Havre de Grace Patch Maryland: September 27, 2023 [ abstract] HARFORD COUNTY - A recent report from the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) points to a significant drop in maintenance standards for Harford County schools. According to the IAC's 2023 report, Harford County's score dropped by 8.99% compared to the previous year.
Harford County's maintenance-Effectiveness Assessment (MEA) performance earned it a "Not Adequate" rating for fiscal year 2023. The county's score of 67.42% positioned it as the fifth lowest among Maryland counties, only outdone by Carroll, Prince George's, St. Mary's, and Somerset counties.
Harford County is responsible for 52 active school facilities, with an average age of 31.9 years. With over 6 million square feet of educational space under its purview, the county ranks 8th in terms of square footage among Maryland's Local Education Agencies (LEAs).
-- Van Fisher Anne Arundel Schools Receive Top Scores For Exemplary Maintenance Standards-- Annapolis Patch Maryland: September 26, 2023 [ abstract] ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY - Anne Arundel County Schools were recognized for their exemplary maintenance standards in the Interagency Commission on School Construction's (IAC) 2023 Fiscal Year report.
The commission awarded Anne Arundel County an "Adequate" rating across all 21 active facilities, amounting to an average overall score of 75.51%—the highest among Maryland school districts.
Per the report, the county boasts 121 active school facilities with an average age of 30.1 years. Combined, these facilities span an impressive 13,902,130 square feet, averaging 170 square feet per student.
The report praised Anne Arundel County for its proactive maintenance measures, emphasizing its annual inspections of roofing components to enhance structure longevity. The county also performed well in terms of safety, with all assessed schools having functional exterior doors and consistently checked emergency exits. Additionally, four schools achieved a "Superior" rating in conveyance for their impeccable chairlifts and elevators.
-- Van Fisher Poway Unified’s solar panel projects expected to save millions in electricity costs-- San diego Union Tribune California: September 20, 2023 [ abstract] Thirteen Poway Unified campuses are getting solar panel structures, which are projected to save the district around $33.7 million over the next 20 years in electricity payments, according to officials.
The installations began over the summer, with some projects completed and others scheduled through early next year. The solar panels will be turned on in May or June 2024, said Ruben Arras, the district’s director of facilities, maintenance and operations.
The project is possible through a power purchase agreement among ForeFront Power, a company that owns and installs the panels; San Diego Gas & Electric and Poway Unified. The district will be leasing the panels from ForeFront, which will sell the electricity generated to SDG&E. In exchange, the district will have a guaranteed flat kilowatt charge for the next two decades, Arras said, which will protect it from increasing electricity costs.
-- ELIZABETH MARIE HIMCHAK Jersey Shore Area School District officials determined to cut repairs cost-- Williamsport Sun-Gazette Pennsylvania: September 13, 2023 [ abstract] JERSEY SHORE — Over $6 million — possibly up to $9 million — was the estimated cost for needed repairs and maintenance on some district buildings, the Jersey Shore Area School board heard last month. This month, they want that amount scaled back considerably to fit into available capital projects funds, which are about $1 million.
Board member Wayne Kinley asked Superintendent Dr. Brian Ulmer to meet with Mark Wall, director of maintenance, buildings and grounds, to decide the most critical needs.
“We will take the list we have prioritized and whittle it down to that $1 million amount and come back with our recommendation for the whole board to look at and make decisions of where we go from there,” said Ulmer.
The pushback at last month’s meeting on the possibility of the board floating a bond to finance the estimated cost of all the maintenance and repairs came from board members and the public.
A few members of the public referred to the cost of keeping the buildings open in addressing the board.
-- Pat Crossley Board of Education approves changes to facility use agreement-- Richmond County Daily Journal North Carolina: September 12, 2023 [ abstract] HAMLET — The Richmond County Schools Board of Education approved a new use agreement for organizations seeking to use school facilities and fields.
Use of the high school gym or athletic fields will be a flat fee of $200, different from a previously posed fee of a $100 hourly rate at the August Board meeting. There is also a $100 maintenance fee for all outdoor facilities.
There is a $100 flat rate for middle school facilities, down from a previously proposed $75 hourly rate.
Superintendent Dr. Joe Ferrell outlined why they decided to revisit and change the existing policy after consulting with their finance department.
“What we realized was that $60 was not covering what we actually had to pay to these custodians and SROS and others,” Ferrell said. “We were having to cover a lot of the costs.”
At their August meeting, overwhelming feedback from the board members regarding the initial policy indicated that a flat fee was more appropriate than an hourly fee. Ferrell said their initial policy may have priced out some organizations and “none of the board members” wanted to do that.
-- Matthew Sasser Take a look inside Canyons School District’s $62M new school-- The Salt Lake Tribune Utah: September 11, 2023 [ abstract]
As hundreds of adults and children toured the airy new Union Middle School in Sandy last week, a young student’s voice rose above the chatter.
“This school is too big,” she said. “I miss the old one.”
The original Union Middle School was 55 years old and deteriorating, one of many aging buildings located in the Canyons School District when it was created in 2009. Split off from the Jordan District, Canyons estimated that it had inherited $650 million in deferred maintenance on its buildings.
In Midvale, then-Mayor JoAnn Seghini had initially been reluctant, but she became a convert to the idea of Canyons, the state’s first new school district in nearly a century. And since 2010, Midvale Elementary and Midvale Middle have been rebuilt, along with other schools, including Midvalley Elementary, Peruvian Park and Hillcrest High.
A facilities assessment had shown the district’s maintenance needs were so great it was cheaper to rebuild many schools than to make repairs.
As the latest rebuild, the new Union Middle boasts 230,000 square feet, making it 35,000 square feet — just shy of an acre — larger than its predecessor. The adjacent former school was demolished this summer.
-- Carmen Nesbitt Some D.C. Classrooms Don’t Have Air Conditioning During Record Heat-- DCist District of Columbia: September 07, 2023 [ abstract] As the D.C. region continues to sweat through a record-breaking late-summer heat wave, some D.C. public school students don’t have air conditioning in their classrooms. It’s a problem the city has been grappling with for decades, but this year, the start of the school term coincided with D.C.’s hottest 4-day stretch on record for September.
“We’ve just been failed on numerous occasions because of what we call bandaid-fix solutions,” says Angela Anderson, president of the parent teacher organization at Whittier Elementary in Ward 4, and parent of 3rd grader at the school. “Every year since I’ve been there, there has been some type of unhealthy HVAC issue.”
Whittier started out the school year last week with four classrooms without fully functioning cooling systems, Anderson says. On Tuesday this week, the PTO raised the alarm about a preschool classroom that “felt like 100 degrees,” according to Anderson. Later that afternoon, the Department of General Services, which is in charge of school maintenance in the District, installed a temporary window unit in the pre-k classroom.
“It helped a little. It kind of felt like hot breath and warm hugs when the teacher and the students came in. But it was better than nothing,” Anderson says.
-- Jacob Fenston IPS seeks to make $95 million in improvements to high schools, other facilities-- FOX59 Indiana: August 29, 2023 [ abstract]
INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Public Schools is asking the Board of School Commissioners to consider $95 million in improvements to the district’s high schools and other facilities.
During Tuesday’s agenda review session meeting of the IPS Board, the commissioners are expected to host a public hearing and discuss the 2023 deferred maintenance improvement projects. According to a draft of the project resolution, which accompanied the agenda for Tuesday evening’s meeting, this includes athletics improvements, high school repairs and improvements, and fire safety upgrades.
IPS is proposing to issue bonds to pay for this project, with a payoff schedule of 19 years. The district said the estimated maximum tax rate impact would be $0.0873 per $100 of assessed value. The district stressed it would not increase the current 2023 non-exempt debt tax rate if it is approved.
This comes after voters approved a $410 million capital referendum in May. According to the district’s website, this referendum gave the district the chance to move forward with building improvements to more than 20 elementary and middle schools in the district.
Parents we talked to said these projects are necessary.
“I feel like this is better for her environment,” said parent Carlos Ortiz. “Especially with this heat and temperatures, if we take care of getting air conditioning units, it should help.”
-- David Gay New York’s School Construction Authority is preparing for a school building boom-- Archinect News New York: August 25, 2023 [ abstract] The body in charge of K-12 planning and construction in New York City was recently profiled by the AIA New York as it prepares for a surge in student enrollment that’s expected over the next decade.
The New York School Construction Authority (or SCA) is a specialty city agency that employs 1,100 people and is tasked with the delivery and maintenance of school buildings in the New York City Public Schools arsenal, a charge which makes it directly responsible for the well-being, safety, and learning environments of more than 1.1 million students.
With a staff that currently includes 170 architects, Stephen Zacks for the AIANY writes the SCA has a unique talent when it comes to the delivery of high-quality structures within challenging construction schedules and have become national examples of the implementation of efficient project management at a time when the cost of labor and construction materials are hampering projects of all different building types across the country.
-- Josh Niland Portland Public Schools is skimping on maintenance-- Northwest Labor Press Oregon: August 24, 2023 [ abstract] A coalition of trade unions representing maintenance workers at Portland Public Schools (PPS) says the district is failing to adequately maintain its buildings and grounds and should invest more in staffing and preventative maintenance. And a recent study by a maintenance and facilities consulting company supports those claims.
More than half of PPS’s buildings are in poor or critical condition, according to a report published Oct. 2022 by Sazan Environmental Services. The report found that district maintenance crews are significantly understaffed, and that the district is not investing enough money to keep up with preventative maintenance. While that saves money in the short term, it will cost the taxpayer-funded school district more money down the line.
PPS paid Sazan $250,000 to review its buildings and maintenance work during the 2021-2022 school year. Sazan recommended multiple ways to improve the maintenance plan, but so far the maintenance and facilities department has not followed any of those recommendations, said union representatives with the District Council of Unions (DCU). DCU includes 13 building trades unions representing the workers who do skilled maintenance and groundskeeping at PPS. The unions affiliated with DCU are United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 290, Bricklayers Local 1, Carpenters Local 503, Cement Masons Local 555, IBEW Local 48, Glaziers Local 740, Laborers Local 737, Floor Coverers Local 1236, Machinists District Lodge W24, Painters Local 10, Plasterers Local 82, Sheet Metal Workers Local 16, and Teamsters Local 206.
“We had a labor leader budget overview meeting with the school district in January of this year. I brought up the SAZAN report and Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero was unaware,” said DCU President and UA Local 290 Business Agent Nichet Newsome. “I brought it to a few school board members at a school board forum the PPS coalition put together. They were also unaware. So we’ve made it a point to educate everyone we can.”
-- MALLORY GRUBEN Local Officials Discuss Master Planning, Infrastructure, and School Maintenance in Meeting-- The Southern Maryland Chronicle Maryland: August 22, 2023 [ abstract] In a recent public meeting, various speakers discussed the development and master planning in their community, the differentiation between capital improvements and maintenance, collaboration between entities, and strategies to maximize funding opportunities. This article aims to detail the key conversations from this meeting.
One speaker raised concerns about the lack of master planning within development districts, villages, and town centers. They stated: “We have done a very poor job about master planning.” The speaker suggested a more delineated approach, addressing roadways, water, and sewer. They acknowledged their limited success with small area master plans, expressing uncertainty about future developments.
Another speaker emphasized the relationships they have built and how they tackle planning by absorbing information and making the best plans possible. They mentioned working closely with George Erickson at MetCom and looking forward to a new relationship with Ms. Andre.
-- David M. Higgins II 14 Hillsborough schools slated for major HVAC repairs after dealing with AC issues-- WFTS Tampa Bay Florida: August 17, 2023 [ abstract]
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Imagine heating and cooling over 14,000 homes every day. That is what Hillsborough County Public Schools does on a daily basis.
They have 29 million square feet of air-conditioned space in their schools, and it's a tough job to keep it cool.
This summer, 14 major construction projects took place to update AC systems throughout Hillsborough County Public Schools. Close to 100 schools’ HVAC systems have been repaired in the past five years.
“Teachers have a very hard job, and it’s a lot harder when it’s warm. For both them and for the kids,” said HCPS Deputy Superintendent of Operations Chris Farkas.
The projects were made possible by the more than $400 million received in referendum funds. In 2018, Hillsborough County voters approved a half-cent sales tax.
However, that is only the tip of the iceberg. Farkas said that's only half the billion dollars worth of maintenance needed.
-- Rebecca Petit Air conditioning outages reported at 25 Fort Worth schools amid scorching heat-- The Dallas Morning News Texas: August 15, 2023 [ abstract]
Air conditioning outages continued to plague Fort Worth public schools Tuesday, as maintenance crews scrambled to repair the aging systems straining under a relentless heat wave.
Nearly 100 classrooms at 25 campuses reported problems Monday, the first day of the school year. In a statement, Fort Worth ISD said affected students and staff were moved to areas within school buildings with working air conditioning units.
“We want to assure you that we are treating this matter with the utmost urgency,” the statement said. “We want to emphasize that the well-being of our students and staff is our primary concern.”
North Texas has recorded 36 days of at least 100 degrees, more than a typical summer, which sees roughly 20 days with 100-degree temperatures.
-- Sarah Bahari Escambia County schools undergo $22 million summer renovations, more upgrades planned-- Wear News 3 Florida: August 09, 2023 [ abstract]
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. -- The Escambia County School District has been making renovations to a number of its schools since the end of last school year.
With classes set to start back Thursday, maintenance crews were putting some eleventh hour finishing touches on various projects before the doors open.
The Escambia County School District director of facilities planning says these improvements were needed and there's more to come.
School officials tell WEAR News, renovations during summer break totaled about $22 million.
"We have a considerable amount of federal funding that we're using to replace air conditioning and exterior envelopes -- windows specifically," Director of Facilities Planning Keith Wasdin said.
Wasdin says the money came from emergency relief funds designed for elementary and secondary schools. He says sales tax money is also being used to help fund the renovations.
-- Sha'de Ray WAPS' options for funding building maintenance-- Winona Post Minnesota: August 09, 2023 [ abstract] In 2021, Winona Area Public Schools’ (WAPS) architect identified about $63 million in deferred maintenance needs at local schools. The district’s $94 million referendum this April aimed to address some of that deferred maintenance, as well as remodel and upgrade facilities, but that referendum did not pass. While some citizens have expressed concern about the substantial amount of deferred maintenance the district has left unaddressed, others have argued that the district does not receive enough funding to complete all deferred maintenance projects.
-- ALEXANDRA RETTER NC School District Faces $700K in Mold Cleanup Costs-- Cleaning & Maintenance Management North Carolina: August 08, 2023 [ abstract] According to WGHP-TV, 500 elementary school students in Burlington, North Carolina, might be displaced at the start of the school year due to a severe mold infestation that could cost the Alamance-Burlington School System (ABSS) at least US$700,000.
In July, the summer cleaning crew at Andrews Elementary School made the discovery of mold on desks, tables, and chairs, as well as around return vents and doors within the school. According to WGHP, a leaky air conditioning unit, combine with this summer’s severe heat, created the mold problem.
“The engineers did explain today that, fortunately, we do not have what’s called toxigenic type molds in the building, and it’s really room specific,” Les Atkins, ABSS public information officer, told WGHP. “So, it’s not like the entire building is mold infested.” However, no teachers or administrators are currently being allowed inside the school building.
The ABSS school year starts for students on August 28, with teachers needing to return in less than two weeks on August 18, WGHP reports. At a recent meeting to address the problem, the school board immediately approved taking action to mitigate the mold, but whether the work can be done in time for the start of the school year is still in question.
“Just so our families know, we do have a plan in place to relocate students to other facilities, should we need to do that,” Atkins said.
Mold and other types of fungi are increasingly becoming a problem on a worldwide scale. Check out Is Fungus the Cleaning Industry’s Next Biggest Challenge? to learn more.
-- Staff Writer 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 Got AC? How Schools Are Coping With Record-Breaking Temperatures-- Education Week National: July 28, 2023 [ abstract] Across the nation, a new school year is about to start amid record-breaking stretches of scorching heat and sporadic spikes in poor air-quality conditions. Individual districts’ preparedness to confront these weather-related challenges varies widely.
But an aging infrastructure coupled with these increasingly hot temperatures are factoring into districts’ struggles to keep up with cooling demands.
“The average school building is 50 years old,” said Mike Pickens, the executive director of the National Council on School Facilities. “Forty-one percent of schools in our country need their HVAC system updated or replaced.”
Pickens advises districts to be “proactive, preventive, or even predictive” when it comes to maintenance of school buildings’ heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning, or HVAC, systems. But the sudden onslaught of heat and poor air quality that is pummeling most of the nation this summer has increased the urgency for air-controlled school buildings.
-- Elizabeth Heubeck & Caitlyn Meisner Brainerd schools anticipate $440k maintenance budget deficit by 2028-- Brainerd Dispatch Minnesota: July 17, 2023 [ abstract]
BRAINERD — As enrollment declines, Brainerd Public Schools will face a deficit of $444,000 in the 2028 long-term facility maintenance budget.
The school board approved the 10-year Long-Term Facility maintenance expense and revenue plan at the July 10 meeting after a presentation from Marci Lord, business director.
The figures are based on student count, Lord said. If student count goes down, revenue goes down.
Brainerd Public Schools lost about 253 average daily membership during the 2021-22 school year, or the amount of students enrolled per day, which determines funding for the district.
School Board member Kevin Boyles requested to see the exact number of students for further discussion at a future meeting.
“We’ll have to reprioritize, and look at projects, and reassess, and work with what we have,” Lord said.
-- Hannah Ward The Vital Role of Facilities Managers in K-12 School Operations-- facilitiesnet.com National: July 17, 2023 [ abstract] Working in K-12 schools used to be highly desirable. Summers off, snack time and themed days can sound appealing to even the biggest cynics. But when the school year ends and the buildings empty out, one group of people continue working to ensure that the facility remains operating – facilities managers, supervisors and front-line technicians.
What used to be coveted jobs have become much more challenging for K-12 maintenance and engineering managers. From ongoing labor shortages and security measures to ongoing worries about indoor air quality (IAQ), managers are having to respond to a multitude of challenges related to keeping school buildings safe, reliable and efficient.
-- Mackenna Moralez OPS unveils a $2.29 billion plan for maintenance of all district buildings-- Omaha World-Herald Nebraska: June 21, 2023 [ abstract] The Omaha public school district is close to finishing an 18-month-long project that plans for the future of all 108 of its buildings.
The plan, which outlines each building’s maintenance and renovation needs over the next 20 years, amounts to a projected $2.29 billion in projects. While it still needs its finishing touches, school board members were able to get the first look at the plan during a workshop earlier this month.
“The intent of our facilities assessment is to catalog, identify our needs and look at them to plan for years ahead. Much like a homeowner would plan for a kitchen remodel or a bathroom remodel,” said Charles Wakefield, chief operations officer. “Our team walked every piece of our buildings — all 108 sites — looking at everything from above the roof to mechanical closets and looking at the windows.”
Wakefield said the district’s team of architects and OPS staff took photos of each item in every building, cataloged its condition and assessed the cost of replacement or renovation for the next five to 20 years. Each school has thousands of lines of data in the facilities assessment.
-- Chris Machian Funding the 500: The unknown price tag of repairing Pa.’s deteriorating school facilities-- Pennsylvania Capital-State Pennsylvania: June 20, 2023 [ abstract] Crumbling wheelchair ramps. Closets converted into classrooms. Make-shift room dividers.
Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court President Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer’s February ruling declaring the state’s education funding system unconstitutional painted a vivid picture — in words and photographs — of the challenges facing educators as they toil in a historically underfunded system.
Across its sprawling 786-pages, the Cohn Jubelirer ruling devoted nearly 10 pages to the condition of school facilities throughout the state. She also noted testimony from the plaintiffs in the case, who described leaking roofs, a lack of heating and air conditioning, and the need for mold and asbestos abatement.
“One teacher testified that “in [her] first grade classroom[,] you could see the sky. There was a hole in the ceiling . . . that you could literally look up and see the sky.”
Now policymakers have been tasked with literally filling that hole.
“It is not enough that the facilities in which students learn are ‘generally safe’ as Legislative Respondents contend,” Cohn Jubelirer wrote in her ruling, concluding that school facilities need to be “safe and adequate.”
As state officials and lawmakers begin the herculean task of fixing the funding system for the commonwealth’s public schools, tackling how best to fund badly needed school facility maintenance, repair, and construction projects will be a major focus.
-- Cassie Miller Hamilton County school board decries last-minute change to maintenance funding-- Chattanooga Times Free Press Tennessee: June 17, 2023 [ abstract]
As their schools struggle with water leaks, crumbling sidewalks and sinking floors, members of the Hamilton County Board of Education have deep apprehensions about ceding control of $6 million that was reserved in their proposed budget for needed building repairs.
"This is not a compromise," school board member Ben Connor, D-Chattanooga, said during a meeting Thursday evening. "Compromises are when equal parties come together and they make a plan based on a discussion, and after that discussion, they come to an agreement. Compromises don't have ultimatums. They don't have threats. This is a political stickup. It's a political heist, and it was done on purpose."
Amid a windfall in new revenue under the state's new school funding formula, the Hamilton County Board of Education intended to increase its spending on deferred maintenance from $2 million to $8 million in the proposed budget for the fiscal year that will start July 1.
However, the board voted 8-2 on a last-minute resolution Thursday to reduce the amount back to $2 million in favor of the county using that $6 million for a more substantial bond issuance — something county leaders say could actually allow them to complete building repairs at a quicker clip. Members Karitsa Jones, D-Chattanooga, and Larry Grohn, R-East Ridge, voted against the measure.
-- David Floyd Oceanview Middle relocation to Southern High moves forward-- The Guam Daily Post Guam: June 17, 2023 [ abstract]
Oceanview Middle School students will soon move to Southern High School as Guam Department of Education acting Superintendent Judi Won Pat has advised the schools’ principals to get together to discuss the summer move.
On Wednesday, Won Pat reported to Guam Education Board members that she had toured Oceanview, which won't be opening next school year as a result of the state of the facility. But after touring the Hågat middle school, Won Pat alluded to a concern Oceanview parents had foreseen months ago — the possibility of no return or a delayed return to the middle school campus.
“When I looked at the buildings and asked (GDOE) Facilities and maintenance to get a quotation to be able to build a full wing, (it) would actually cost us about $7 million to $9 million,” Won Pat said.
The plan in place since November 2022 has been to move Oceanview students, faculty and staff to Southern High, to allow the issues at the middle school to be addressed during the upcoming school year.
-- Jolene Toves School board chair calls on lawmakers to fix 'unacceptable' school facilities issue-- Gillette News Record Wyoming: June 17, 2023 [ abstract]
Campbell County school board members made it clear this week that the condition of the Campbell County High School building itself is “unacceptable” and needs to become a higher priority for the state.
Campbell County school board chairwoman Anne Ochs said the onus is on the state legislators to “advocate for our students and county.”
“Our high-mindedness by not pushing our legislators to get involved in this process has been huge because that has not always been the case around the state,” Ochs said. “If you have a powerful legislator who is in charge of certain committees, their facilities seem to get built and get built very well.
“I am asking our legislators in Campbell County to support our schools. We have to do something about Campbell County High School.”
The high school faces several expensive issues that remain in need of funds. The sewage and plumbing at the school at times closes bathrooms due to back ups in the pipelines. Part of the school doesn’t have any fire sprinklers in the hallways.
Campbell County has sent more than $1 billion to the state for what is used for maintenance of school buildings statewide since 1984 and around $120 million this year. Ochs said those dollars would go a long way toward fixing or replacing the issues at CCHS and that she wants to see more equity in the allocation of those funds.
-- David Rodish Energy Upgrades in Schools Could Surpass $30 Million-- Bedford Citizen Massachusetts: June 12, 2023 [ abstract] Bedford Town officials are projecting expenses that could total more than $30 million, spread over several years, to pursue the goal of converting the four schoolhouses to energy net zero.
The most recent six-year capital plan targets the first step for fiscal year 2025: an allocation of $320,000 to replace the hot-water heaters at Bedford High School. Replacement of the Davis School roof, with a current estimated cost of $1,648,000, is inserted into Fiscal Year 2026.
One year later, the total exceeds $4 million, then surpasses $6.5 million in Fiscal Year 2028.
Taissir Alani, Director of Facilities for the schools and town, recently summarized the projects as part of a short- and long-range capital spending presentation to the School Committee.
“The cost really is a placeholder because as we get closer to the project, we reassess the cost and equipment,” Alani said in a recent interview.
And Amy Fidalgo, Assistant Town Manager for Operations, stressed that heating, ventilation, and roof replacements are likely to be “moved out to further years in the next iteration of the capital plan, which will be vetted by the Capital Expenditure Committee in the fall.
“Our ability to move these projects out a few funding cycles is due to excellent preventative maintenance our facilities department is able to perform in order to extend the lifespan of many of these items,” she explained.
-- Mike Rosenberg ‘This is crazy’: Analysis finds billions in schools construction money unspent-- Hawaii News Now Hawaii: June 03, 2023 [ abstract] HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - More than $2 billion in school construction is going unspent, Hawaii News Now has learned, and nearly half of that money is set to lapse next year.
“That to me is something that to me is totally unacceptable. We know we can do better and accepting mediocrity is to me something like accepting an F,” said Republican state Rep. Gene Ward.
The money is for hundreds of DOE projects that the state Legislature appropriated for school construction.
“This is crazy when we have a massive repair and maintenance backlog ... I mean, there’s there’s just no imaginable excuse for this,” said Colin Moore, a University of Hawaii political science professor.
“I’m sure that many other departments across the state would be very happy to take some of this money off the DOE’s hands.”
-- Rick Daysog GDOE: Schools won't open if not inspecte-- The Guam Daily Post Guam: May 22, 2023 [ abstract] The Guam Department of Education is in the midst of the Herculean task to ensure all public school facilities meet the school building sanitation code. There's a chance that not all schools will be able to open in time for the start of the next school year.
GDOE has 41 school facilities. Six of those schools — John F. Kennedy High School, Tiyan High School, Okkodo High School, Astumbo Middle School, Liguan Elementary School and Adacao Elementary School — are leased. That leaves GDOE responsible for the maintenance of 35 facilities.
"The idea is to ensure that all schools are ready for inspection,” GDOE Deputy Superintendent Joseph Sanchez told The Guam Daily Post Friday evening.
GDOE has been in a race against the clock to ensure that schools across the island, leased or not, will be ready for the Department of Public Health and Social Services Division of Environmental Health inspection by Aug. 9, the day Public Law 37-4 becomes effective.
-- Jolene Toves School trustees look at building projects-- Nevada Appeal Nevada: May 21, 2023 [ abstract] The Carson City School District’s Facilities Master Plan Committee has made its final recommendations for building and maintenance needs. Superintendent Andrew Feuling said they will be considered during the Board of Trustees’ Capital Improvement Plan discussion Tuesday, May 23.
Projects are prioritized according to the district’s financial constraints while ensuring student and staff safety, health and comfort, educational program needs and energy and operational safety, Feuling told trustees May 9.
The Fritsch Elementary and Carson Middle school campuses are nearly 70 years old and Carson High is coming up on 50 years old. All district facilities are at least 30 years old, Feuling said.
“While we have to think about maintaining those facilities, while it would be nice to say we could replace all these eventually, with the property tax caps that are currently in place, it likely won’t go away and continues to squeeze funding over time,” he said.
High schools being built in Washoe County now cost about $250 million, and Carson City can’t afford to do the same, he said. The district had the funding to build Empire, Fremont and Mark Twain elementary schools between 1988 and 1992, but those dollars aren’t available today, he said.
Marty Johnson of JNA Consulting Group, the district’s bond consultant, said Carson City has a bonding capacity of a $25 million issuance this summer or fall with another $12.5 million available by 2027. There is $5 million remaining from its last bond.
The Facilities Master Plan document encompasses overall district projects at a cost of $3 million for assessments on its properties or ones to acquire in upcoming months. Examples include heating, ventilation and air conditioning needs for Carson High School, alarm systems and security camera refreshing or to purchase 10 acres of the former Lompa Ranch.
-- Jessica Garcia Tribal community pushing for funding to replace school in ‘unacceptable’ condition-- The Nevada Independent Nevada: April 28, 2023 [ abstract] Owyhee Combined School Vice Principal Lynn Manning-John stood on the Nevada Capitol lawn Thursday in front of her students — her "babies" — from the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in northeastern Nevada, a community she grew up in and returned to after attending an East Coast college.
The students, many wearing ribbon skirts and shirts, carried signs with a common theme: "don't leave us behind." Among them was her daughter, a senior at the school who was recently admitted to Tufts University, an elite research institution in Boston.
"We have produced some phenomenal kids out of Owyhee," she said. "But I have to tell you, we do it in some really hard-to-describe conditions."
The Owyhee Combined School is located on the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in northeastern Nevada, along the Nevada-Idaho border. Built in the 1950s, the school serves about 300 students. Administrators and teachers at the school described bat feces dripping from the ceilings, and old equipment making it impossible to consistently regulate classroom temperatures, among other conditions that they said have not been addressed by the school district, despite maintenance requests.
“No other school in the state of Nevada would have that type of condition acceptable to students,” said Manning-John.
-- Tabitha Mueller and Rocio Hernandez School district increases levy budget in face of $88M deferred maintenance backlog-- Independent Record Montana: April 14, 2023 [ abstract] Helena Public Schools has increased the amounts of their Building Reserve Levies for the elementary (K-8) and high school districts to keep up with the rising cost of materials and labor for construction, school officials said.
The elementary Building Reserve Levy went from $1.25 million to $3 million. The high school Building Reserve Levy increased from $700,000 to $1.5 million on the ballots that go out Friday. The last Building Reserve Levy passed in 2013, and if these two pass, it would be a renewal of the existing levies.
“How do we buy nuts and bolts, pieces of plywood, doors, windows, boilers — how do we pay for that stuff? It comes out of the (facilities budget),” said Todd Verrill, HPS’ facilities director. “... We have a large footprint. We have a lot of facilities, and they’re getting old.”
-- Megan Michelotti Eanes school district calls $131 million bond election for maintenance, facility upgrades-- Austin American Statesman Texas: April 12, 2023 [ abstract] Jackie Uselton rifled through the mock pill bottles and test first aid kits in a mock pharmacy cabinet that doubles as storage in Westlake High School on a recent Monday morning.
“The vision would be to have a mock hospital room, hospital bay, beds,” said Uselton, health science and clinical instructor. “We do have some stuff. We’re just kind of crowded.”
Right now, the health sciences programs are stuffed into three small classrooms, she said. The roughly 200 health science students have to share one mock hospital bed.
That, however, could change if Eanes school district voters approve a proposed $131.4 million bond, which would fund facility upgrades, including some that would allow programs like health sciences to expand.
Aging facilities, safety upgrades and technology needs have driven the Eanes school board to call for a bond election.
-- Keri Heath Bozeman School District’s $6M capital improvement plan includes boilers at 5 schools-- Bozeman Daily Chronicle Montana: April 11, 2023 [ abstract]
New boilers in five elementary schools are some of the major repairs and maintenance needed in the Bozeman School District as part of the district’s $6 million capital improvement plan for calendar year 2023.
Of that amount, $4 million will go toward elementary schools, and $2 million will go toward high schools. BSD also has plans for a combined total of $2.5 million in upgrades in 2024 and 2025.
Mike Waterman, the district’s executive director of business and operations, said that although many projects are slated, some may go uncompleted if the district can’t find companies to do the work. The projects that don’t get finished will roll over to subsequent years.
The capital projects were approved in March, and BSD Director of Facilities Matt Stark said work is already underway to purchase equipment and to line up contractors and consultants. Stark said this year is heavy on mechanical equipment, and long delivery times mean ordering sooner is better.
Each boiler costs about $75,000, and boilers are needed at Irving, Hawthorne, Whittier, Hyalite and Meadowlark Elementary Schools. Hawthorne will need two boilers.
-- Traci Rosenbaum Senators support school maintenance bureau-- The Virgin Islands Daily News U.S. Virgin Islands: April 05, 2023 [ abstract] Senators are working on a solution to the chronic lack of maintenance on the territory’s public school buildings and have proposed a bill to create a new Bureau of School Construction and maintenance.
Bill No. 35-0050 received a unanimous vote of confidence Tuesday from senators in the Committee on Budget, Appropriations, and Finance, and the legislation will be forwarded to the Committee on Rules and Judiciary for further consideration.
“This measure seeks to remove the vexing responsibility of maintenance in particular from our education professionals,” Sen. Donna Frett-Gregory explained. “It’s important that we get to a place where we focus on instruction. Instruction should be the primary focus of our instructional leaders in the territory.”
-- Suzanne Carlson Almost 10% of school roofs need repair or replacement-- Santa Monica Daily Press California: March 31, 2023 [ abstract] After weeks of unprecedented storms and rainfall, the need for roof repair and replacement across Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s campuses has become increasingly clear, prompting the district to dedicate nearly $5.2 million for such work.
“Our aging SMMUSD buildings have failed to keep the water out of interior spaces at some of our facilities,” SMMUSD Interim Superintendent Mark Kelly and Chief Operations Officer Carey Upton wrote in an update sent out to community members this week.
Kelly said that the district’s facility team is currently working to fix over 110 leaks and that 2% of the district’s 576 roofs need to be fully replaced while 7.4% need repair and restoration.
“We understand the concerns and distractions caused with these issues that we know have led some to worry about classroom air quality, mold, flooding and falling ceiling tiles,” Kelly and Upton wrote. “As soon as issues are reported, our team of maintenance and operations staff, along with some outside contractors, begin to address the issues to determine what is required to fully remedy the problems.”
-- Cristina Rios Facing rising costs and new priorities, school district to delay certain bond projects-- Palo Alto Online California: March 30, 2023 [ abstract] Facing rising costs and new priorities, the Palo Alto Unified School District is planning to indefinitely delay certain planned, bond-funded construction projects in favor of completing items that are deemed more urgent.
Palo Alto Unified is currently in the midst of construction projects on campuses throughout the district, funded by the Measure A and Z bonds, which voters passed in 2008 and 2018, respectively.
There is currently roughly $165 million left available to allocate towards projects, Director of Facilities and Construction Eric Holm told the school board at a Tuesday, March 28, meeting. District officials are planning to indefinitely delay $163.6 million in planned projects, in favor of a collection of projects totalling $141.3 million that the district deems to be higher priorities. That will leave $23.8 million in reserve to cover any further cost overruns or to pay for deferred maintenance projects, Holm said.
-- Zoe Morgan 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 Guam - Senators pass bills on school maintenance-- The Guam Daily Post Guam: March 23, 2023 [ abstract]
Three bills related to addressing sanitation and facilities issues at Guam Department of Education schools were passed unanimously by the Guam Legislature on Tuesday night.
Fourteen senators were present and voted. Vice Speaker Tina Muña Barnes was absent and excused from voting.
Lawmakers passed the following measures:
• Bill 29-37, which makes corrections and amendments to administrative rules and regulations related to updating sanitation regulations to promote the health and safety of schools.
• Bill 46-37, which provides temporary, expedited procurement protest procedures for acquisitions funded with American Rescue Plan funds allotted to GDOE.
• Bill 32-37, which appropriates $30 million to GDOE for school infrastructure, repair and maintenance.
The three measures were the subject of an emergency session that began Monday.
Voting passed by quickly Tuesday night, but some senators had much to say about the events that transpired over the prior two days.
The emergency session coincided with a special session called by Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero to debate pay raises for government of Guam employees under the General Pay Plan.
A majority of lawmakers have repeatedly put the special session on hold in favor of pushing through with bills in the emergency session, despite multiple calls for special session by the governor.
-- John O'Connor Teacher Housing Has Only Been In Rural Areas, But That Could Change-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: March 21, 2023 [ abstract]
For nearly three years, Cassie Armstrong has lived in a cozy two-bedroom apartment that she shares on Hawaii island.
The pre-K teacher and her roommate split their monthly rent of $1,150. Travel to her job at Kohala Elementary School is a convenient nine-minute drive.
Armstrong said living in teacher housing is an upgrade from where she was previously — in a garage with an outdoor shower, no paved walls or floors and no stove.
“Moving into teacher housing was great,” Armstrong said. “It feels like I was coming into an actual home.”
But her housing situation is coming to an end as Armstrong was only allowed to stay for three years.
Now she has until the end of May to find a new place.
With limited housing options in her area, Armstrong said her worst-case scenario is moving back home to Illinois.
Currently the Hawaii Department of Education’s teacher housing is only intended to provide teachers with temporary housing in rural areas with limited affordable housing.
The DOE allows teachers to live in cottage-style housing for three years in Kohala, Honokaa, Kau, Waimea and Molokai. It’s five years in Hana and Lanai, but housing is not guaranteed year-to-year, according DOE documents obtained by Civil Beat.
However, there’s no teacher housing on Oahu and Kauai.
There are currently 51 rentable teacher housing units available statewide, the documents show.
They are between 20 and 50 years old, and several more are closed for major repair or demolition. maintenance costs are paid out of the rental income generated.
-- Cassie Ordonio School Board reviews facilities condition study-- Suffolk News-Herald Virginia: March 14, 2023 [ abstract]
The city’s School Board reviewed the condition of Suffolk Public Schools’ facilities during its Thursday, March 9 meeting. SPS Director of Facilities and Planning Terry Napier provided the facilities condition assessment, with the help of Chief Financial Officer Wendy Forsman and Jeff Harris of RRMM Architects. “In 2021, it’s a joint project with the city, we did a facilities study to basically take a review of the actual facility conditions of all of our buildings,” Superintendent Dr. John B. Gordon III said. “The facilities study not only had recommendations for building new schools, but it also had recommendations for preventative maintenance, student enrollment projections as well as any other major projects that needed to occur over the next five to 10 years. Both the City of Suffolk and the School Board agree that this is going to be our facility bible, so to speak, moving forward.”
The presentation provided the facilities study timeline being commissioned by City Council with the School Board’s agreement in fall 2018. In 2019, a contract was awarded to RRMM Architects, which worked with Cooperative Strategies to provide SPS with a final report in April 2021. The document covers 18 schools and is 3,628 pages with the three major components — assessment executive summary, the executive summary appendix and the school facility condition assessment on individual schools. The appendix detailed information that was presented in public meetings such as the Joint Task Force Meeting Feb 25, 2020 and the joint City Council and School Board presentation Feb 23, 2021.
-- James W. Robinson Many SF Schools Are in Poor Condition. So Why Did They Get High Facility Ratings For Years?-- The San Francisco Standard California: March 07, 2023 [ abstract] As if crumbling ceilings and rat infestations weren’t enough for San Francisco’s public schools to deal with, one middle school was recently found to have lead and arsenic in its water. These structural and maintenance issues have grown so dire that the district estimated a comprehensive fix would cost at least $1.7 billion.
In spite of visibly aging buildings and rodents on the grounds, routine state-mandated facilities inspections rated numerous SF schools as either “exemplary” or “good” between 2019 and 2021. Peering into San Francisco Unified School District’s own data, however, reveals that the condition of dozens of schools changed dramatically in a short period, and the district-hired inspector who evaluated them did so on a truncated timeline, calling into question accuracy of the district-mandated inspection reports.
In 2022, a different building inspection survey run by Vanderweil Facility Advisors found that many of those facilities once rated “above average” on School Accountability Report Cards (SARCs) are suddenly listed as being in “poor” or “fair” condition—and not just a handful, either. At least 25 school sites received lower facilities ratings, when comparing older SARC surveys with more recent Vanderweil findings. Many schools are in low-income neighborhoods serving students of color.
-- Liz Lindqwister, Julie Zigoris A day in the life of the custodians and crews who are vital to Harlingen schools-- myRGV.com Texas: March 04, 2023 [ abstract] We see the lawns are green, the gyms shine, the halls are cleared, and the cafeterias are spotless. We see Boggus Stadium set up for graduation, and the sidewalks clean.
What we don’t see are the people who make it happen.
While it’s commonly known that the custodians and maintenance workers operate a well-oiled machine 24/7 to keep the Harlingen school district running, they are often unseen and are the unsung heroes in the community.
The machine they operate has many parts — mops and the mowers and the power washers and the tractors and the weed eaters and the blowers serve as the district’s gears and pulleys, the spark plugs, the pistons and the carburetors. And one doesn’t work, the whole machine falters.
The custodians are the most important component, as are the mechanics, welders, carpenters and electricians.
On Friday morning, Ivan Barajas and Rudy Duran joined others in taking the Valley Morning Star on a day in the life of their job, and among their first tasks was working on a tractor and shredder so the signal lights would work properly.
Oscar Fragoso just finished directing traffic so the children at Austin Elementary could cross safely, and Robert Quintanilla at Vernon Middle School moved up and down a hallway with a broom, leaving a shine in his wake while students passed. Outside on the neatly manicured lawns Adan Martinez rode a mower with a precision only a veteran could muster.
-- Travis Whitehead 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 Democratic lawmakers announce legislation to invest in school facilities-- PA House Democrats Pennsylvania: March 01, 2023 [ abstract] HARRISBURG, March 1 – State Reps. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Phila., Robert Merski, D-Erie, Bridget Kosierowski, D-Lackawanna, and Tarik Khan, D-Phila., today partnered with state Sen. Tim Kearney, D-Delaware, to announce legislation addressing toxic school buildings in Pennsylvania.
Gathered outside the lieutenant governor’s office, Fiedler, Merski, Kosierowski and Khan said they plan to introduce legislation to fund the school construction program PlanCon to address the school facilities crisis in Pennsylvania. The lawmakers’ legislation would fund the maintenance program within the traditional PlanCon program for vital projects including repairs to roofs, HVAC systems, boilers, plumbing and electrical wiring.
Under the legislation, the lawmakers propose opening applications only to the new maintenance Program created under Act 70 for a temporary 3-year period. After this period, the Department of Education would re-open the program for traditional PlanCon projects, with the maintenance Program returning to its 20% share of available funding.
The lawmakers announced they are also introducing another piece of legislation to address toxic school buildings. This legislation would make changes to the commonwealth’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to make it easier for public schools to submit applications for building improvements.
Their announcement comes on the heels of the Commonwealth Court’s ruling in the William Penn School District lawsuit, that Pennsylvania’s system of funding public education is unconstitutional. The group of lawmakers stressed that in addition to the need for basic education funding, the lawsuit highlighted school facilities issues.
“When a child is sitting in a classroom with peeling paint and asbestos, shivering because they’re too cold or has a nosebleed and a headache because they’re too hot, they can’t learn,” Fiedler said. “School buildings are a statewide educational and public health issue, and we need to start funding them with that importance. The recent Commonwealth Court ruling provides the state an excellent opportunity right now to ensure all children can go to school in a safe building and pursue a quality education.”
-- Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler DeKalb Schools completes state directives on Druid Hills maintenance-- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: February 28, 2023 [ abstract] The DeKalb County School District has completed the work state officials ordered to make several dozen repairs at Druid Hills High School, interim Superintendent Vasanne Tinsley said.
“Done. Completed. Finished,” Tinsley told the school board at a meeting last week. “I’m very proud of that.”
Last year, the Georgia Department of Education intervened and told the district to address poor conditions at Druid Hills High and other facilities issues. In what a state official described as an “unprecedented move,” the state appointed a special advisor to work with the district on the corrective action plan. The advisor, Tanzy Kilcrease, worked with the district through November, according to a final report she wrote.
“They have been very receptive of all feedback and suggestions,” she wrote about DeKalb, the state’s third-largest school district. “They have a plan to continue to perform due diligence in ensuring they have practices that will foster operational effectiveness and efficiency.”
-- Cassidy Alexander A new way to get schools built: plant facilities levies-- Idaho Ed News Idaho: February 14, 2023 [ abstract] When districts put bonds on the ballot in hopes of financing one or more new schools, the chances of voter approval in Idaho are 50/50: a coin toss.
If districts lose, the problems that sparked the ballot initiative — overcrowding, outdated schools, safety concerns — don’t go away.
So district leaders make do with their cracked foundations and outdoor food storage. They might seek creative but short-term solutions, like redrawn boundaries or modular classrooms. Hallways, principal’s offices and lunchrooms might become classrooms.
Or leaders might hang their hopes on a new solution: a plant facilities levy.
The plant facilities levy’s voter approval thresholds — which can be as low as 55% — make them attractive, but there are drawbacks. Districts might have to downsize their project list or eschew state financial help if they opt for this route.
School leaders are already familiar with plant facilities levies; they’re often used for repairs, maintenance, or upgrades. But when it comes to new construction, these ballot measures are a relatively new option, one districts have historically been reluctant to pursue due to murky legality. But that changed when a 2015 Idaho Supreme Court decision upheld the practice.
For some districts, it’s now the most enticing and likely path to new schools.
-- Carly Flandro In D.C., Some Parents And Teachers Struggle With Aging Schools That Are Years Away From Being Modernized-- dcist.com District of Columbia: February 14, 2023 [ abstract] When Taí Alex showed up at Burroughs Elementary School in Brookland earlier this month to drop off her four-year-old daughter, she got some bad news: A gas leak had closed the school for the day. The same happened the day after.
And it wasn’t the first time.
“There’s been a lot of emergency things that have affected the school’s ability to stay open,” says Alex, citing a burst pipe that flooded some classrooms, boiler issues that have impacted the building’s heating system, and other issues that have bedeviled the 101-year-old building.
“Burroughs is a fantastic school,” she says. “There’s a reason why parents are so engaged. It’s just the building maintenance issues we’re having.”
And it’s much the same situation at Whittier Elementary School in Takoma — built in 1926 — where for months parents, students, and staff have been contending with repeated maintenance issues that have shuttered the school and fixes that are often derided as mere Band-Aids. In November, they protested outside the school. In January, a sewage pump in a pre-kindergarten classroom broke; on the Facebook page of the school’s parent-teacher organization, one parent complained that it smelled like the “inside of a rectum.”
“I’ve been a parent there for almost about five years, and there’s not been a year where there hasn’t been something major going on,” says Alicia Bolton, the vice-president of the Whittier PTO and parent of two children at the school, in kindergarten and third grade. “For too long the school has been ignored.”
Yet there may be no satisfying and quick solution for either school.
-- Martin Austermuhle Momentum builds to install filtered water stations in all Delaware schools to ‘get the lead out’-- WHYY Delaware: February 01, 2023 [ abstract] As Delaware officials retest all water consumption points in K-12 schools for the presence of lead after a botched previous effort, a consensus view has emerged for the best solution to keep kids safe.
That remedy is the installation and maintenance of filtering systems, a fix that’s already in use in many homes, businesses, community centers, and some schools.
Education Secretary Mark Holodick told a Senate Health and Social Service Committee hearing last week that “filter first’’ should be the mantra going forward.
“You really want to think about investing your time and energy into filtration systems and replacing those fixtures rather than just testing over and over and over again,’’ Holodick told lawmakers, echoing the advice he’s received from health experts. “That’s where you want to get to.”
-- Cris Barrish 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 Murphy announces $350M available for school construction projects-- NJBiz New Jersey: January 26, 2023 [ abstract] Gov. Phil Murphy announced Jan. 26 a $350 million pot of money will soon be available for high-priority school construction projects throughout the Garden State.
The funding comes from Senate Bill 2944, which was signed during the budget process last summer and allocated $5.2 billion in surplus money for the newly created New Jersey Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund. The legislation calls for $350 million of that tranche to be appropriated for school facilities projects, emergent needs and capital maintenance in Regular Operating Districts (ROD).
Beginning Jan. 30, according to a statement from Murphy’s office, more than 550 RODs will be eligible to apply for grants. School districts will be eligible to receive at least 40% of eligible project costs.
“From day one, my administration has made it a priority to support and improve our public school system – and helping our schools implement critical facility projects is an important component of those efforts,” said Murphy. “This funding demonstrates our commitment to strengthening our schools and cementing our legacy as a state that is dedicated providing every student with a high-quality learning environment.”
-- Matthew Fazelpoor JCPS plan to invest in rebuilding, renovating more than a dozen schools advances to full board-- WLKY Kentucky: January 25, 2023 [ abstract]
LOUISVILLE, Ky. —
An ambitious plan to rebuild or renovate more than a dozen Jefferson County Public School buildings is taking another step forward.
The Kentucky Department of Education signed off on the first draft of the four-year plan that district leaders say is long overdue. The district's facilities committee voted Wednesday to send the amended plan to the full school board.
The current estimated cost of facility needs across JCPS is more than $1.3 billion, according to the district's current District Facilities Plan.
"If you look at the facility condition indices, there's a deficit there that has just kind of grown exponentially because of deferred maintenance over the last several decades," said JCPS Chief Operations Officer Chris Perkins.
Perkins says the district is now able to do something about that thanks to a 2020 tax rate hike.
-- Drew Gardner Jeff Davis School Board spending $5M to repair, replace school roofs-- American Press Louisiana: January 25, 2023 [ abstract]
The Jeff Davis Parish School Board will spend more than $5 million to repair and replace aging, leaky and damaged roofs at various school sites this year. The first phase of a three phase plan to address aging and leaky roofs is currently moving forward at Welsh High School, Lake Arthur High School, Lake Arthur Elementary School and Fenton Elementary School. The projects are expected to be completed by the summer. “About 15 years ago, the School Board found roofs were so expensive for schools to repair using their own maintenance money, so the School Board took over the projects to ease the burden of the (individual) school maintenance funds,” Superintendent John Hall said.
The School Board agreed to fund the projects with revenue from the general fund, insurance and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) based on a priority plan with the worst roofs being addressed first, he said. “The architect and roof contractor aged the roofs and rated which ones go first in priority for the first stage,” Hall said. Many of the priorities have changed due to cost and unforeseen problems, including finding other roofs in worse condition.
-- Doris Maricle Cummings students will stay at LaRose Elementary as delays slow repair of collapsed library ceiling-- Chalkbeat Tennessee Tennessee: January 24, 2023 [ abstract] Because of a delay in repairs to a library ceiling that collapsed in August, students at Cummings K-8 Optional School will finish out the school year at nearby LaRose Elementary School in South Memphis.
While the repairs could still be done as early as this spring, Memphis-Shelby County Schools said in a news release, officials decided the Cummings students should remain at LaRose to avoid any disruptions during Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program testing.
The 40-year-old drop ceiling collapsed on Aug. 15, just a week after the school year started. No students were in the library at the time, but three staffers were injured, The Commercial Appeal reported. The collapse prompted MSCS to order reviews of buildings older than 70 years with drop ceilings, and called new attention to the issue of deferred maintenance in the schools.
Over 33 of MSCS’ schools were built before 1950, meaning they are more than 70 years old. A study done eight years ago found that the district’s older buildings and equipment were deteriorating rapidly, Fox 13 News reported in August.
-- Tonyaa Weathersbee New Mexico bill would hold schools accountable for ventilation improvements-- K-12 Dive New Mexico: January 24, 2023 [ abstract] Dive Brief:
As COVID-19 raised concerns around the airborne spread of viruses in schools, proposed legislation in New Mexico would require all school districts to test their ventilation systems at least every five years.
Each report must be completed by a certified technician or mechanical engineer and would include appropriate recommendations for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning infrastructure. Such measures may consider installing filters and carbon dioxide sensors, upgrading equipment, and making necessary replacements.
Districts would be required to follow through on these recommendations, the legislation states. Other possible actions that schools might have to complete after these ventilation tests are general maintenance, reading and adjustment of ventilation rates, and filter replacements to meet a minimum efficiency reporting.
-- Anna Merod District maintenance staff recognized for working over winter break while schools across Forsyth suffered water damage-- Forsyth County News Georgia: January 19, 2023 [ abstract]
The Forsyth County Board of Education recognized facilities and maintenance staff members at its latest meeting for their response to water damage at schools over the winter break.
Mostly occurring over the Dec. 24-25 weekend, Chief Facilities Officer Matt Wark said, 15 of the school district’s 42 schools were affected by water damage due to record-breaking temperatures.
Although many staff members were on Christmas vacation at the time, Wark said his team stepped up.
“To give you a scope of how many hours many of these individuals put in, they spent 36 hours on just Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in schools,” Wark said. “And these individuals and myself, these guys were on vacation. We did not see the families …. But these individuals never said no.”
Wark and his team spent the next week fixing damage so schools ready when teachers returned on Jan. 3.
“This type of dedication, I’m glad to have community members see,” Wark said. “These are the people who take care of your buildings every day for your kids.”
Superintendent Jeff Bearden thanked Wark and the team for their efforts.
"Because of this team, all of our children could return to school after winter break," Bearden said. “Thank you is not nearly sufficient, but I hope you know how much you are all appreciated, respected and valued."
-- Sabrina Kerns WV governor selects new leader of School Building Authority-- CT Insider West Virginia: January 09, 2023 [ abstract]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia's governor has appointed a longtime educator to lead the state's School Building Authority.
The office of Gov. Jim Justice said he has named Andy Neptune as executive director of the West Virginia School Building Authority.
In a news release Friday, Justice said Neptune replaces David Roach, who became superintendent of the West Virginia Department of Education.
Neptune served 34 years in the Marion County school system, working as a principal, assistant principal, teacher and coach.
He served 14 years in the county’s central office as an administrative assistant, supervising personnel, student nutrition, student services, transportation, maintenance, facilities and athletics, the news release said.
-- Staff Writer Arizona Judge Delays Trial in Fight Over Education Funding-- U.S. News & World Report Arizona: January 07, 2023 [ abstract]
PHOENIX (AP) — A lawsuit over how much money Arizona's lawmakers allocate for school maintenance, buses, textbooks and technology won't go to trial next week, after a judge granted a request for a delay by the state’s incoming attorney general.
Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes said her office needs time to determine whether some or all of the claims can be resolved without a trial.
The trial was set to begin Monday. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dewain Fox approved Mayes’ request Friday and scheduled a status hearing for March 17, the Arizona Republic reported.
A group of school districts and associations representing school officials and teachers sued the state in 2017. They argued that the Legislature had shorted them billions of dollars in capital funding for more than a decade.
The lawsuit sought a declaration that Arizona’s school funding scheme was unconstitutional because it violated the “uniform and general” clause of the state Constitution. The state Supreme Court ruled in 1994 that it is the state’s responsibility to provide cash for new schools, major maintenance and things like textbooks. The Legislature began cutting that spending during the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
-- Associated Press Guilford County Schools doing winter repairs at 50+ sites after freezing holiday temperatures-- Fox8 North Carolina: December 31, 2022 [ abstract]
Guilford County Schools maintenance crews are doing repairs at over 50 sites during the winter break.
The repairs are in response to the freezing temperatures that were seen in the Triad during the holidays and the impact that it had on GCS facilities.
Crews have currently completed 23 projects since Monday and 44 projects are still pending. Most of the issues are related to pipes, leaks and boilers.
Crews say that the status of each project changes on a daily basis.
Crews have currently completed 23 projects since Monday and 44 projects are still pending. Most of the issues are related to pipes, leaks and boilers.
Crews say that the status of each project changes on a daily basis.
Another local administrator also praised the efforts of the maintenance crews.
-- Brayden Stamps Daniel Boone High School gym floor likely destroyed following burst pipe-- WFHG Tennessee: December 29, 2022 [ abstract] Washington County, Tennessee Director of Schools, Jerry Boyd, says the gymnasium floor at Daniel Boone High School is possibly destroyed and will likely require a full replacement after a sprinkler pipe burst and flooded parts of the school.
A statement on Friday says almost 90 percent of the gym floor at Daniel Boone was flooded, as well as the majority of the cafeteria floor, and some of the front offices. After inspection, Boyd says the current condition of the gym floor is unsafe, and while a decision is made on repairs or replacement, upcoming basketball home games and other gym events will be relocated.
Full statement below:
At approximately 4:00 pm Christmas Day, a sprinkler pipe in the front hall gym lobby at Daniel Boone High School burst. Our maintenance department responded quickly to the issue. Unfortunately, when the water supply to the area could be shut off, most of the DBHS gym floor (~90%), much of the cafeteria floor, and a section of front offices were flooded. Because the gym floor was most susceptible to damage, clean up in that area occurred immediately. Unfortunately, the current condition of the gym flooring indicates the damage is irreparable. The water on the gym floor has resulted in buckling that has rendered the surface unsafe for use.
-- Staff Writer Marietta City Schools works to repair damage after pipes rupture-- Fox5 Atlanta Georgia: December 29, 2022 [ abstract]
MARIETTA, Ga. - A community has pulled together ensure water damaged schools in Cobb County can open on time for students next week.
After pipes ruptured in two Marietta City Schools during the freezing temperatures over Christmas weekend, administrators say they are blown away by the help they are getting to put everything back together.
Faculty and staff are working tirelessly at the Emily Lembeck Early Learning Center in Marietta to clean up and dry out the mess.
"The initial damage was it was raining from the ceiling and the ceiling collapsed in one of the girls' bathrooms," said Kimberly Custance, the director of Marietta Community School.
Two teachers setting up for a drivers’ education class the day after Christmas noticed water pouring in from the ceiling at the center.
"We called maintenance out and they dropped everything, this was the day after Christmas and our maintenance team dropped everything and came out to the school immediately," said Custance.
While crews were there for the initial rupture, another indoor rain shower started in the cafeteria. Soon after, they got word about damage at Sawer Road Elementary School.
-- Staff Writer Tuscaloosa County Schools cleaning up damage from leaking pipes-- WBRC Alabama: December 28, 2022 [ abstract] TUSCALOOSA Co., Ala. (WBRC) - Burst pipes from last week’s freezing weather has caused damage to some schools in the Tuscaloosa-area.
The Tuscaloosa County School System has crews working to make sure repairs are made in time for students return to class in January.
WBRC contacted five West Alabama school systems and asked if they had any damage from last weekend’s deep freeze. The Tuscaloosa County School System reported damage from frozen pipes from at least six schools according to spokesperson Terri Brewer. Brewer said they consider most of the damage minor. Brewer said the worst damage happened at Buhl Elementary School in Coker. The school system shared pictures some of the damage. Burst pipes left water leaks in several classrooms.
“Some water on the floor and what not. We had some ceiling tiles come out. We have our maintenance crews working to get the situation resolved before school starts,” Brewer told WBRC.
-- Kelvin Reynolds School board recommends using ‘extra’ money from fiscal year 2022 for urgent building maintenance and renovations-- Fauquier Times Virginia: December 19, 2022 [ abstract] The Fauquier school board at a special meeting Monday morning voted unanimously to recommend that $4.9 million in carryover funds (money left over from the previous year’s budget) be used to help pay for renovations and urgent maintenance at aging schools.
None of the unused money from the fiscal 2022 budget will go toward bonuses or salary hikes for teachers or other school staff. “In the original carryover, we had the raises for next year,” school board member Susan Pauling (Center District) said at the meeting. “So is there still a plan for us to be able to follow through with our commitment for the 5% in the ’24 school year?”
Not with the carryover, said Denise Sandlin, assistant superintendent of business and planning. “We have used up the whole $4.9 million, which will not include the 5% salary increase,” she said. School board members will need to look elsewhere in the budget to help fund those raises, Sandlin said.
-- Colleen LaMay HawaiÊ»i 3Rs to partner in $18M school playground repair and maintenance initiative-- Maui Now Hawaii: December 13, 2022 [ abstract] The Hawai‘i State Department of Education today announced an $18 million partnership with the nonprofit HawaiÊ»i 3Rs to improve and replace public school playground equipment across the state.
The initiative aims to repair, replace or add approximately 100 playgrounds across HawaiÊ»i. Department officials say there are currently 545 playgrounds in service across the Department’s public schools and conversion charter schools.
“Student health and wellness is a top priority for the Department, and playgrounds are a great way to provide students opportunities to socialize and engage in physical activity,” said Superintendent Keith Hayashi in a news release. “We look forward to working with Hawaii 3Rs on this initiative and thank them in advance for their hard work and dedication in expanding access to new and updated playground equipment for our students.”
Playgrounds benefit child development in a variety of ways beyond physical wellness, Hayashi said, noting such benefits as the expansion of social, emotional and imaginative skills, increasing confidence, improving coordination, and advancing critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
-- Staff Writer Rio Rancho Public Schools in need of more than $378M to fix facilities-- KOB.com New Mexico: December 13, 2022 [ abstract]
RIO RANCHO, N.M. — Rio Rancho Public Schools recently completed its five-year Facilities Master Plan, and through that process, learned it would need more than $378 million to fix all of the district’s current maintenance and facility issues.
“The findings were, in order for me to get everything up to par, $10 million a year. Again, my budget’s $3 million, is what I get,” said Melanie Archibeque, executive director of facilities at RRPS. “The idea and the reality is, we can’t get that done in five years, because we don’t have the money.”
Rio Rancho High School needs the most work.
“Rio Rancho High School is the one with the most monetary needs, and that would make sense when you think of the age and the scale of that campus,” Archibeque said.
In case the district does receive funding from the state, Archibeque said her office already submitted a plan to keep up with maintenance work, before it becomes an emergency.
“So we can see if something’s wearing out, we can know that the life expectancy is coming,” she said. “I call it controlled chaos. So if I know something’s coming in, it needs to be replaced, it’s going to be a priority depending on what it is.”
Most of that work would be scheduled during the summer when students are not in class, but again, that can’t happen without the budget for it.
-- Brianna Wilson Wyoming Legislators Asked To Triple Spending For Schools; Another $148 Million Requested-- Cowboy State Daily Wyoming: December 13, 2022 [ abstract] The Select Committee on School Facilities is recommending the Wyoming Legislature triple the state’s public school construction budget.
The select committee wants to add $148 million to the supplemental budget to fund inflation and major maintenance work, which includes another $117 million for school construction projects.
The state has $44 million in school projects on the books for the current biennium, so the $117 million more for projects would more than triple this cost to $161 million.
Inflation And Deflation
Inflation continues to be a major factor in the American economy and one of the most impacted sectors is construction.
When it comes to funding school construction projects, the largest question the Legislature’s Appropriation Committee deliberated Tuesday morning was how much additional money to factor in for future inflationary increases.
Although there was a general consensus more money is needed to cover ballooning prices, a few legislators were skeptical that prices will continue drastically increasing into the future.
The School Facilities Division determined its inflationary numbers based on an anticipated 22.5% increase in total price of projects. Based on that figure, the Appropriations Committee recommended a lower $20.5 million budget supplement for inflation Tuesday.
The Appropriations Committee already included an inflationary component on the projects it approved last year, which was not factored into the figures presented Tuesday.
The new inflation funding would cover projects that have already been approved but have not gone out to bid.
-- Leo Wolfson NNPS launches new Capital Improvement and Facilities Master Plan Dashboard-- Newport News Public Schools Virginia: December 08, 2022 [ abstract] Newport News Public Schools has launched a Capital Improvement and Facilities Master Plan Dashboard to increase public visibility and accountability for the school division's capital needs and facilities master plan.
The dashboard presents cost and management data for school facilities. It gives the public a one-stop location for capital data for each school (year of construction, total square footage, program capacity and student enrollment). The online tool also identifies major renovation needs, facility conditions, and deferred maintenance costs.
The dashboard tracks the school division's progress on key initiatives identified by the NNPS Facilities Master Plan Steering Committee including safety and security enhancements, the replacement of learning cottages, maintenance projects deferred due to the lack of available funding, and computer lab renovations. The dashboard gives users an in-depth, transparent look at facility needs through a variety of visualizations, including maps, charts and graphs. Â
"The new dashboard is a significant milestone in our long-standing efforts to provide greater transparency and accountability around NNPS school facilities. It provides insight on maintenance needs and the funding needed to support the division's aging facilities," said Dr. George Parker, superintendent of schools.
-- Michelle Price Torrington schools need $32 million in repairs, upgrades, engineers say-- The Register Citizen Connecticut: December 07, 2022 [ abstract] TORRINGTON — A recent review of the city's school buildings revealed an estimated $32 million needed for repairs and upgrades at Vogel Wetmore, Forbes, Torringford, Southwest and Torrington Middle School.
The estimate was presented by the Board of Education to the City Council this week. Petrucelli, Silver and Associates, an engineering firm employed by the school board, gave a review of each building and its needs, giving the council an idea of the state of the four elementary schools and middle school.
Included are heating and air-conditioning work, plumbing repairs, roof repairs and renovations to various areas of the buildings. Much of the needs are maintenance-related, according to Petrucelli, Silver and Associates.
-- Emily M. Olson Reading School District raises wages to attract custodial and maintenance workers-- Yahoo News Pennsylvania: December 06, 2022 [ abstract] The Reading School District needs applicants to fill 45 openings in the district's custodial and maintenance department.
To help attract candidates the school board approved an increase in hourly wages and starting rates for all custodians and trades workers in the district.
Beginning this week, the average hourly rate for custodial workers will rise to $21.97 from $19.34.
The new starting hourly rate will be $17.50 for first-shift custodial, $18.25 for second-shift custodial and $18.75 for third-shift custodial.
Starting rates for identified tradespeople, including carpenters, HVAC mechanics and plumbers will range from $25.69 to $26.44, depending on the shift.
"By increasing wages, we hope to attract more adults committed to the maintenance and upkeep of our schools and buildings, as well as developing strong relationships with our students," said Dr. Jennifer Murray, superintendent.
Researchers have found that the quality of school facilities impact student learning, she said.
"Students focus better when they're comfortable, are more likely to attend classes and may be less likely to become ill," Murray said. "These qualities all come from classrooms that have proper ventilation, are well-lit, and maintain efficient cleaning schedules."
-- Michelle Lynch, Reading Eagle, Pa. D.C. mishandles repair requests in schools, other buildings, audit says-- Washington Post District of Columbia: November 28, 2022 [ abstract] The D.C. agency responsible for maintenance and repairs in school buildings and other government property has “multiple failures” in the way it manages work orders, according to a report from the city’s auditor.
The report, released Monday, described the Department of General Services’ use of a management system that is supposed to help it handle service requests. But auditors said the system has “serious shortcomings” — including incomplete data on work order costs, inconsistent photo documentation of repairs and a failure to provide requesters with an estimated completion date.
Auditors also said the agency fails to meet response times. Routine work orders must be completed within 45 days, but it takes DGS an average of 55 days to finish or close requests, according to data from more than 48,000 work orders. Sixty-two percent of work orders considered to be “high priority” were not finished within the mandatory 10 days, according to the report.
-- Lauren Lumpkin School districts fight and dodge Indiana’s $1-school-building giveaway law-- Fox59 Indiana: November 21, 2022 [ abstract]
Scott Miller had an offer on the table.
The superintendent of Hammond City Schools had a couple of older buildings that were no longer needed for classroom instruction, Gavit and Clark high schools.
“I actually have a buyer,” said Miller.
It was the city of Hammond. Miller said the city government was interested in repurposing the structures for economic development. Not all the details were worked out, but the superintendent shared this much, “It would be in the millions. I don’t have an exact number, but it would be in the millions.”
Potentially, a pretty nice windfall for an urban school district with declining enrollment and decades of maintenance invested in both buildings.
But there would be no deal.
A state law that went into effect in July 2021 requires any local school building used for student instruction that is closed must be sold or leased to a charter school that wants it for one dollar.
Miller has kept control of the two high schools by keeping some level of activity at the buildings although student instruction has been moved to two other Hammond high schools.
“We haven’t officially said they’re worthless or unused is probably a better word. We haven’t said that officially in Hammond,” explains Miller.
What Miller did instead was successfully urge Hammond schools to join school districts from Lake Ridge and West Lafayette to challenge the state law in court claiming the dollar-for-a-school law violated both state and federal constitutions.
-- Steve Brown East TN schools got $500 million in COVID-19 funds, and now they're spending it on much-needed repairs-- WBIR Tennessee: November 17, 2022 [ abstract]
KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — For decades, East Tennessee schools have struggled to keep up with the costs of maintenance.
Parents, students and teachers have complained about leaky roofs, crowded classrooms and outdated technology. The solutions often came with million-dollar price tags that districts simply can't afford.
Then, East Tennessee schools came into a windfall — more than $500 million in COVID-19 funding. Here's how they spent it.
ALCOA CITY SCHOOLS:
Alcoa City Schools received about $3.9 million in ESSER funds, according to documents submitted to the Tennessee Department of Education.
The district said it intended to spend about $1.5 million on building upgrades at Alcoa Intermediate School, specifically on the roofing, walls and HVAC system.
It also wanted to upgrade radios and security cameras across the district, provide additional maintenance/custodial support and purchase the necessary equipment for sanitation and HVAC maintenance.
-- Grace King New report analyzes school district plans to improve air quality and facility conditions-- USGBC.org National: November 14, 2022 [ abstract] On Nov. 14, the Center for Green Schools published new findings about how school districts are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically as it relates to investing federal relief funds to manage air quality and upgrade facilities.
The American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds (ARP-ESSER or ESSER III) represented an unprecedented federal investment in K–12 schools and a lifeline over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the case of school facilities. The funding offered school systems a chance to address a critical backlog of deferred maintenance, needed equipment and infrastructure repairs, as well as upgrades to outdated building systems to improve health, air quality and comfort.
The report looks at how school districts across the country plan to invest that federal aid, with a focus on planned funding for large-scale facilities related work. The analysis includes qualitative interviews with three school district facilities personnel and a quantitative analysis based on a data set of 5,004 school districts’ ESSER-III spending plans by the Burbio data service. The data set contained information from school districts from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, representing approximately 74% of public school students and roughly $83.1 billion in ESSER III funds. Access to the data set was generously supported by Carrier.
Major findings include:
-- Phoebe Beierle School bonds mostly pass across Oregon-- OPB.org Oregon: November 09, 2022 [ abstract] Voters approved bonds and levies for schools in seven of 10 races across the state.
That includes a $250 million bond for Bend-La Pine schools and a $450 million bond for Portland Community College.
In a statement shared Tuesday night, PCC president Adrien Bennings thanked voters for their support and acknowledged the bond goals of modernizing the college’s Rock Creek and Sylvania campuses and expanding career technical education in Washington County.
“Portland continues to grow and evolve, and PCC is adapting to meet Portland’s needs,” Bennings said. “As Oregon’s largest post-secondary institution, our bond program is committed to being a responsible steward of community resources, and returning to voters and taxpayers a value that far exceeds the investment they have made in us this November.”
Bend-La Pine superintendent Steven Cook said Wednesday he will work to make the district’s schools a source of pride for residents.
“We are grateful to our community for showing their commitment to students and public education by supporting this measure, which will upgrade safety and security, modernize classrooms and provide for critical maintenance and preservation projects across our district,” Cook said in a statement emailed to OPB.
Other bonds approved by voters will support the Forest Grove School District in Washington County and David Douglas schools in Multnomah County.
-- Elizabeth Miller Committee receives preliminary report about condition of school district’s buildings as part of budget planning-- LJWorld Kansas: November 02, 2022 [ abstract] The committee tasked with coming up with budget recommendations for the Lawrence school district received some preliminary information about building conditions that will inform recommendations about potential school closures.
The Futures Planning Committee met for the fourth time Wednesday evening at district offices and received some aggregated cost estimates — totaling about $30 million — for improvements to the district’s elementary and middle schools. Larry Englebrick, the district’s chief operations officer for facilities and operations, said the district has been taking an in-depth look at the condition of its buildings, and while they are generally in good condition, facility needs and funding must be planned.
“We look at available funding, the facility needs, and then we have to balance what available funding do we have each year based with the projection of when we’re going to hit specific building improvement needs and maintenance needs,” Englebrick said.
Englebrick said the district’s target is to have all schools at 80% overall condition — he said a brand-new building would be at 100% — and he provided an aggregated breakdown of what it would cost to attain that goal for the district’s 13 elementary schools and four middle schools. The cost to get schools to 80% condition was $16.92 million for the elementary schools and $12.32 million for the middle schools. A lesser number, the cost to return only the schools’ “priority systems” to 80% condition, was also given, and was $12.78 million for the elementary schools and $10.38 million for the middle schools.
-- ROCHELLE VALVERDE Hyde County Schools receive $8 million for Mattamuskeet repairs-- Ocracoke Observer North Carolina: October 21, 2022 [ abstract] Hyde County Schools has been awarded $8.3 million to repair some of its Mattamuskeet facilities.
The award was announced at a special meeting Wednesday morning of the Hyde County commissioners and comes from the $300 million Needs Based Public School Capital Fund (NBPSCF) from the NC Department of Public Instruction, according to a press release from Hyde County Schools.
Hyde was one of nine schools statewide to receive money from this fund, which was established to assist counties with their critical public school building capital needs.
Grants from the NBPSCF are funded with revenue from the N.C. Education Lottery. Grants are available to eligible counties for construction of new school buildings and additions, repairs and renovations of existing school facilities.
Superintendent of Hyde County Schools Dr. Melanie Shaver explained the award to the commissioners, saying that the vision for these funds is to expand the Career and Technical Education Program capabilities in the Mattamuskeet School by creating the Hyde County Industrial Arts Center that will house a diesel shop, a welding shop, agricultural shop and carpentry and maintenance areas.
-- Staff Writer Millions of dollars in repairs needed at Asheville City Schools-- WLOS North Carolina: October 20, 2022 [ abstract] ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Asheville City Schools is working to address high-priority maintenance needs in several schools. Buncombe County’s School Capital Fund Commission has approved funding requests for several projects that will now go before the Buncombe County Commission for final approval.
“We’re fortunate to have a lot of really nice buildings in our district, and we’ve tried to prioritize the ones that needed the most repair,” Asheville City Schools Executive Director of Operations April Dockery said.
The School Capital Fund Commission approved $5,341,805 for an extensive renovation of the Asheville High School and SILSA auditorium. Missing tiles in the ceiling and water damage marks are some of the most noticeable signs of need in the auditorium.
“It’s been in dire need of repair for many years now, and it’s kind of the heartbeat of our school system, and our community accesses that quite frequently,” Dockery said.
-- Andrew James Proposed DC law aims to help ensure school repairs get complete-- WTOP District of Columbia: October 19, 2022 [ abstract] Ward 4 Council member Janeese Lewis George and several other members of the D.C. Council are taking action to make sure maintenance issues are resolved before a repair order is closed.
A new bill, called The School Work Order Integrity Amendment Act, requires the D.C. Department of General Services to get approval from a school principal, foreman or other school employee before a work order ticket can be closed.
The legislation is the result of repairs not getting finished because of miscommunication, or because city agencies aren’t clear on who’s responsible for certain jobs, prompting work orders to be closed prematurely, Lewis George said.
Lewis George said she hopes the new procedure is in place before the start of the 2023-24 school year.
-- Scott Gelman Major Repairs at Joe Hamilton and Crescent Elk Slated For Next Summer-- Wild Rivers Outpost Oregon: October 17, 2022 [ abstract] Del Norte Unified trustees committed nearly $4 million in COVID relief dollars to upgrade electrical systems at Joe Hamilton Elementary School and Crescent Elk Middle School a local contractor stated posed a hazard to students and staff.
Del Norte Unified School District will also use its Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) allocation to replace a generator at Crescent Elk Middle School.
DNUSD will be reimbursed for about 60 percent of the cost of the two electrical projects from the state Office of Public Services and Construction (OPSC), Director of Facilities and maintenance Steve Morgan told trustees on Thursday.
“That reimbursement can go into other projects,” he said.
These projects, which are expected to be finished over the summer, come after the results of a 2020 survey revealed that the electrical systems at nine out of 11 district schools were in need repair and replacement, according to Morgan.
-- Jessica Cejnar Andrews Many Connecticut public schools have aging air quality systems. Will local taxpayers have to foot the bill?-- Hartford Courant Connecticut: October 14, 2022 [ abstract]
Since the arrival of coronavirus more than two years ago, state and municipal officials have been jousting over who should pay to upgrade aging air quality control systems in Connecticut’s public schools.
Gov. Ned Lamont and the legislature took a step to help towns this year. But half of the $150 million they dedicated to the problem — which may not be enough — is temporary money that expires after 2025.
And as municipalities complete their applications for state aid this fall, leaders say one question still looms large. Will this cost fall primarily on a regressive local property tax system upon which Connecticut already relies heavily, or will state government — which saw its coffers swell amidst the pandemic but remains swamped with massive, long-term debt — pick up the tab?
“It’s this perpetual decision that’s always made,” said Joe DeLong, executive director of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. “If we have to pick our poison, we’re always going to push [new costs] onto the property tax.”
Towns that use ARPA funds get limited state aid
No one knows exactly how much it will cost to upgrade heating, ventilation, and other air quality control systems statewide in public schools that often skimped on maintenance.
Local education budgets are hampered by state aid that failed to keep pace with inflation. State government spent much of the past two decades — prior to 2018 — dealing with its own budget deficits, prompting officials to curtail one of the most generous school construction cost-sharing programs in the country.
-- Keith M. Phaneuf With enrollment increase, Alexandria needs more middle school space-- ALXnow Virginia: October 14, 2022 [ abstract] Alexandria leaders agree that the city either needs to expand its aging middle schools or completely build a new one.
There are now 15,700 students within Alexandria City Public Schools, and roughy 2,000 more students are expected by 2024. That puts the city in a tricky position, as 10 ACPS schools are more than 70 years old and need continual maintenance, and a surge in elementary school kids means that Alexandria needs more middle school space.
The need for a new school was outlined in a joint facilities update between City Council and the School Board on Wednesday, October 12.
“We’ve got to be creative here with how we do things,” Mayor Justin Wilson said. “We can meet the needs of enrollment in our schools with properties we own today.”
A new middle school isn’t budgeted in the city’s 10-year fiscal year 2023-2032 Capital Improvement Program Budget. Three school replacements are currently funded: the Alexandria City High School (ACHS) Minnie Howard campus, George Mason Elementary School and Cora Kelly School.
The CIP also includes more than $12 million for the renovation of an office building at 1703 N. Beauregard Street for development by 2030. The space could be used as swing space for another school under construction or as a new 600-student-capacity school.
-- James Cullum $1.7B Needed to Fix San Francisco’s Public School Buildings-- The San Francisco Standard California: October 12, 2022 [ abstract] The San Francisco Unified School District says it needs $1.7 billion in the next five years to repair and renovate its buildings.
The estimation comes from an assessment of SFUSD’s 148 sites detailed at a Board of Education meeting on Tuesday. The report from consultants lays the groundwork for a new facilities master plan and, eventually, a bond measure to fund that plan.
To meet that need, the district may ask San Francisco voters to approve a $1 billion bond—roughly the district’s operating budget—in 2023 or 2024.
The last bond for SFUSD facilities in 2016 authorized $744 million.
“We’ve been bond rich and maintenance poor,” Dawn Kamalanathan, SFUSD’s head facilities officer, said. “Without maintenance dollars to keep this up, you will see this deterioration. Underinvestment in capital structure is a statewide, if not national issue.”
Bond funds cannot be used on operating costs, including maintenance. Voters nationwide routinely approve measures allowing governments to sell bonds to raise money over time for a specific purpose, such as a school.
Electrical systems made up nearly $500 million of the estimated cost and HVAC systems made up a little under $400 million, according to the district’s presentation Tuesday. Of the total estimated cost, $340,000 was flagged as needed to address life safety risks.
-- Ida Mojadad Pee Dee school districts to receive over $20M for renovations, maintenance-- WMBF News South Carolina: October 11, 2022 [ abstract] MARLBORO COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) - Multiple school districts in South Carolina will receive millions in funding to replace and renovate school facilities.
State Superintendent Molly Spearman and Marlboro County leaders will formally announce the allocation of $21 million to school districts in the Pee Dee on Wednesday.
Dillon County School District Four will receive $12 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding and $3 million in state funding to renovate and replace aging school facilities.
In April, the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDOE) commissioned a study of schools in the state’s poorest counties to help with deciding how much capital funding would go toward disadvantaged schools. The review found that schools in Dillon Four, especially five elementary schools, were in need of modification and renovation. The schools have an average age of 73 years old with the oldest being East Elementary School which is almost 100 years old.
-- Staff Writer State commissioners approve $1.7 billion bond for GCS repairs-- Spectrum News 1 North Carolina: October 11, 2022 [ abstract] GREENSBORO, N.C. — State commissioners approved a $1.7 billion bond for Guilford County Schools to fund facility repairs, upgrades and reconstruction.
Back in 2019, Guilford County Schools reported more than 50% of its facilities ranked poor or unsatisfactory, leaving the district with more than $2 billion in repairs and $800 million in deferred maintenance. In 2020, the district received a $300 million bond to start addressing some of those repairs, but it needed more. In the May primary, residents voted to pass a $1.7 billion bond to continue repairs, renovations and reconstruction.
Mark Miller has seen the need of these schools first-hand. He’s the director of maintenance and operations for Guilford County Schools. Crews are currently repairing a leak in the roof of Swann Middle School, where students are learning in a 100-year-old building.
“Our customers’ needs are currently not being met fully, and this bond gives us the opportunity for our aging facilities to be able to fix them,” he said.
-- COURTNEY WALLEN Which school buildings in Hamilton County need the most repair? Group aims to find out-- News Channel 9 Tennessee: September 20, 2022 [ abstract]
We're out to answer a basic question about Hamilton County Schools: Which schools in the county have the most maintenance requests that haven't been addressed?
School officials, including former Hamilton County School Board Chair Tucker McClendon, have long pointed out there are many repairs needed across the district.
McClendon, who is now deputy county mayor for education and workforce development, is a member of a newly-created County School Facilities Working Group that Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp announced on Tuesday.
McClendon said the working group will use the 2018 MGT study commissioned by the school board as its baseline for the work.
That consulting group recommended closing 9 schools, constructing new buildings for 11 schools, renovating 27 schools, increasing the capacity of 6 schools, and having new locations or sites for 4 schools.
But where do things stand today? That's what we aim to find out. We have reached out to Hamilton County officials to get a current list of the schools most in need of repairs. We'll update this story when we learn more details.
-- Sam Peña CHCCS Committee addresses funding needs to repair aging schools-- The Daily Tar Heel North Carolina: September 15, 2022 [ abstract] Some of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' facilities are in need of repair or replacement, as the CHCCS Finance and Facilities Committee discussed at its Sept. 13 meeting.
Rani Dasi, the CHCCS Board of Education vice chair, presented the findings of the Capital Needs Work Group, which was founded in 2021 and is composed of representatives from Orange County, Orange County Schools and CHCCS.
The work group’s goal is to develop a plan for dedicating funds and addressing the needs of school facilities, especially older ones.
The work group found that more than half of the schools in the county are over 50 years old, and many are in need of major repairs or total reconstruction.
The aging school buildings are expensive to maintain and can provide poor learning environments for children, the work group's presentation said.
“The latest thinking is that there's somewhere upwards of half a billion dollars that will be necessary to invest between the school districts in bringing those school buildings up to current standards,” Dasi said.
The work group also found that there are currently no standards or funding for ongoing school maintenance, and that policies have not been developed for allocating money for these needs.
-- Eliza Benbow St. Mary's schools facing maintenance delays-- Southern Maryland News Maryland: September 14, 2022 [ abstract]
“It’s bad.”
With those words, St. Mary’s public schools’ Director of maintenance Steve Whidden told the school board about the lack of parts for various school maintenance projects.
The delays in completing such projects have gone from an average of 66 days to 98 days since 2020, he said. Ten years ago, it was 29 days.
In addition, a lack in finding available contractors has also impacted the school system.
“We’re having a hard time getting contractors to respond except for a couple local ones,” he said.
Whidden added that he’s had to pull staff from other assignments to “babysit” projects, such as heating and air conditioning repairs, until all of the necessary parts come in.
“I’ve never had this much problem finding someone who was qualified and would accept what we were offering,” he said.
Board member Jim Davis asked Whidden if he had thought about using students from the school system’s Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center.
“We’ve been talking about that,” Whidden said, noting students could possibly be used as part-time hourly employees in an internship.
The board voted 5-0 to approve Whidden’s proposed 2022 comprehensive maintenance plan.
Kim Howe, director of capital planning, presented the five-year capital improvement plan, which the board approved 4-0 after Vice Chair Cathy Allen had to leave.
Howe noted that the school system has a 51.25% Facility Condition Index compared to the state average of 47%. This means St. Mary’s public schools have more need in regard to facilities than the statewide average, she said.
“It’s a very heavy lift locally to get these jobs done,” Superintendent Scott Smith said.
-- Caleb M. Soptelean Annual survey finds no major deficiencies in Maryland school buildings, but some work still needed for improvement-- Maryland Matters Maryland: September 12, 2022 [ abstract] Although the majority of Maryland’s public school buildings are adequate for educational use, some still have problems with deteriorated roads and walkways, fire and safety systems and interior lighting.
That’s the finding of The Interagency Commission on School Construction, which approved the final draft of a fiscal year 2022 maintenance report this month.
The report assessed 265 schools that were chosen based on their being unevaluated for the last six fiscal years, being at least three years old or, or never being reviewed. There are more than 1,360 active public schools statewide.
About 189 schools were rated as adequate which is defined as “maintenance is sufficient to achieve the life of each system within the facility and, with appropriate capital spending and renewal, the total expected lifespan.”
Twenty-two schools received a “good” rating for buildings that will likely extend beyond the life of expectancy. A “superior” rating was elusive in 2022.
Approximately 52 schools from the report were classified as “not adequate.” Two schools — one each in Allegany and Prince George’s counties — were classified as poor, which means those buildings show evidence of significant or extensive corrosion or leaks, inconsistent custodial or maintenance practices, or extensive repairs or replacement needed.
-- William J. Ford Coeur d'Alene schools face quality of education pressures as the $80 million levy fails-- KREM2 Idaho: September 01, 2022 [ abstract]
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Multiple factors helped tank the Coeur d’Alene School District’s levy Tuesday at the polls, including an opposition campaign by the local Republican party, reports our partners from the Coeur d'Alene Press.
The school plant facilities levy, if passed by voters, would have provided the school district with an additional $8 million per year over 10 years to support safety and maintenance needs in school buildings.
It required a 55% supermajority to pass, but received just 50.27% of the votes in favor, which was slightly more than the nearly 50% who voted against the measure.
"The failure of the levy does not change the fact that the district has some security measures and deferred maintenance issues that need to be addressed," Coeur d'Alene School Board Vice Chair Casey Morrisroe told The Press on Wednesday. "We will need to look at other options."
If approved, the levy would have provided funding to address more than $25 million in deferred maintenance projects, ranging from aging heating and cooling systems, roofs, water heaters and flooring to sound systems, alarm systems, door locks and security cameras.
"It’s unfortunate that the levy did not pass as the safety, security and maintenance needs of our buildings and district remain the same," Board Chair Rebecca Smith said.
-- Devin Weeks State offers to help Peñasco schools replace aging facilities-- Santa Fe New Mexican New Mexico: August 20, 2022 [ abstract] TAOS — The state is poised to help the Peñasco Independent School District demolish its facilities and replace them with new buildings.
The rural district has struggled to keep up with the increasingly burdensome maintenance needs of its elementary, middle and high schools, parts of which were built in the 1950s. Some classrooms lacked heat last winter, and students returned to school earlier this month to find there was no air conditioning in some classrooms.
The district is working on its first-ever facilities master plan.
Three staff members of the state Public School Capital Outlay Council, traveled to Peñasco to apprise the district of the opportunity. Alyce Ramos, programs manager for the New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority, told the Peñasco school board Tuesday that all three buildings are expected to rise near the top of the state’s list of school facilities in need of replacement.
The list, updated annually, will be released Jan. 7.
Peñasco’s schools are ranked between 153rd and 379th among nearly 700 public schools across the state. After the list is updated, the district’s schools will all be ranked somewhere “in the top 20 or 25,” Ramos said. If the district applies for facilities replacement, Peñasco could see new buildings in three to six years.
-- Geoffrey Plant 3 taken to hospital after ceiling collapse in library at Cummings School, MFD says-- FOX13 Tennessee: August 15, 2022 [ abstract]
Three people were taken to the hospital after a ceiling collapsed at Cummings K-8 Optional School in South Memphis Monday.
Officials with the Memphis Fire Department (MFD) said a tile ceiling in the library collapsed.
A librarian and two other workers were taken to the hospital in non-critical condition.
Two other workers were injured that were not inside the library at the time, officials said.
Officials said one MFD unit went to Regional One following the incident.
According to Michelle Robinson-McKissack, MSCS Board Chair, students were evacuated and taken to Metropolitan Baptist Church, 767 Walker Ave.
No students were injured in the incident, which Memphis-Shelby County Schools described as a maintenance issue.
The school dismissed early Monday.
-- Staff Writer SCS has ‘busiest summer’ for facility fixes-- The Sampson Independent North Carolina: August 13, 2022 [ abstract] Sampson County Schools started a major maintenance overhaul this summer, much of it federally funded, allowing them to fix some issues just in the nick of time, according to Mark Hammond, maintenance director. The school system is dealing with national shortages to bring significant benefits to local school children.
“There are a lot of big projects that we’re taking on,” Hammond stated. “This is by far the busiest summer that we’ve ever had.” This uptick in improvements is possible because of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds from the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress last year. “These are projects we wouldn’t normally be doing if we didn’t have that ESSER funding,” he said.
No Republican senators supported the American Rescue Plan. North Carolina senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr both voted against the bill that has provided to this funding.
All spending of ESSER funds must be tied to improving the air quality and improving environmental factors for schools, noted Maria Rose, Sampson County Schools Plant Operations Office Manager.
The major get under ESSER is roof replacements for ten schools. “Roofs are one of the most expensive parts of upkeep on a building,” Hammond said.
-- India K. Autry Summer is the time for school construction projects to get underway-- Alaska's News Source Alaska: August 09, 2022 [ abstract] ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - There are a lot of things that need to get done leading up to kids going back to school, but what a lot of people may not realize is on the last day of school in the spring, kids head out and maintenance workers go in.
“It gets fast — right now is the time we’re really pushing the pedal to the metal to get these projects done,” said Calvin Mundt, project manager for Capital Planning and Construction for the Anchorage School District.
Mundt’s team has been working on a retubing project where two of the school’s four boilers are getting an upgrade. Mundt said it’s part of a larger project that started three summers ago when the last small chunk of funding from a 2017 bond allowed them to retube the boilers — a cost of $60,000 each — instead of having to replace them outright.
“If we were to replace each of those boilers, we would do so with a modern high-efficiency boiler — that would involve engineering and replacing all of the controls also, that’s about a million dollars a copy,” said the district’s acting Chief Operating Officer Rob Holland.
-- Ariane Aramburo and Mike Nederbrock A request to invest in school safety, maintenance-- Coeur dAlene Post Falls Press Idaho: July 31, 2022 [ abstract] Yellow spray paint encircles large, jagged potholes in the Lake City High School parking lot.
"Once you start to get cracks, they just get worse and worse and worse," Coeur d'Alene School District Director of Operations Jeff Voeller said.
At Fernan STEM Academy, windowsills are warped, hand washing sinks are disintegrating and cooling towers are falling into disrepair.
"There are definitely some health and safety issues here," district spokesman Scott Maben said.
Crumbling sidewalks, rotting ramps, torn carpets, dilapidated heating systems, and entrances and schoolyards that need increased security are among the many items the district hopes to address with funding from the school plant facilities levy that will go before voters Aug. 30.
If this levy passes muster at the polls, it would allow the district to collect up to $8 million per year for 10 years. If the full amount is not needed in any given year, less than $8 million will be levied.
The district has 40 buildings across 17 school campuses and four operational facilities. These facilities are, on average, 30 years old.
The backlog of deferred maintenance in these facilities exceeds $25 million. Without a dedicated and sufficient funding source, the deferred maintenance cost will snowball, hitting a projected $68 million within five years and exceeding $101 million within 10 years.
-- DEVIN WEEKS RPS approves 10 year long term facilities maintenance plan, but expects costs for projects to rise-- KIMT3 Minnesota: July 26, 2022 [ abstract]
ROCHESTER, Minn.-The Rochester Public School Board approved the district's 10 year long term facilities maintenance plan at its meeting on Tuesday.
RPS' Director of Finance and Technology John Carlson said there is an estimated $295 million dollars worth of projects for the next 10 years at 36 district buildings, which have an average age of 41 years old.
However, Carlson said record high inflation and supply chain issues have increased the estimated cost of future projects and that the district may have to cut back its funding amount on some projects in the future.
RPS is required to submit a 10 year plan to the Minnesota Department of Education but Carlson said the district only needed to approve its plan to spend around $5 million dollars for the 2024 fiscal year.
"What you are really being asked to approve is the FY 24 pay as you go amount because that is the amount we need to turn in on these sheets and it will be on the pay '23 levy that you are going to have access to in Sep. and even at that time you have further chance to say, no we do not want to levy that amount but we can not get a number on the levy sheet until we approve the long term maintenance plan by July 31," Carlson said.
-- Alek LaShomb Staying cool in school: Districts prepare to make sure AC works in extreme heat-- The Dallas Morning News Texas: July 26, 2022 [ abstract]
With the start of the new school year just weeks away, families are preparing to send their kids back to school, stocking up on school supplies and new clothes. As families get ready, so do school district maintenance teams across North Texas.
Teams have spent all summer updating air conditioning units, making needed repairs and doing preventive maintenance — changing filters, cleaning coils, replacing belts and motors — to make sure air conditioning systems are running properly so classrooms are cool on the first day of school.
“We work around the clock making sure that everything is ready to go,” said William Kelly Horn, assistant superintendent of facility services with Arlington ISD.
Even with extreme temperatures this summer, many North Texas districts have stuck with normal protocols to prepare air conditioning units for the approaching school year. The bigger concern has been making sure crews working in the heat are safe.
Triple-digit highs are expected to continue in the area for much of this week. Last month, the high reached at least 100 degrees on nine days, compared to the typical June total of two. A heat advisory is in effect for portions of North Texas until Wednesday at 9 p.m. Hot temperatures and high humidity will increase the risk for heat-related illnesses to occur, especially for those working outside.
-- Haeven Gibbons St. Louis Public Schools asks voters for more money as schools crumble nationwide-- NPR Missouri: July 19, 2022 [ abstract] In St. Louis and across the country, school buildings are in bad need of updates. The American Society of Civil Engineers does a regular report card of the country’s infrastructure, and in the most recent one, schools got a D+.
“A large portion of the system exhibits some pretty significant deterioration,” said Marsia Geldert-Murphey, president-elect of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Funding for school infrastructure has been a national problem for decades, she said.
“In the 1950s and ’60s, people were very willing to participate in building this amazing infrastructure that we have,” Geldert-Murphey said. “But it is now aged out, and we haven't been keeping up with the maintenance and the operations, and so we’re suffering for it.”
Those types of maintenance issues are especially prevalent in St. Louis Public Schools, where the district estimates the average age of buildings is 87 and many were built at the turn of the 20th century. As federal funding for school infrastructure has stalled, districts like SLPS are asking voters to pass local bond measures to address decades of wear and tear.
-- Kate Grumke Analysis: Will a surplus change the way Idaho pays for its schools?-- idahoednews.org Idaho: July 14, 2022 [ abstract] Idaho likely has a record budget surplus, and some education leaders say it’s time for a big change.
They’d like to see legislators use some of the money to repair or replace aging and overcrowded schools.
The history isn’t encouraging. Legislators have long resisted the idea of using state dollars for buildings — putting the responsibility, and the out-of-pocket cost, on the shoulders of local property taxpayers.
But education lobbyists hope two factors will change the conversation this time around.
The first factor is the surplus itself. Based on projections, Idaho ended the 2021-22 budget year on June 30 with a $1.3 billion surplus. The final numbers are expected next week.
The second factor is a scathing January report from the Legislature’s research arm, the Office of Performance Evaluations. The report said it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to bring Idaho’s schools to “good” condition. But researchers were hesitant to put a price tag to the maintenance backlog, because the Legislature hasn’t bothered to ask for a statewide school buildings assessment since 1993.
Big surplus, meet big problem. Big problem, meet big surplus.
But only if lawmakers are willing to make a historic shift in how they view the state’s obligation to education.
“This is a golden opportunity,” said Rod Gramer, CEO of Idaho Business for Education. “I know it’s controversial, but what better time to start tackling that problem?”
-- Kevin Richert ISBE distributes $30 million in state funding, to over 600 eligible applicants through School Maintenance Grants-- WAND Illinois: July 07, 2022 [ abstract] SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) – The Illinois State Board of Education has distributed the fiscal year 2022 School maintenance Grants, totaling $30 million in state funding, to over 600 eligible applicants.
According to the ISBE, grantees will be able to use the money to improve and maintain education infrastructure throughout the state of Illinois.
The School maintenance Grant Program is a dollar-for-dollar state matching grant open to school districts, cooperative high schools, vocational centers, and special education cooperatives.
Eligible applicants are able to receive up to $50,000 to put toward completing proposed maintenance projects.
-- Staff Writer Alaska budget to pay $300M for old school construction costs-- KTUU Alaska: June 30, 2022 [ abstract]
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Fifteen Alaska local governments are set to share around $300 million to pay for old school construction costs as part of the budget passed by the Alaska Legislature last month that was signed into law by Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Tuesday.
Before 2015, communities with a tax base would bond for the costs of building new schools, often over many years, and the state of Alaska would then pay for around 60-70% of that incurred debt. The state’s reimbursement was subject to appropriation as noted on the bonding proposals put out to voters.
The state’s fiscal crisis saw the state’s payments come under the chopping block. The Legislature implemented a moratorium on incurring new school construction costs until 2020, which was then extended until 2025.
In 2016, then Gov. Bill Walker vetoed 25% of the state’s annual contribution for school bond debt. Gov. Mike Dunleavy controversially vetoed 50% of the state’s payments each year between 2019 and 2021 as legislators grappled with a $1.6 billion deficit.
Nils Andreassen, executive director of the Alaska Municipal League, said those vetoes had a “drastic” effect on some small communities’ bottom lines that expected the state to pay its share.
“It meant that they had to pick this up on their own,” Andreassen said. “They drew down from savings, from their maintenance accounts. It meant that they weren’t able to fund their other priorities. It meant tax increases for some communities.”
An ongoing windfall from high oil prices has changed the state’s fiscal picture, turning a billion-dollar deficit into a multibillion-dollar surplus. The Legislature appropriated roughly $300 million during the last legislative session to reimburse municipalities for school bond debt for this year, and each of the three years of Dunleavy’s vetoes.
“I don’t think we can underestimate how big a difference this is going to make for many of those communities,” Andreassen said.
-- Sean Maguire Here comes the sun to Sleepy Eye: board approves Solar for Schools-- The Journal Minnesota: June 27, 2022 [ abstract]
SLEEPY EYE — After tabling the topic for clarification, the Sleepy Eye School Board approved a Solar for Schools solar array purchase, facility lease and power purchase agreements Wednesday.
Superintendent John Cselovszki said contracts with Ideal Energies Inc. of Minneapolis that are part of the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s Solar for Schools Program included separate agreements for the high school and elementary school.
“Everything is as it should be now,” Cselovszki said. “Agreements were reviewed by city of Sleepy Eye staff and Tim Harbo, our maintenance consultant.”
Earlier this year, Cselovszki told the board that the district was awarded two Solar of Schools grants for a solar power project that could save district taxpayers about 20%, or $7,579 a year, for 20 years until the project is paid for and is owned by the school district.
The Solar for Schools program includes Ideal Energies helping the school monitor electrical usage, production and dispatching field service if needed.
-- FRITZ BUSCH Gadsden County Schools plan to build new $60M K-8 school to address maintenance concerns-- WCTV Florida: June 21, 2022 [ abstract] QUINCY, Fla. (WCTV) - The Gadsden County School district is working on a $60 million project to build a new school because several buildings have been poorly maintained during the past 50 years, according to district officials.
“It will really make a difference,” said Gadsden County Schools Superintendent Elijah Key. “We’re talking about buildings now where the A/C may go out, so kids are dealing with heat.”
The new K-8 school would combine students from Stewart Street Elementary, George W. Munroe Elementary, and James A. Shanks Middle School. The new school would be built on the current grounds of Shanks Middle School, which would be torn down.
Key said, right now, the buildings are not conducive to student learning.
One parent said building a new school for students is a good start, but there needs to be an investment in the classroom as well.
-- Staci Inez More than a Band-Aid needed for Cd'A schools-- cdapress.com Idaho: June 19, 2022 [ abstract] Safety and security updates and a host of repairs are desperately needed across the Coeur d'Alene School District.
The district has more than $25 million in deferred maintenance — projects and repairs that have been needed for some time.
The average age of Coeur d'Alene public school facilities is 30 years, which means students are surrounded by buildings and equipment as old as, or even older, than their parents.
That age is showing, and it's only going to get worse. If nothing is done, that $25 million in facilities work needed now will increase to $68 million by 2027.
"It just snowballs and keeps getting bigger and bigger every year," said Coeur d'Alene Superintendent Shon Hocker. "We have to get a handle on this deferred maintenance, or it's going to become a bigger issue."
Earlier this month, the district's long-range planning committee presented to the Coeur d'Alene school board a recommendation for a school plant facilities reserve fund levy to help resolve the maintenance concerns. The levy would fund deferred maintenance projects for up to 10 years. The long-range planning committee deems deferred maintenance to be one of the district's highest priorities.
A school plant facilities reserve fund levy is a property tax measure decided by a school district's registered voters.
-- DEVIN WEEKS Is It Time to Reimagine the American Schoolyard?-- Next City Illinois: June 07, 2022 [ abstract] Harold Washington Elementary School in the Burnside neighborhood on the south side of Chicago got a new schoolyard in 2020. It features a running track, sports fields and playground equipment — but what Washington’s Principal Sherri Walker likes best are the little conversational groupings of rocks. “It’s so special for the older girls,” Walker says. “They don’t always want to play on the equipment or play sports — but they sit on those rocks and talk. It becomes a quiet space where they can sit and decompress.” In a year with so much stress and loss, especially in Chicago’s most underinvested neighborhoods, these spaces are invaluable.
Principal Walker’s schoolyard is part of a program called Space to Grow, which turns Chicago schoolyards into beautiful green spaces for play and learning using green stormwater infrastructure that also helps build climate resilience. The schoolyards include playground structures and sports fields, outdoor classrooms for nature-based learning, edible gardens and the conversation rocks or other quiet spaces the students at Washington like so much. Studies show that access to green space and outdoor play during the school day are associated with improved focus and academic performance. Daily connection with nature supports mental health. And, since Space to Grow schoolyards are also open to the community outside of school hours, the program’s benefits aren’t just limited to students.
It seems obvious that every student should have access to such a positive space, but there just isn’t enough money — or the will to prioritize spending — to replace the acres of asphalt that cover school grounds in many cities across the country. A 2021 report on the state of U.S. schools found that the country is underinvesting in school buildings and grounds to the tune of $85 billion per year. “Underinvestment in capital renewals of existing public schools as well as chronic underfunding of maintenance and repairs sadly remains the rule rather than the exception,” the report notes. And, as the report also points out, “inequity is hard-wired into public education infrastructure.” For example, in Chicago, the same Black and Latinx neighborhoods are subjected to the same type of disinvestment over and over again.
-- ROCHELLE DAVIS & GERALD W. ADELMANN Maintenance levy possible for Coeur d'Alene School District this summer-- KREM.com Idaho: June 07, 2022 [ abstract]
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A school plant facilities levy could soon be coming to residents in the Coeur d'Alene School District, as reported by our news partner, the Coeur d'Alene Press.
A swift timeline would be necessary to tackle a number of items on the district's deferred maintenance backlog, which is $25 million today and expected to grow to $68 million by 2027 if repairs are not made. The levy would establish a pool of funds for deferred maintenance projects and school safety needs, which at this time have no established funding source. Deferred maintenance includes air heating and cooling system upgrades, roof repairs, paving work, replacing hot water heaters, new carpeting, drinking fountains, alarm systems and security cameras.
"We are just struggling all around, not only with facilities but with staffing," Coeur d'Alene Superintendent Shon Hocker said Monday during the school board meeting.
He recommended the board immediately move forward with the facilities levy rather than wait because the district's maintenance and operations levy will be up for a vote in March.
"I don't think we should go to our community asking for both at the same time," he said. "I think that's a lot to bite off for any community member and I think we need to be more specific. I also think that, in good conscience to our community, we can address some of these safety and maintenance challenges in our community earlier rather than later."
-- Devin Weeks ‘We Are Never Caught Up’: Hawaii’s Aging Schools Need A Facelift-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: June 02, 2022 [ abstract]
The rickety outdoor stairs leading to the second floor of Hilo Intermediate School are loosely blocked off by yellow caution tape. Wood chipped off the building’s exterior earlier this year, threatening nearby students.
Problems at the nearly century-old Big Island school are on a long list of statewide repair projects that are part of a growing backlog as the Department of Education’s facilities maintenance team struggles to keep aging buildings safely in operation.
Aaron Kubo, a social studies teacher at the school, also said tile pieces have fallen from the ceiling indoors in past years.
“With these repairs, if they’re not addressed somebody is going to get hurt,” Kubo said. “Safety should be on the forefront of our minds and taking care of those who are our future should be a priority.”
The DOE’s facilities maintenance branch is responsible for 4,425 buildings statewide, which is more than 20 million square feet of space, according to the department’s figures. It’s kept busy as some 20% of Hawaii’s 257 public schools are more than 100 years old and the average age of school buildings in the islands is 72.
The department has long been criticized for its hefty repair and maintenance backlogs, and data shows not much has changed.
A backlog of more than 4,600 repair projects with an estimated cost of $1.4 billion is a sharp increase from 3,800 backlogged projects in 2018.
-- Cassie Ordonio Anchorage School District talks about how to make elementary schools more secure-- Alaska News Source Alaska: May 26, 2022 [ abstract] ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The recent school shooting in Texas has some Anchorage parents wondering how secure their child’s elementary school is. The news that the shooter was able to access the school through an unlocked door has some wondering how easily that could happen in Anchorage.
Anchorage School District maintenance and Operations Director Rob Holland explained that every elementary school in Anchorage is locked and secure during school hours. In other words, the doors are open during drop-off and pick-up times for parents, but once classes start, the doors are locked.
But some schools have an extra layer of security, which Holland called incredibly important for stopping an intruder. Schools that have a security vestibule require visitors to be buzzed in twice, the second time through a door that leads directly into the school office.
“If we can slow down a potential intruder we create response time,” Holland said. “If we can completely lock out an intruder then we are able to prevent whatever nefarious act would have occurred.”
-- Lauren Maxwell Beaverton voters approve $723 million school construction bond-- Oregon Live Oregon: May 17, 2022 [ abstract]
Beaverton School District voters approved a $723 million bond to replace Beaverton High and Raleigh Hills K-8 school and carry out deferred maintenance and seismic upgrades throughout the district.
To pay for it, property taxes will increase by 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, resulting in a $709 school construction-related tax bill for the owner of the typical home, assessed at $303,000. If voters had rejected the bonds, the tax rate would instead have fallen 41 cents per $1,000, yielding a $509 tax bill for school construction debt on such a home.
Preliminary results as of 1 a.m. Wednesday showed 54% of Beaverton School District voters approving the bond and 46% rejecting it.
There was no organized opposition to the bond. Proponents raised $150,000 for brochures, online ads and other promotional efforts. Lead funders were Pacific Office Automation, at $25,000, and Nike, with $20,000. Three other donors -- food company executive Patricia Reser, law firm Miller Nash and construction company Kirby Nagelhout -- each gave $15,000.
By far the largest outlay from the bond, $253 million, will be to build a new Beaverton High on the campus that is home to the school, which was built in 1916 and has been expanded many times over the years. It’s the only high school in the district with a seismic rating indicating it would be at risk of partial or full collapse during an earthquake, district officials say. It also needs $53 million worth of repairs, which the district now won’t have to pay for.
-- Betsy Hammond and Fedor Zarkhin Philly brings process to fix aging schools to the public. Is it enough?-- Chalkbeat Philadelphia Pennsylvania: May 17, 2022 [ abstract] As the Philadelphia district aims to tell the public how it is managing its aging infrastructure, parents and community leaders remain concerned about possible school closures, lack of enrollment data, and transparency when it comes to school building maintenance and safety.
The district is in the middle of public engagement about its long-term plan to improve school facilities. During this round of talks, which will take place over Zoom, the district’s facilities planning team is providing an overview of the process, including project goals and data collected from the district. These sessions began May 10 and are open to the public. Additional sessions are scheduled for May 18, 19, 24, and 25. To participate, residents can register online.
In addition, as part of that plan, all district school buildings will be evaluated over the next 12 months, with the goal of creating recommendations for each building.
To identify problems with school buildings and identify recommendations to address them, the district also launched a $1.3 million Facilities Planning Process last month. School officials unveiled a website with an interactive map that the community could use to access information about each school building’s condition, as well as facility assessments conducted by third-party industry professionals.
-- Johann Calhoun VALLEY CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS FUTURE FACILITIES OPTIONS DISCUSSED-- NewsDakota.com North Dakota: May 17, 2022 [ abstract] VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Valley City school board continues to move cautiously on whether the district should build a new school or repair their existing facilities.
During a public meeting on May 16th, superintendent Josh Johnson said the district it facing some tough decisions due to aging buildings and facility maintenance upgrade needs. He said the district it looking at the most cost-effective option for all school district stakeholders.
Johnson said under one option, the cost to build a new grade 7-12 structure is estimated at $55 million. He said the school district has $3 million in COVID dollars to use for a new building. He said if there was a referendum vote and it passed, the maximum allowed would be $40 million, but, he said the district would still be $12 million short for that proposed construction project.
During the meeting, someone asked if the remaining money could be made up using dollars from the state Legacy Fund. Rep. Dwight Kiefert said it was unlikely that lawmakers would reach a two-thirds majority to free up funding for school district building projects, being there are other needs for those dollars across the state.
Johnson was asked about the school district’s priority for a new heating and cooling system, he had this response.
Johnson talked about how the school district can use their existing $3.8 million in COVID funding and the timeline.
Johnson believes transferring existing technologies and furniture would not be a cost effective issue, if the school district built a new structure.
-- Steve Urness Wu to launch a new era of school construction, pledging $2 billion to revamp city’s school facilities-- The Boston Globe Massachusetts: May 12, 2022 [ abstract]
Mayor Michelle Wu pledged Thursday to spend $2 billion to overhaul Boston’s deteriorating school facilities, under an ambitious effort that would begin with 14 new school buildings or major renovations.
Wu billed the proposal as a “Green New Deal for Boston Public Schools” and promised to greatly accelerate the pace of construction in a school system that has built fewer than a dozen new schools over the last 40 years, and where some buildings date to the 1800s. In many schools, the clanking of steam radiators distracts students, learning spaces are devoid of sunlight and fresh air, and water fountains lack drinkable water.
“These improvements are long overdue, decades overdue in many cases, and we’re often seeing the consequences of deferred maintenance,” Wu said outside the McKinley Elementary School in the South End.
“Our young people see that every day in the feelings they have when they enter buildings where you can see water stains on the ceiling tiles, or shades that don’t properly work, or windows that are sticky to open,” Wu said. “And we’re seeing that has built and reinforces mistrust between the city and the community we are here to serve.”
The ultimate goal is to ensure that every school community will be in an upgraded building. But that could involve some difficult decisions about combining schools in a district where many families like the intimacy of small schools, even if it comes at the expense of art, music, or gym. That dynamic has sometimes made it difficult for administrators to win support for large-scale projects.
The new building plan comes as BPS is grappling with a decline in enrollment and is under pressure from some elected officials and fiscal watchdogs to close buildings. Current enrollment is about 49,000, down about 8,000 students over the past decade.
-- James Vaznis Del. senator introduces legislation to set standards at school facilities-- WMDT Delaware: April 28, 2022 [ abstract] DOVER, Del. – Delaware Senator Stephanie Hansen filed legislation on Thursday to create the first uniform standards for evaluating the physical condition and air quality at more than 200 schools and other educational facilities operated by Delaware’s public school districts.
Currently, each of the state’s 19 school districts conducts its own internal needs assessments for school facilities with each district examining a different set of conditions at various frequencies based on its own standards. Officials say that when deficiencies are found, funding requests from the districts for minor capital improvements valued at less than $1 million are submitted to the Department of Education before being collectively presented to the Joint Capital Improvement Committee.
Over the past decade, most capital improvement funding has been allocated to major capital projects such as new school construction, with only $10 million to $15 million in state funds annually dedicated to minor capital projects statewide. This minimal funding makes it difficult for individual districts to keep up with maintenance on school buildings. We’re told the total value of deferred minor capital improvement funding requested by the state’s school districts is currently estimated at more than $1.1 billion, with nearly 50% of that cost coming from projects sought by the Christina and Red Clay Consolidated school districts alone.
-- Sarah Ash Rodents infest Jacksonville elementary school, force cafeteria closure-- News 4 JAX Florida: April 28, 2022 [ abstract] JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The cafeteria at Duval County’s Cedar Hills Elementary School was shut down as maintenance staff and exterminators work to solve a rodent infestation at the campus.
Families were notified by a message from the school’s principal, Marva McKinney, who emphasized the importance of full transparency with regard to any situation that might affect student education.
“I am calling to share that rodents have been spotted on our campus and inside our school building,” McKinney’s message said. “Because of this, we are taking several measures using guidance from our pest control contractor and district maintenance staff.”
McKinney said the school closed down the school’s cafeteria, the main spot where rodents were found, allowing exterminators to carry out an “aggressive treatment plan” and minimize the impact on school operations.
The principal’s message noted that the plan includes “trapping and safely removing” the rodents. While the extermination efforts proceed, the school will have food prepared offsite and served to students outside the cafeteria.
-- Joe McLean DeKalb County superintendent asks for ‘grace’ on school repairs plan-- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: April 22, 2022 [ abstract]
DeKalb County Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris is asking for “a little grace” as her administration tries to figure out the ramifications of a surprising decision by the school board about districtwide building repairs.
At a meeting this week, the board voted 5-2 in the final hour to put critical maintenance needs across the district first rather than major projects at a shorter list of schools. That was a blow to supporters hoping for modernization of Druid Hills High School, estimated to cost up to $60 million.
“We’re in a process of digesting what was presented and doing an analysis of how that fits into what we were planning to do anyway,” Watson-Harris said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Before Monday’s vote, she had urged the board to give staff time to vet the proposal. The school district has previously been accused of misusing taxpayer dollars and not keeping promises made to the community, she said.
But five members of the board decided not to heed the caution of Watson-Harris, who assumed her post nearly two years ago — the district’s sixth superintendent in almost a decade.
“We have to unpack what’s already been done, what we had already planned to do, what are the priority items that can be easily completed, our capital projects and the new priorities,” she told the AJC on Wednesday.
-- Cassidy Alexander School District of La Crosse considers consolidating schools as part of long-range facility planning-- WEAU Wisconsin: April 20, 2022 [ abstract] LA CROSSE, Wis. (WEAU) - The School District of La Crosse is holding a pair of public community listening sessions to discuss long-term facility planning for the district.
The upcoming sessions will highlight the District’s declining student population, aging facilities and work done on budgeting and operations to manage persistent shortfalls in funding.
According to the District’s information page for facility planning, annual enrollment in the school district has declined by over 1,400 students in the past 20 years. The District cited lower birth rates over the past 30 years as a cause of the decline, and noted that each student brings in about $11,300 in revenue. In addition, La Crosse administrators expect the enrollment to continue to decline for at least the next five to 10 years. The most recent publicly-available open enrollment figures also show the school district losing more students to transfers than it is bringing in since 2018-19, with 2019-2020 seeing a net loss of 34 students to open enrollment transfer.
Aging facilities are also a concern of the School District of La Crosse, according to the District’s facility planning page. Some of the 15 buildings in operation are over 80 years old, with millions of dollars each year budgeted for maintenance and updates to keep the schools in compliance with federal and state standards. The District also said that La Crosse is the smallest school district in Wisconsin with two high schools, and that districts of its size typically have 10 or 11 buildings, not 15. The average age of the buildings used by the school district is 60 years.
-- Jimmie Kaska Capital plan prompts talk on future of some Halifax County elementary schools-- The Gazette-Virginian Virginia: April 19, 2022 [ abstract]
When it came time for Halifax County School Board to consider approval of its capital improvement plan when they met Monday evening, it prompted school board members to ask about the future of some elementary schools.
In August of last year, the board mulled an idea to close Clays Mill Elementary, Meadville Elementary and Sinai Elementary as a way to help fund increases to teacher pay and the new Halifax County High School.
A series of public hearings were held in the fall on the matter, but the board made no decisions regarding the elementary schools.
The capital improvement plan they approved Monday evening includes a schedule of tasks the maintenance department hopes to complete within the next five years.
Included in the schedule for fiscal year 2023 are HVAC upgrades to Clays Mill Elementary School at a cost of $650,000, curtain replacement at Clays Mill Elementary School for approximately $7,500, partial roof replacement for $25,000 and curtain replacement at Sinai Elementary School for $10,000.
-- ASHLEY CONNER Growth putting pressure on schools, cost on taxpayers-- Idaho6 Idaho: April 14, 2022 [ abstract]
TREASURE VALLEY, Idaho — It's no secret that Idaho is growing – bringing hordes of new families to the Treasure Valley and pushing some school facilities to their limit.
U.S. Census Data from 2020 reported a 17.3% increase in the Idaho population since 2010. Much of the growth is in Treasure Valley, Ada County, and the cities of Star and Meridian.
Now, schools must figure out how to accommodate the new wave of students while tending to the current infrastructure.
taxpayers
By: Madison HardyPosted at 9:38 AM, Apr 14, 2022 and last updated 11:44 AM, Apr 14, 2022
TREASURE VALLEY, Idaho — It's no secret that Idaho is growing – bringing hordes of new families to the Treasure Valley and pushing some school facilities to their limit.
U.S. Census Data from 2020 reported a 17.3% increase in the Idaho population since 2010. Much of the growth is in Treasure Valley, Ada County, and the cities of Star and Meridian.
Now, schools must figure out how to accommodate the new wave of students while tending to the current infrastructure.
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Scott Dorval's Idaho News 6 Forecast - Tuesday 5/3/22
A draft copy of the Nampa School District Facilities Master Plan states that 11 – of the approximately 30 – district buildings are in "critical" condition. Fourteen, the report reads, are considered "poor."
NSD executive director of operations, Peter Jurhs, said a facility FCI score (Facilities Condition Index) measures the level of risk if maintenance is deferred. According to the plan, a building with a more than 30% FCI score was labeled a "critical" condition.
-- Madison Hardy It’s hard to track the conditions of Pa. schools. Spotlight PA wants your help flagging health hazards.-- The Philadelphia Inquirer Pennsylvania: April 07, 2022 [ abstract] Nearly 2 million Pennsylvania students spend hours a day in thousands of schools across the state. They breathe air that circulates through the buildings, drink water from hallway fountains, and touch surfaces in spaces from classrooms to restrooms.
Years of surveys, policy research, and media reports from around the state suggest that some of these buildings likely pose health risks to students and staff. Schools are subject to safety, sanitation, and health inspections, but these requirements are handled by a mix of local, state, and federal agencies. Those records aren’t kept in a centralized, statewide database.
This makes it difficult for a family or taxpayer to easily access comprehensive information about whether a school facility is up-to-date on maintenance and inspections, information that is readily available for the state’s hospitals, nursing homes, and even local restaurants.
“It’s fragmented because there’s no requirement for it not to be,” said David Lapp, director of policy research with the Pennsylvania education nonprofit Research for Action.
And while most information can be requested from individual schools or districts, they don’t have an obligation to make those records or reports easy to understand, he added.
“Just like with any other kinds of school records, there’s some things that have to be reported, and there’s some things they don’t have to report, or can even keep from the public.”
-- Jamie Martines 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. Frett-Gregory Bill to Establish School Construction and Maintenance Arm Within Education Department Rejected-- The Virgin Islands Consortium U.S. Virgin Islands: March 18, 2022 [ abstract] A measure which seeks to establish the Bureau of School Construction and maintenance within the Department of Education with the responsibility to construct and maintain public schools and other educational facilities, failed to win approval from members of the Senate Committee on Education and Workforce Development on Thursday.
An amendment to the bill narrowly received approval but when it came to actual voting on the measure, sponsored by Senate President Donna Frett-Gregory, the result was three yes votes from Ms.Frett-Gregory and Sens. Genevieve Whitaker Kenneth Gittens. However, it received three no votes from Sens. Milton Potter, Kurt Vialet and Janelle Sarauw. Senator Carla Joseph did not vote.
“The bill has failed,” said Ms. Whitaker, who chairs the committee.
Bill No. 34-0079 is an Act amending Virgin Islands Code to establish the Bureau of School Construction and maintenance within the V.I. Department of Education. It also seeks to change the Education maintenance Fund to the School Construction and maintenance Fund while making an appropriation of $2.5 million from the V.I. Education Initiative Fund to the School Construction and maintenance Fund.
Presenting the bill to the committee, Ms. Frett-Gregory said the physical state of public schools in the territory has been deteriorating for more than two decades due to inconsistent maintenance and limited resources, while some schools have experienced preventable structural failures resulting in injuries and the closure of entire school buildings.
-- Linda Straker Beyond Fate: Funding Structure and Public Policy Mean Rural Schools Don’t Get Fair Share-- The Daily Yonder Mississippi: March 15, 2022 [ abstract] A New York Times Magazine article, “The Tragedy of America’s Rural Schools,” tells a story about the educational system in Holmes County, Mississippi, suggesting that the community has failed to provide adequate school facilities, that administrators and teachers have failed to provide sound educational programs, and that the schools have failed to serve their students. The article shines a spotlight on a single student in a single rural school district. There is benefit in turning on a spotlight. It’s important to use the national media to tell stories about Mississippi and the rural schools that serve one-fifth of students across the United States. However, a spotlight illuminates only part of the whole scene. Overhead lighting can reveal a bigger picture–in this case, revealing the impact of state and federal policies that fail to meet the needs of rural schools and the students they serve–including Holmes County, Mississippi.
School funding policies are one of the biggest barriers to rural school success. The bulk of funding for public schools comes from local property taxes. Rural populations, economies, and the presence of public lands (such as national forests) often yield lower property values, which in turn leads to funding inequities for rural schools. In Mississippi, as in most states, millage rates are capped. Even if the local community wanted to, districts cannot raise the property tax rate beyond a certain level to increase school funding, placing rural districts at an even greater disadvantage. Inequitable funding can lead to lower teacher salaries and teacher shortages, limited school offerings, and under-resourced classrooms.
In Holmes County, the limited tax base means that school buildings are out of date and in need of repair. In 2019, the district sought voter approval for a bond issue that would have funded a new high school and freed up money currently going to facility maintenance to allow for a raise in teacher salaries. Nearly half the county turned out to vote, and the majority, 58%, voted to approve the bond issue–but a state law in Mississippi requires at least 60% approval of a bond issue. Other states, including Washington and Oklahoma, have similar requirements. Rules like these make it difficult for a local community to raise funds to provide adequate school facilities for their children–even when the majority of voters approve.
-- Devon Brenner Guam - $250M cost to fix, modernize public schools-- The Guam Daily Post Guam: March 09, 2022 [ abstract] If the public school system were to now fix all the maintenance problems that had been delayed over years because the government didn’t have enough money to fix them before, it would cost about $107.2 million, according to reports presented to Guam Education Board members on Tuesday.
And, if the government were to go one step further and improve and modernize all schools, updating them to 21st century learning environments, it would cost $142.5 million.
That's nearly $250 million, which is roughly one year's budget for the Guam Department of Education.
The massive cost figures were disclosed during a sneak peak of the Master Facilities Plan provided to education officials during the GEB’s Safe and Healthy Schools Committee work session on Tuesday. The presentation was provided by contractor HHF Planners, a Honolulu-based planning firm that operates throughout the Pacific Rim.
-- Jolene Toves Paterson will invest $4.5 million in emergency repairs at 12 schools-- northjersey.com New Jersey: February 15, 2022 [ abstract] PATERSON — The city’s John F. Kennedy high school complex will be getting $1.65 million in improvements, including renovations of the building’s façade, a repaired gym floor, new fire safety doors and a repaved parking area.
Kennedy will be getting the largest allocation from $4.5 million that the New Jersey Schools Development Authority has awarded to the Paterson district for emergent repairs and capital maintenance work. The Paterson school board last week voted on a plan that splits the state money among 12 city schools.
But in a district with at least 17 schools that are more than a century old, officials acknowledged that the $4.5 million doesn’t come close to covering all of the repair needs.
-- Joe Malinconico 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 Master Facilities Plan Would Close 4 Stamford Schools-- Patch Connecticut: February 07, 2022 [ abstract] STAMFORD, CT — Infrastructure improvements in Stamford Public Schools have been an important topic of discussion for quite some time. Last week, new details were released as part of a 10-year master facilities plan for the school district that would rebuild, renovate and close school buildings.
The plan was presented last Thursday to the Board of Education and Long Term Facilities Committee by SLAM, a fully-integrated architecture firm.
A major component of the plan would close four public schools — Dolan and Cloonan Middle Schools, Toquam Magnet Elementary and KT Murphy Elementary. A new K-8 school would be built in South Stamford, and a new pre-K learning center would be built at 83 Lockwood Ave.
According to the plan, the four schools would close after the 2026/2027 school year. The new South Stamford building, which would cost about $112 million, could be operational for the 2027/2028 school year.
Kemp Morhardt from SLAM said closing the schools provides a cost avoidance of $128.6 million for deferred maintenance.
-- Richard Kaufman Senator Kearney Pushes for More Funding for Schools, Looks to Revive PlanCon Building Program-- PA Senate Democrats Pennsylvania: February 07, 2022 [ abstract] HARRISBURG − February 7, 2022 – Senator Tim Kearney (D – Delaware/Chester), a member of the Senate Education Committee and newly-appointed Vice Chair of Appropriations, recently announced plans to restart the Planning and Construction Workbook Program, —A.K.A. PlanCon— the state’s program for funding public school building construction and renovation, by finally appropriating funding to allow the Department of Education to accept new applications from school districts.
“After nearly 10 years without any state funding for our public school buildings, it is time for the legislature to do its job and address the Commonwealth’s school facilities crisis,” said Kearney. “Suburban, rural, and urban districts are all suffering from different challenges of aging infrastructure, from overcrowded classrooms to holes in the roofs, from broken heated systems to exposed and crumbling asbestos, every school district has unattended facilities issues while they work to address the other crises imposed on our education system.”
PlanCon allows school districts to apply for partial reimbursement for planning and construction costs approved by the PA Department of Education. Recently, the General Assembly passed Act 70 of 2019 to greatly simplify the application process and to create the maintenance Program to cover critical system repairs and maintenance to existing school facilities, formerly ineligible costs. However, the legislature has not funded PlanCon since 2016 and placed a moratorium on new applications.
-- Staff Writer Analysis: Idaho’s school building problems have been neglected for years-- Idaho ED News Idaho: February 03, 2022 [ abstract] Kevin Richert 02/03/2022
We really don’t know what shape our school buildings are in. Or if we’re spending enough on upkeep.
A new and damning state report is a tale of neglect. Because state officials have long treated school construction and maintenance as a local responsibility, they haven’t bothered with basic oversight and process. They’ve gotten careless with 46 million square feet of school buildings, carrying a replacement cost well into the billions of dollars.
And if lawmakers didn’t know the problem they’ve created, they do now. The state’s Office of Performance Evaluations made it all painfully obvious.
Ten senators — the entire Senate Education Committee, and Senate Pro Tem Chuck Winder — came at the issue with a good question. Is Idaho’s tried-and-true method of bankrolling schools with local money becoming obsolete?
“The ability to fund school facilities through bonds may be breaking down,” the senators wrote in a March 5, 2011 letter, requesting an OPE report. “Some communities are growing so fast that they are faced with the challenge of repeatedly going back to the taxpayers for more bonding authority. Other, often rural communities with no or slow growth have very aged school facilities.”
Fair enough. And no neglect of a serious matter here.
-- Kevin Richert SB 238 Aims to Catalog School Building Age and Necessary Repairs in Virginia-- Dogwood Virginia: February 02, 2022 [ abstract] Across Virginia, more than 50% of schools—1,040 out of 2,005 that districts reported—are at least 50 years old. That’s according to the Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) 2021 School Building Inventory. If every school older than 50 on the list required a replacement, the estimate would exceed $24 billion.
Sen. Jeremy McPike, a Democrat who serves Manassas, Manassas Park, and part of Prince William County, sponsored a bill aimed toward regulating and monitoring school building maintenance. The legislation was recommended by the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, which in part determines school construction and modernization funding needs.
Senate Bill (SB) 238 would require local school boards to report the age of each school building in their district—and the estimated cost to renovate them—to the VDOE. The bill notes that districts would need to complete the task “in a timely fashion,” but gives no deadline indications at the present time.
-- Amie Knowles A new report outlines a massive maintenance backlog for Idaho's public schools-- Boise State Public Radio Idaho: February 01, 2022 [ abstract] A new report estimates Idaho’s public K-12 school maintenance backlog to be at least $874 million while the state isn’t enforcing a law requiring districts to report their buildings’ needs.
A 2005 Idaho Supreme Court decision found the state legislature failed to meet its constitutional duty to sufficiently fund school buildings.
Lawmakers at the time boosted some funding and required districts to regularly submit 10-year maintenance plans, which most schools don’t follow.
The report from the Idaho Office of Performance Evaluations released Monday estimates the backlog for school repairs to be at least $874 million to bring them up to a “good” condition.
Casey Petti, the analyst who wrote the report, said that figure is likely lower than the real deficit because of the lack of data available.
Rep. Steve Berch (D-Boise) said that number is eye-popping, considering lawmakers are on the cusp of passing a historic $600 million tax cut. State economists are forecasting a $1.9 billion surplus this year.
-- James Dawson SCSD1 considers 10-year facilities plan-- The Sheridan Press Wyoming: January 19, 2022 [ abstract] SHERIDAN — Sheridan County School District 1 officials approved a 10-year facilities plan Tuesday evening — looking ahead to regular repairs and enhancements to accommodate population growth and community interests.
SCSD1 Business Manager Jeremy Smith noted the 10-year plan is not required by the state but allows the school board to begin looking ahead at major maintenance and issues facing the district.
The state allocates funding to school districts for facilities based on a formula that includes population, and Smith said SCSD1 can expect to receive about $8.6 million in facilities funding over the 10-year period.
-- Staff Writer Juneau elementary school closed indefinitely after damage from flooding-- Alaska Public Media Alaska: January 14, 2022 [ abstract] There were so many fans blowing in Riverbend Elementary School on Thursday morning that it sounded like a jet was taking off inside.
Two pipes — one in the commons area where kids eat meals, another in the nurse’s office — burst during a cold snap and flooded most of the school.
The weekend weather was bad, and no one was in the school when the pipes burst, so they don’t know for how long it was filling with water. On the day Riverbend was supposed to open to students, the school custodian showed up early to shovel snow and found the mess.
He said custodial staff and maintenance crew shut off the water and the electricity first. About a dozen of them have been rushing to clean and dry the school out ever since.
“Its been crazy. It’s been crazy, crazy,” said Lead maintenance Technician Mark Ibias. Asked if he’s slept, he jokes, “What’s that word?”
The inspection team looked at the floors, the furniture — they talked about the wet concrete under the carpet in the library.
“Mainly the mold,” Ibias said. “I mean, anytime that you have moisture, you’re going to get some kind of bacteria,” he said.
-- Rashah McChesney Schools Face New Obstacles in Building Maintenance-- NBC Washington District of Columbia: December 22, 2021 [ abstract]
As more schools close again due to the spread of the coronavirus, the surge is raising new worries about an old problem: the condition of local school buildings.
A review of internal reports from leaders in D.C., Maryland and Virginia shows maintenance backlogs were a problem long before the pandemic began and remain a big concern as this semester ends.
Even before the omicron variant, Becky Reina says she felt more comfortable keeping her kids home than sending them back to the classroom this fall. The D.C. mom had too many concerns with air filtration in her kids’ school, among other issues.
“They don't have enough maintenance staff, they don't have enough cleaning supplies, they don't have enough people to maintain all of the infrastructure in these buildings,” she said. “And that's been a historic problem before the pandemic.”
A review of state and D.C. school building records found maintenance backlogs indeed predated the pandemic but have been especially difficult to tackle during it.
Keith Anderson, the head of D.C.’s Department of General Services, which oversees the District’s 117 school buildings, says the problem isn’t lack of funding or staff.
“Construction and facilities maintenance comes down to two things: labor and parts,” he said. “Now what we are having issues with is getting the parts to complete the jobs.”
In Prince George’s County, a parent-teacher organization president said she regularly hears from maintenance staff asking for help getting the supplies they need.
“If the work order is put in and the workers can't get the supplies, then the building can start decaying,” Phyllis Wright said.
-- Scott MacFarlane 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 Kentucky superintendents provide updates, share experiences from recent tornadoes-- Kentucky Teacher Kentucky: December 14, 2021 [ abstract] Following devastating tornadoes that ripped through Western Kentucky on Dec. 10-11, superintendents from the impacted districts provided updates from their local communities during the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE) Dec. 14 Superintendents Webcast.
Mayfield Independent
Mayfield Independent Superintendent Joe Henderson described the days following the storms as the hardest thing he has ever had to deal with in his life, but said he has been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support the district has received not only from Kentucky, but throughout the country.
“We truly appreciate the support and ask that you continue to pray for our community,” he said.
On the night of the storm, Henderson said up to 200 community members sought refuge in Mayfield High School’s gymnasium.
“They were walking the streets with nowhere to go,” he said.
Now, the gymnasium that housed its community is packed with donated supplies.
The Mayfield Independent District has three schools, and the middle school was the only school that received damage during the storm, and it was minor, Henderson said. However, the district’s transportation and maintenance department was completely destroyed. None of Mayfield’s school buses are usable at this time, and Henderson doesn’t believe any of them are salvageable.
“I want to thank all the districts that have reached out and offered buses to help,” Henderson said. “… I’ll just be honest with you right now, and it’s strange for me to say this, but school is the furthest thing from my mind right now.
“We have people that are trying to survive.”
There are community members with no heat, no food and no water, Henderson said.
“That’s our main concern right now,” he said.
-- Jacob Perkins 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 South Bend takes next steps in outsourcing school custodial services, facilities work-- South Bend Tribune Oregon: November 30, 2021 [ abstract]
SOUTH BEND — The South Bend school corporation is moving forward this month with efforts to outsource district maintenance and custodial services.
The South Bend school board first gave administrators the greenlight to seek proposals from interested vendors in August after corporation leaders described departments stretched thin because of staffing shortages, coronavirus demands and deferred maintenance projects.
Companies submitted their proposals to the district in late September and, after a series of virtual presentations, administrators brought one vendor back to the school board — Knoxville, Tennessee-based SSC Services for Education — for their consideration.
The school board gave administrators approval this month to pursue a contract with SSC, but the decision hasn’t been received warmly by everyone.
Multiple school board members, along with the union representing maintenance and custodial workers, have repeatedly called on the district to take a step back from outsourcing. Board member Jeanette McCullough said in a recent school board meeting that she’s heard “nothing but problems and complaints” about other services outsourced by the district.
Superintendent Todd Cummings said in that meeting that the practice puts the district in a position to be fiscally responsible as it cuts costs to sustain revenue lost to tax caps and negotiates raises for teachers. Talks with teachers entered mediation in mid-November.
-- Carley Lanich Bordentown Schools to Receive $60K in State Funds for Capital Maintenance Needs-- Tap Into Bordertown New Jersey: November 23, 2021 [ abstract] GARFIELD, NJ – Governor Phil Murphy today announced on Friday that $75 million in funding will be distributed to school districts across the state to help meet emergent and capital maintenance needs, as well as address COVID-19 concerns to help schools ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for students. Because every school district in New Jersey will receive funding, the projects will also support good-paying union jobs in all corners of the state.
"In order to ensure New Jersey remains the number one school system in the nation, we must ensure our schools have the tools they need for students to succeed," said Governor Murphy. "The funds we are announcing today are critical for making sure our schools remain safe and welcoming spaces for our kids and educators and for ensuring that our school buildings can meet the needs of the future. I am also proud to say that these projects will support union jobs throughout New Jersey."
-- Elizabeth Meyers State education department releases first version of construction priority list-- KINY Alaska: November 22, 2021 [ abstract] The Capital Improvement Project, or CIP, grant priority lists are used by the governor and the legislature to figure out school construction and major maintenance projects for capital budget funding.
Department Facilities Manager, Tim Mearig, said that the department ranks the priority list using a set of evaluation criteria categories that are outlined in statute to help them figure how to rank projects.
"So it gives us certain parameters under which we can evaluate projects, the application itself that is used is set by the bond reimbursement and grant review committee, that is a statutory appointed committee that has responsibility for the CIP application, and that committee has defined a set of evaluation criteria that are used in assessing every application that's received, there is 16 different criteria, not all of which will apply to every project, but that can be used as they as they apply."
He said the criteria staff use is evaluative, an example he provided was that if there is an emergency nature to a particular project then that is evaluatively assessed. There are also calculated scores, like the age of the facility.
Mearig said some of the more common project requests from schools were for roofs.
-- Staff Writer Governor Murphy Announces $75 Million for Emergent and Capital Maintenance School Construction Throughout New Jersey-- State of New Jersey New Jersey: November 19, 2021 [ abstract] GARFIELD – As part of his commitment to ensuring a high-quality education for every student in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy today announced that $75 million in funding will be distributed to school districts across the state to help meet emergent and capital maintenance needs, as well as address COVID-19 concerns to help schools ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for students. Because every school district in New Jersey will receive funding, the projects will also support good-paying union jobs in all corners of the state.
“In order to ensure New Jersey remains the number one school system in the nation, we must ensure our schools have the tools they need for students to succeed,” said Governor Murphy. “The funds we are announcing today are critical for making sure our schools remain safe and welcoming spaces for our kids and educators and for ensuring that our school buildings can meet the needs of the future. I am also proud to say that these projects will support union jobs throughout New Jersey.”
All school districts will receive a portion of the $75 million, which will be administered by the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA). Of the $75 million, $50 million will be distributed to New Jersey’s 31 SDA districts and $25 million will be distributed to regular operating districts.
Governor Murphy was joined by Acting Education Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillian and Manuel M. Da Silva, Chief Executive Officer of the SDA. The Governor made today’s announcement during a visit to the Garfield School District, which will receive $853,224.
“School districts share our goal of providing students with healthy and safe learning spaces, which is especially crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Acting Department of Education Commissioner Dr. Angelica Allen-McMillan. “I commend Governor Murphy and the School Development Authority for the foresight in making this a priority in the budget.”
“We are committed to ensuring that New Jersey’s educational facilities best support the needs of students through healthy and safe learning environments,” said Schools Department Authority CEO Manuel Da Silva. “We are excited to continue our work through the administration of this grant program for ROD and SDA school districts, allowing them to make important and necessary improvements to their school facilities.”
“Today's announcement begins to move us in the right direction and sends the signal that New Jersey is paying attention to our schools’ outdated infrastructure,” said Senator Teresa Ruiz, chair of the Senate Education Committee. “While this will address some immediate projects, there is still much to be done to ensure all our students have a safe, suitable learning environment. We must understand that there is an immense need where school infrastructure is concerned. Therefore, there must also be discussion about investment in tangible short-term and long-term solutions.”
“Our students, even those from low-income or working-class neighborhoods, deserve the same opportunities, facilities and first-class classrooms that more affluent districts take for granted. Our parents need to be able not to worry about whether their child is getting an equal opportunity to achieve as their peers in other parts of the state,” said Senator Nellie Pou. “Indeed, the maintenance and, where needed, construction of new buildings, classrooms, chemistry labs, band rooms, audio visual studios or athletic facilities should be the same for every child in New Jersey, in order that we as a state live up to the letter and spirit of the words and the promise in our state Constitution, ‘provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient’ education for every child in the state.”
-- Staff Writer NC schools’ $12.7B in facility needs left out as Build Back Better plan slashes funding-- cbs17.com North Carolina: November 19, 2021 [ abstract] RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – The original version of President Biden’s Build Back Better infrastructure plan included $100 billion to modernize schools. That investment was scrapped during negotiations leaving states and schools to look for funding on their own.
The Tar Heel state could have made use of the investments. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction reported about $12.8 billion was needed in facility repairs. It’s almost $5 billion more than the needs in the previous 2015-16 report.
Schools around the Triangle had millions of dollars worth of needs with:
$1.1 billion needed in Wake County,
$589 million needed in Cumberland County,
$489 million needed in Durham County.
DPI’s Five-Year K-12 Facility Needs Report noted renovations of existing buildings were responsible for 44 percent of the need. It said much of the costs were a result of deferred maintenance.
Broken down by grade level, elementary schools were the most in need with $2.2 billion needed in repairs according to the report. High schools were in need of $1.9 billion in renovations.
Plumbing, HVAC and electrical needs accounted for almost a quarter of needed renovations at $1.4 billion.
-- Judith Retana Schools on Native lands say NY is neglecting maintenance-- WBFO New York: November 18, 2021 [ abstract] The school superintendents in upstate school districts who teach Native American children have joined forces to ask Gov. Kathy Hochul for a total of $60 million to pay for long-overdue maintenance for their school buildings.
One of the three schools on sovereign Native American territory is in the North Country, the Saint Regis Mohawk Elementary School in Akwesasne, near Massena.
The superintendents said the money the Native nation schools are allocated is far less than what other New York state public schools get. Dr. Stanley Harper is the superintendent of the Salmon River school district which includes the Saint Regis Mohawk school in Akwesasne near Massena.
Speaking from the elementary school auditorium stage last week, Harper said there’s no excuse for the way the state has treated the Native American schools.
“It’s wrong. It’s not fair. And by God, it’s wrong. And it’s wrong, that we were never provided the same resources to level the playing field for these students and to maintain these buildings,” he said.
The school leaders explained that other public schools in New York can raise money through a local referendum. But these schools are on Native territory and their buildings are owned by the state, not the local community. That means they must rely on funding in the state budget to maintain them.
-- Celia Clarke 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 You can now track asbestos remediation in Philly schools-- Axios Philadelphia Pennsylvania: November 12, 2021 [ abstract] Is asbestos remediation going on in your Philly school?
What's happening: The city launched a new interactive dashboard this week, and you can search all construction projects involving asbestos in the school district dating back to 2016.
Why it matters: School officials have struggled to protect children from environmental concerns, including asbestos and lead, that have long plagued district schools.
Inhaling or being exposed to asbestos can increase risks of developing health issues, including certain cancers.
State of play: The school district has an estimated $5 billion maintenance backlog, and the average age of Philly school buildings is more than 70 years old.
How it works: The dashboard maps asbestos remediation projects at specific schools and where the work was performed in them. It also tracks planned completion dates and other information.
The dashboard uses notification forms for asbestos projects through the Department of Public Health, which is updated daily.
-- Mike D'Onofrio Jackson County School District working to find funding to improve school facilities-- WLOX Mississippi: November 04, 2021 [ abstract]
JACKSON COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) - The Jackson County School District is working to find funding to improve school facilities. After the failure of last spring’s facility bond proposal, district officials moved forward with a detailed plan to address facility needs in county schools.
“The delay of moving forward with facilities was due to the pandemic this past summer and fall, but now it’s time to make improvements. A key part in this process is closely listening to our board members and the community as a team unit,” said Superintendent Dr. John Strycker.
The money would be used for repairs and improvements to facilities. In February, a $67 million bond project was presented to the school board detailing all of the upgrades and repairs.
However, the proposed plan was voted down, with 75 percent of residents voting against it.
Strycker said this new proposed plan will allow for the maintenance of facilities and also make up for tax revenue that will soon disappear. The Mississippi Coal Power Plant is going to be decommissioned, which means $6 million fewer annual dollars for the district in 2027-2028.
-- Staff Writer Maintenance of Prince George's Co. schools rated 66.5, 'not adequate,' 2nd to last in Md.-- WJLA Maryland: November 01, 2021 [ abstract]
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. (7News) — At dismissal time at Kenilworth Elementary school in Bowie Monday, parents were not pleased to hear their children’s 57-year-old school is one of only two in the state to rate poor for how the building is maintained.
“Poor isn’t good at all,” said one dad. Another adding, ”I’d like them to do better of course.”
Parents for the most part haven’t been allowed in school buildings to see for themselves because of the pandemic but state inspectors from the state’s watchdog commission on school construction visited 42 Prince George’s County schools as part of an annual maintenance assessment.
The results were presented to the County School Board’s budget committee recently by the Interagency Commission on School Construction.
The majority of schools were given a not sufficient rating on maintaining things like the HVAC systems, parking lots and playgrounds.
The IAC presenter summed up the report by saying , ”It appears that maintenance on average is simply not adequate.”
“To me that’s a huge concern because that means our students and staff are not working and learning in the most conducive environment,” says School Board member Raheela Ahmed.
She says an overworked staff in the second oldest buildings in the state simply isn’t keeping up with the workload.
“A lot of this could be attributed to deferred maintenance due to underfunding of our schools,” says Ahmed.
Shawn Matlock, head of capital programs for PGCPS agrees and says the answer is to build new schools as quickly as possible.
-- Brad Bell GDOE mulls new middle school; $140M for capital improvement-- The Guam Daily Post Guam: October 31, 2021 [ abstract] The Guam Department of Education has set aside $140 million in federal funds to tackle major capital improvement projects - and part of the discussion on how that money will be spent now involves a new middle school.
GDOE has a long list of necessary capital improvement projects under the master facilities plan. According to GDOE officials, there is over $100 million in deferred maintenance at public schools identified by the Army Corps of Engineers.
For months, GDOE has discussed how to prioritize the spending of American Rescue Plan funds - and while well-known issues such as inoperable bathrooms and aging canopies are on that list, there are bigger items which are in active discussion, like the need for a new middle school in central Guam.
“We are incorporating that issue into our master facilities planning process. Earlier today and yesterday, our planners under contract with the Army Corps of Engineers conducted meetings with our northern mayors as well as our central mayors to talk about some of the issues associated with the middle schools - the need for a new middle school in the central area and looking at the impact a new middle school would have on the surrounding areas up north, down south and in the central areas,” said GDOE Superintendent Jon Fernandez.
-- Jolene Toves No Federal Infrastructure Money? Not OK, Says a Superintendent With Century-Old Buildings-- Education Week National: October 29, 2021 [ abstract] School district leaders who have dealt for years with a backlog of urgent maintenance and renovation needs for their school buildings were dealt a blow last week from the federal government.
A massive spending package still making its way through Congress likely won’t include federal funding to improve school buildings, nearly seven months after President Biden proposed $100 billion in grants and bonds to fix the nation’s K-12 facilities. A White House framework for the investment package includes universal pre-K, teacher pipeline programs, expanded free school meals, and expanded access to home broadband for K-12 students—but nothing to improve the nation’s school buildings, many of which are in major disrepair.
That means the wait for the first substantial federal investment in school buildings since the Great Depression will be even longer for administrators like Andrew O’Leary, assistant superintendent of finance and operations for the New Bedford school district in Massachusetts. The district has 13,000 students—40 percent are Latinx, and more than 70 percent come from low-income families.
Five of the district’s school buildings were constructed more than 100 years ago, three were built before 1940, and 10 were built between 30 and 50 years ago.
Among the problems in the school’s oldest buildings, according to a facilities assessment prepared for the district in July by a contractor:
Exposed heating pipes and a buckling wood floor in the gymnasium
No sprinkler system
No mechanism for measuring air quality and ventilation
No elevator for two-story building
Basement spaces serve as cafeterias and gymnasiums because the buildings were constructed before those services were components of a traditional school day
Windows nearing the end of their useful life
Electrical system with insufficient capacity
Cracks and holes in the parking lot
Water leaking from outside into the walls
Sixty percent of the district’s buildings require moderate renovation, and 16 percent require extensive renovation, O’Leary said.
O’Leary had hoped to tap into federal funding from the infrastructure plan to tackle some ambitious, long-needed facilities projects. Now he’s scaling back his ambitions.
-- Mark Lieberman $50 million in maintenance needs, 60+ job openings plague Asheville City Schools-- WLOS North Carolina: October 25, 2021 [ abstract] ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The Asheville City Board of Education discussed growing maintenance needs and open positions at a special called work session Monday night as board members continued to look for solutions to ongoing budget issues.
A presentation from ACS staff estimated $50 million in maintenance needs. The presentation had the breakdown of maintenance issues school by school, including HVAC, stairwell and roof repairs. Not all need to be addressed immediately, but they are needed repairs.
“This isn’t something that just happened last year or overnight or with this current superintendent. These are things that have been happening for years and we just did not address them and we’re having to address them now,” board chairman James Carter said.
Board members also learned of 60 vacancies in the Asheville City Schools system. That number does not include 29 open bus driver positions.
“With the shortage of staff, we are also experiencing a large number of employee resignations at the same time, which is a perfect storm,” Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Dr. Mark Dickerson said.
-- Andrew James Repair costs rise as school facilities deteriorate-- Homer News Alaska: October 21, 2021 [ abstract] The amount of money needed to pay for maintenance projects in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is more than three times what it cost to run the district last school year. Excluding the amount of money the district spent on salaries and benefits for staff, it was about 12 times more. The cost of inaction is not insignificant.
A multimillion dollar problem
About $420 million worth of maintenance is needed at Kenai Peninsula Borough School District buildings, but Director of Planning and Operations Kevin Lyon will settle for focusing people’s attention on the roughly $166 million worth of “critical” needs.
To put that in perspective, the school district’s entire operating budget for fiscal year 2022 was about $134 million, more than $100 million of which went to paying teacher salaries and benefits.
-- Ashlyn O'Hara Finishing touches completed at McDonald County Schools as part of building improvement plan-- KSN Missouri: October 20, 2021 [ abstract] MCDONALD COUNTY, Mo. — The finishing touches have been placed on a multi building improvement plan for an area school system
A number of buildings that house students in the McDonald County R-1 School District received maintenance attention in recent months. Ken Schutten, the media communications specialist for the district says $2.8 million was spent to repair some existing roofs, place new roofs, HVAC systems and awnings at a number of facilities including the high school, Southwest City, Noel and Anderson.
“maintenance is so key in some of these buildings, as they get older, it’s very important to take care of what you’ve already have and that’s one of the things we did this past summer,” said Ken Schutten, McDonald Co. Schools Media Communications Specialist.
-- Stuart Price Guilford County Schools Board of Education requests $1.7 billion bond referendum to improve ‘crumbling’ infrastructure-- Daily Investor Hub North Carolina: October 20, 2021 [ abstract]
GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) – The Guilford County Schools Board of Education has requested a $1.7 billion school construction bond referendum be placed on the March 8, 2021 primary election ballot.
On Tuesday, the board passed a bond referendum request resolution in a seven-to-two vote. It makes the formal request to the Guilford County Board of Commissioners and must be approved before being placed on next year’s ballot.
According to the district’s facilities master plan, it would fund 19 rebuilds, 12 renovations, three new construction projects and provide numerous safety upgrades, technology and deferred maintenance repairs at all other schools.
School officials expressed there is currently not enough money to address a growing list of infrastructure needs, some that are decades old.
-- Stephanie Thompson CSISD $83.1 million bond focuses on renovations, maintenance items throughout district-- The Eagle Texas: October 10, 2021 [ abstract] Voters in the College Station school district will find four bond propositions on their ballot, all making up an $83.1 million bond proposal to address needed renovations, maintenance, upgrades, safety and security and technology throughout the district.
Unlike the previous four bonds voters have approved in 2007, 2009, 2013 and 2015, this bond does not include a new school campus.
“What this does is provide us the opportunity to kind of go back and address some of our older facilities,” College Station Superintendent Mike Martindale said. “While we were in the process of building new schools so quickly over, well for a span there we did five (schools) in five years, so this lets us go back and address some of our older schools with some renovations and some maintenance things that have probably been lingering, but we haven’t gotten to because we’ve been managing the growth.”
Martindale emphasized this bond also will be done without increasing the current tax rate. The ballot will have language stating it is a tax increase. This is due to property value growth, but the tax rate will not change.
State law requires the bond proposal be separated into four votes because personal technology devices, stadiums with a capacity larger than 1,000 people and natatoriums must be voted on separate from the rest of the bond.
-- Chelsea Katz Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 may get $55M to address litany of safety issues-- Mission Local California: October 08, 2021 [ abstract]
School board member Matthew Alexander said at a hearing on Buena Vista Horace Mann’s building maintenance Friday that he would propose spending $55 million to address issues that have been responsible for a litany of safety issues this year including a gas leak, a student getting an electrical shock and another tripping on a crack and sustaining an injury that needed 12 stitches.
Supervisor Hillary Ronen called Friday’s hearing in front of the the Board of Supervisors committee on Youth, Young Adults and Families to investigate the safety and conditions at this Mission District K-8 school.
“This school means everything to everyone, but all the things that have been happening lately … It’s like we’re risking our lives for a war we can’t win,” said one fourth grader during the hearing. “We want funds because part of our school is falling apart. It just doesn’t feel safe anymore.”
Alexander said he will ask the school board to approve a transfer of $55 million in bond money from other allocated projects to Buena Vista’s renovations. This will amend the board’s recommendation, which supposedly promises $15 million, and will officially be released Friday, he said.
“For me it’s phasing and priorities,” Alexander told Mission Local, whose reporter visited the school following the gas leak on Aug. 27. “We need to make sure that our existing schools are safe and healthy before we start building new schools.”
-- ANNIKA HOM To ensure safe schools for all, we need statewide cleaning standards-- EdSource National: September 29, 2021 [ abstract] With schools opening for full-time in-person instruction, there has never been more attention paid to the cleanliness of our classrooms and campuses. Disinfecting protocols, air filtration systems and the frequency of cleaning are high on the minds of parents, staff and students. Much has been done to prepare for a safe reopening, but ensuring everyone’s health and safety this school year and beyond will require that we address longstanding inequities and inconsistencies in our approach to school cleanliness.
Providing students and staff with safe and decent school facilities is one of the basic elements of quality public education. Indeed, this was mandated in the landmark case Williams v. California, which ruled that the state must provide public school students with equal access to safe and decent school facilities. But despite legal mandates, the reality is that school cleanliness and maintenance have suffered from budget cuts and understaffing for decades, with schools in predominantly Black and brown communities suffering the greatest neglect.
In the Los Angeles Unified School District, with a student population that is 73% Latino and 10% Black, pre-pandemic custodial staffing levels were at about 40% of what was needed to maintain cleanliness standards set by the district, according to a 2014 report by the district Board of Education. The lack of staff meant classrooms were not mopped every day, some bathrooms had to be locked and deep cleaning only occurred once or twice a year.
-- Max Arias - Commentary Maryland IAC Releases FY 2021 Maintenance Report on Public Schools-- Maryland Association of Counties Maryland: September 27, 2021 [ abstract] The Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) published the FY 2021 maintenance of Maryland’s Public School Buildings Report, detailing an overview of maintenance assessments conducted at selected schools in each Maryland public school system.
The report provides an overview of all Maryland public schools, based on a sampling of 268 schools from around the state, as well as county-specific profiles on the conditions of school facilities. (The overview begins on page 16 and the county-specific reporting on page 22).
maintenance costs are generally 100% the responsibility of the county government, and school boards differ in their maintenance programs, some developing highly successful and cost-saving models.
-- Brianna January GMUSD board begins to look at facilities upgrades across the district-- Eagle Times Vermont: September 25, 2021 [ abstract] CHESTER, Vt. — The Green Mountain Unified School District board heard recommendations on Thursday, Sept. 16, for facility improvements across all three schools in the district based on a report by Energy Efficient Investments (EEI) with options and cost breakdowns also provided.
EEI had been tasked with doing full building energy efficiency and performance evaluations for all schools in the district over the past several years. In addition to their assessment of air quality systems in each school, their presentation also included recommendations based on categories for safety, accessibility, and interior and exterior maintenance.
According to the report, none of the schools — Green Mountain Union High School, Chester Andover Elementary School, or Cavendish Town Elementary School — meet the current guidelines for filtration and dehumidification.
Green Mountain Union High School is in the most need of upgrades and has not had any major renovations since it was built in 1971 and has a ventilation system controlled by pneumatic air technology that has not been used since the 1980s. The windows are also a part of that system so replacing the system would also require window replacement as well.
Safety issues brought forward include the lack of sprinkler systems in both Green Mountain Union High School and Chester Andover Elementary School and classrooms without egress windows, which are a requirement with no sprinkler system.
Other Green Mountain Union High School recommendations include replacing the elevator and several non-American Disabilities Act compliant features including lack of compliant bathrooms, ramp handrails, multilevel drinking fountains, and lack of access to the stage in the auditorium. Other recommended improvements include upgrading floors, kitchen equipment, and doors throughout.
Recommendation for the Chester Andover Elementary School included adding sprinkler system, providing an ADA-compliant toilet and shower in the nurse’s office, providing multilevel drinking fountains, and providing access to the stage. Other upgrades to floors, windows, and kitchen equipment were also included. EEI also included several scenarios for possible expansion.
Cavendish Town Elementary School was in the best shape with minimal upgrades recommended but including changes to insulation to prevent ice damming as well as other upgrades.
-- Sharon Huntley Kenya Donaldson and John deVille: Termites, sewer flies and mold .. in our schools-- News & Record North Carolina: September 24, 2021 [ abstract] Complaints ranged from undrinkable water to termites to even sewer flies. There was extreme overcrowding near a world-class golf resort. Old air conditioners trigger water leaks, mold and breathing concerns but not enough cold air.
No, these were not conditions inside tenement apartments. They are reports from our children’s public schools.
As classroom teachers with almost 60 combined years of experience, we know we’ve never faced headwinds like now. A pandemic still burns through our communities. A statewide shortage of teachers and school bus drivers is real. And just when we need them most, our schools have too few nurses and social workers.
Then there’s the deplorable condition of too many school buildings. The state’s Department of Public Instruction reports that the price to renovate and rebuild North Carolina’s public schools jumped 58% over the last five years to $12.8 billion. The report was overshadowed by a statewide school bus driver shortage and news of five schools in Guilford County temporarily closing because of failing air conditioners. The average school is 55 years old in Guilford County and 1,000 AC work orders from 40 schools flooded an understaffed maintenance crew as classes began in late August.
Guilford County is not an outlier. After the first month of classes, the N.C. Association of Educators surveyed educators on school building conditions. The responses were startling:
-- Kenya Donaldson and John deVille Audit: AZ School Facilities Board not inspecting campuses properly-- 12News Arizona: September 23, 2021 [ abstract]
PHOENIX — The Arizona School Facilities Board has not been inspecting school buildings properly and could be giving schools access to grant funds they should not be entitled to, according to the Arizona Auditor General.
A recent review of the board, which regulates the conditions of Arizona's classrooms, found it lacked sufficient staff to inspect schools and failed to have a formal review process in place.
"The Board has not conducted statutorily-required school building inspections since at least January 2017, except for 4 inspections it did not document," the auditor's report states.
The board further admitted to not conducting any inspections in the fiscal year 2021, telling auditors that they instead focused on lobbying for legislation that could improve the board's ability to inspect schools.
Arizona law obligates the board to annually publish a list of the state's vacant or partially-used school buildings. Auditors noted how this list could contain misleading data if the board wasn't routinely conducting campus inspections.
"If the information the Board publishes or provides to meet this requirement is incomplete or inaccurate, districts may miss opportunities to reduce their building maintenance costs and increase revenue by leasing or selling vacant buildings," the report states.
-- Staff Writer U.S. Facing $85 Billion School Facility Funding Gap-- Facilitiesnet.com National: September 23, 2021 [ abstract] Efforts to keep schools safe during a pandemic and continually aging facilities have public school districts drowning in deficits soaring into the billions for facility funding.
A report, the 2021 State of Our Schools Report: America’s PK-12 Public School Facilities, projected that the U.S. faces an $85 billion shortfall in school facility funding yearly despite spending $110 billion yearly on maintenance, operations, and capital construction.
The study attributes the gap to rising school construction costs, building inventory increases, and significant declines in facility expenditures.
The gap in funding has grown dramatically since 2016, the last year of the report, when there was an annual gap of $46 billion in school facilities funding. The pandemic’s impact only contributes to the crisis.
-- Dave Lubach Air quality evaluation finds mold, mildew growing at Smithville High School-- Austin American-Statesman Texas: September 21, 2021 [ abstract] Mold and mildew have been found on ceilings and vents at Smithville High School, according to a presentation by the district’s maintenance director at the school board meeting Monday.
The Texas Association of School Boards, a statewide educational association that serves and represents school boards in the state, recently performed an air quality evaluation of Smithville High School and found “fungal spores on the outside exterior” of the building.
Mildew was growing on the ceiling tiles and vents of room 108, above the teacher’s desk and storage closet.
Zack Harris, the district’s maintenance director, explained to the school board that the department is currently cleaning the campus’ eight energy recovery ventilators, which are filters that bring fresh air and exhaust hot air in the building. Five had been cleaned as of Monday.
-- Colleen DeGuzman Major improvements to school facilities in Cheyenne unlikely-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: September 12, 2021 [ abstract]
CHEYENNE – Although Cheyenne has some of the oldest schools in the state, the chances of improvements being made anytime soon are rapidly drying up.
Nearly 30% of Laramie County School District 1’s facilities rank in the top 20 on Wyoming’s current list of schools in the worst condition. There is a need for building renovations, or even replacement, due to factors such as age, deteriorating quality, inability to keep up with classroom capacity needs and a lack of technological updates.
Assistant Superintendent of Support Operations Dave Bartlett said this isn’t likely to be remedied for many of the schools in the near future. Since 2012, there have only been 16 schools in the district high on the needs list that were addressed.
“It’s just because the funding isn’t available that I can spend,” he said.
Hundreds of schools throughout the state require maintenance, though, which makes it less surprising that LCSD1 hasn’t renovated or rebuilt a large portion of its schools. But what’s more concerning to Bartlett is the clear decrease in the ability of state government to administer substantial and steady funding to schools.
Whether that funding be for educational programs or building facilities, the state budget is shrinking across all sectors.
A decade ago, the state’s biennium budget for school facilities would fund upward of 25 major renovation and construction projects across the state. In the upcoming 2023-24 biennium budget, according to Bartlett, it will most likely fund two.
-- Jasmine Hall $85 billion gap: 12 actions for improving health and safety of school facilities-- District Administration National: September 10, 2021 [ abstract]
U.S. schools face an annual $85 billion shortfall in facilities funding, and schools that serve lower-income students face the biggest gaps, a new report finds.
Districts spend about $110 billion on maintenance, operations and capital construction each year. But they need $195 billion to meet health and safety standards, says the “2021 State of Our Schools Report” by the 21st Century School Fund, the International WELL Building Institute and the National Council on School Facilities.
Increased construction costs, building inventory increases and a sharp decline in facility spending since the Great Recession are driving this widening gap despite the efforts of communities and districts to upgrade their schools, the report says.
Back in 2016, the same report pegged the funding shortfall at $46 billion.
“Unfortunately, while local districts are struggling with making facilities safe in a pandemic, they are faced with longstanding deficiencies in their aging infrastructure, which makes this very difficult,” said Mary Filardo, executive director, 21st Century School Fund and lead author of the 2021 report.
Nationally, local districts cover 77% of school facility costs, with only 22% coming from states. High poverty districts spent an average $3.8 million per school on construction from 2009-18 while low-poverty districts spent more than $5 million.
-- Matt Zalaznick Annual Funding Gap for Making the Nation's Public School Buildings Safer, Healthier and Fit for Learning Balloons to $85-- Yahoo Finance National: September 08, 2021 [ abstract] New report from the 21st Century School Fund, the International WELL Building Institute and the National Council on School Facilities shows massive underinvestment in education facilities, identifies solutions to achieve healthier, more sustainable elementary and secondary schools.
NEW YORK, Sept. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The 2021 State of Our Schools Report: America's PK-12 Public School Facilities, released today by the 21st Century School Fund, the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) and the National Council on School Facilities, projects that the United States faces a shortfall of a staggering $85 billion in school facility funding every year. Districts are spending about $110 billion every year on maintenance, operations, and capital construction – but the educational facilities standards for good stewardship necessitates nearly $195 billion. The rise in the nation's PK-12 gap has been brought on by increased school construction costs, building inventory increases, and a sharp decline in facility expenditures after the great recession.
All this exists despite extraordinary efforts on the part of local communities and states to deliver public school buildings that help protect the health and safety of the students, teachers and staff who walk through their doors every day.
-- PR Newswire Some schools need better air control systems. But who will pay?-- The CT Mirror Connecticut: August 27, 2021 [ abstract]
The town of Coventry needs to replace the aging ventilators in its middle and high schools — an expensive proposition, made more pressing by the continued presence of the coronavirus.
Even though the town is receiving federal money to assist with pandemic relief, it’s not enough to cover the costs of the ventilation system upgrade in the schools. And officials say Coventry isn’t the only town in this situation.
But the state of Connecticut isn’t likely to come to the rescue any time soon.
A longstanding state policy that restricts aid for heating, air conditioning and air quality control projects may get a second look from legislators, but likely not before the 2022 General Assembly session starts on Feb. 9.
And it remains unclear whether anything will change then, since Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration insists municipalities — in many cases — created their own problems with school air quality by frequently deferring maintenance.
“There are some districts that haven’t touched their schools in 40 years,” said Kostantinos Diamantis, who is Lamont’s deputy budget director and also has overseen the state’s school construction program for the past six years. “The local level needs to belly up to the bar. … The cities have an obligation to maintain those buildings.”
But Joe DeLong, executive director of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, said, “You’re dis-incentivizing communities from keeping their buildings up and running. What we need to do is to develop a standard for towns to work with the state and to get the state involved to work with these air quality projects.”
Representatives of CCM and the Connecticut Council of Small Towns met via teleconference earlier this month with administration officials to discuss a problem that stems from two issues — one longstanding and one recent — that have collided.
-- KEITH M. PHANEUF We’re Burying Our Kids in Debt (Just Not the Way You Think)-- New York Times National: August 27, 2021 [ abstract] For the Philadelphia teacher Freda Anderson, setting up her classroom involves clearing plaster, dust and paint chips from tables, chairs and desks. Somewhere, a leak has allowed water to seep through the walls. Years of deferred maintenance have caused dust and paint chips to scatter across the room. This debris is not just a brazen reminder of state abandonment of public education — it is an active vector of harm. A report released this spring revealed an asbestos epidemic creeping through Philadelphia schools.
During the 2019 school year, 11 schools closed because of toxic physical conditions; a veteran teacher is suffering from mesothelioma, a lethal disease caused by asbestos. Ms. Anderson used to believe the best way to fix schools would be to hire more teachers, counselors and mental health providers, “but, honestly, now the first thing I would do is start reallocating money to fix the buildings,” she told me. “They’re just really dangerous.”
The question of how to finance Philadelphia schools’ $4.5 billion of unmet infrastructure needs — as well as hiring more teachers, counselors and nurses — has been a vexing issue for the community. Despite high levels of affluence in the city, inequitable distribution of state aid and regressive taxation, including hundreds of millions of dollars in local corporate tax breaks, have exacerbated budget shortfalls.
To keep the lights on, the School District of Philadelphia — like thousands of districts across the country — has increasingly turned to debt financing: They issue bonds to borrow money from financial markets, either with their own bonding authority or through municipal governments. Investment funds purchase these bonds, thus lending the funds to local governments or school districts, who promise to repay the loans, plus interest and issuance fees.
-- Opinion - Eleni Schirmer Adequate ventilation can curb the spread of COVID. Here’s what we know about ventilation inside NYC schools.-- Chalkbeat New York New York: August 25, 2021 [ abstract] Inside a century-old red brick building on the edge of Manhattan’s Chinatown, Joanne O’Neill and her custodial staff have been hustling.
In the morning, two hours before students arrived for summer camp, approximately 70 window air conditioning units were flipped on, and all windows – the primary source of ventilation in the building – were opened. Once classrooms were occupied, O’Neill’s team checked carbon dioxide levels, a proxy for a space’s air quality and its concentration of aerosols. Throughout the day, the team would complete other maintenance tasks, such as installing new MERV-13 filters in window units and disinfecting high-touch surfaces like door knobs and light switches. At night, every room had to be properly sanitized. The routine will likely be the same when school opens Sept. 13.
“We strive to get buildings to a point where parents, teachers, and administrators feel comfortable coming in – that’s kind of our mission,” said O’Neill, custodial engineer at P.S. 42, which serves about 500 students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. “We’re doing the best we can.”
After COVID upended lives in March 2020, ventilation — whether through mechanical systems, natural air flow through windows, or a combination of the two — emerged as a critical tool to curb the spread of the virus in indoor spaces. The city launched an intensive effort to inspect every classroom’s ventilation system ahead of last fall’s reopening. The resulting ventilation reports were less detailed than many teachers had hoped and showed that many rooms had documented problems with air supply or exhaust components.
-- Pooja Salhotra and Annie Fu $260.9 million maintenance list is Grand Forks Public Schools’ most comprehensive in decades, staff say-- Grand Forks Herald North Dakota: August 21, 2021 [ abstract]
Even if Grand Forks voters approve a do-over request from Grand Forks Public Schools to hike property taxes, the money it would raise would only make a dent in the district’s long – and recently expanded – list of facilities needs.
School district administrators have organized a Sept. 28 vote that will decide if the district can increase residents’ property taxes by 10 mills. If approved, the referendum would mean a $94.64 increase to the property taxes paid each year by the owner of a $210,300 home – the median value in Grand Forks – and a further $2.5 million each year for the district, whose administrators have put together a $260.9 million list of problems at the 17 schools they maintain.
“This two and a half million (dollars) is definitely not a ‘get out of jail free’ card,” Chris Arnold, the district’s director of buildings and grounds, told the Herald. “It’s a start for us to at least start figuring out, ‘OK, how do we dig ourselves out of the massive hole we got into?’”
But prior estimates – at least those given to the Herald – put the district’s total “deferred maintenance” costs at about $77 million as recently as August 2020. How did that figure rise so dramatically? And how did the district’s facilities woes get so bad in the first place?
$77 million to $260 million
The $77 million figure comes from a study by JLG Architects. The report, a “long-range facility assessment and master plan” published in 2017 for a 2018 biennial public forum, says the district’s “potential investments over 15 years exceeds 77 million dollars.” The report’s authors also make clear that it does not encompass every building deficiency in the district and, instead, aims to “provide a framework and starting point for future decisions.”
The $260.9 million figure, which district staff presented at a sobering Grand Forks City Council meeting on Monday, comes from a more complete accounting of the district’s maintenance needs that incorporates the JLG report plus dozens of projects that weren’t covered in it, price estimates for which come from projects the district has previously bid out, estimates put forth by architects and contracts, and internet searches. Arnold said district staff started compiling the list a couple of months ago.
“This is likely the most comprehensive list … that the district has ever had in probably the last 20 years,” Arnold said.
-- Joe Bowen South Bend schools explore outsourcing facilities, custodial staff-- South Bend Tribune Oregon: August 18, 2021 [ abstract]
South Bend schools explore outsourcing facilities, custodial staff
Carley Lanich
South Bend Tribune
SOUTH BEND — South Bend schools is exploring options to outsource its custodial services and maintenance and grounds staff, drawing concern from those filling the high-demand positions which took on increasing importance during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a school board meeting Monday night, district leaders said their staff is overworked from the top down and a major overhaul is needed to ensure buildings are being cleaned and maintained moving forward.
Years of deferred maintenance and reductions in staffing have led to a point where getting the departments back on track could take anywhere from three to five years, said Kareemah Fowler, South Bend’s assistant superintendent of business and finance. Or, she proposed, the district could outsource its labor.
“We have problems that require expert solutions but we lack the bandwidth and capacity to correct the problems,” Fowler said. “A partnership… will allow for us to maintain and stay on task regarding our current deferred maintenance projects and new referendum and safety projects.”
-- Carley Lanich Several Austin ISD classrooms without air conditioning as school year starts-- KXAN.com Texas: August 16, 2021 [ abstract] AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thousands of students will return to Austin Independent School District classrooms on Tuesday, but many will enter classrooms without fully functioning air conditioning.
District maintenance officials say they are sorting through as many service requests as possible, however, approximately 60 classrooms will be deployed with temporary cooling units. These devices work similarly to residential window fans, pumping hot air outdoors and replacing it with artificial cool air.
“It doesn’t feel overwhelming until this last week before school,” said Zack Pearce, the Austin ISD Director of Project Management. “We want to make sure that all the kids come back to class and they have a nice cool building to come back to.”
-- Alex Caprariello Millions of dollars being used for upgrades at schools across the region-- WSLS.com Virginia: August 12, 2021 [ abstract]
PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VA – Millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief money are going to local schools.
Replacing heating, ventilation and air conditioning units takes a lot of work.
“It was time for this project to occur and it was on our radar for some time,” said Rockbridge County Schools Director of Operations Randy Walters.
At Central Elementary near Lexington, crews had to shut down a road and bring in construction equipment to replace seven massive rooftop units — the entire system.
“We were spending maintenance money keeping the units going, making sure the air quality was appropriate for schools,” said Walters, who added this project alone cost $1.4 million and could be paid for with federal money. “Without the CARES Act money, it would be up to the School Board and the Board of Supervisors to come up with funding for these projects.”
A U.S. Government Accountability Office report says about 41% of districts need to update or replace heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in at least half of their schools, representing about 36,000 schools across the country that need HVAC updates. Problems can lead to issues with indoor air quality problems, mold and in some cases, cause schools to temporarily adjust schedules.
n nearly all districts the office visited, security became a top priority. Some districts prioritized security updates over replacing building systems, such as HVAC systems.
But with COVID-19 relief money, schools can spend some of it on those upgrades. American Rescue Plan funds, as well as previous rounds of relief funding, can be used to take immediate action to improve indoor air quality, such as the inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, replacement, and upgrading of projects in school facilities. This can include system upgrades, filtering, purification and other air cleaning fans as well as window and door repair.
“I think these are the original windows when the school was built,” said Kentuck Elementary School Principal Christie Dawson, showing us the outside of the school. “The window units certainly help with the cooling, but the noise level when you’re inside of a classroom. Elementary kids are easily distractible and so that distractibility is there with the noise.”
-- Jenna Zibton Ala. School Board Plans $98M in Capital Projects-- spaces4learning Alabama: August 03, 2021 [ abstract] Members of the Hoover school board in Hoover, Ala., met this week to discuss a series of upcoming capital projects totaling $98 million. Expenses over the next seven years are projected to include two new elementary schools, a 10-classroom addition to an existing elementary school, athletic and theater upgrades, 24 new school buses, and other maintenance projects.
These expenses, however, would cost the school system’s reserves more than $50 million by 2028. The board’s chief financial officer, Michele McCay, said this would leave the school system with enough cash to cover three months’ worth of emergency expenses—the bare minimum recommended by the state. However, the school system is already projected to have less than five months’ worth of reserve funds by 2024.
“We’re coming to the point where we have to make some pretty tough decisions,” McCay said. “We need to come up with additional sources of revenue in order to maintain the infrastructure that we have and provide the services that our citizens and our students deserve.”
-- Matt Jones 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 Amid Historic Federal Windfall, School Leaders Find that Soaring Inflation is Curbing Their Ability to Purchase, Hire an-- The74million.org National: July 28, 2021 [ abstract] With 28 years in school nutrition behind her, 12 as director of food services in Plymouth-Canton Community School, near Detroit, Kristen Hennessey has meal planning down to a science. She can usually look at a menu, estimate the cost and count on having all the ingredients and supplies ready for preparation.
But now, with chicken and beef prices up, a worldwide shortage of packaging materials and a dearth of long-haul truckers, she’s not as sure what she’ll be serving the district’s 18,000 students this fall. And she won’t be surprised if distributors start adding transportation surcharges “to stop the bleeding on their end” — something she hasn’t seen since the Great Recession.
“It’s a domino effect,” she said. “We’re at the point now where we don’t even know what’s going to come in the back door.”
Food services are just one aspect of school operations affected by inflation, which is experiencing a 13-year high. Wages are climbing because districts can’t find enough employees to drive buses or provide students additional academic support. Price hikes on materials are causing some districts to hit pause on construction projects and districts are paying higher wages for teachers to help students catch up.
At a time when the American Rescue Plan is flooding school districts with more federal money than they’ve ever had, educators are slowly awakening to the reality that those funds might not go as far as expected and that inflation may have a lasting impact on their regular budgets as well .
“School districts are like little cities. You’ve got food service. You’ve got transportation. You’ve got maintenance. Inflation across the sectors will impact all those areas,” said Charles Carpenter, chief financial officer for the Denver Public Schools.
-- Linda Jacobson Amid Historic Federal Windfall, School Leaders Find that Soaring Inflation is Curbing Their Ability to Purchase, Hire an-- The74 Million National: July 28, 2021 [ abstract] With 28 years in school nutrition behind her, 12 as director of food services in Plymouth-Canton Community School, near Detroit, Kristen Hennessey has meal planning down to a science. She can usually look at a menu, estimate the cost and count on having all the ingredients and supplies ready for preparation.
But now, with chicken and beef prices up, a worldwide shortage of packaging materials and a dearth of long-haul truckers, she’s not as sure what she’ll be serving the district’s 18,000 students this fall. And she won’t be surprised if distributors start adding transportation surcharges “to stop the bleeding on their end” — something she hasn’t seen since the Great Recession.
“It’s a domino effect,” she said. “We’re at the point now where we don’t even know what’s going to come in the back door.”
Food services are just one aspect of school operations affected by inflation, which is experiencing a 13-year high. Wages are climbing because districts can’t find enough employees to drive buses or provide students additional academic support. Price hikes on materials are causing some districts to hit pause on construction projects and districts are paying higher wages for teachers to help students catch up.
At a time when the American Rescue Plan is flooding school districts with more federal money than they’ve ever had, educators are slowly awakening to the reality that those funds might not go as far as expected and that inflation may have a lasting impact on their regular budgets as well .
“School districts are like little cities. You’ve got food service. You’ve got transportation. You’ve got maintenance. Inflation across the sectors will impact all those areas,” said Charles Carpenter, chief financial officer for the Denver Public Schools.
The economic indicators are clear. This summer, the Consumer Price Index — which measures changes in what people typically pay for goods and services — saw its largest one-month and 12-month increases since 2008, according to the government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
-- Linda Jacobson CPS defends keeping Aramark to clean schools despite history of problems-- Chicago Sun Times Illinois: July 28, 2021 [ abstract] Chicago Public Schools officials defended their recommendation on Wednesday to keep Aramark’s custodial services, acknowledging the cleaning company’s history of problems with filthy schools but giving assurances that new ways of tracking cleaning complaints in-house will yield better results than in the past.
As children prepare to return to class amid a surge of the coronavirus’ Delta variant, top facilities officer Clarence Carson promised the Board of Education at its meeting Wednesday that safeguards he’s put into place will hold the cleaning giant more accountable than it was in the past.
“There have been a lot of challenges throughout that tenure, one way or another,” said Carson.
“I do understand all the concerns that are there from prior services, but I know that we have improved those services over the last several years and plan on continuing to improve those moving forward.”
Carson was on the CPS team which a year ago had promised to dump Aramark and SodexoMAGIC as facilities managers.
But late last week the Sun-Times reported that the district was planning to award a new contract to Aramark. School board members Wednesday voted unanimously 7-0 to authorize a $369 million deal that leaves the Philadelphia-based Aramark in charge of cleaning 600-plus school buildings for the next three years, starting Oct. 1 under a new facilities management system that brings all maintenance, cleaning and complaint management, plus tracking, back under CPS control. CPS has already paid the company more than $500 million since 2014 when it privatized the management of cleaning and other building facility services.
-- Nader Issa and Lauren FitzPatrick Aging Buildings Creating Dilemma for Wisconsin School District-- facilitiesnet.com Wisconsin: July 23, 2021 [ abstract] Declining enrollment and aging buildings are forcing a Wisconsin school district to make some difficult decisions over the next few years.
La Crosse, Wisconsin, a city of about 52,000 residents located in the western part of the state on the Mississippi River, has seen school district enrollment go down by about 1,400 students over the last 20 years. It’s a trend that’s expected to continue, according to TV station WKBT.
Because the district consists of aging buildings — the station says that five of the buildings are more than 80 years old — officials are considering merging some schools and reducing the number of buildings needed to accommodate the need to address the declining numbers and maintenance. The article said that maintenance costs to address the district’s six oldest buildings will cost in excess of $30 million.
-- Dave Lubach Our public school infrastructure is set up to continue to fail | Opinion-- The Philadelphia Inquirer Pennsylvania: July 16, 2021 [ abstract] From the condo building collapse in Surfside, Fla., to the melting streetcar cables in Portland, Ore., to the collapse of the Texas power grid, the catastrophic state of America’s infrastructure has never been more apparent. These tragedies make national headlines, but we don’t need to look that far to find these dangers. Philadelphia is confronting its own catastrophic infrastructure crisis: public school buildings.
This crisis has dire consequences: a maintenance worker’s death from a faulty boiler explosion; a student’s lead poisoning; a career educator’s forced retirement because of her mesothelioma diagnosis after working in schools with exposed asbestos. Philadelphia’s schools are toxic and getting worse without proper maintenance and investment during the pandemic.
The School District of Philadelphia’s (SDP) past approach to infrastructure mismanagement means that its response does not match the severity of its chronic facilities’ issues. State funding cuts eliminated construction reimbursements, and Pennsylvania is one of few states that lacks guidance for educational facilities. District layoffs of maintenance and custodial staff have severed critical connections bridging systemic facilities condition data to the lived experiences of those working and learning in that facility. The district maintains a stubborn resistance to engage the full range of stakeholders into planning and decision-making processes, creating costly outcomes like the Benjamin Franklin/Science Leadership Academy shutdown. These costs are borne by those inside and outside the facility, suggesting that we need a broader coalition of stakeholders involved, with governance, funding, and accountability beyond city and district leadership.
-- Opinion - Akira Drake Rodriguez and Ariel H. Bierb School District Speeding Up Repair, Renovation Efforts-- The Pilot North Carolina: July 16, 2021 [ abstract] Moore County Schools is starting to make headway on its extensive list of overdue building maintenance projects thanks to COVID-19 relief funding.
Those federal payouts will generally be limited to projects that deal with either improving air quality and sanitation or supporting outdoor activities. But in an indirect way they’ll allow the district to move toward a more ambitious goal: renovating and modernizing six elementary school gymnasiums around the county.
The school board’s spending plan for its Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds designates over $11 million to capital projects, including $5 million worth of a short-term capital priority list the school board approved back in February,
At the time the board planned to pay for those projects with funds coming in over the next year from the district’s normal capital revenue streams — the county commissioners and state lottery — as well as the proceeds from sales of the four old schools in Southern Pines and Aberdeen.
Parts of that plan, like new tracks at Pinecrest and North Moore and a new heating pump and ductwork at Robbins Elementary, will now be paid for with COVID-19 relief funds.
That leaves the district with $5 million to spend on other building projects. On Monday, the Moore County Board of Education roundly endorsed a plan to put that money toward renovating the gyms at Carthage, Cameron, Highfalls, Sandhills Farm Life, Westmoore and Vass-Lakeview at a total cost of $12.7 million.
-- Mary Kate Murphy Biden’s infrastructure plan, an investment in Arizona’s schools-- Ahwatukee.com Arizona: July 14, 2021 [ abstract]
President Biden’s infrastructure proposal is a $100 billion plan to build the next generation of school – which is great for Arizona public schools facing growing enrollment in the next five years.
New money will provide jobs and assist our tribes on the Navajo Nation, and it is important for Arizona since the state’s school infrastructure program is underfinanced and facing two immediate challenges; increased enrollment and deteriorating schools.
Here are key facts about Arizona’s public-school facilities. From FY2014 to FY2018, enrollment increased nearly 40,000 students. While there has been a slight decline in enrollment this year due to COVID-19, the National Center for Education Statistics projects that enrollment will continue to rise from 1,168,000 in 2020 to 1,258,000 students in 2026.
On average school districts in Arizona spent $729 million per year on construction capital outlay for fiscal years 2009 to 2018. To pay for this, local districts took on long term debt, and at the end of fiscal year 2018 had $5.6 billion in long term debt, about $4,900 per student.
If Arizona school districts and the State were to maintain their public school facilities at the industry-recommended levels, Arizona needs $1.9 billion per year for capital outlay, rather than $729 million.
One consequence of under investment is that Arizona school districts are spending 12 percent of their total operating funds each year on maintenance and operations of facilities, one of the highest in the nation.
-- Paul Bakalis, AFN Guest Writer Parents Want Better School Ventilation This Fall. But the Devil is in the Details â€" and the Expense-- The 74 National: July 12, 2021 [ abstract] Last August, when Florida’s Hillsborough County Public Schools began upgrading air filters in their K-12 buildings, the event was so significant that news trucks showed up to document one of the first installations, at a Tampa elementary school.
When RAND Corp. researchers last spring presented parents with a list of 13 items that would make them feel safe about in-person schooling this fall, parents’ top priority wasn’t teacher or student vaccines, social distancing or regular COVID testing.
It was ventilation.
Perhaps that’s because COVID-19 has made our most basic act — breathing — newsworthy.
But therein lies the problem: In 2021, with an airborne virus still infecting Americans at a rate of about 15,000 daily, the heating and cooling systems in many U.S. public schools are nothing short of awful. Whether billions in new federal aid will be enough to help school districts upgrade an aging system anytime soon remains an open question.
While data on the scope of the problem are scarce, what little there are suggest that schools are looking at billions of dollars in deferred maintenance. A few examples:
In Worcester, Mass., the district last summer said it would spend $15 million to upgrade heating and cooling systems in its 44 schools, some of which date back to the 1800s. Nearly half of its schools were built before 1940;
In Denver, the school board unanimously approved spending $4.9 million to upgrade school heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in more than 150 buildings after former Superintendent Susana Cordova said parents had been asking her specifically about HVAC upgrades.
Like many issues, this one hits low-income students hardest.
In a 2014 study of school facilities by the National Center for Education Statistics and Westat, researchers found that schools serving the largest percentage of low-income students also had the largest percentage of air ventilation/filtration systems rated “fair or poor” in permanent buildings.
The study found that in schools with the highest concentration of low-income students, 33 percent had such troubled systems. In schools with the lowest concentration, it was 27 percent.
-- GREG TOPPO Community feedback sought for district’s deferred maintenance needs-- Amery Free Press Wisconsin: July 08, 2021 [ abstract] Issues related to deferred maintenance and aging buildings are an ongoing concern for districts nationwide, the School District of Amery is no exception.
Last Monday evening, professional performance contractor, Kraus Anderson, made a presentation to the School District of Amery Board of Education regarding deferred maintenance needs in the School District. Deferred maintenance can best be defined as that which needs to be fixed. The focus of the presentation was an identification of items which are the highest priority maintenance needs for each of the School District’s four buildings.
Schoolboards are facing the challenges of maintaining and upgrading aging buildings and their inner workings. They're grappling with questions such as, how much should they invest in these structures and what are the consequences of delaying investment?
In recent years, the School District of Amery has intentionally kept a much closer eye on the maintenance needs of its buildings due to the increased age of each school. The high school and elementary school are 45 and 54 years old, respectively. The other two buildings of the School District, the middle school and intermediate school, are not new, at 29 and 20 years old. With time comes the increased reality of maintenance needs, and that is what has occurred. There have been and still are maintenance problems in each of the school buildings.
-- April Ziemer Summer school repairs addressing tornado damage-- Shelby County Reporter Alabama: July 08, 2021 [ abstract]
COLUMBIANA — Shelby County Schools has begun final repairs at two of the school district’s facilities that were damaged during recent tornadoes, including a middle school and football stadium.
The Board of Education approved construction bids for the repairs during its monthly meeting on June 22, and repairs are now currently underway and expected to go through the summer. David Calhoun, the school district’s assistant superintendent of operation, is currently overseeing the construction projects, and said that the school district is making great progress on the repairs.
“We’ve had very good luck so far and have made fantastic progress at this point in time in the summer. Summers are generally the time that we will do any replacement of flooring or ceiling tiles as well as do any painting,” he said. “For kids, it is a slow down time because they go home, but in the world of school maintenance and operation, that’s really when things ramp up.”
The most pressing repairs pertain to the Oak Mountain High School Football Stadium at Heardmont Park, which suffered extensive damage due to an EF3 tornado on March 25 of this year.
-- WILLIAM MARLOW Mold Found at Two Sparta Schools During Summer Maintenance-- Tap into Sparta New Jersey: July 07, 2021 [ abstract]
SPARTA, NJ – The heating and air conditioning replacements at Helen Morgan and Alpine Elementary schools hit a “little hiccup” when mold was discovered behind old units as they were being removed.
“We were not expecting mold but we were not surprised,” Superintendent Matthew Beck said. “The systems are old, that’s why they are being replaced.”
Students and staff are not affected by the discovery, according to Beck. He said Helen Morgan school is not running any summer programs and the mold was found in an area of the Alpine school that is segregated away from students and staff using the building.
Beck said air samples had been taken and results were anticipated by the end of the week. The mold was limited to the area behind the air conditioning units and the “affected drywall and beams behind the sheetrock have been removed.” Once results are back, they expect to replace the drywall, unless further remediation is needed.
Not all of the HVAC units in the Alpine Elementary School were scheduled to be replaced as they are newer but “out of an abundance of caution,” Beck said the district will be checking all of the units.
-- JENNIFER DERICKS Referendum “Likely Less Than $20 Million,†As Schools Prepare to Replace Leaky Roofs-- Town Topics New Jersey: July 07, 2021 [ abstract] The Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education (BOE) is committed to planning ahead, working towards a July 29 deadline to submit an application to the state to place a major maintenance bond referendum on the ballot in January 2022, so that work to replace leaking roofs at several schools can start by the summer of 2022.
The BOE is considering a cost figure “likely less than $20 million,” but further discussion must take place in the coming weeks to determine the work to be done, when it must be done, and the estimated cost. The BOE anticipates that with debt from prior referendums maturing on February 1, 2022 and 2023, all the work can be done without increasing debt service from current levels.
“Princeton Public Schools will use the next three weeks to evaluate the scope of a potential maintenance referendum,” the district noted in a July 6 statement. “It is anticipated that on July 27 the Board of Education will authorize a submission to the New Jersey Department of Education by Spiezle, the district’s architect, detailing preliminary eligible costs.”
A number of the roofs in question are approaching 26 years old, already beyond warranty, and several other leaky roofs are about 17 years old with warranties soon to expire. Other urgent maintenance projects include repairing facades at some schools, repairing siding and gutters, and replacing “end-of-life” building systems.
“This work is completely necessary,” said Business Administrator Matt Bouldin at the June 29 Board meeting, noting many problems with leaky classrooms during the past school year. “Last fall, trying to get our kids back into the schools — it was not a pretty sight. And roof leaks deteriorate the structure.”
-- Donald Gilpin Our schools are in poor condition. Here's how to give kids a better learning environment.-- USA Today National: June 24, 2021 [ abstract] On America’s Infrastructure Report Card, our school buildings received a D-plus, indicating they are in poor and at-risk condition.
With nearly 100,000 schools across the country on about 2 million acres of land, one in every six Americans in a typical year relies on our school buildings and grounds for learning, work and wellbeing.
As debates about America’s infrastructure continue, Congress and the Biden administration must include our schools in this critical investment not only because of their scale, use and condition, but also because this investment can benefit our economy, build community resilience, and improve the environmental and fiscal sustainability of our schools.
The underinvestment in school buildings and campuses, estimated at about $46 billion annually, has resulted in poor indoor air quality, leaky roofs and unaddressed environmental hazards. The Government Accountability Office found nearly half of all districts need to replace one or more major building systems.
Poor air quality hurts students
The poor physical condition of our schools directly affects students' health and learning. Before the pandemic, childhood asthma, linked to exposure to poor air quality, resulted in about 13.8 million missed days of school annually. Researchers also have found that high temperatures in classrooms without sufficient cooling systems hurt student learning and performance.
With school districts often having to use local taxes to pay for maintenance and improvements, schools in lower-income communities are in worse condition, meaning students of color and low-income students are hit hardest by the poor physical conditions of our schools.
Just as roads and bridges are essential for our economy, sustainable schools also are critical. Since the start of the pandemic, school closures have prevented parents from working, and mothers in particular have disproportionately left the workforce due to increased responsibilities for childcare at home. The poor condition of school buildings has made the reopening of schools more difficult in particular in under-resourced communities.
It is critical to realize that any disruptions to schooling hurts women’s ability to participate and excel in the workforce. Before the pandemic and this summer, school disruptions due to excessive heat have increasingly occurred across the country. These disruptions are likely to accelerate as climate change worsens.
-- John B. King, Randi Weingarten and George Miller 3 schools in Rock Hill won't reopen next fall. Here's why the district believes the move will benefit kids.-- WCNC North Carolina: June 22, 2021 [ abstract]
ROCK HILL, S.C. — When Rock Hill schools close for the summer, three of the district’s elementary schools won’t reopen. The district says closing Finley Road, Rosewood, and Belleview elementary schools will save it around $28 million over the next five years.
“We realize the change is difficult,” said Rock Hill School Board Chair Helena Miller. “We are trying to use our taxpayer dollars and educate kids. Money really needs to go into the classrooms and not to pay for buildings.”
Miller said all three schools have low enrollment – some as low as 50% – and aging buildings. Shutting down the schools and reassigning students will save the district around $28 million, plus an additional estimated $750,000 per year in maintenance and utility costs.
But some families who attend the schools say it’s a sad day. Jessica Ivey was picking up her nephew on his last day of school at Belleview Elementary, and reminiscing of her own days as a student there.
“I’m real sad because I went to this school,” she said, adding “It’s grown a lot. It used to be just a small school. It’s really an emotional time.”
Other parents shared that they’re grateful to the teachers and staff for all the work they’ve put in.
“I have a daughter – she’s 9, Rosemary -- who goes to this school, and I have three boys that I pick up every day from this school. They’re all upset,” Tania Rosas said.
-- Indira Eskieva CPS to take over facilities management after years of filthy school complaints-- Chicago Sun Times Illinois: June 21, 2021 [ abstract] Hundreds of workers will still be private employees. Service requests will still go to a central staff. There will still be a vendor contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
But after years of outsourced management that featured filthy schools and slow service response times, the cleaning and maintenance of Chicago Public Schools’ 600-plus buildings is coming back under district control in October, with promises from district officials for increased staffing, better transparency and improved response times.
A year after announcing it would transition away from its maligned relationship with Aramark and Sodexo, the district on Monday is unveiling its new facilities management model — including a three-year, $375 million contract with new vendor Jones Lang LaSalle — that officials hope will fix longstanding problems.
The move is the latest in a series of initiatives — along with a new district-wide curriculum, a COVID-19 recovery plan and the regained control of schools under private management — announced in the last couple weeks of outgoing CEO Janice Jackson’s tenure.
Under the old model, fully implemented in 2017, vendors Aramark and Sodexo had complete control of CPS’ building upkeep, from janitorial work to landscaping, snow removal and pest control services. Any subcontracts went through those two vendors, as did principals’ service requests. And the vendors had their own management and human resources staffing.
-- Nader Issa Whistleblower exposes issue with Chesterfield School water pipes: 'Playing with fire-- WTVR Virginia: June 15, 2021 [ abstract]
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A test, required annually by the Commonwealth of Virginia, to protect drinking water is not being done consistently by the Chesterfield County Public School System (CCPS).
A former CCPS maintenance worker, who asked the CBS 6 Problem Solvers to protect his identity, said he warned district leaders they were not keeping up with the required backflow preventer testing.
A backflow device is installed to prevent contamination by keeping water flowing in one direction.
"I told them that they were putting a lot of lives in jeopardy by not adhering to the laws," the former CCPS employee said. “Once I didn't get any indication that they were actually proceeding in the right direction, it really it started bothering me. I realized, of course, that it was widespread."
The employee took his school and public water contamination concerns to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), along with pictures and videos of water lines that lacked inspection tags.
-- Laura French Carson City schools' building projects get underway-- Nevada Appeal Nevada: June 13, 2021 [ abstract] Carson City School District is moving ahead with several capital projects this summer ranging from campus expansions to athletic facility improvements.
Director of Operations Services Mark Korinek provided an update to the Board of Trustees in May on the most recent revision to the Capital Improvements Plan highlighting four major developments that are or will be active in the next few months or beyond.
The plan constantly reflects work from six years ago. Construction costs have escalated, impacting certain priorities, for example, the potential purchase of the former Capital Christian Church property at 1600 Snyder Ave., which also remains represented on the CIP, Korinek noted.
And notably this past year, the pandemic, too, had an effect on CCSD’s plan for its capital projects.
“COVID put a big delay (on these projects),” Korinek said at the May 25 meeting, going on to describe its biggest projects of significance this summer.
The largest project is the Eagle Valley Middle School expansion project, adding 23,000 square feet to the campus with 10 classrooms, two STEM labs, office and workroom space, restrooms and storage areas, and an existing SMART lab will be moved. The project begins Monday with a planned completion date for July 2022. The anticipated budget is approximately $14 million. The district hired CORE Construction as the contractor.
Carson High School’s turf resurfacing and track improvement project is scheduled to start Monday with planned completion for Aug. 13. The original turf was installed 13 years ago, and Korinek said the district has been “lucky and successful” with its maintenance.
-- Jessica Garcia Improved Ventilation Protects Students from COVID-19, Research Shows-- facilitiesnet.com National: June 07, 2021 [ abstract] For decades, maintenance and engineering managers in the nation’s K-12 school districts have struggled with mountains of deferred maintenance plaguing their facilities. As roofs leaked, paint peeled, and HVAC systems faltered, managers made do with less and less. On the rare occasions that taxpayers approved bond issues to pay for school repairs and upgrades, the funds often were much too little, much too late.
Now, as Congress debates the size and scope of President Biden’s proposed infrastructure bill, research demonstrates the tangible benefits of finally putting substantial funds into K-12 facilities, especially HVAC system upgrades.
According to researchers with the Brooking Institute, there is evidence that school ventilation protects children from contracting COVID-19 and other viruses in schools. The research suggests that COVID-19 spreads in schools in situations where there are high case rates in the surrounding community, and children can still catch COVID-19 in school buildings that are not properly ventilated.
-- Staff Writer OCSD studying schools; repairs needed, enrollment declining-- The Times and Democrat South Carolina: June 06, 2021 [ abstract] The Orangeburg County School District is in the process having its 26 campus facilities assessed in an effort to better allocate resources and understand maintenance needs.
The district also had a demographic study done to assess enrollment trends and projections.
“The final piece of this puzzle will come from the performance contracting report where we’ll learn more about the status of mechanical units within our buildings,” Superintendent Dr. Shawn Foster said. “We’ll take all of this information out into the community in the coming months as we search together for solutions.”
The school district commissioned the facilities study to help it plan for school maintenance and improvements.
LS3P Associates Ltd., an architecture and planning firm, was hired to conduct the facilities study.
Most schools are in good condition and need just minor repairs, such as replacing single-pane windows and walkway canopies.
Others are in need of more extensive renovations, such as creating interior corridors to replace exterior-facing classrooms and investigating moisture issues.
Of greatest concern is the state of an original, unoccupied portion of Vance-Providence Elementary School, which is no longer in use. The school is the district's oldest, having been built in 1930.
-- Gene Zaleski Roof of middle school gym to be repaired-- Payson Roundup Arizona: May 25, 2021 [ abstract] Such a deal.
The Payson school board last week happily accepted a great deal on roof repairs for the leaky Rim Country Middle School gym.
Five Oliver LLC offered to do the work for $111,000 — less than a third of the $329,000 high bid.
The state will pay most of the cost — except for $300. That’s the cost of the roof repair over a storage area, since the state will only foot the bill for the part of the gym actively used by students.
The contract underscores the value of competitive, sealed bids when it comes to getting stuff done. The other bids were $134,000 and $213,000.
Payson’s been cleaning up lately when it comes to sweet talking the state School Facilities Board into paying for long-deferred, increasingly urgent capital projects on the district’s four campuses.
A series of court cases more than a decade ago demonstrated unconstitutional differences between capital spending for rich districts and poor districts. A reluctant Arizona Legislature agreed to take on responsibility for directly funding school construction and major repairs. But when the recession hit in 2008, the Legislature essentially stopped funding district capital needs.
Since then, the state has shorted districts by $2 billion in the formulas for “District Additional Assistance,” which includes textbooks, technology, school buses and building repair and maintenance, according to the formula it agreed to in response to the lawsuits, according to the Arizona School Boards Association. As a result, only critical, health and safety repairs received funding for years.
The state has resumed providing about 20% of the money promised for capital improvements, but hasn’t made much of a dent in the backlog of repairs.
-- Peter Aleshire Smithville school board assesses financial impact of proposed $190M solar project
-- Austin American Statesman Texas: May 25, 2021 [ abstract]
During its May 17 meeting, the Smithville school board assessed what the possible financial impacts to the district would be from approving or rejecting a Chapter 313 agreement, or tax breaks, for a proposed $190 million solar farm that is planned to be built just south of Rosanky along Jeddo Road.
The 1,700-acre solar project is being led by international renewable energy company RWE Renewables.
The company submitted the Chapter 313 application to the school board last year, seeking tax breaks allowed by the state tax code that would put a limit on the taxable property value for school district maintenance and operation tax purposes.
The meeting included a financial presentation from Kathy Mathias, a consultant with Moak, Casey & Associates — an Austin-based school finance consulting firm that is representing the Smithville school district in negotiations with RWE — that explained the financial impact of the solar project being built with and without the Chapter 313 agreement in place.
RWE is asking the school board to cap the taxable value of the proposed solar facility at $20 million for the first 10 years of the facility’s lifespan, starting in 2022. The $20 million value limitation was determined by the district’s tax base and rural status, and is set by a statute that is updated annually by the state comptroller.
According to Mathias’ presentation, if the project is built, the limitation agreement won’t affect the district’s maintenance and operation tax revenue over the next 10 years, but it will affect where that money comes from.
-- Cameron Drummond North Carolina school districts need millions to fix HVACs; What it means for COVID transmission-- abc11 North Carolina: May 20, 2021 [ abstract]
As the CDC touts ventilation as a key component to reduce COVID-19 transmission, North Carolina public school districts face millions of dollars in deferred HVAC maintenance.
"I don't believe, as a whole across the state, that we were prepared for those things," said Allison Griffin, a teacher in Franklin County.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) publishes a facility needs report every five years.
The latest report from 2015 revealed the state's needs exceeded $8 billion. HVAC-related updates accounted for $342 million.
Griffin said before COVID-19, air quality and mold in her school were a concern for her. Over the past year, these fears amplified under the threat of COVID-19.
-- Samantha Kummerer Damaged asbestos, peeling lead paint, and mold still in some Philadelphia schools, says teachers union-- Chalkbeat Philadelphia Pennsylvania: May 12, 2021 [ abstract] Dozens of Philadelphia public schools continue to have serious environmental hazards, including damaged asbestos, peeling lead paint, and mold, according to an analysis by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
The union’s report, based on inspections of school buildings and district records largely unavailable to the public, outlines the scope of facilities problems that plague Philadelphia schools, which have an average age of 70 years. In the report, union officials identified six main hazards in the city’s aging buildings: lead paint, lead in drinking water, asbestos, lack of ventilation, mold and roofing issues.
In a statement released Monday afternoon, teachers union officials urged the district to invest in facilities upgrades and remediate “toxic conditions” for teachers and students. They also asked for improved transparency about environmental hazards in schools.
Remediating the most pressing environmental concerns would cost about $200 million, according to the report, and simply maintaining all public school buildings would cost billions more. According to the district’s 2017 Facilities Condition Assessments, the district has a 25-year deferred maintenance backlog of needed work, which would cost an estimated $4.5 billion to complete.
Several Philadelphia City Council members asked Superintendent William Hite at a Tuesday hearing about his plans for fixing the district’s aging buildings. Hite said the district will spend $325 million of its $1.1 billion in federal stimulus funding on facilities improvements.
-- Neena Hagen Former students want dilapidated, historic school building restored-- 4JAX Florida: May 06, 2021 [ abstract]
PALATKA, Fla. – If you check out Visit Florida’s website, you’ll notice it states Palatka as being home to the sunshine state’s first accredited school for Black students. If you dig further, you’ll see the old Central Academy is filled with fascinating Putnam County history.
According to the Palatka Housing Authority, which now oversees the building, the current Central Academy School building was built in 1936, replacing the original building that was destroyed by fire. Then in 1971, the school was closed following desegregation. Then in 1998, the authority says it was added to the National Registry of Historic Places. The Putnam County school district also confirmed to News4jax it used the building as a maintenance warehouse, and the property as a bus depot before selling it to the Housing Authority in 2009.
But now, the building stands in ruins. Years of decay have visibly added up, and there’s almost nothing left of the roof. The building itself is surrounded by a fence, and parts of it are boarded up. Dr. Andrew McCrae and Bernice Johnson were Central Academy students in the 1960s.
“When we come through our community and we see the disrepair that it has fallen to, this is evident that we have been failed,” Dr. McCrae said. “As a student with a doctorate, I owe it to this because this is where I got my beginnings. And I got to walk and see it in this shape?”
For Johnson, the sight of some of her earliest memories is heartbreaking and says it leaves an impact on the surrounding neighborhoods.
“When I see this building like this, it brings tears, it brings sadness, and disbelief,” Johnson said. “That’s what it brings to me, and it hurts my heart.”
They, like many, want to see this property thrive once again. According to the Palatka Housing Authority’s president, Dr. Anthony Woods, it was one vote away from being demolished in 2006 as “...a result of its severe state of deterioration.” During our interview, Johnson provided News4jax with a copy of a resolution from the city of Palatka dated in 2006. The resolution formally stated the city opposed demolition and was signed by then-Mayor Karl Flagg.
-- Ashley Harding Storms cause 'extensive' damage at Dresden High School; Weakley, Union City and Obion students to return to classes Wedn-- WPSD Tennessee: May 04, 2021 [ abstract] WEAKLEY COUNTY, TN — Schools were closed in Weakley County, Tennessee, Tuesday after early morning storms caused power outages, fallen trees and storm damage. For the school district, the worst damage was at Dresden High School and its bus and maintenance garage, a district spokesperson says.
Weakley County Schools Communications Director Karen Campbell says the damage at the high school was "extensive." She says three classrooms were flooded because of roof damage, and water flowed from those rooms across the hall to the library, where it seeped into the carpet. She says two light poles at the football field were knocked down, the roof of a storage shed was blown across the road and a tree was uprooted.
-- Leanne Fuller To Fix Crumbling Schools, Require an Audit First-- Bloomberg National: May 01, 2021 [ abstract] President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan promises to invest $100 billion to upgrade and construct new public schools. That represents a fraction of what schools need — or are likely to get — given other priorities.
After decades of neglect and delayed maintenance, about half of U.S. schools are in a state of “disrepair.” Overall, the U.S. is underspending on these facilities by an estimated $46 billion per year, according to the 2016 State of Our Schools report.
Given the chasm between the scale of the problem and the money available to address it in any of the proposed new federal measures, the Biden administration and state governments will need to triage the spending. When needs are this open-ended on infrastructure projects, there is always a risk that money will be misspent.
To ensure that the new education dollars go where they are most needed, the federal government should give states incentives to audit school facilities as a condition for receiving extra funding, now and in the future. School facilities represent the second largest sector of public infrastructure investment, after highways — though the portion of federal, as opposed to local and state, spending on schools is a fraction of what it is for roadways.
-- Andrea Gabor Relocations At Prince George’s County Schools Enflame Long-Standing Racial Inequities-- WAMU Maryland: April 30, 2021 [ abstract] Some Prince George’s County School students are being relocated for the next three years as reconstruction on four schools begins, causing some parents to question long-standing equity issues and challenging the school system to find new ways to address the issues.
Four middle schools: Drew-Freeman, Hyattsville, Kenmoor, and Walker Mill are all under reconstruction after a billion-dollar maintenance and new school construction backlog. These schools have been plagued with overcrowding, mold, and cracks in the foundations for decades.
“For whatever reason in this school system and in this county have not built schools as fast as we probably should have or could have,” Mark Fossett, an associate superintendent for county schools, told parents at a town hall last month.
The issue of outdated crumbling school infrastructure is now being swapped for a bigger one: how to equitably relocate students into swing space, or extra temporary classroom space, especially coming off of a year of COVID and remote learning where many students — especially Brown and Black students — fell behind academically?
Parents say the school system is playing a big game of chess with little pre-planning and pitting school communities against each other.
For instance, Hyattsville Middle School parents were told earlier this year their children would be moving to the Robert Goddard Montessori School because that could accommodate their 900 students. To make that work, Robert Goddard’s 490 students would move to an old school building in Bowie (about 7 miles away) where renovations would be made to accommodate them.
-- Dominique Maria Bonessi Trumbull County school district hopes to renew levy for building maintenance-- WKBN Ohio: April 27, 2021 [ abstract]
CHAMPION, Ohio (WKBN) – The Champion Local School District is asking voters to renew a permanent improvement levy ahead of the May primary.
If it passes, the funding will be used to help maintain the high school and bus garage buildings.
Champion recently replaced the elementary and middle school buildings with a brand new facility, but the high school is approaching 75 years old.
Money generated from the levy will be put toward maintaining the roof, pavement, windows and doors, along with the heating and ventilation systems.
-- Nadine Grimley WSD eyes ‘big-ticket’ repairs for schools-- Camas-Washougal Post-Record Washington: April 22, 2021 [ abstract] Despite the fact that it currently doesn’t have a full-time facilities director, the Washougal School District has completed several building improvement projects during the 2020-21 school year and is moving ahead with plans to launch more “big-ticket items” in the near future.
The district is currently accepting bids to appraise and replace the roofs at Cape Horn-Skye Elementary School and Washougal High School, Jesse Miller, the district’s transportation director, said during an April 13 school board meeting.
“They are composite roofs, and they have a 20-year life span,” Miller said. “They were installed in 2001, so they are at the end of their life span.”
The district’s maintenance team members have identified several other items for replacement, including the carpet at Hathaway Elementary School; the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems at every building except Jemtegaard Middle School; and the security systems at Washougal High, Cape Horn-Skye, Hathaway and Gause elementary schools and Canyon Creek Middle School, Miller said.
“The (carpet replacement) isn’t a huge project, but they’re getting worn out and they’re going to need to be replaced soon,” Miller said. “(Most of our) HVAC control systems are outdated, but the system at Jemtegaard Middle School works incredibly well, is efficient, and is what we’d like to bring all of our older systems up to.”
-- Doug Flanagan Colorado Comeback Bill to Improve Air Quality in Schools Clears Committee-- Pagosa Daily Post Colorado: April 16, 2021 [ abstract] This week, the Senate Education Committee unanimously approved bipartisan legislation that would support air quality improvement projects in Colorado schools.
SB21-202, sponsored by Senator Dominick Moreno, is part of the Colorado Comeback state stimulus, a package of legislation that will invest roughly $800 million into helping Colorado recover faster and build back stronger.
“As we work to recover from the pandemic and build back stronger, we need to ensure that our students can learn in classrooms that are safe and healthy,” said Senator Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City. “We know from research that when students are uncomfortable in their environment, it impacts their ability to learn and perform well. This bill will support air quality improvement projects throughout the state to create healthier classrooms for students, improving their health and well-being while enhancing their school performance.”
Kids learn better in environments that are safe, clean, and healthy. Over the years, however, the need for maintenance, repairs and upgrades to Colorado’s school facilities has grown – particularly in rural areas.
-- Staff Writer School officials: Westerly district's properties well maintained-- The Westerly Sun Rhode Island: April 10, 2021 [ abstract] WESTERLY — Routine and preventative maintenance occurs in the town's five public schools on a daily basis and about $2.9 million worth of capital projects have been completed since April 2019. That's part of the message school officials are delivering as they try to counter claims the schools are not properly maintained.
It's a public relations effort that Superintendent of Schools Mark Garceau said is critical as the Town Council begins its deliberations on the proposed 2021-22 town and schools budget. The finance board has recommended a modified-level funding approach (about $200,000 more than current) to the proposed schools budget. If the Town Council accepts the recommendation, it would be the second year in a row that the appropriation of local tax dollars to support the education budget was either level funded or nearly level funded.
Some members of the Town Council, the finance board and residents espouse what Garceau calls "a false narrative."
-- Dale Faulkner VALLEY VISIONS: Clarksville ISD facing need for new, renewed facilities-- The Paris News Texas: April 04, 2021 [ abstract] As the proud superintendent of Clarksville ISD and a 26-year veteran in public school education all in the great state of Texas, veteran educators such as myself often say or think we have likely seen it all. Yet nothing could have prepared us much for the highs and mostly lows of the 2020-21 school year.
I reference the lows because kids belong in school, experiencing all the natural things associated with being in school, yet due largely to the pandemic and an odd winter week in February, this year has been choppy at best.
Late spring ushers in the need to peek into plans for the summer and also make plans for the next school year. One of the areas that continues to make its way to the forefront of our conversations is addressing our facilities. Clarksville ISD joins most districts in this region in trying to address its aging and somewhat outdated facilities.
District Needs
Clarksville ISD trustees had their first in-depth, thorough conversation regarding addressing the district’s needs with a possible bond during their March board meeting. Our board now has a foundational understanding of our district’s current needs. In Clarksville ISD, there are only so many maintenance & Operation funds to cover the district’s day-to-day operating expenses. Over 75% to 80% of a typical school district’s M&O budget is assigned to pay staff salaries. The remainder of that budget pays for things like fuel, utilities, supplies, materials, professional development, travel and nominal capital expenses.
Clarksville ISD is now seeing the nominal capital expenditures such as HVAC, school bus and plumbing repairs escalating and thus consuming a greater part of our M&O budget as the district attempts to make the most of aging equipment and facilities.
-- Kermit Ward Study says Alaska is underfunding maintenance of schools-- KDLL Alaska: April 02, 2021 [ abstract] The state of Alaska should be spending more on building maintenance for its K-12 schools, according to a recent study from the Institute of Social and Economic Research.
Institute research professor Bob Loeffler authored the study. He said it’s part of the institute’s ongoing analysis of Alaska’s revenue and fiscal issues.
"Right now, our level of funding is not sustainable," he said. "And our schools will degrade if we spend the money we’re spending now. We need to spend more.”
Loeffler looked at capital projects across Alaska districts between fiscal years 2000 and 2020. Whereas many district expenses fall under a district’s operating budget, large capital projects are funded by a combination of bonds and state grants.
The National Council on School Facilities recommends spending 4 percent of a state’s schools’ current replacement value on capital projects. That’s the amount it would take to build a facility again in today’s prices.
Alaska’s current replacement value for its almost 500 K-12 schools is $9.4 billion. Per National Council guidelines, Alaska should invest $374 million each year on school capital projects.
What Alaska actually spends, Loeffler found, is $249 million — 2.6 percent of its current replacement value.
-- SABINE POUX OPINION: Schools can help us build back better and address climate change-- Hechinger Report National: April 01, 2021 [ abstract] America’s public schools have enormous energy, infrastructure and transportation needs, which make them an essential component of any plan to improve the nation’s overall infrastructure. Yet the role schools can play — both in economic recovery and in addressing climate change — is often overlooked.
Our public-school system — with more than 98,000 schools covering over 2 million acres of land across the country — recently received a D+ on America’s infrastructure report card. More than half of our school districts have multiple failing building systems, according to a recent government report.
Underinvestment in school infrastructure in Michigan led to a roof collapse at a high school, fortunately happening overnight when no students or educators were in the building. Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other students of color are more likely to attend underfunded schools in bad condition; their schools have to spend a greater share of their budgets on annual maintenance than well-resourced schools and find it more challenging to raise the funds needed for sufficient capital improvements. These same schools are more likely to experience poor indoor air quality, environmental hazards and other infrastructure issues detrimental to student health, attendance and test scores.
Yet this current underinvestment in school infrastructure presents an opportunity. Increased investment can help decarbonize our schools, lower annual energy and operations costs, improve health, safety and learning outcomes and provide opportunities for students to develop the skills needed to advance a sustainable future. Additionally, this investment will create living labs for environmental sustainability, clean energy and climate solutions.
Energy costs are schools’ second-highest costs, behind salaries, and schools are among the largest consumers of energy in the public sector. With 480,000 school buses, mostly diesel, public schools operate the largest mass transit fleet in the country. Federal policymakers must be the catalyst for schools’ transition to clean energy and sustainable operations.
-- LAURA SCHIFTER The key to opening schools: Better air flow-- Axios National: March 28, 2021 [ abstract] Getting kids back to in-person learning could hinge on upgrading the ventilation systems in school buildings.
Why it matters: This is a massive undertaking in the U.S., where school maintenance has been neglected and the average school building is 44 years old. Significant stimulus funds can be funneled to installing new A/C systems, but it may not happen by fall.
How it works: Scientists now realize that poorly ventilated settings increase the likelihood of airborne transmission of COVID-19.
The concentration of viral particles in the air is usually higher indoors than outdoors, where a breeze can quickly reduce the particle concentration, per the CDC. Better indoor ventilation means it's less likely that viral particles are inhaled or contact eyes, nose and mouth, or fall onto surfaces.
While the CDC says it's not necessary, in most cases, to install new ventilation systems to re-occupy a building during the pandemic, its guidance to school districts seeking to reopen is to ensure ventilation systems operate properly.
Where it stands: 4 in 10 U.S. school districts need to update or replace the HVAC systems in at least half of their school buildings — affecting about 36,000 school buildings, according to a June 2020 Government Accountability Office report.
-- Kim Hart WYOMING SENATE ADVANCE ASK TO MAKE DISTRICTS PRIMARILY RESPONSIBLE FOR SCHOOL FACILITY COSTS-- Oil City News Wyoming: March 19, 2021 [ abstract]
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Senate passed a resolution on Friday that would put a question before voters to amend the Wyoming Constitution to transfer responsibility for school facilities construction and maintenance off of the state’s shoulders and onto school districts.
“We’ve got a problem,” Sen. Charles Scott (Natrona County) said. “Our school capital construction system that we’ve had can no longer work because the principal funding source, which was coal lease bonuses, is gone and is not going to come back. We all know that.”
“We’ve got to do something different.”
Senate Joint Resolution 04 would put a question on the ballot asking voters to amend the Constitution such that the primary responsibility to provide school facilities would be reverted to school districts.
“This is the best I could come up with because it switches the principal decision making to the voters of the local districts whose taxes will go up if they pass the bond issue,” Scott said.
He said that the benefit of the proposal is that voters would be asked to approve expenditures for local school facility construction and maintenance: “If you vote for it, your taxes will go up.”
“How much taxes go up and how much we have to pay for equalization is unknown,” Scott said.
The proposed amendment would require the legislature to establish law for public school capital construction that would be subject to the following:
-- Brendan LaChance Schools Maintenance Deal In Limbo-- New Haven Independent Connecticut: March 09, 2021 [ abstract]
Amid reports of new schools with already malfunctioning HVAC systems and neglected air filters, the Board of Education is reconsidering its dependence on an outside facilities manager.
The board has asked for more information on the efficacy of the maintenance contractor, Go To Services and the cost of bringing those positions back in-house.
“I want to see if they are cost-effective and getting the job done,” said board member Darnell Goldson.
“I suspect not, but we’ll see the numbers,”
When city building inspectors toured New Haven public schools this fall to prepare them for Covid-19 safety measures, they found air filters that hadn’t been changed in years, exhaust fans that had rusted because someone forgot to cover them, water damage and more.
Some of the maintenance problems have health or academic consequences, like when Wexler-Grant students were sent home because their school was too cold.
“Because of asthma, there are quite a few students that have chronic absenteeism. God forbid those filters were the cause of any of these children’s asthma to not be in control—that is something that has really been bothering me. People have to do their job. If their job is to change filters, we have filters for a reason,” said board member and pediatrician Tamiko Jackson-McArthur.
The most urgent problems related to Covid-19 safety have been fixed prior to schools reopening. But the maintenance issues have raised a question articulated by the Board of Alders after two schools closed for safety reasons: how did the products of New Haven’s $1.7 billion school construction boom deteriorate so quickly? Or, as Alder Rosa Santana said at a hearing on the subject: “Somebody didn’t do the work. Somebody bankrolled the money somewhere.”
-- EMILY HAYS Not All California Schools Can Reopen With New Ventilation Upgrades-- Capital & Main California: March 04, 2021 [ abstract]
When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in mid-February its most detailed guidelines yet for how K-12 schools in the U.S. might reopen safely in the midst of a pandemic, it was what the agency didn’t say that confounded many experts. In an otherwise thorough examination of the factors contributing to the spread of COVID-19 and of the possible ways to mitigate them, the CDC devoted but a single paragraph to the problem of classroom and building ventilation, offering a link to more information.
“Ventilation is given lip service, with little guidance,” said Dr. Richard Corsi, an authority on indoor air quality, in a series of scathing tweets. “The lack of understanding of ventilation or its importance (or perhaps just disregard) is wholly obvious. Incredibly disappointing.”
It’s also the elephant in the living room of the discussion. Years of underinvestment in the upkeep of public-school facilities across the country have led to this moment, and the threat of a deadly virus has brought the problem to the fore. The simple truth is that for many school districts, the cost of upgrading or improving their ventilation (HVAC) systems, though critical to student and staff health, may be well beyond their means, particularly in poorer communities.
The numbers are stark. A June 2020 study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that HVAC is the most widespread deficiency in public school facilities nationwide, with an estimated 40% of all schools needing to either update or entirely replace their systems. The Center for Cities + Schools at the University of California, Berkeley, meanwhile, found that in recent years more than four in 10 California school districts have underspent on both capital renewals (like replacing HVAC systems) and maintenance.
-- Mark Kreidler School facilitiesâ€" Forum takes public pulse-- YSNews.com Ohio: March 04, 2021 [ abstract] Questions about costs, the future of the Mills Lawn school property and recommendations by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission dominated public comments last week during the first of three planned community forums to discuss the future of Yellow Springs’ public school buildings.
More than 70 people were present at the initial forum Thursday, Oct. 18, conducted online through the Zoom video-conference platform. Leading the meeting were representatives of the SHP architectural firm, which is working with the school district to develop a facilities master plan that district leaders hope to take to voters in November in the form of a bond levy. The district treasurer has estimated that at least $30 million will be needed to address all the issues that have been identified in the buildings, whether the community opts for renovation or new construction.
The current effort follows a failed attempt to pass a facilities levy in May 2018, when voters rejected an $18 million proposal to combine renovation and construction at the middle/high school campus, leaving consideration of Mills Lawn for a later time.
Discussions about affordability, maintenance, affordability and location were at the forefront of that endeavor, and similar concerns appear to hold fast within the community, as expressed during Thursday’s public forum.
-- Carol Simmons Editorial: House Democratic leaders now own every crumbling school in Virginia-- The Roanoke Times Virginia: February 26, 2021 [ abstract] nd so it’s come to this: House Democrats care so little about the poorest localities in the state that they won’t even vote on two measures intended to fix up their decaying school buildings.
They lack the political courage to actually vote these bills down so they’ve resorted to a procedural trick: The two bills have been left to die, unacted upon, in the House Appropriations Committee — the legislative equivalent of running out the clock on something House Democratic leaders have found strangely inconvenient.
Earlier that same committee also quietly strangled a bill by Del. Israel O’Quinn, R-Washington, that would have created a state fund for school construction. There was no money attached, mind you, just an empty shell of a fund but apparently even that was anathema. Now that same committee has done the same to two measures by state Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County. One would have created a state fund (again, unfunded) to help schools pay for repairing roofs and certain maintenance. The other would have set a statewide advisory referendum on whether to issue $3 billion in bonds for school construction.
-- Editorial School repairs continue at Houston area school districts after winter storm-- Click2Houston.com Texas: February 23, 2021 [ abstract]
HOUSTON – Some students and teachers are still feeling the impact of last week’s extreme winter weather. The damage to a number of school campuses has forced some school districts to extend their closures.
Tomball Independent School District
Busted pipes from the fire suppression system sent 10,000 gallons of water gushing out of the second floor ceiling in a wing of Tomball Memorial High School. The result was extensive damage to classrooms on both the second and first floors. The main hallways along with classroom after classroom were covered in about an inch of water.
maintenance crews removed many of the drenched and waterlogged ceiling panels and strategically placed dehumidifiers and fans throughout the damaged areas in an effort to dry everything out. Tomball Memorial High School was one of at least six schools in the district that sustained some kind of damage during the sub-freezing temperatures.
Repairs should be finished by March 8.
Houston Independent School District
The recent subfreezing weather conditions resulted in more than 500 requests for service from HISD facilities. Many of the service calls were for frozen pipes, leaks, and heating system repairs.
-- Andy Cerota Pa. Dems push for school infrastructure to be priority in next federal stimulus-- WHYY Pennsylvania: February 19, 2021 [ abstract] A coalition of Democratic legislators in Harrisburg are calling on the commonwealth to prioritize fixing crumbling school infrastructure with a substantial portion of the federal funds in the latest proposed COVID-19 stimulus package.
President Joe Biden’s planned $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package is still taking shape, but the most recent figures suggest the package will contain about $350 billion earmarked for state and local governments.
On Friday, state Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Phila.), state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Phila.), and several other Democratic lawmakers held a virtual press conference to demand Pennsylvania route some of that money into an emergency grant program that would pay for schools to remediate asbestos and lead, make electric and plumbing repairs, and do other needed maintenance work.
“We know that our schools were dangerous even before this pandemic,” Fiedler said. “For generations, our teachers, guidance counselors, nurses, students, and school staff have been sent into buildings where they can get brain damage because of chipped paint, or cancer because of asbestos.”
-- Miles Bryan Salem-Keizer on schedule for massive construction push with 25 schools set for renovations this year-- Salem Reporter Oregon: February 19, 2021 [ abstract]
Twenty-five local schools will be renovated in 2021 as the Salem-Keizer School District enters the busiest year of its years-long construction blitz - one of the largest such efforts in Oregon history.
The work, which will touch every school in the district, has expanded considerably since voters first approved borrowing $619.7 million in 2018, to be repaid through 20 years of property taxes.
Projects are on schedule, with some areas like major seismic work at South Salem High School “well ahead of schedule,” said Joel Smallwood, the district’s director of maintenance and construction services, who is overseeing the construction program.
The Covid pandemic, which has kept most students out of schools for most of the year, gave construction crews more time for interior work in buildings originally supposed to be crammed into summer vacation.
The district added $116 million to what voters approved, doing so by the way it sold bonds used for financing such work. With new state grants, interest earned and other reimbursements as well, project managers added more work to several large projects - without costing taxpayers more.
-- Rachel Alexander CARES funds bring cleaner air to Divide schools-- GeorgeTown Gazette California: February 15, 2021 [ abstract] As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding provided to El Dorado County and distributed to local school districts, Black Oak Mine Unified School District was able to enhance safety measures in classrooms and workspaces through the purchase and installation of plasma screen filtering ionization units in all 155 HVAC units in the district.
Lead HVAC maintenance staff member, Kip Steward, is working closely with Site-Log IQ work crews to get the project completed. Operation of these filters reduces particulate matter, kills pathogens and neutralizes odors, which will greatly enhance the air quality supplied to each classroom and workplace in the district. They also save energy. Work is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
-- Kathleen Mendenhall 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 Clark County school buildings being prepared for students’ return-- Las Vegas Review-Journal Nevada: February 06, 2021 [ abstract] With preparations underway to reopen Clark County School District buildings for the first time since March, the district’s facilities are back in the spotlight.
Ranging in age from a few months to nearly 100 years old, the 400 buildings occupied by schools and other district operations have a $7.9 billion need for what the district calls “modernization, life cycle and equity updates,” that includes deferred regular maintenance.
By late 2019, they also amassed a backlog of around 15,000 maintenance requests for HVAC, plumbing and structural repairs and earned a stark warning from then-facilities chief David McKinnis that some were “dangerously close to imminent failure.”
COVID-19 has hastened that day of reckoning, as the health of school buildings will be critical to keeping students and staff safe and socially distanced when young students return to the classroom for the first time in nearly a year on March 1.
The school district says workers have been on campuses throughout building closures to reduce the maintenance backlog, keep up facilities and improve ventilation critical to mitigating the spread of airborne germs like the new coronavirus.
This ongoing work nearly has halved the maintenance backlog from 15,000 to 8,000 requests, according to the district’s current chief facilities officer, Jeff Wagner, who replaced McKinnis in 2020.
-- Aleksandra Appleton School buildings slipping through the cracks in northwestern New Mexico-- Santa Fe New Mexican New Mexico: February 06, 2021 [ abstract] NEWCOMB — A column of concrete not more than 18 inches wide rises up the north side of Newcomb High School, serving as a buttress against a wall of aging brick to help keep it from collapsing.
Five years ago, school officials noticed the wall was separating from the rest of the building, and an engineer was hired to save it. The solution: Build the buttress and attach steel bolts to it from the wall for stabilization. The cost of the project was around $26,000.
Newcomb Principal Bill McLaughlin said the makeshift piece of engineering has served its purpose.
“I don’t think the state or the [state] regulatory commission would allow us to use it if it was unsafe,” McLaughlin said. “I think it meets the minimum specs and requirements for utilization.”
Such is life for schools in the Central Consolidated School District, which serves the communities of Kirtland, Shiprock and Newcomb. Candice Thompson, the district’s director of operations, said its capital budget of $3.1 million simply cannot cover all the construction and maintenance needs. The shortfall forces administrators to be creative in how they address those issues, she added.
“When we talk to our peers in the southeast corner of the state, and I tell them about our conditions, they’re like, ‘What?’ I tell them, ‘I’ll give you the nickel tour here, and you are going to be shocked,’ ” Thompson said.
-- James Barron Paul Feely's City Hall: Officials push to verify accuracy of school facilities study-- New Hampshire Union Leader New Hampshire: January 31, 2021 [ abstract] MANCHESTER SCHOOL OFFICIALS still are trying to verify data behind a controversial facilities study that recommended closing several Manchester schools because of declining enrollments and $150 million in deferred maintenance and other costs.
A facilities study by MGT Consulting Group recommended closing four elementary schools and one high school and merging two other high schools.
Superintendent John Goldhardt told school board members last week he had “a very productive meeting” with MGT staff that focused on two items — the legitimacy of the data and questions board members have about the study.
“Based upon my own reviews and a meeting I had with MGT, I do believe their data is sound,” Goldhardt said. “However, we have to remember their data is based upon national standards for school capacity. Based upon your feedback, my understanding is that this body wants MGT to use the Manchester school board capacity numbers. They are (now) doing that.”
According to the audit, the average age of Manchester school buildings is 70 years.
-- Paul Feely The Rapid City Area School District says they have about $200 million in deferred maintenance needs.-- KOTA Tv South Dakota: January 30, 2021 [ abstract] RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Back in February, voters said no to a Rapid City Area Schools District bond issue. The district said they needed the money to fix the infrastructure of some of its schools. Now the district has to get by until they can bring a bond proposal forward again.
And Superintendent Dr. Lori Simon says they have about $200 million in deferred maintenance needs.
“Every year we look at that deferred maintenance list and we say ok given what we know now about all of these buildings and needs what are the priorities with the dollars we do have available this year to enact those projects and put them into place and so that is what we will continue to do,” says Simon.
Simon says the district just had one of their best summers yet when it comes to fixing the infrastructure, but there is still more to do in the schools.
-- Staff Writer Canyon ISD completing multiple different facilities during pandemic-- 10 KFDA Texas: January 28, 2021 [ abstract] AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Canyon ISD is currently in the process of renovating and creating seven different facilities.
The construction is part of a $196 million bond passed in November of 2018 and could soon be coming to an end.
“Canyon ISD alone has seven projects that are going at this time. We have Randall east and west which will be Randall High and Randall Jr. High. We also have Heritage Hills Elementary, Spring Canyon Elementary, we have a maintenance facility we are working on and we are trying to complete the new Happy State Bank addition as well as West Plains High School,” said Heather Wilson, assistant superintendent of business and operations, Canyon ISD.
Seven projects in the works and almost all of them projected to be complete this year.
“We just want to create great opportunities for our kids in school buildings that have some space to allow for that ongoing growth that’s happening all across Canyon ISD,” said Darryl Flusche, superintendent, Canyon ISD.
New boundaries for the elementary schools and new high school have already been updated.
“With the opening of the new schools, we’ve already set the attendance boundaries so, we know for each school, which residents go to particular school buildings in Canyon ISD as we open the new schools,” said Flusche.
-- Allisa Miller Hearing Q: Why Did Schools Deteriorate?-- New Haven Independent Connecticut: January 28, 2021 [ abstract] After embarrassing revelations about deferred maintenance, New Haven plans to launch an annual check on its schools to make sure multi-million-dollar buildings are being kept up.
New Haven Public Schools administrators revealed this plan after a night of tough questions at a hearing Wednesday night.
The questioning took place during a Zoomed meeting of the Board of Alders Education Committee.
The meeting followed on the release of a report by the engineering firm Fuss & O’Neill that showed widespread maintenance problems in school air systems. The New Haven Board of Education asked for the inspections as part of school Covid-19 safety precautions; the final report came out on Monday.
“I cannot remember a time when we’ve had such a comprehensive analysis done in the schools of our ventilation systems,” said Assistant Superintendent Keisha Redd-Hannans. “As we’ve been discussing, this is something we should do regularly, to make sure maintenance is up to par.”
While the district has managed to check through and fix nearly all of the urgent issues Fuss & O’Neill identified, two schools — West Rock STREAM Academy and Quinnipiac Real World Math STEM School — are too far gone to fix, according to health officials and school administrators. So the city is closing those two schools permanently.
The alders asked how those two schools got to such a state of disrepair and why poor maintenance seems to be an issue across the board.
-- EMILY HAYS 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 Schools planning capital improvements, more with new COVID-19 relief funds-- The Daily Times Tennessee: January 22, 2021 [ abstract] With more money and fewer restrictions on the second round of federal COVID-19 relief funding, all three local school districts are planning to spend at least some on capital improvements.
The coronavirus relief act signed into law Dec. 27, 2020, includes $54.3 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, referred to as ESSER II.
School directors are awaiting details but have previewed their plans based on the information they have received so far.
Blount County Schools Director Rob Britt expects to present a plan for the district’s $7.5 million to the school board at its February meeting.
BCS plans to focus the funding on three areas: learning loss, health and safety, and facilities for deferred maintenance, Britt emailed The Daily Times this week.
-- Amy Beth Miller USD 489 short of what it needs to meet facility improvement goals-- Hays Post Kansas: January 13, 2021 [ abstract]
The Hays school board Monday night focused on doing what it can to fix its existing facilities with the money it will likely have during the next five years in its capital outlay budget.
Superintendent Ron Wilson said he hoped the discussion would hep identify short- and long-term goals for the district's facilities. However, he acknowledged those priorities will likely change as new needs arise.
The superintendent brought to the board a grid showing the condition of the facilities in the district. Wilson compiled the grid with the help of Buildings and Grounds Director Rusty Lindsay.
More than half of the buildings in the district are in need of work to their HVAC and plumbing systems.
"I point out that we have done a lot of work," Wilson said. "It's not all red. We have done a lot of work by being very sensible about our dollars. The green is low attention and a lot of those are because we have put dollars toward maintenance, upgrading and improving those areas."
The district has an average annual capital outlay revenue of about $2.9 million. The July 1 carryover for FY21 was $2.77 million.
"We spend an average of $3.1 million in capital outlay every year, and that is just to keep everything going," Wilson said.
-- CRISTINA JANNEY Central High joins list of recommended Manchester school closures-- New Hampshire Union Leader New Hampshire: January 04, 2021 [ abstract] Manchester High School Central has joined a list of schools a consultant recommends be closed due to declining enrollment and climbing maintenance costs.
The latest version of the school facilities report prepared by MGT Consulting Group recommends closing four elementary schools and one high school, while merging two other high schools to address declining enrollment and more than $150 million in deferred maintenance and other costs.
A draft copy of the revised audit released Monday suggests closing Hallsville, Gossler Park, Smyth and Wilson elementary schools, along with Central High. Other recommendations include merging Manchester School of Technology with Manchester Memorial High School.
-- Paul Feely Lawsuit: Former Horry County teacher became sick due to exposure to ‘toxic mold’ at school-- WMBF News South Carolina: January 04, 2021 [ abstract] HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) – A former teacher for Horry County Schools has filed a lawsuit against the district, alleging exposure to mold while at school led to numerous health issues.
According to the lawsuit filed Dec. 31, 2020 against the district and four individual schools, Mary Burroughs taught at St. James Elementary School, Seaside Elementary School, Lakewood Elementary School, and Socastee Middle School during the 2016-2019 school years.
During that time, Burroughs said she continued to suffer from severe headaches, short-term memory loss, a lack of energy, watery eyes, dizziness, congestion in her nose and throat, and nerve issues in her hands and fingers, the lawsuit states.
Burroughs alleges she did not suffer from these ailments before working for the school district. A medical and allergy test revealed exposure to mold, according to the suit.
The plaintiff claims she reported problems with her modular classroom at St. James Elementary as having a mildew odor and mold problems on numerous occasions to not only the school’s custodian and maintenance personnel, but also the principal.
According to the lawsuit, HCS had knowledge of water damage, water leaks, and mold issues for years within numerous schools, including St. James Elementary.
-- Brad Dickerson Indoor air quality becomes major priority in schools across Arkansas-- THV11 Arkansas: December 30, 2020 [ abstract] LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — We've heard it time and time again -- Doctors, researchers and scientists reminding us that air conditioning can circulate infectious droplets of COVID-19.
Recently though, technology has been able to provide safer air quality inside schools.
It was back in May when we introduced technology being used to ensure the air around you is as safe as possible.
Now months later, schools like Pulaski Academy believe this helped them stop the spread of COVID-19 and with funds from the relief bill on its way to schools in Arkansas, more may be able to jump on board.
"Most of the cases we've had, or positive test results for COVID in our school, occurred in off-campus activities, so it doesn't seem to be spreading around the campus," Don Swanson said.
As head of finance for Pulaski Academy, Swanson helped with the decision back in the summer, to make the investment and improve air quality across campus.
"We felt like the safety of our students and faculty and staff had to be one of our top priorities going into the school year," he said.
According to Swanson, the school added bipolar ionization devices to each of their HVAC systems. These devices are made to attack dusts, allergens, and viruses like COVID-19.
"Masks are important, clearly, we require those but we wanted to go a step further," he said.
"It's not a solve-all; it's a whole puzzle you've got to put together," Drew McCurry said.
McCurry is the Head of Commercial and Special Projects at Middleton Heat & Air.
It's not all about adding air purification products, which helps bring in outdoor air and get rid of the still air inside. According to McCurry, it's also about maintenance and filtration.
-- Mercedes Mackay Aldermen shocked by 'crazy,' 'mind-blowing' school facilities report-- Union Leader New Hampshire: December 19, 2020 [ abstract] SHOCKING. CRAZY. MIND-BLOWING.
Those were some of the words Manchester aldermen used to describe their reaction to news last week that a draft version of a school facilities report recommends closing four elementary schools and merging two high schools to address declining enrollment and $150 million-plus in deferred maintenance and other costs.
The audit, prepared by MGT Consulting Group, suggests closing the Hallsville, Gossler Park, Smyth and Wilson elementary schools.
“There’s something crazy going on in this city,” said Ward 5’s Tony Sapienza. “When I read the article in the paper, I was relieved to see committeeman (Art) Beaudry was asking the same questions the headline prompted in my mind.
”When I read the headline I said, ‘What the heck is going on?’ We’re in the process of moving the fifth-graders out of the grammar schools, because there’s no room for them. Now we got another consultant that comes up and says we’ve got empty seats, we’ve got to close four buildings.”
Mayor Joyce Craig said, “The highlights of the report came as quite a surprise, that they were recommending to close four elementary schools.”
“What was brought to this board by the school board is being completely contradicted by this new consultant,” Sapienza said.
-- Paul Feely Mason Public Schools Upgrades HVAC Systems in District Buildings-- FOX 47 Michigan: November 23, 2020 [ abstract] MASON, Mich. — At the November 9 Board of Education Meeting, the Board voted to upgrade the District’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system and install an air cleaning method as an additional measure to keep students and staff safe from airborne pathogens and COVID-19. Mason Public Schools (MPS) will purchase the Dynamic Air Quality Solutions system, which according to the company, “captures the droplet nuclei that play a role in aerosol transmission of the COVID-19 virus while contributing to reduced maintenance and lower energy costs, compared to high-efficiency conventional filters.”
MPS will spend $472,000 to upgrade the HVAC systems in each of the District’s six school buildings using this new technology. The District will make the purchase from Trane, who was awarded the contract by the U.S. Communities cooperative, which is a cooperative purchasing organization for state and local government, K-12 education, colleges and universities. The project will be paid for by a combination of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds and sinking funds.
-- Staff Writer 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 10 new schools, additions and more: Williamson County School approves 2020-26 5-year plan-- Community Impact Newspaper Tennessee: November 17, 2020 [ abstract] As the county continues to grow in population, Williamson County Schools is planning for how it will expand capacity over the next several years.
During the WCS Board of Education meeting Nov. 16, the board unanimously approved a five-year plan for funding requests through 2026. The 2020-26 plan includes $429.35 million in future funding requests for projects that will be completed from fall 2021 to fall 2027.
“Every year, we present to the county commission our five-year projection of what we believe we need to do to address growth. It includes new building construction, building expansions, buses, maintenance—those big-cost items—as we grow,” WCS Superintendent Jason Golden said.
The bulk of the plan include $305 million in funding for new schools to add capacity for additional students throughout the district. Future projects include six new elementary schools, three middle schools and a new high school, according to the project plan. Additions and renovation for existing schools are also included in the plan and are expected to cost roughly $78 million.
Projects to be funded this school year include additions to Summit and Ravenwood high schools, which will add 22 classrooms and an expansion of the cafeteria at each school. Those projects are slated to be complete in fall 2022.
-- Wendy Sturges 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 LCS' capital improvement plan could bring renovations, new elementary school building-- 13News Virginia: November 05, 2020 [ abstract] LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) -- There are big plans in the works for Lynchburg City Schools; the school board approved a capital improvement plan for the next five years.
Plans in the proposal include big-ticket renovations and potentially a brand new elementary school. The fate of those plans now rests with the city for approval and funding.
One of the projects LCS lists as a top priority for the next few years is Sandusky Elementary School. Steve Gatzke, the Senior Director for Finance and Operations at Lynchburg City Schools, said an aging roof and HVAC system top the list of issues identified with the building.
"We are going to have to upgrade the electrical, we are going to have to put a new roof on,” he said.
A new elementary school on Sandusky’s property is on a long list of projects LCS wants to tackle over the next five years. Also making the list; renovations and gym additions to Linkhorne and Paul Munro Elementary Schools.
“The mechanical systems, the electrical systems and everything are at the end of their useful life,” Gatzke said, “So the longer we put off doing renovations, what's referred to as deferred maintenance, the more expensive it gets."
-- Hannah McComsey 'Many schools are falling apart': Mayor Curry shows support for half-cent sales tax increase-- FirstCoast News Florida: November 03, 2020 [ abstract]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Voters across the country are focused on the presidential race, but across the First Coast, voters will be casting their ballots on many local races and taxes.
Duval County voters will see the half-cent sales tax increase on their ballots, a tax that would benefit the school system and help them pay for construction and repairs.
Duval County's schools are, on average, the oldest in the state of Florida. DCPS Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene says money generated from the half-cent sales tax would go to repair schools and fund new construction.
She says it would generate nearly $2 billion for maintenance and repairs over 15 years. DCPS would start receiving funds in January if the ballot item is passed.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry has been vocal about his support appearing on political ads recently. He has kids in the school system.
"These are the facilities our kids learn in. They need to be functional. They need to be up to date and frankly any schools aren’t," Curry said. "Many schools are falling apart. I’ve got kids in public schools so this issue is real to me and I think it is important that schools have the resources they need to put our children in the best learning environment possible.”
-- Leah Shields 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 Chicopee working to repair Bowe School after poor ventilation halts in-person classes-- MASS Live Massachusetts: October 29, 2020 [ abstract]
CHICOPEE — The School Department is working to repair the ventilation system at Patrick E. Bowe School with the hope of being able to return some children to the classroom in three months.
“We are pushing for a Feb. 1 deadline but there is a lot of work to be done,” Scott Chapdelaine, the city maintenance director, told the School Committee in a recent meeting.
The city has gone out to bid to find a contractor to do the work. Engineers and architects estimated the cost at $300,000, but the city will not know the exact price until bids are opened on Nov. 4, Chapdelaine said.
Proper air circulation is considered essential to preventing the spread of the coronavirus indoors. All schools in the district were tested for air quality before the start of school, Chapdelaine said.
Bowe School has not been part of the district’s in-person learning plan because a study of the ventilation system determined there was not enough airflow unless the windows were open and an air filtration system was used in each classroom. Administrators agreed they could not bring children back if they were required to keep the windows open in all weather.
-- Jeanette DeForge Lafayette Parish School Board: Tax renewal essential to facility improvements, eliminating 'portables'-- Lafayette Daily Advertiser Louisiana: October 28, 2020 [ abstract]
Lafayette Parish residents will be deciding on Election Day whether to renew a 5-mill property tax that produces about $11.7 million a year for school construction, maintenance and facility improvements.
The tax, which comes up for renewal every 10 years, is set to expire in 2021, and Lafayette Parish School Board members say the school system is counting on voters to renew it Tuesday.
"With the economy the way it's been and the uncertainty we're facing, the loss of this revenue would be devastating to the school district," Board President Britt Latiolais said.
This money has been used for facility improvements, capital projects and self-funded construction like recently added covered pavilions at elementary schools and classroom wing additions at nine schools across the district.
"We're working hard," Latiolais said. "We're trying to spend the taxpayers' money in a smart way."
Facility funding crucial to replacing 'portables'
These construction dollars are essential to the board's mission to eliminate the need for temporary classrooms at Lafayette Parish schools, now and in the future, board members said.
Adding the new permanent classroom wings has reduced the need for portable buildings by about half since 2016, board member Justin Centanni said. Just over 200 classrooms remain in portable buildings, compared to about 400 in 2015, he said.
"That doesn't happen overnight," Centanni said. "It's not all of them, but it's half of what it used to be."
-- Leigh Guidry Lynchburg City Schools administrators present proposed five-year capital improvement plan-- The News & Advance Virginia: October 28, 2020 [ abstract] Lynchburg City Schools could see two new buildings and two school renovations by 2026.
Division administrators presented their proposed 2022-26 capital improvement plan to members of the school board finance committee at its meeting Tuesday.
The proposed CIP includes more than $65 million in maintenance projects and building replacements and renovations over the five-year period. When the proposed plan is approved by the school board, administrators will submit it to the city for consideration.
“Once the funds are appropriated [by the city] into the CIP, they remain until spent,” said Steve Gatzke, director of facilities for the division.
The replacement of one school building — Sandusky Elementary School — is included in the proposed plan. At $37 million, this project is the most expensive in the five-year plan and would be completed during the 2025 fiscal year.
The plan includes a new transportation building that would be built during the 2024 fiscal year. The building would have a price tag of $6.7 million, but Gatzke said it’s a necessary investment because the transportation department has outgrown its current building at 3525 John Capron Road in Lynchburg.
Renovating and adding gyms at Linkhorne and Paul Munro elementary schools would cost more than $13.1 million and $540,000, respectively.
-- Jamey Cross 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 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 Pandemic Plan: How K-12 Schools Are Dealing with Deferred Maintenance-- facilitiesnet.com National: October 14, 2020 [ abstract] Is COVID-19 the new best friend of deferred maintenance in the nation’s schools? As mind-bending as that concept might seem, consider this: The attention of parents, students and school administrators has never been focused as intently on the less-than-ideal condition of many K-12 schools as it is right now.
Nationally, parents are scrutinizing the housekeeping and sanitizing practices in local schools. In New York City, ventilation concerns delayed the opening of some schools. Even managers in healthcare facilities are closely watching the measures schools are taking to keep students and teachers safe.
For maintenance and engineering managers who have battled deferred maintenance in their schools for decades, the attention might be a blessing in disguise. Schools are scrambling to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for improving ventilation, seen as crucial to minimizing the spread of COVID-19 indoors, according to Chalkbeat, adding that the crisis is prompting some taxpayers to open their wallets.
Recognition of the role ventilation can play in COVID transmission has prompted a flurry of school building upgrades. Denver Public Schools has invested nearly $5 million to improve HVAC units and install new air filters. Hillsborough County schools in Florida are upgrading their air filters. Vermont offered federal relief dollars to schools interested in upgrading their HVAC systems and improving air quality. Within weeks, most schools had signed up.
-- Dan Hounsell The pandemic has taught us that school facilities need attention-- MultiBriefs - Exclusive National: October 06, 2020 [ abstract] The pandemic continues to expose weaknesses in various parts of our educational system. This fall, one of the most debated was one that is often forgotten: The state of our 100,000 elementary and secondary public school facilities.
America seems to have a love-hate relationship with its school facilities. They are costly to replace, yet when they are in disrepair, they can be expensive to maintain. For many communities, however, they are some of the most heavily used community resources, if not the most.
America’s 50 million children and 6 million educators spend between 30 and 40 hours each week in these spaces, and a school’s core common areas such as gyms, libraries, cafeterias, and auditoriums are used by the community for many evening and weekend events. Public schools account for nearly 7.5 billion square feet of interior space, which equates to almost half the area of all commercial office space in the nation.
Each summer, an army of custodians and maintenance staff comb through schools to make general repairs and upgrades to ready them for a new year. Yet, as the pandemic has exposed, many of these efforts are not addressing fundamental health and safety facility issues, and this should come as no surprise.
Many of these summer repairs focus on cosmetic face lifts such as wax on the floors, fresh coats of paint on the walls, or a new carpet in an office space. They do not address much more costly, but important upgrades needed: indoor air quality.
-- Brian Stack Talks about future of ailing Stamford school buildings to resume-- LMTonline Connecticut: October 03, 2020 [ abstract]
STAMFORD — Before the outbreak of COVID-19, the big story in Stamford schools was how the district was going to pay for the demolition and reconstruction of five buildings.
School officials had identified five schools — Toquam Magnet Elementary School, Hart Elementary School, Roxbury Elementary School, Cloonan Middle School and Westhill High School — to be demolished and rebuilt.
To do that amount of work in a timely and affordable manner, the city hatched a plan to turn ownership and maintenance of the buildings over to private developers. But the Board of Representatives voted the plan down.
Officials were headed back to the drawing board to come up with a new plan, when suddenly a whole new challenge appeared and thoughts of new schools took a backseat to more pressing matters.
Seven months later, as schools have reopened and the city cautiously steps back toward normalcy, a new committee has been formed to assess school buildings and create a plan to fix deficiencies.
“Had it not been for COVID, I think we would have been farther down the path,” Board President Andy George said this week.
The scope of what the committee will produce is not yet clear. But needs are large.
Superintendent Tamu Lucero has said, based on previous school construction projects, it could cost the city $500 million to rebuild the five schools on its dime, and the process could take 25 years if the rebuilding were not done concurrently.
Many parents say there is no time to wait to fix what’s wrong with city school buildings. They want action now.
Westhill High School mom Liz Levy is one of them. She is behind a change.org petition calling for better ventilation and air quality inside Stamford schools that has so far received about 450 signatures. Levy met with Lucero on Thursday and said she wants to see a plan put together soon.
-- Ignacio Laguarda Bill to test more DC playgrounds for toxic lead moves forward-- WUSA9 District of Columbia: October 01, 2020 [ abstract]
WASHINGTON — Legislation pushed by D.C. Councilmember Robert White would force changes in how District maintenance crews ensure playgrounds are safe.
Though the D.C. government said the playgrounds are safe, the Council isn’t convinced and wants additional scrutiny. New lead tests may show the problem isn’t over yet.
After recycled tire crumb rubber ground mat samples WUSA9 gathered alongside parents, in February 2019, tested positive for elevated lead levels, WUSA9 alerted the D.C. government. Because of WUSA9's testing, additional tests were arranged by D.C.’s Department of General Services (DGS).
Those also found elevated lead at several school playgrounds, but the department told parents the problem was fixed and no further testing was required.
DC Council bill B23-0665 would mandate DC DGS to repeatedly test playgrounds for lead, and examine alternative substances.
Lead is a childhood danger of particular note to LaTricea Adams, president of D.C.-based Black Millennials 4 Flint.
"If you’re not a person of privilege and you have access to participate in a hearing or can allocate time to study and follow the docket, you really may not be knowledgeable that these issues exist," Adams said.
-- Nathan Baca Commissioners Approve State Capital Improvements Program for St. Mary’s County Public Schools-- The Southern Maryland Chronicle Maryland: September 23, 2020 [ abstract] LEONARDTOWN, MD – The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County voted unanimously to authorize Commissioner President Randy Guy to sign a letter of support for an increase of $8,167,000 to the St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS) FY2022 – FY2027 State Capital Improvement Program during their regular meeting Tuesday. Sept. 22. This funding is for the improve school buildings and to conduct scheduled maintenance.
The request covers several projects through 2027, including the limited renovation of Mechanicsville Elementary School, an HVAC systemic renovation at Town Creek Elementary School, the modernization of Lettie Marshall Dent Elementary School, a partial roof replacement at Great Mills High School, an HVAC systemic renovation at Piney Point Elementary School, a roof and HVAC systemic renovation at Green Holly Elementary School, and an HVAC systemic renovation at Chopticon High School.
The life cycle replacement of building components is tracked through the SMCPS Comprehensive maintenance Plan for Educational Facilities. It involves close coordination between the Department of Capital Planning and the Department of maintenance. These capital needs are outlined each year in the Educational Facilities Master Plan. As facility conditions change, projects and time frames are adjusted accordingly.
-- St. Mary's County Public Information Office Maury County Public Schools facilities will require more than $300 million in coming decades
-- The Daily Herald Tennessee: September 21, 2020 [ abstract] Maury County Public Schools will require more than $300 million in ongoing repairs and maintenance over the next 20 years, according to a newly revised report of the public school system’s facilities.
In 2016, and again in 2018, the Maury County Commission gave the school district a total of $32 million in bonds to fund necessary repairs to the public school system. The funding was based on the the results of a system-wide inspection of its facilities carried out by EMG, now Bureau Veritas, a company specializing in testing, inspection and certification.
Now, at five-year mark of the program, Bureau Veritas has again reviewed the school district’s facilities with the added analysis of the structural integrity of the MCPS facilities and campuses.
The report has identified $370,000 worth of safety issues at the public school district, $3,175,500 in needed repairs to the integrity of the school facilities, $88,800 in accessibility, $5,500 in environmental improvements, $4,861,700 in modernization and $113,339,900 in major repairs and improvements to the life cycle of the school district’s buildings.
-- Mike Christen DCPS Superintendent reports half cent sales tax would mean almost $2 billion for schools-- FirstCoast News Florida: September 18, 2020 [ abstract]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Diana Greene says the half cent sales tax would mean almost $2 billion for maintenance and repairs and some of the district's crumbling schools.
“Our average school age is about 62 years old, so they would garner Social Security," Greene said.
Duval County schools are, on average, the oldest in the state.
Greens said some buildings aren't able to get basic WiFi because they were built more than a hundred years ago.
“I can’t tell you how many times we have to reach principals on our walkie talkie system because their cell phones do not work in the building," Greene said.
Cracked floors, crumbling walls, and old technology are some other issues plaguing county schools.
“Some of our schools have so many of what we call technical issues, such as HVAC, electrical, and plumbing that it would be cheaper for the district to build a whole new school," Greene said.
Duval County Public Schools produced a video to show issues inside schools. They say state funding cuts in 2009 and 2010 for renovation, maintenance, and construction have left them deep in the hole.
“Sandalwood High School, our largest high school serving close to 3,000 students, has over 40 portables on their campus," Greene said.
The half-cent tax would remove the portable and replace them with brick and mortar buildings.
“It means something to our communities," Greene said. "They want great schools in their communities, and they want facilities that look they we all care about education for our children”
People in Duval County will be able to vote on the referendum this November.
-- Dawn White School custodians, maintenance workers are the unsung heroes of COVID-19 era.-- KWCH12 Kansas: September 15, 2020 [ abstract]
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Districts are relying on custodians to keep students and staff healthy while school returns during a global pandemic. Custodians are at the school in shifts for a total of 17 hours per day.
Custodial jobs have changed in ways few think about. For example in Derby at Stone Creek Elementary, the school could not use traditional roll-away tables in the lunch room because they do not allow for social distancing. The school is now using folding tables and chairs. Custodians say it takes more time to put away all the tables and chairs so they are able to clean the floor of the lunchroom.
Throughout the day, custodians routinely check for garbage and refill sanitizer available to students and staff. Schools are also generating more trash than before. Cafeterias now use since-use styrofoam trays. Paper towels are used for cleaning and handwashing. Schools install hand sanitizing stations throughout the building. It’s up to the custodians to keep them filled.
The workload in classrooms has doubled. Custodians are cleaning and disinfecting every classroom every day. Before, each classroom was cleaned every other day.
“They genuinely feel that their job is impacting, you know, whether we can keep our school open and how to keep the kids safe, So I think it’s been really exciting for our custodial staff to kind of be in that position for a change,” says Burke Jones, Director of Operations for USD 260.
Over the summer, the maintenance department got new disinfecting supplies that were on the list of approved coronavirus-killing products from the EPA. Burke say custodians trained throughout the summer on the new products.
Among the new products are Clorox 360 Electrostatic Sprayers.
The district purchased one for each building, school buses and the district’s central kitchen. Custodians first clean the surfaces, wiping off dirt and grime. Then they spray rooms with the electrostatic sprayer. It doesn’t just land on the surface. The particles are electrically charged and are attracted to the charged particles in objects, even landing on the bottom of the object.
-- Kristen Boxman School Building Authority awards $7 million for school projects-- MetroNews West Virginia: September 14, 2020 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state School Building Authority approved roughly $7 million in funding for a dozen school construction and maintenance projects during a meeting Monday that originated in Charleston.
The SBA annually awards grants from its Major Improvement Projects (MIP) and Three Percent Grants categories.
“There were a lot of security and HVAC projects,” SBA Director of Architectural Services Ben Ashley said. “They are all dealing with the present issues. They’re not always the major new, big projects, big additions but a lot of time they address some critical needs in counties that really need some help.”
Projects in Calhoun, Kanawha, Lincoln, Preston, Randolph, Upshur and Webster counties received approval in the MIP program. The most expensive is a $1 million addition and renovation project at Ruthlawn Elementary near Charleston in Kanawha County.
“They propose to build a exploratorium STEM-style classroom space to eliminate the need for two portable classrooms. That’s an exciting project for Kanawha County,” Ashley said.
-- Jeff Jenkins Marion's school repair budget is drying up-- Ocala Star Banner Florida: September 07, 2020 [ abstract]
Robert Knight, the school district's facilities director, knows the clock is ticking when it comes to mounting maintenance costs of aging school facilities.
Marion County Public Schools has 7 million square feet of space inside of 47 school campuses and dozens of district offices throughout a county the size of Rhode Island.
Marion County needs $553.9 million in the next five years to renovate and repair all of its facilities. But during that time, through 2024-25, the district anticipates it will only collect $208.7 million to pay for those projects.
That means it will receive only 28% of that needed funding, according to Knight's five-year work plan, which he sends to the state each year.
“Fifty percent of our schools are 60 years or older,” Knight said on Friday. “And two-thirds of our schools are 30 years or older.”
It’s time for many roofs to be replaced, in some cases for a second time, and many schools have air conditioning units that are on the brink of failure because they have reached the outer limits of use.
“The rule of thumb is that most air conditioning systems last between 20 and 25 years,” Knight said. “That’s the same for a roof. One thing that impacts the lifespan is how much maintenance we can do along the way.”
-- Joe Callahan Prince George's Public Schools Public-Private Proposal Gets Push Back-- NBC Washington Maryland: September 02, 2020 [ abstract]
With billions of dollars backlogged in school maintenance and construction costs, Prince George’s County leaders are considering using private dollars to build schools — a public-private partnership that would be the first of its kind in the nation.
The Prince George's County Public School system has an $8.5 billion backlog in construction, most of its buildings are 45 to 55 years old and it takes seven years to build one school with traditional public funds.
The school district moved students out of Forest Heights Elementary School last year when it was discovered the building's foundation was crumbling.
“We are going to do whatever is necessary to make sure that Black and brown children are in modern schools just like wealthy kids are in modern schools,” said Prince George’s County School Board Chair Alvin Thornton, Ph.D.
The proposed solution is a public-private partnership to build six new middle schools in three-and-a-half years. The school system would pay no money upfront but would enter a long-term payment agreement.
“I want to make sure that no one is profiting off our children,” school board member Raaheela Ahmed said.
-- Tracee Wilkins State Sought Consultant to Study School Facilities in 2018. A Contract Still Hasn’t Been Awarded-- Maryland Matters Maryland: September 02, 2020 [ abstract] A political fight from 2018 has sparked a battle over procurement policy at the highest levels of Maryland government — and the fight is likely headed to the courts.
In a highly-charged legislative debate in 2018, the General Assembly took many of the powers over school construction contracts away from the Board of Public Works — the powerful body that consists of the governor, the state comptroller and the state treasurer.
The legislative push had several components, but was partially a way for House and Senate Democrats to limit the power of Republican Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. and his frequent BPW ally, Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D). “It’s politics, and it’s a personal vendetta against my colleague, the comptroller,” Hogan said at the time.
With school construction oversight in Maryland jumbled as a result of the legislative vote, the head of the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC), Robert A. Gorrell, who has led the agency since 2017, sought advice on how to conduct a sweeping study of the state’s school maintenance and construction needs, as the legislation mandated.
“This is a very important tool” for state education leaders, Gorrell said.
So he turned to a proven expert in the field — MGT Consulting Group, a public sector management firm — whose counsel helped the IAC and state procurement officials develop a contract proposal in 2018 known as an RFP to conduct a school facilities survey in Maryland.
The problem was, by offering the state advice on what a contract might look like, MGT inadvertently disqualified itself from bidding on the work. MGT was conducting similar work in Anne Arundel County, and the IAC initially thought it could piggyback on that project and offer the contract to MGT — but that turned out not to be the case.
-- Josh Kurtz Before reopening, schools are scrambling to fix their air-handling systems-- VTDigger Vermont: August 24, 2020 [ abstract] About 600 students in Windham County will start the year remotely because local school officials decided the district’s air quality systems needed work before students come back into classrooms amid the pandemic.
But many more students across Vermont could be in a similar situation. Schools around the state are worried about whether obsolete air-handling systems could spread the coronavirus, and are planning urgent projects.
In the months before Covid-19 arrived in Vermont, districts had been tackling issues resulting from deferred maintenance in aging schools. Multimillion-dollar modernization projects were being planned, and lawmakers were ready to put over $1 million into a statewide analysis of building needs.
Then the pandemic made HVAC systems a top priority, and earlier this year legislators set up a $6.5 million grant program to help schools repair and upgrade their heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to meet Covid-19 health guidelines.
About 300 schools are interested in applying for the $6.5 million, said Jody Lesko, the director of programs and implementation. That’s about three-fourths of all schools in Vermont.
The project prices run the gamut, depending on the severity of the problem and the size of the school. But Eveline Habermann Killian of the Burlington engineering firm Cx Associates, which is working with about 20 schools, said she’s frequently seeing costs ranging from $40,000 to $60,000 per school.
At $40,000 per project, 300 schools would need $12 million.
“It’s probably more than the Legislature had hoped for,” she said. “But nobody really knew until we started going into the buildings.”
It’s unclear if air quality concerns tied to the coronavirus could actually shutter more schools. But ventilation and air filtration have emerged as a top concern in the puzzle over reopening, and hundreds of schools are scrambling to get work done before Vermont students return on Sept. 8.
-- Lola Duffort U.S. Educators Report That School Bathrooms, Cafeterias, and Buses Require the Most Cleaning and Disinfection-- businesswire National: August 19, 2020 [ abstract] PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As hundreds of thousands of U.S. schools prepare for in-person learning, it is no surprise that cleanliness and disinfection are top-of-mind, according to a recent survey conducted by OpenWorks.
The survey, which polled more than 200 U.S. educators across the country, revealed that 92% plan to increase the frequency of their cleaning and disinfecting efforts, and more than half of them will increase these efforts to multiple times a day. Those polled believe that the school areas most prone to germs include: bathrooms (89%), cafeterias (81%), buses (77%), locker rooms (71%), computer labs (70%), regular classrooms (67%), gyms (66%), and playgrounds (66%). The surfaces they believe are the most prone to germs include: door handles (90%), drinking fountains/water station areas (81%), desks (80%), railings (76%), computers (75%), gym equipment and classroom supplies (67%), light switches (66%) and playground equipment (54%).
The increased focus on cleaning and disinfecting is for good reason. “As a result of COVID-19, cleaning and disinfecting is essential in helping to protect the safety and welfare of teachers, students, parents, families, and the community at large,” said Eric Roudi, President and CEO of OpenWorks. “Schools are moving from basic, manual cleaning procedures, like vacuuming and wiping down surfaces, into specialized, more advanced cleaning protocols that include disinfecting. It is a trend we don’t see waning any time soon.”
Roudi said that OpenWorks has experienced a sharp increase in demand for its advanced cleaning and disinfecting measures since the outbreak of COVID-19. To help prevent the spread of viruses and infections, the company’s nationwide network follows CDC guidelines on processes, equipment, and products. Its elite service providers use EPA-approved disinfectants and are individually certified by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council.
Additional findings from the recent OpenWorks survey of educators also revealed that:
79% plan to follow social distancing measures, yet only 59% plan to reduce the number of students in the classroom.
74% are ensuring all educators and staff wear masks, and 64% are ensuring all students wear masks.
58% of educators are ensuring their school buses are cleaned and disinfected.
45% are hiring additional maintenance/janitorial staff or increasing their hours to clean/disinfect more frequently.
39% are planning to have their indoor air systems (heating, ventilation, and cooling) inspected or upgraded prior to their schools reopening to students.
38% are hiring additional outside cleaning/disinfection crews to clean/disinfect more frequently.
-- Angela Menninger 'It’s a lot more to do': Culver Schools maintenance staff up workload for student safety-- abc57 Indiana: August 18, 2020 [ abstract] CULVER, Ind. - It takes a lot to reopen schools and bring kids back to a safe environment. That’s why this week on The Learning Curve we are going behind the scenes at Culver Community Schools to look at what life is like now for the support staff.
Everyone from maintenance to counseling to even food services. But Tuesday our team is giving you an inside look at how the school’s maintenance staff are helping make sure kids are safe inside the buildings.
“Spray all the lockers and after they’re sprayed they have to be wiped down. It makes it quicker but it’s still time-consuming because that is something we never did in the past," Mike Garland, the Building maintenance Director for Culver Schools said.
Because of the pandemic, Garland's workday has drastically changed.
"Biggest thing in the morning time, we go through and do a lot of the doors wiping doors like this all gets wiped down. Anything that the kids can touch is what we go and do. Rails on stairways," he said. “We go through and do more common areas more, more wiping stuff now more fog and new tools to use so that's what we do on a daily basis.”
Garland showed ABC57 what it takes to keep two school buildings sanitized and clean.
"Normally at night time we will go spray the walls, lockers and during the day she’ll go through here with a spray gun do all the bathrooms," he said.
Some of the new tools include a sanitizer spray.
"It’s a mist spray so it scatters throughout the whole restroom. It works very well," he said. "Then at night they’ll spray and wipe down. But during the day to make things flow she goes around and sprays - makes everything easier.”
At the high school, once the kids leave the class, they’ll wipe the desks down. That way they’re ready for the next class.
-- Tana Kelley MPS maintenance ramps up during school shutdown, but still plenty of repairs left to do-- Montgomery Advertiser Alabama: August 18, 2020 [ abstract]
With a one-time boost in funding for capital improvement projects from the Legislature, the Montgomery Public Schools' maintenance team has been able to complete projects at a faster pace with students out of the buildings since March.
Set to receive $32 million through Gov. Kay Ivey's education bond passed earlier this year, the district is putting the money toward updating a high school's HVAC system, repairing roofs at multiple schools and constructing the new Booker T. Washington Magnet High.
The district also received about $6 million for capital improvement needs through the Education Trust Fund — a significant shortfall from the about $14 million that was expected. The decrease comes as a result of the pandemic, with the trust fund budget largely fueled by revenue from income and sales taxes.
"They’re moving quickly — the shutdown and the virtual (learning) for the first nine weeks has helped us," Director of Operations Chad Anderson said.
At Jefferson Davis High School, Anderson said they are beginning the next phase of updating the school's heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. The goal, dependent on when students return to the building, is to have the project completed by the end of the school year.
More:Gov. Kay Ivey proposes $1 billion bond for school improvements
"It will be on a control system where we can manage it, so it will be a lot more efficient and better on the equipment," he said, adding that the new system will allow his team to be more "proactive than reactive."
-- Krista Johnson 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 Udall, Heinrich Introduce Impact Aid Infrastructure Act To Boost School Infrastructure Projects Amid COVID-19-- Los Alamos Daily Post Bureau of Indian Education: August 06, 2020 [ abstract] WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), to introduce the Impact Aid Infrastructure Act (IAIA), which provides $1 billion in supplemental funding for school infrastructure construction grants through the Impact Aid program.
IAIA provides competitive and formula grants for school infrastructure projects, including school construction and facilities upgrades, in school districts with high percentages of children with military parents or children living on Indian lands.
With these grants, school districts would have the flexibility to focus on their specific renovation and repair needs, which could include changes to help protect the health, safety, and well-being of students, teachers, school leaders, and school personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Federal Impact Aid is critical for New Mexico, where many school districts receive funding from the program because they serve the large number of federal military installations and Indian lands in the state.
“The COVID-19 crisis has brought our country’s existing education inequality into plain sight,” Udall said. “Many local public schools located near military bases, national labs, national parks, and Indian reservations in New Mexico and across the country have faced unique barriers to adequately funding important facilities projects for decades. These same school systems are now struggling to retrofit their campuses to make them safer for reopening because of budget shortfalls and decades long maintenance backlogs. This investment is long overdue but, now more than ever, we cannot turn our back on school safety.”
-- Carol Clark Hillsborough slows work on school air conditioners as tax collections ebb-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: July 31, 2020 [ abstract] TAMPA — Up to one-third of next year’s referendum-funded capital projects in the Hillsborough County Public Schools might be postponed because of lower sales tax revenues, an oversight committee was told Friday.
The economic slowdown resulting from the coronavirus pandemic cut millions from the half-cent sales surtax that voters approved in a 2018 referendum. In just March and April, losses totaled nearly $5 million.
The referendum was intended to pay for more than $1.3 billion in school physical improvements over a decade. Most of the need came from air conditioners that grew unreliable after years of inadequate maintenance. Other projects included new classroom technology, security upgrades, roofs, painting and weather-proofing.
-- Marlene Sokol Poor, minority students at dilapidated schools face added risks amid talk of reopening classrooms-- The Telegraph National: July 31, 2020 [ abstract] (THE CONVERSATION) Classrooms, gyms and cafeterias at schools across the U.S. have remained empty for months now. And despite some districts beginning to reopen, many others will remain closed amid fears that prematurely restarting in-person classes could cost more lives in the pandemic.
Local, state and federal officials wrangle over how to make schools safe, with concern over how to sufficiently disinfect and ventilate schools. But for low-income students, their teachers and families, returning to school is a more risky proposition due to the age and condition of the buildings to which they would return.
In a 2018 report to Congress, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found that “low income students and students of color are often relegated to low-quality school facilities” that lack “physical maintenance.” This can “negatively impact a student’s health,” the commission concluded.
I have seen this firsthand. As a former school superintendent and now as a university professor working with K-12 schools, I see the inequities experienced by some of the U.S.‘s most vulnerable students as a stark reminder of the opportunity gap holding many back. By requiring them to attend schools in desperate need of maintenance, I fear that the schools and classrooms attended by low-income students of color could become epicenters of a second wave of pandemic.
-- Hardy Murphy Lowell schools’ ventilation systems remain a concern-- The Sun Massachusetts: July 15, 2020 [ abstract]
LOWELL — The aging heating and cooling systems in Lowell Public School buildings have been objects of School Committee discussions for years. So how will they hold up in a pandemic where air circulation has implications for virus transmission?
“If you want me to sit here and tell you that I think all our schools are going to be running with proper ventilation and heating, I won’t,” said Rick Underwood, district operations and maintenance director. “We haven’t had it in five years.”
During an in-person meeting on Wednesday, members of the School Committee asked about these systems, as part of a larger discussion of the district’s re-opening plan for this fall. The district is required by the state to submit plans for in-person, hybrid and remote learning scenarios by the end of the month.
Underwood said the Department of Public Works works hard to maintain the buildings, but is underfunded.
“I also know we have a superintendent who last year flat out said to the city that, hey, if these buildings aren’t ready for school we ain’t starting,” Underwood said. “I’m confident he’ll do the same thing this year if we aren’t safe in those buildings. I’m very confident this administration will do what’s needed whether it’s pressure or to put their foot down. I know the city will be doing everything that they can.”
School Committee member Bob Hoey said he has seen improvement in city maintenance under City Manager Eileen Donoghue.
Mike Dillon, also a member of the School Committee, said actually improving maintenance would require more staff. “Mr. Underwood was too nice about it,” he said. “Our HVAC systems are crap,” he said.
While school custodians clean buildings and replace in-building air filters, larger school building maintenance projects fall to the city — a division of labor that has been tense in recent years.
In 2018, Lowell High experienced closures due to gas leaks in the heating system. Later that year, a study faulted the city for not applying for funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority for years.
-- ELIZABETH DOBBINS Can NYC Make its Century-Old School Buildings Safe from Coronavirus?-- Spectrum News New York: July 11, 2020 [ abstract]
“It weighs on me heavily," Custodian Engineer William Carroll told NY1. "I feel responsible for every person walking in that building.”
Carroll is the custodian engineer overseeing the heating, cooling and maintenance of two city public schools serving more than 1,800 children in Brooklyn. He said he and his staff are working hard to implement COVID- 19 cleaning protocols for when schools reopen in September.
“We’re gonna do the best job we can," he said.
He's confident the ventilation in his buildings is sufficient to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Both schools are served by window AC units that bring in outside air and HVAC Air Conditioning systems with filters that meet CDC guidelines for trapping many airborne particles.
“I’ve looked at my stock and it does meet those needs and it’s a high micron value,” Carroll explained.
City Councilman Mark Treyger told NY1 though; he's concerned that the ventilation in some schools will put teachers and students at risk. He wants to give the health department the authority to inspect all public schools.
"For some reason, the Mayor's office does not allow health inspectors entering school buildings,” Treyger explained. "The Mayor's plan that he released with the Chancellor is incomplete and leaves many people unready."
-- MICHAEL HERZENBERG Districts continue school maintenance-- The News-Enterprise Kentucky: July 01, 2020 [ abstract] Schools districts in Hardin County have continued to maintain school buildings and grounds despite changes with closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joe Stuecker, Hardin County Schools director of building and grounds, said they’ve been working on many maintenance and work projects this summer.
“Even though we don’t have students in those buildings, and we haven’t in quite a while ... they still require maintenance,” Stuecker said.
He said work orders come in nearly every day, and when he last checked there were between 90 to 110 work orders out.
Stuecker said small projects happen consistently during the summer including mowing crews, lighting projects such as changing out old lights with LED lighting and maintenance and repair to HVAC systems.
Larger projects include re-roofing James T. Alton Middle School, a large roof maintenance project in New Highland Elementary School, asphalt paving at North Hardin High School and Rineyville Elementary School and parking lot maintenance at the Early College and Career Center and Heartland Elementary School.
Stuecker said they’ve also been working on West Point School, and will continue after Wednesday’s merger.
Jon Ballard, Elizabethtown Independent School superintendent, said the only major project this summer is putting the finishing touches on the softball fieldhouse outside of the high school.
He said once the punch list for the building is complete, it will basically be finished
-- Andrew Harp 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 CCSD to issue $400M in bonds for new buildings, fix aging schools-- Las Vegas Review-Journal Nevada: June 17, 2020 [ abstract]
The Clark County School District has been approved to issue $400 million more in facilities bonds to help fund new buildings as well as address the maintenance needs of its aging schools.
The request was approved Wednesday by the Oversight Panel for School Facilities, a state-mandated independent oversight panel, as part of the district’s 10-year authorization to issue bonds first granted in 2015.
Approximately $1.7 billion in bond revenue has been generated since, according to a district presentation, but with $1.3 billion spent and another $280 million under contract, the remaining revenue proceeds are around $85 million.
The district recently refocused its facilities priorities on the maintenance and renovation of existing schools rather than the addition of new ones, with a revision to its Capital Improvement Program in November that stressed the need to address an estimated $6 billion in maintenance needs particularly affecting 290 schools that are over 20 years old.
The National Council on School Facilities found that CCSD should be investing approximately $90 million per year to catch up on deferred maintenance, according to the Facilities Panel presentation. The district also estimated in November that an additional $86.7 million per year was needed for school preventive maintenance.
“For many years, preventive maintenance of buildings, equipment, and sites has been postponed due to lack of funding in the operating budget,” the presentation said. “The lack of investment in maintenance upkeep has created deferred maintenance and continually increases the burden on the capital improvement program.”
-- Aleksandra Appleton Erie schools use virus aid to hold off custodian cuts-- GoErie.com Pennsylvania: June 14, 2020 [ abstract] District needs all its current maintenance staff for another year for cleaning due to COVID-19, superintendents says.
Pandemic-related federal funding is giving custodians at the Erie School District a one-year reprieve from job cuts.
The district will use nearly $1 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to continue to pay all of its approximately 85 maintenance employees for another year.
As part of its state-mandated financial improvement plan, the district had planned to cut 13 jobs from its maintenance staff to save $1 million in 2020-21.
The district is keeping those 13 positions — three building engineers, who supervise maintenance, and 10 custodians — for the new academic year.
The district needs all the custodians to ensure its 16 school buildings and other facilities are cleaned and sanitized in accordance with federal and state guidelines for curbing the spread of COVID-19, Erie schools Superintendent Brian Polito said. The schools are reopening for students Aug. 31 following the statewide shutdown that started in March, though distance learning will continue as well in a hybrid instruction plan.
The district will use $994,000 in federal coronavirus aid to pay the 13 maintenance employees for a year, covering the $1 million expense that the district had planned to eliminate by cutting the 13 jobs, Polito said.
The $994,000 is part of the $6.8 million in federal money the school district is receiving through the the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. The district is spending $2.6 million of the $6.8 million to buy computers for all its 11,000 students for distance learning required due to the pandemic.
-- Ed Palattella Marshall County Schools take a class in cleaning-- WTOV9 West Virginia: June 12, 2020 [ abstract]
MARSHALL COUNTY, W.Va. — With the hope to have kids back in school this fall, Marshall County Schools are taking extra steps to make sure everything inside is clean.
On Friday, custodians and maintenance staff went through a revamped facility maintenance training specifically focused on stopping the spread of COVID-19 in schools.
While the state hasn't settled on exact requirements when it comes to just how much cleaning needs to be done, Facilities Director Mike Price knows it's going to be a lot.
“We're still working with the state on requirements of how much additional cleaning we're going to have. But basically, once the kids get back in here, it will likely be two-fold as to how much additional cleaning we're going to do,” Price said.
Liberty Distributing put on the training, which focused on things like restroom cleaning, classroom cleaning and bus disinfecting.
While the basic principles remain the same in the cleaning, there's now more focus on specific spots and doing a little extra when it comes to sanitizing areas.
-- Jaime Baker 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 M-DCPS Accelerates School Facilities Improvements-- Miami's Community Newspapers Florida: May 29, 2020 [ abstract] When voters overwhelmingly approved the General Obligation Bond Referendum in 2012 to fund much needed renovations and replacement of schools, expand student capacity, enhance safety, and provide technology upgrades, we at Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) promised to deliver all projects on time and on budget. That commitment has not wavered in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic; in fact, we remain hard at work.
The unprecedented closure of schools was a difficult, but necessary transition that has impacted students and their families, as well as employees. However, it has also enabled us to accelerate construction projects and maintenance before our students and teachers return to the classroom.
When this pandemic began, we approached each of our contractors, advising them that the schools they were improving were vacant and available for a more rapid renovation and replacement timeline than typically possible when facilities are in use. Together, we created a thoughtful and deliberate plan to speed up project timelines to reduce construction time and save tax dollars. We currently have accelerated construction occurring at 39 school sites. One example of a project that will be completed earlier than promised is the significant renovation of Miami Palmetto Senior High. This includes the remodeling of the auditorium, demolition of existing buildings, addition of bathrooms and various other improvements.
The continuous work during this shutdown has also assisted contractors in providing stable employment in our community. Between 300 to 530 workers are on our sites daily. We are also out to bid with several projects, allowing us to generate additional job opportunities, with high goals for local, minority and small business utilization.
-- Raul F. Perez, Carl Nicoleau Schools across the county upgrade, renovate-- The Journal Times Wisconsin: May 23, 2020 [ abstract] School facility improvement projects have been continuous this year in Racine County, with some completed, some underway and others yet to begin.
Earlier this year Union Grove Elementary School, 1745 Milldrum St., Union Grove, completed construction of four new fifth-grade classrooms, special-education classroom and breakout area, as well as installation of new roofing, gym renovations, mechanical system upgrades and a new asphalt parking lot.
Work on the projects funded by an $8 million referendum in March 2019 and were 95% complete by the start of this school year. Union Grove Elementary was originally constructed in 1968, with additions in 1973 and 2003. Projects are completely finished now that the school recently received and installed some back-ordered lockers.
“We actually have new breakout areas and a lot more flexible seating for our kids just to stay up to where education is now,” said District Administrator Brenda Stevenson. “It’s done completely differently than it was 20 years ago. We made some huge changes that are benefiting our kids and their learning styles.”
Burlington
Work is currently underway at Burlington Area School District’s new 142,384-square-foot, $32.7 million Karcher Middle School, 225 Robert St. The work is funded by a $43.65 referendum that will also pay for district-wide maintenance, repairs and safety upgrades. Construction began in October, and steel framing for the building was going up in early March.
-- Caitlin Sievers School Board Approves Agreement To Charge County Facility Fees-- Patch - Oconee Georgia: May 21, 2020 [ abstract] Participants in Youth Tackle Football and Youth Basketball programs of the Oconee County Parks and Recreation Department will be paying higher fees starting in a year because of an agreement approved last week by the Oconee County Board of Education.
The approval was the final step in a process initiated by Oconee County Schools to recover maintenance costs from the Oconee County government for use by the county of athletic facilities at county schools.
The Joint Use Agreement, which allows both the schools and the county to charge the other for use of respective athletic facilities, replaces a 10-year agreement in which the schools and the county agreed not to charge each other for use of sports facilities.
Oconee County, which opposed the initiation of fees, has said it will not begin charging the schools for use of its facilities, and the Board of Education compromised by phasing in the charges to the county.
The agreement is short-term, extending for only three years, and it allows either party to change the fees it charges and to terminate the contract easily.
-- Lee Becker School Maintenance Projects Accomplished During Pandemic-- Copperas Cove Leader Press Texas: May 21, 2020 [ abstract] While some school districts completely shut down operations, Copperas Cove ISD took advantage of the pandemic to complete additional projects.
maintenance employees as well as groundskeepers, custodians, nutrition and administrative staff have continued to work daily throughout the pandemic. CCISD maintenance Director Mark Stahl says one of the main benefits of continuing to work has been maintaining moral amongst the team.
“Even in difficult times, people want to work and support their families, in addition to serving the staff and community of this school district,” Stahl said. “One of the most rewarding things has been banding together and supporting other operational departments like food service, transportation, and custodial as they have continued to work. We have been able to get an early start on some projects. But in the end, our work is all about people.”
CCISD employs 34 people in the maintenance department including skilled trades, locksmith, carpentry, general maintenance, pest control, grounds, and administrative positions.
During the pandemic, maintenance workers have replaced approximately ninety feet of sewer line at Martin Walker Elementary. At Copperas Cove High School, the feature wall of the school was re-faced along with the pillars, parking lot pole lights were re-lamped, and interior hallways were repainted blue and gold.
maintenance employee Thomas Haire said the pandemic allowed work to begin on replacing all of the ceiling tiles in the 300 wing of Copperas Cove High School.
-- Staff Writer $108 million New London High School project poised to start this month-- The Day Connecticut: May 15, 2020 [ abstract] New London — Project and construction managers overseeing the $108 million reconstruction of New London High School are pushing for a May start date for major construction work.
And while bids on the project came in at more than $4 million over budget, closer scrutiny and revisions to the plans over the past several weeks have nearly closed the budget gap. Diana McNeil, project manager for Capitol Region Education Council, said the value engineering work is still ongoing and some numbers remain fluid, but the construction manager for the project, Newfield + Downes, has "no other choice" but to bring the project within budget.
The state, which is reimbursing the city 80% of the costs for much of the project, will not consider any reimbursement to the city for items outside the $108 million budget, McNeil said.
Tom DiMauro, project executive for Newfield + Downes, said last week during a meeting of the School Building and maintenance Committee, that changes in the scope of work have reduced costs by an estimated $3.8 million, though an estimated $708,890 of those cuts are still pending approval.
A subcommittee that includes city and school district representatives have spent the past several weeks examining more than a hundred line items to find cost reductions. Materials were changed, costs of fixtures revised, allowances for contractors lowered and numerous individual line items that included labor costs were scrutinized, McNeil said, in order to fit into the budget.
Newfield + Downes now awaits approval from the City Council to award contracts to eight trade contractors involved in the early construction phase. The contracts would total $48.2 million and include things like electrical, concrete, plumbing and site work. The council also will have a chance to look over a list of proposed changes made during the value engineering process.
-- Greg Smith Brighton School Facilities Advisory Committee continues long-range facility planning process-- West of the I Wisconsin: May 10, 2020 [ abstract] Here is an update from Brighton School about the ongoing long-range facility planning process:
The District hosted the second Facilities Advisory Committee (FAC) meeting on May 6, 2020 to continue discussions surrounding long-range facility planning. The FAC meeting was made available virtually to allow for social distancing. After a review of the District’s current and forecasted financial strength by Melissa Grohs, the District’s construction and architectural consultants presented a final report on the current condition of the District’s school building and long-range maintenance needs. The report categorized needs by urgency, ranging from “immediate need” to “10+ years.” The 12-member FAC has been working with CG Schmidt Construction and FGM Architects since January to
develop the facility report, with the mission of maximizing the District’s investment into the 1962 school building and ensuring that it continues to be a safe space that provides its students with access to a modern, quality education.
In addition to identifying specific maintenance, safety, and repair needs at the school, the report also identified potential curriculum and educational adequacy needs, specifically calling for a dedicated
STEM space; separate art, music, and band classroom; and physical enhancements. These needs were identified with one-on-one meetings with teachers and staff and prioritized at the first FAC meeting
through a 1-2-4-All Facilitation Exercise. During a review of the State Education Budget and the District’s finances, the District administration noted that these investments would potentially be partially
supported through state grant programs subsidizing rural and STEM education.
-- Darren Hillock 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 Campuses may lack students, but some Napa school workers remain on the job-- Napa Valley Register California: May 10, 2020 [ abstract] With 32 campuses, the Napa Valley Unified School District has hundreds of acres of land and property to manage and maintain.
And even though school sites are temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the grass still needs to be cut.
That’s where operations workers from the NVUSD come in. While Napa teachers and students are sequestered at home doing distance learning, these staffers have remained on the job, mowing, sanitizing, cleaning and otherwise maintaining Napa’s school campuses.
“The operations services team are our unsung heroes,” said Michael Pearson, executive director of school planning and construction, maintenance and operations at NVUSD.
Most of those workers can’t do their jobs remotely, he noted. “They have to report to work to ensure that the facilities and our equipment continue to operate properly.”
It’s no change from any other emergency, such as a flood, earthquake or wildfires, said Pearson.
“They have been there willing to do whatever is necessary.”
Pearson said he couldn’t give exact numbers, but he oversees more than 200 employees in departments including maintenance, grounds, operations, custodians, food service and transportation.
To comply with the public health order for social distancing, “we are staggering employee shifts, thus limiting the number of employees performing work at a site. All employees are assigned a shift unless they are sick, have an underlying health condition with a note from a physician and/or over the age of 65. We are also ensuring services are able to be performed within the required six feet of other people and/or safely with protective gear,” he said.
Some may question why the district doesn’t simply just let the grass grow.
“If we don’t mow the grass, it will get too long and turn to weeds,” and then it becomes a fire hazard, Pearson said. “That’s no good.”
-- Jennifer Huffman What Is The Future For School Infrastructure?-- The Cheshire Herald Connecticut: May 08, 2020 [ abstract] The Town’s School Modernization Committee met (virtually) this week for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began in earnest, and, boy, have things changed.
The last time the group discussed the Cheshire School District’s infrastructure future, the world hadn’t effectively shut down and 400,000 people hadn’t filed for unemployment in Connecticut. But that’s the reality the committee faces today, one that offers as uncertain a future as the nation has confronted in decades.
So, what is the right course of action? How should the Town go about putting together a sweeping (and expensive) proposal to address Cheshire’s ever-aging school buildings while also grappling with an economic downturn that could not months but years?
The answer is the same for this committee as it is for the Town as a whole. Work must continue. Plans must be made. A detailed analysis of what school buildings require to bring them more fully into the 21st century must be completed. But all of it must be done with this in mind: The economy is likely to look very different in moving forward, and proposals should reflect that.
Whatever comes out of the School Mod Committee meetings, it was always going to be phased in, spreading the work and cost over a period of years. But now, that timeline may be pushed back even further, and cheaper, more cost-effective work moved to the front of the line.
Maybe, instead of including projects for consideration at referendum this November, the Town will have to wait until next year. Perhaps instead of implementing any part of the plan in 2020 or 2021, the School District will have to simply continue basic maintenance work.
-- Staff Writer Empty Madison school buildings provide opportunities for maintenance work-- The Cap Times Wisconsin: May 02, 2020 [ abstract] maintenance projects in Madison Metropolitan School District buildings can be a challenge to coordinate on a normal school schedule, with students and staff using classrooms, hallways and common areas throughout the day.
While the COVID-19 pandemic that has schools in Wisconsin closed for the remainder of the school year has presented many challenges for educators, students and families, MMSD building services staff are trying to make the best of it.
“They’ve certainly taken advantage of the fact that our buildings are empty,” said Chad Wiese, MMSD executive director of building services. “We can do work that honestly hasn’t sometimes been possible for decades.”
More than 40 tradesmen employed by the district have continued working throughout the pandemic, and much of the janitorial staff are also reporting to their buildings while school is closed, Wiese said.
While the department’s budget puts some limits on what work they can do — moving a major summer project budgeted to start after July 1 isn’t possible — there are still plenty of opportunities that would otherwise not have been available, Wiese said.
-- Scott Girard Ravenna starts litigation against high school building construction companies-- Record-Courier Ohio: April 29, 2020 [ abstract] The Ravenna Board of Education has taken the first step toward attempting to recoup several hundreds of thousands of dollars it has paid to fix moisture problems at the high school.
On Monday, the board approved a resolution to start litigation against Cincinnati Insurance Company, Giambrone Construction, Inc., BSHM Architects, Inc. and AECOM Services, Inc.
According to Superintendent Dennis Honkala, the high school, which opened in 2010, has had water issues for about seven years, including leaking roofs and drainage issues around certain doors. Initially, the district thought the problems were minor repairs.
“We thought it was just band-aid stuff, but then it got worse. We had to get someone in there to find the root of the problem. We had some remediation done last summer and we had an expert come in who said that it was not our fault. Based on that, our attorney advised us to litigate,” he said.
The district paid for all repairs out of pocket using the building maintenance fund.
“We want to do mediation first, but this is the first step, which gives us permission to get to the table,” Honkala said.
-- KRISTA S. KANO Paradise Unified approves $135 million facilities master plan update-- Paradise Post California: April 25, 2020 [ abstract]
The Paradise Unified School District Board of Trustees on Tuesday night unanimously approved a $135 million master facilities update as presented by Brian Whitmore of BCA Architects.
The two-phased update would include the renovation of Paradise High School, the construction of Ridgeview High School right across the from senior/junior high school on Maxwell Drive.
It would also include improvements to Cedarwood Elementary, Pine Ridge School, Ponderosa Elementary, and at the Paradise Intermediate School, which is currently the Paradise Ridge Elementary school site.
It would also include a brand new maintenance and operation site on Pearson Road, rebuilding on where the old one was.
The plan doesn’t call for the rebuilding of the Paradise Elementary School site next to the maintenance yard on Pearson Road at this time.
It also leaves the Ridgeview school site in old Magalia for potential use for stem labs.
The Cedarwood site would be improved.
The master plan would be carried out in two phases. The first phase would be financed through insurance proceeds from the Camp Fire and is expected to be completed by the Fall of 2023.
That phase is expected to cost almost $65.5 million with an expected insurance proceeds revenue of $66.9 million. But Whitmore told the board that it is possible that insurance proceeds be as high as $71 million.
-- RICK SILVA Schools repair backlog from last recession still not cleared out-- The Mountaineer North Carolina: April 17, 2020 [ abstract]
Haywood County Schools is still digging out from a backlog of repairs put off during the last recession a decade ago.
“We have a lot of things failing,” said Associate Superintendent Trevor Putnam. “This has created a windfall of items that must be replaced all at the same time.”
The school system will once again ask county commissioners for $900,000 for repairs and major maintenance projects to continue playing catch-up across its 15 campuses in the coming school year.
But the school system’s request to the county was crafted back in February, before the coronavirus crisis was wreaking economic havoc with another recession now on the horizon.
The funding pot for repairs and maintenance was ravaged by austere recession-era budgets — decreased to only $200,000 a year from 2009 to 2013. It was gradually increased over the next few years, hitting $900,000 this school year.
“The HVAC wasn’t replaced, the phones weren’t replaced, the roofs weren’t replaced and so now the full bill is coming due,” Putnam said.
Putnam warned that the school system continues to put off much-needed paving, especially at Pisgah and Tuscola high schools.
“They both have lots that need repaving bad,” Putnam said. But it would cost $500,000 and take away from other needs, so “we are just patching them and limping them along for now,” he added.
-- Becky Johnson FCPS using down time to catch up on school maintenance, repairs-- InsideNova Virginia: April 16, 2020 [ abstract] Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) officials are forging ahead briskly with an extensive list of construction, maintenance and repair projects during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gov. Northam on March 23 closed all Virginia kindergarten-through-12th-grade school facilities for the remainder of the academic year. FCPS is taking advantage of the shutdown to perform the work, while abiding by social-distancing requirements and other safety guidelines, said spokesman Lucy Caldwell.
The school system is speeding up work on roofing projects, turf replacements (upon delivery of all materials to the work sites), middle-school security cameras, testing for and abatement of lead in school facilities’ drinking water, flooring repairs and replacements, installations of new mechanical and HVAC systems, and asbestos-abatement projects.
In addition, FCPS is accelerating playground repairs and installations, lighting replacements and painting of some facilities’ parking lots, gym-floor refinishings and switching off “Wink-O-Matic” flashing lights for pedestrians near schools.
FCPS officials also have accelerated construction of a science lab at Edison High School in Kingstowne and expansion of the parking lot at Shrevewood Elementary School in the Falls Church area.
The Energy Management Section of the school system’s Office of Facilities Management (OFM) continues to rotate staff on its weekly call-out list and remotely monitor energy use, temperatures and humidity levels of FCPS buildings, Caldwell said.
OFM’s grounds section, which employs 32 groundskeepers, has resumed mowing activities for administrative centers, fields and school-perimeter areas, Caldwell said. Grounds crews have installed “Facility Closed” signs on all the school system’s playgrounds, courts and athletic fields.
-- BRIAN TROMPETER Milton School Board OKs 10-year plans for maintenance, technology-- GazetteXtra Wisconsin: April 14, 2020 [ abstract]
Security cameras, athletic field upgrades, new paint jobs and floors are among the improvements the Milton School District is eyeing under newly approved capital and technology improvement plans.
The $11.05 million capital improvement plan outlines improvements to district schools over the next 10 years. Possible projects include new lights, fencing and parking at the high school, tennis courts, new drinking fountains and maintenance at district buildings.
The 10-year, $3.95 million technology improvement plan calls for new security cameras, 1:1 technology such as chargers, computer server equipment and other technology.
The school board approved both plans unanimously during its meeting Monday. They offer recommendations and are not set in stone.
The board’s decision takes the district’s five-year capital improvement plan, which the board approved in February, and adds more options for the district over another five years.
“The goal of the 10-year plan is really for us to identify 10 years into the future what we see coming and what our needs are,” Carey Bradley, director of business services, said Monday.
“It is important to remember that the plan can change. We just need to make sure before we spend money that it’s a board-approved plan.”
Board member Tom Westrick said he supports the idea of a 10-year plan but is concerned about timing, saying COVID-19 uncertainty could create budgeting issues.
-- Benjamin Pierce Construction Crews Make Headway During First Month Of Yelm Middle School Rebuild-- Nisqually Valley News Washington: April 09, 2020 [ abstract]
You can see it from the corner of First Street and Stevens Street — a giant pile of topsoil towering at least 20 feet into the air facing the Yelm Middle School campus.
The soil stronghold was erected just over this last month as FORMA Construction and its demolition contractor have made significant headway in demolishing the northeastern portion of the campus to build a new two-story, 100,000-square-foot Yelm Middle School.
“It’s amazing how many calls you get with that topsoil. My phone’s been blowing up,” said Superintendent Dan Tonsgard of FORMA Construction “There’s about three other sites around here who want it.”
A large excavator was used to demolish the district’s old maintenance building on Wednesday, April 8, as large rollers, dozers and other large-scale equipment prepared the ground for construction.
The Nisqually Valley News went out for a site visit on that day to talk with managers and see how the project was coming along.
Tonsgard, alongside bond project manager Kasey Wyatt, said most of the site work over the first month has consisted of fencing, digging up topsoil and rolling the ground to prepare for the building’s foundation, which is expected to be formed as early as May.
Gravel indentations formed a large V shape inside the working yard, about 50 yards away from the corner of Coates Avenue and Edwards Street.
-- Eric Rosane School closures allow some Lynchburg-area construction and maintenance projects to get ahead of schedule-- The News & Advance Virginia: April 04, 2020 [ abstract]
With students out of school buildings for the remainder of the academic year, some construction and maintenance projects are moving along at an accelerated pace.
On March 23, Gov. Ralph Northam ordered all Virginia K-12 schools to close for the remainder of the academic year. maintenance personnel in some school divisions are using the shutdown to their advantage, while abiding by social distancing and other safety guidelines.
Campbell County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Johnson said several projects that were slated to begin over spring break or toward the end of the school year now can move forward sooner.
“Our buildings are generally occupied all the time, and it’s hard to get projects done,” Johnson said. “So, when they’re not occupied, these are good times to get in there.”
And some projects already have been completed. Altavista Combined School was scheduled for painting over the division’s April 13 to 17 spring break, but the unexpected school closure allowed that project to be completed during the last week in March.
A new elevator at Brookville High School was scheduled to be installed toward the end of the school year and into the summer, Johnson said, but that project now has been rescheduled to begin about the middle of April. Johnson said there were concerns the project would have to continue into the school year, so this extra time could help alleviate some of that stress.
-- Jamey Cross Pike Road students will return to upgraded facilities in the fall-- Montgomery Advertiser Alabama: April 02, 2020 [ abstract] A new football stadium press box, additional classrooms and renovations to existing facilities will greet students, parents and fans of Pike Road Schools in the fall.
The new press box at the Pike Road High School football field will hold 12 people with room for camera crews on the rooftop.
The facility also will have high-speed Internet as well as the latest in sound and video equipment, said Todd McConnell, director of facilities maintenance for PRHS. The press box at the field, which is located on the Georgia Washington campus, also will include light-show capabilities, McConnell added.
Sod also is now in place on the softball field where three teams and about 50 girls play, said Brooke Watson, head softball coach. Bermuda grass also was placed on the infield of the baseball field, she said.
“The athletic facilities will make a big impact,” said Rebecca Williams, communications coordinator for the school system. “Our student-athletes have not had practice facilities or home fields. Having a home field advantage will increase the already strong sense of community in Pike Road. Having home athletic fields will also bring in additional funds needed to support our athletic programs.”
-- Paul Sullivan School custodial, maintenance crews sanitize campuses during shutdown-- Westsideconnect.com California: April 02, 2020 [ abstract] School custodians and maintenance workers spent the first week or more of the school shutdown in the Gustine and Newman-Crows Landing districts deep cleaning and sanitizing campuses.
While the campuses largely fell dark and quiet, a number of maintenance workers remained on the school grounds - and when facilities are completely sanitized they will use the closure to tend to repairs which otherwise may have waited until the summer months.
“We have already done a top-down cleaning, so there is not a need at this time to go in and clean rooms,” Matt Vargas, the director of operations and maintenance in the Newman-Crows Landing district, told Mattos Newspapers Friday. “We are prepared to open schools as soon as our superintendent and county makes that decision. We will be ready.”
Vargas said the classroom and office cleanings largely mirrored that which would take place in the summer months - but with an emphasis on sanitizing facilities.
“It was more of a disinfecting cleaning as opposed to waxing floors and doing those types of things. We will still do those things in the summer. In case school comes back we wanted to focus more on the sanitizing.”
Russell Hazan, maintenance director for Gustine Unified, said Friday his full custodial/maintenance crew is working as a group through each school site.
-- Staff Writer How essential is construction during the coronavirus pandemic?-- Curbed.com National: March 30, 2020 [ abstract] The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed life down for millions of Americans, but it hasn’t for Evan Adams, a specialty sports contractor based in Northern California. He currently has five in-progress construction projects, mostly installing school gymnasium floors, that are going full steam ahead due to contractual obligations. In construction, time is money, even during a global health crisis. “More than anything we need schools to extend deadlines and just slow the pace,” Adams says. “It is not essential to keep going at normal speeds.”
The federal government hasn’t issued specific mandates to the construction industry, so states and cities are enacting their own policies. California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on March 19 instructing all residents statewide to stay at home, but he granted exceptions for essential workforce, which includes “construction workers who support the construction, operation, inspection, and maintenance of construction sites and construction projects, including housing construction.”
Because of the nature of his projects as a flooring subcontractor, Adams and his team are typically brought in toward the end of a project, when multiple subcontractors are also at work, and everyone is jockeying for space. He offered to pay his workers overtime, out of his own pocket, if they want to come in over the weekend and finish their job when the job site would be empty.
“My guys want to do their part, but they don’t want to crawl over everyone at the end of a project,” he says. “They just want to stay home. They have wives that might have immune system issues, they might have older parents at home that they are caring for.”
From coast to coast, stay-at-home and social-distancing orders have been issued to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. By the end of last week, 21 state orders took effect, limiting activity to critical infrastructure and services. The list of states and cities telling people to stay home is growing. While some of the essential businesses seem uncontroversial—like hospitals and grocery stores—others fall into a gray area. Construction, which employs over 7 million people nationwide, is one of them.
-- Diana Budds Passaic Schools Maintenance, Custodial, and Cafeteria Still Serving City Children-- Tap Into Paterson New Jersey: March 23, 2020 [ abstract] PASSAIC, NJ - While students are home in efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, coronavirus, school is very much in session for the 220 members of the Passaic maintenance, Custodial, and Cafeteria Workers, the union’s vice president Trent Johnson told TAPinto.
With many spending their weekend preparing, even more were to be on hand Monday to aid in the distribution of work packets and Chromebooks so that Passaic’s children could continue learning even while schools are closed.
They have also been busy helping to hand out both breakfast and lunch, something available to all of the city’s public school children from 7:30 a.m. until noon each regular school day.
-- STEVE LENOX School closure extended until April 13-- Pioneer Michigan: March 23, 2020 [ abstract] MECOSTA COUNTY — With more than 1,000 cases of coronavirus in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a "stay home, stay safe" executive order Monday, causing schools to close for at least one more week.
While schools were originally set to reopen April 6, the closure is now expected to run through at least April 13.
"We really are in a quandary," Morley Stanwood Community Schools Superintendent Roger Cole said.
According to Cole, the new order will affect MSCS in a variety of ways, with the biggest effect on the school's maintenance team.
"We have been using them to thoroughly, thoroughly clean our schools," he said, adding that he was not sure how much longer they would be allowed into the buildings under the executive order.
-- Catherine Sweeney School districts re-assign jobs amidst school closures-- Messenger-Inquirer Kentucky: March 23, 2020 [ abstract] In the midst of school closures, Daviess County Public Schools has reassigned the 160 bus drivers and monitors to help with other tasks throughout the district.
Some of those individuals have been helping custodial staff members in schools, while others are assisting the maintenance department with painting and other odd jobs. Some are also helping to deliver the non-traditional instruction packets to areas of the county where families are unable to retrieve them. Others have been working with the food service department to deliver meals.
Downey Ward, DCPS director of transportation, said the department also provided those who needed the time off to take it. He said this downtime has also been helpful for drivers to catch up on paperwork that can sometimes be difficult to get to during a typical week.
“By far and large most of the people in the district would be out there helping the community anyway in times like this,” Ward said. “That’s the type of people that are attracted to this kind of work. For the most part, they were more than happy to help out at the different schools.”
David Shutt, DCPS director of maintenance, said that this extra help has been a blessing for the custodial staff. While students and educators have been out of buildings, it has been a great opportunity to do what Shutt called a deep cleaning.
It’s the kind of cleaning that ordinarily would take place when students break from school in the summer.
-- Bobbie Hayse ‘Unsung heroes’: Greater Fall River school custodians hard at work during coronavirus pandemic-- The Herald News Massachusetts: March 23, 2020 [ abstract] They are the school ground troops in the war against undesirable microbes, the employees who know they’re not going to be told to stay home due to COVID-19 concerns.
Perhaps never have the services and dedications of school custodians and maintenance workers ever been more needed and appreciated than now.
With students and virtually all staff told to stay home, they’re the ones left with the task of cleaning and sanitizing the schools. Like the school buildings themselves, the tools are old and modern. Of course, back-breaking effort and old-school elbow grease are necessities.
“The work to clean and sanitize our buildings is progressing effectively because of the skill and attitude of our crews,” Fall River Public Schools Superintendent Matthew Malone wrote in a text. “The custodians are also an integral part of our meal distribution process. From top to bottom, our entire operations team has been absolutely sensational in supporting the needs of our schools during Covid19 crisis. I can’t say enough about them - true unsung heroes for the city of Fall River.”
Dave Fisher, Codi Boucher and Dennis Borges, often donning masks, were hard at work Monday at Tansey Elementary School in Fall River’s north end. Fisher and Boucher are assigned to Tansey, one of the oldest buildings in the district. Borges is well known as the Swiss Army Knife of FRPS maintenance. He floats from school to school, does plenty of hands-on work and trains school custodians on new procedures and equipment.
-- Greg Sullivan Woodland school custodial staff cleaning and sanitizing against coronavirus-- Daily Democrat California: March 19, 2020 [ abstract] Just one week ago Friday, while in an emergency session, trustees agreed on a resolution to close all schools for the next three weeks. At the time, three weeks felt like a conservative estimate to protect people against the coronavirus.
But on Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a news conference that it is likely “few if any” California schools will reopen before the summer break as confirmed cases continue to rise. As of Thursday, there were five cases in Yolo County.
So, while students and most teachers are away, the maintenance and custodial staff remain, diligently working to find ways to disinfect and sanitize school sites.
“Moving forward, we still are developing our plans as we go,” said Nick Baral, the director of maintenance operations and facilities, while on-site at Woodland Prairie Elementary. “We are evolving with the times. We were in a completely different world one week ago.”
-- CARLOS GUERRERO Coronavirus means late nights for custodians in Sarasota schools-- Herald-Tribune Florida: March 03, 2020 [ abstract]
The district will be paying overtime as school maintenance staff work to wipe down surfaces and prevent the virus from spreading.
Custodians will be working overtime as the Sarasota County School District leaders seek to prevent the spread of a virus causing the disease called COVID-19, commonly referred to as the coronavirus.
Jody Dumas, the district’s chief operations officer, told Sarasota School Board members during a meeting Tuesday that district employees are staying late to wipe down surfaces, including door knobs and desktops.
Dumas said the district had worked closely with local, state and federal health officials on how to keep the community informed.
“It’s business as usual while behind the scenes we are managing the process,” Dumas said.
The district has set up an email address for community members who have concerns about the virus.
Beginning Wednesday, the district will be responding to emails sent to coronavirusinfo@sarasotacountyschools.net. Dumas said most emails will get an automated response with links to helpful sources, but he said the district would use the questions and concerns they receive to keep track of what the community needs to know.
Chuck Henry, a health officer with the Florida Department of Health Sarasota County, emphasized the need for the district to speak with one voice and to consistently refer concerned parents to authorized sources, like the federal Centers for Disease Control. He encouraged families to take caution but to not overreact.
“Our most important message is trying to remain calm as a community,” Henry said. “If there is illness, we want everyone to stay home and self-isolate.”
-- Ryan McKinnon As Howard schools’ deferred maintenance price tag surpasses $500M, a bill to help remains up in the air-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: March 02, 2020 [ abstract]
For the 623 students who attend Dunloggin Middle School in Ellicott City, there are seven toilets total between four girls bathrooms and 13 urinals and six toilets between four boys bathrooms.
“It’s about 45 girls to one toilet and 52 boys to one toilet,” said Lynn Bolenbaugh, an Ellicott City resident who has a seventh grader at the school.
“I have found that many parents are concerned about [the lack of bathrooms], and I have heard stories about students holding it in all day and then running home to use the restroom,” Bolenbaugh said.
“That is not healthy.”
Those figures represent the general classroom-area bathrooms available to students daily. It does not include bathrooms in the health room or gym locker rooms. There are no bathrooms in the portable classrooms.
Dunloggin Middle’s bathroom shortage is one of the many deferred maintenance issues within the Howard County Public School System.
-- JESS NOCERA Alaska school needs require collaboration-- Anchorage Daily News Alaska: February 28, 2020 [ abstract] Over the past decade, Alaskans across the state voted for new or improved schools with the expectation that the state would pick up 60%-70% of the cost. Residents of 15 boroughs and six cities made these investments, believing the state would abide by its statutory commitment to contribute substantially to construction costs. The state did so for many years, consistent with its constitutional responsibility to “establish and maintain a system of public schools.” Unfortunately, 50% of the state’s share was vetoed for fiscal year 2020, passing that cost to local governments — and ultimately to local taxpayers.
A bill — House Bill 106 — is also being considered by the Legislature that would extend the existing five-year moratorium on new school bond debt for another five years. If it passes, an effective option for school construction and major maintenance will be taken off the table. If it doesn’t pass, there is little likelihood that program would be used, since there isn’t the trust in place that the state would fund its portion.
Local governments recognize that school bond debt reimbursement is “subject to appropriation,” but also agreed to these investments in good faith. To maintain trust in government, that commitment should not be abrogated. And we can all agree that the state shouldn’t balance its budget on the backs of local governments.
Twenty-one cities and boroughs currently have school bond debt, with payments of almost $100 million this year. Their ability to take on half of the state’s share of school bond debt is limited by a variety of factors, including local tax caps, limited tax bases, insufficient cash reserves, etc. Where taxes can be raised, local taxpayers are less likely to approve increases for bond debt than they are for new and improved schools. To complicate matters, this unanticipated cost comes at a time when other support for local governments, such as Community Assistance and capital project funding, are being reduced.
-- Opinion - Nils Andreassen As school construction costs soar, districts ask lawmakers for help-- NBC5 Vermont: February 26, 2020 [ abstract] MONTPELIER, Vt. —
A spike in costly school construction projects around Vermont has officials from districts large and small asking state legislators for help.
Three Chittenden County districts in particular -- South Burlington, Burlington and Winooski -- have recently or are currently seeking approval for roughly $350 million in school construction bonding.
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By contrast, the total capital budget for all of state government is roughly $60-70 million each year. In 2007, lawmakers suspended school construction aid, citing a hopeless backlog of deferred maintenance.
Few districts have money saved for school building replacement or major maintenance and many schools built after World War II are falling into disrepair.
In the Windsor Central Supervisory Union, one school isn't even safe to open.
"We operate four elementary schools and one is shut down due to mold and moisture issues," Superintendent Mary Beth Banios told lawmakers last week.
-- Stewart Ledbetter Pacific Grove to vote on $30 million bond for school maintenance-- Monterey Herald California: February 25, 2020 [ abstract]
PACIFIC GROVE — With its schools aging and maintenance projects piling up, the Pacific Grove Unified School District is asking voters to approve $30 million in bonds through Measure D on the March 3 ballot.
“We are an aging school district in regards to facilities and we have a lot of old buildings,” said Pacific Grove Unified School District Superintendent Ralph Porras.
Robert Down Elementary School was founded in 1891 and Porras said the district has buildings that are more than 80 years old.
“Over the course of the last few years, we’ve been finding that our project load is increasing significantly in regards to upkeep and it’s exceeding our capacity to pay for it,” Porras said.
A different Measure D passed in 2006 to provide $42 million to the district, which was used to build Pacific Grove High School’s stadium and track, a new music classroom for Pacific Grove Middle and various projects at the elementary schools. Porras said the new Measure D would focus more on maintenance.
“If in the process of refurbishing, maintaining or having to address aging issues a piece of a building needs to be rebuilt, this certainly allows for it,” he said. “But the immediate desire is not to build new buildings at all.”
-- TOM WRIGHT City spends hundreds of thousands on lawsuit against Duval Schools-- The Florida Times-Union Florida: February 17, 2020 [ abstract]
The fight over putting a half-cent sales tax referendum for school maintenance on the ballot and what it would say has cost more than $200,000 so far. And that’s just what the city has paid for its legal counsel. But we still don’t know how much the school district could be billed by its outside legal advisers — if they’re even billed at all.
And we don’t know what exactly Duval County voters would be asked to consider when they go to the polls.
Last year, the school district approved a $1.9 billion master plan devoted to school renovations, rebuilds and security enhancements across Duval County Public Schools. The plan was to fund it through a half-cent sales tax, which would get voted up or down by residents during a 2019 special election.
But 10 months and two lawsuits later, the window for a special election slipped by. Now, the school board is suing the city for a general election referendum. The holdup centered around how much money should go to public charter schools.
The city of Jacksonville has paid the law firm Burr & Forman about $206,000 out of the almost $208,000 invoiced for its outside legal assistance.
The firm was hired in July to provide “advice, counsel and litigation services” surrounding the pending sales tax referendum. That’s more than a third of the $500,000 the school district says it’s paying per month to keep up with its older schools’ maintenance bills.
-- Emily Bloch Exclusive: Superintendent William Hite Says Lack Of Financial Resources Chiefly Behind Asbestos Crisis In Philly Schools-- CBS Philly Pennsylvania: February 16, 2020 [ abstract]
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Relief is coming to parents and students who attend Ben Franklin High School and Science Leadership Academy in Spring Garden. The shared school building reopens on Tuesday after being closed since October because of asbestos.
For several months, the School District of Philadelphia has wrestled with what has become a crisis involving asbestos across a handful of city schools.
Superintendent William Hite exclusively spoke with CBS3 on Sunday night.
The first question: From an administrative perspective, what went wrong?
“We have a lot of old school buildings here in the City of Philadelphia. In fact, any school that was built prior to 1978 is likely to contain asbestos, containing materials and lead paint and that is 80% of our schools,” Hite said. “When you think about that and then you actually add to that years, or decades I should say, of not doing deferred maintenance and not having the resources or revenue to address capital issues, then you have these things that begin to happen.”
It’s a staggering statistic. Four out of every five schools in the city are now dealing with asbestos.
Why did the crisis seemingly explode this school year?
Hite says decades of deferred maintenance for one and there has been little-to-no money to tackle the costly problem.
-- Joe Holden Far from neglectful, school maintenance teams extended life of old facilities-- Rapid City Journal South Dakota: February 16, 2020 [ abstract] Iam proud to work alongside some of the hardest working people in our community. The Rapid City Area Schools maintenance and custodial teams work tirelessly to maintain the district’s school buildings.
Despite what some say, they have done an outstanding job with the resources available. The team takes a lot of pride and ownership of our school facilities. I have seen and heard hurtful and ignorant
comments like, “The District just let their buildings go downhill.” “The District didn’t maintain their buildings.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
Each year, after paying for technology and curriculum needs, purchasing new school buses, paying the district’s debt service and transferring a few million to the general fund for operating expenses – there is $3 to $5 million available for large-scale building maintenance projects. Our maintenance team makes those dollars stretch to maintain the 2.5 million square feet of buildings. We identify and address the core issues. By doing so, we have managed to greatly extend the lives of our buildings – some of which are built on sites with expansive soils and high-water tables and have created an array of structural issues. What’s more, the maintenance staff and contractors have a small, 45 to 60-day window in the summer to do major projects while working around summer school activities and severe weather.
-- Kumar Veluswamy Virginia lawmakers push funding for school construction-- WCYB Virginia: February 13, 2020 [ abstract]
BRISTOL, Va--Leaky roofs, black mold, and crumbling buildings are just some of the issues facing Bristol, Virginia public schools.
On Thursday, a special coalition brought attention to the issue in Richmond.
Superintendent of schools, Keith Perrigan said the schools are in desperate need of help.
"What we know is there is a school facility crisis all across, not just the Commonwealth, but really across the country," he said.
Some of the schools in Bristol, Virginia were built during World War II. The newest school in Bristol, Virginia is Van Pelt Elementary, and is nearing 50 years.
Perrigan said the state hasn't helped in keeping those schools maintained.
"For the last 10 years the state has not provided localities with any funding to help take care of maintenance of schools to offset the cost for debt service," he said.
Two bills, one sponsored by Del. Israel O'Quinn, R-Washington, and another by Sen. Todd Pillion R-Abingdon are aiming to help fix the problem.
The proposal would take money from the state's literary fund and move it to a school construction fund.
-- Kristen Quon Durham’s got a plan to repair its aging schools. Is your child’s school on the list?-- The News & Observer North Carolina: February 06, 2020 [ abstract]
Jennifer Plant’s morning commute got 20 minutes longer this week when broken heaters shut down her son’s school.
Now, school and county officials are figuring out how to pay for long-deferred repairs and maintenance before it happens again.
A 2019 assessment found Durham Public Schools needs $727 million for maintenance and improvement projects like new schools over the next 10 years.
DPS prioritized the projects and asked the county for $468 million to tackle its most pressing needs. At a meeting Tuesday, the county commissioners, who fund the school system, proposed a $493 million plan.
The longer that repairs and upgrades are put off, the more expensive they will become, DPS Chief Operating Officer Julius Monk warned.
At Morehead Montessori Elementary School, DPS is replacing seven of 11 heating units after the system failed last month. The repairs will cost an estimated $100,000, Monk said.
The school’s 250 students are being bused to Eno Valley Elementary School and Durham Public Schools’ Staff Development Center for classes until the repairs are completed.
“This preventable maintenance issue has been a major inconvenience for my family,” said Plant, whose son is in pre-K at Morehead Montessori.
“Waiting at Morehead for the buses to arrive and take my son to Eno Valley each morning, means I am going to be late for work,” she explained. “Then I have to leave work early so I can make it in time to pick him up from aftercare at Eno Valley.”
DPS is only busing students during normal school hours, not for afterschool programs.
-- JENNIFER MAXWELL Proposed tax would boost school maintenance, construction-- Peninsula Clarion Alaska: February 04, 2020 [ abstract]
A bill that would deduct $30 a year from every worker in Alaska and pool that money to be used for maintenance and construction costs in the state’s schools is making its way through the Alaska Senate.
Senate Bill 50 is sponsored by Sen. Click Bishop (R-Fairbanks), Sen. Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak) and Sen. Jesse Kiehl (D-Juneau) and looks to collect revenues to fund schools.
Money generated from the tax would be deposited into the state’s general fund and accounted for separately to pay maintenance and construction needs of Alaska’s schools. Those maintenance and construction needs are growing, Bishop said in his sponsor statement.
On the Kenai Peninsula, about 25% of the district’s schools are 50 years or older, and 80% are over 30 years old.
“I think we have to take a stand to tackle deferred maintenance in our schools,” Bishop said during the Jan. 28 Senate Labor and Commerce Committee meeting.
A similar tax once existed in Alaska from 1919 to 1980, according to the bill’s sponsor statement. When the tax was repealed in 1980 it was $10 per person. When adjusted for inflation, that tax would have the equivalent value of $30 today.
-- Victoria Petersen Are your kids safe? Reports show mold, toxic chemicals in some schools go unaddressed-- 13WLOS North Carolina: January 27, 2020 [ abstract] ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Chipping lead-based paint, water-stained ceilings and mold-like substances in the water fountains. Those are just a few risks jeopardizing the health and safety of students in mountain schools.
A News 13's investigation uncovered some of these violations go on for years. While the immediate concerns get fast tracked, News 13 found it’s not uncommon for some health and safety concerns to get cited year after year. While the inspections are mandated by the state, no one holds schools accountable for making the repairs, and News 13 found cutbacks in maintenance funding just add to the problems.
As buses arrive and students make their way to classrooms, most parents trust schools will not only improve their minds but make their health and safety a priority.
Environmental health inspections, mandated by the state, are done in all schools
There is someone inside school hallways, learning more about the health and safety of these buildings’ students spend half their year in.
-- Jennifer Emert Deferred Maintenance, Sick Buildings Making Students, Teachers Ill-- facilitiesnet Connecticut: January 27, 2020 [ abstract] Many institutional and commercial facilities have been unable or unwilling to adequately fund building maintenance in the last three decades. The result often is astounding amounts of deferred maintenance — sometimes in the billions for large, multi-facility organizations. Public school districts have been among the hardest hit, thanks in large part to resistance from citizens to pay more taxes that fund school maintenance.
Connecticut is now coming to grips with the impact of its failure to adequately maintain its school buildings, and the results include reports of serious health threats.
More than 1,200 teachers recently participated in a survey conducted by the Connecticut Education Association about their work environment. The teachers reported getting sick from mold and other environmental hazards, including rodent droppings, extreme heat and cold, dust, asbestos and more.
The union says teachers from 334 schools in 104 school districts responded to the survey last spring, reporting respiratory ailments, rashes, sinus problems, and constant coughs. Those with asthma and allergies reported having more acute symptoms.
-- Editorial Ahead of School Construction Hearing, Officials Lament Funding Squeeze-- Maryland Matters Maryland: January 22, 2020 [ abstract] Ahead of a hearing on a multibillion-dollar plan to fund backlogged school maintenance and construction projects in Maryland, delegates heard Tuesday from officials on the frontlines of school construction struggles.
Strengthening the state’s school infrastructure is a top priority in both chambers, and the House Appropriations Committee will consider a bill on the plan Thursday afternoon.
The question is not if the school construction proposal will pass, but whether legislators should consider tweaking the proposal, said House Appropriations Chairwoman Maggie L. McIntosh (D-Baltimore City).
“This is House Bill 1 – and that means the bill is going to pass. And we can amend it, but that means it’s going to pass,” she told school leaders and her committee.
The bill would allow the Maryland Stadium Authority to issue up to $2.2 billion in bonds to fund school construction projects in the state, in addition to the state’s annual capital funding. A companion measure is cross-filed as Senate Bill 1 and is certain to pass out of that chamber.
Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) has also introduced a bill authorizing $2.2 billion in Stadium Authority bonds, though the measures differ in other ways.
-- Danielle E. Gaines Nashville school administrators: Infrastructure neglected, taking buildings beyond repair-- FOX17 Tennessee: January 22, 2020 [ abstract] NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Nashville public school administrators say infrastructure has been neglected so much that some buildings are now beyond repair.
Right now, the city has a deferred maintenance cost that’s somewhere between $300 and $400 million. That's how much maintenance has been postponed to save money, according to Metro Public Schools Executive Director of Facilities and maintenance David Proffitt.
The Council of Great City Schools says a district the size of Metro Nashville should be spending 2% to 2.5% every year on deferred maintenance.
“That equates to about $60 million just on deferred maintenance, which includes HVAC upgrades, electrical upgrades, lighting upgrades, roofing replacements,” Proffitt says.
That, however, is not happening. Proffitt says for the past 14 years, the district has averaged about $8.8 million per year, after doing the necessities like bus and IT upgrades. Now, that lack of maintenance is catching up.
“I have been throwing red flags up for about a year now,” he says.
-- AJ Abell Nampa schools experiencing major maintenance needs ahead of levy vote-- Idaho Press Idaho: January 21, 2020 [ abstract]
NAMPA — Skyview High School senior Jared Burton was in the school’s band room one day when the ceiling on one side of the room started leaking enough to look “like a shower.”
“I felt like I was in that ‘Jumanji’ movie,” Burton said.
Skyview High School is one of many schools within the Nampa School District in desperate need of maintenance. The district is seeking a two-year, $12,895,000-per-year supplemental levy in March as a way to pay for some of those needs.
The district’s $12 million-per-year supplemental levy failed in November by just 10 votes.
The Nampa School District’s board of trustees discussed the district’s possible next steps over several meetings, and ultimately decided in December to seek the $12.9 million levy on the March 10 ballot to accommodate additional building maintenance needs. The levy needs a simple majority to pass.
Trustee Mandy Simpson proposed seeking an additional $820,000 at the December meeting to pay for maintenance costs. She said even if the previous $12 million levy had passed, it would not have been enough to support the needs in the district.
The current $9.4 million-per-year supplemental levy, which expires June 30, delegated $450,000 per year for building maintenance. The $12 million levy sought in November would have increased that to $2.7 million per year for maintenance, and the new levy is seeking $3.5 million per year.
-- Erin Bamer Answer to billion dollar question-- Saint Albans Messenger Vermont: January 20, 2020 [ abstract] When it was public last week that there was $563 million in the pipeline for school construction projects between now and 2023, that was an rough estimate. Back of the envelope sort of estimate. And low. As much as a billion dollars low.
It’s a problem that extends beyond the dollar amount. The problem is that we have no information. We don’t have an inventory of the state’s school buildings. We don’t have a way of gauging which buildings are in the greatest need of repair, how much the repairs would cost, the difference between repairing a building or building anew, or how a school’s building needs match up against its student population.
When the state slapped a moratorium on school construction aid in 2007 what we were left with is a school-by-school
decision making process as to whether construction would happen or it wouldn’t. In most cases, it didn’t. The “deferred
maintenance” has snowballed into a colossal billion dollar-plus challenge. And we’re just hearing about it.
It’s just now becoming public because in Vermont we fly things under the flag of local control. Communities have a general
sense of the needs of their local schools, but, as a state, we haven’t a clue as to the needs of the school the next town over,
let alone the needs of schools in another part of the state.
-- Emerson Lynn A fallout of recession-era cuts, Pittsylvania County Schools facing maintenance needs-- Go Dan River Virginia: January 16, 2020 [ abstract]
CHATHAM — Before the economic recession in 2008 and 2009, Pittsylvania County Schools were setting aside about $700,000 annually for maintenance needs.
Budget cuts during the recession limited those funds. maintenance needs have not received anywhere close to that amount since then, which is why county school facilities have so many issues.
“You’re kind of putting Band-Aids on things to get by,” said Mike Hutson, director of maintenance for the school division.
At their budget committee meeting Thursday night, members of the Pittsylvania County School Board and division staff agreed on a final list of budget requests for the upcoming fiscal year, which reinstates $300,000 per year for maintenance costs.
The final list includes more than $4 million in requests, compared to just $2.7 million in projected allocated state funds. If the state funding stays level, that leaves a $1.3 million shortfall the school division will be requesting from the board of supervisors.
While the county’s four high schools have undergone renovations in the past few years, the middle and elementary schools are older, with many having significant maintenance needs. Many of the buildings have roofs and heating and air conditioning systems that already are running well past expected lifespans, with some of the roofs even beginning to leak.
-- Caleb Ayers Dept. of Education Says it Has Completed School Maintenance Projects Across Territory-- The Virgin Islands Consortium National: January 16, 2020 [ abstract] The Department of Education said Thursday that as part of the year-round maintenance of its schools, it has completed work on important projects in recent months, with several more projects critical to the quality of the school environment expected to be completed by June.
According to D.O.E. Territorial Project Engineer Alan Fleming, the department’s Operations Division “is continuing to work to improve the conditions at our schools, using funding from the Public Finance Authority, Office of Insular Affairs and other local funding made available to us.”
ST. THOMAS-ST. JOHN DISTRICT
According to D.O.E., last October, an ADA-compliant ramp/sidewalk was installed at the Addelita Cancryn Intermediate and Junior High School, which is temporarily being housed on the Lockhart Elementary School campus, in order to accommodate wheelchair-bound students. The ramp/sidewalk connect the area of the Lockhart campus used by Cancryn to the modular units on the school grounds.
Fleming said the project was completed within a two-week period by local contractor Do Right Construction and was paid for with $28,498 in funding from the Public Finance Authority.
Joseph Gomez Elementary School will soon have a refurbished basketball court fit for students to enjoy outdoor activities. A playground covering will be installed over the outdoor court and new court surface installed over the concrete base currently in place. Fleming said the job is out to bid and is expected to be completed before the close of the school year.
-- Staff Writer ‘Let’s Get It Fixed’: County Wrestles Over School Conditions-- The Pilot North Carolina: January 16, 2020 [ abstract] Moore County Schools in 2016 first compiled an inventory of facilities and improvements repairs needed across its 20-plus campuses.
That list, which included all expenses for the district’s schools anticipated over the next 20 years, exceeded $70 million when John Birath, Moore County Schools’ operations director, initially presented it.
Since then, five aged and problematic school buildings have been removed from that list because new schools are being built to replace them. Despite that, the schools still project about $73 million in renovations, replacements and major repairs at the remaining schools over the next two decades.
The Moore County Board of Commissioners dedicated part of a daylong retreat on Wednesday to reviewing how the schools have used maintenance and capital funds in the past, and whether the county has funds available to allocate to some of those impending costs.
“Additional local funds have not been appropriated, identified and set aside for the need. They haven’t gone away, the needs continue. We chip away, as you saw, with the elements and items we can within our current funding, but over the next 20 years there are still $73 million dollars in needs,” said Birath.
-- Mary Kate Murphy Roof repairs at CMSD schools could cost almost $9M-- The Dispatch Mississippi: January 14, 2020 [ abstract]
Repairing leaking roofs in most schools in Columbus could cost an estimated $8.8 million, according to a report presented to the Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees Monday night.
Assistant Superintendent Glenn Dedeaux, who was tasked with assessing the maintenance status of the school buildings last year, said roof repairs need to be prioritized. Some roofs suffered damage during storms in October, he said, and aging roofs at some campuses require constant maintenance.
Those projects do not include the roof at Hunt Success Academy, which a tornado destroyed last February and which will be replaced primarily through insurance and disaster relief funds.
"The new school (building) in Stokes-Beard was built ... in 2005, so that roof hasn't been replaced since 2005," Dedeaux said. "It is a 15-year roof. When you think about shingles, shingles last about 15 years ... even on a house."
District staff also found a major leak in the roof above the Fairview Elementary School cafeteria, which was renovated in 2017, according to the district maintenance director Stephen Little. "Over by the window where you come in, it leaks pretty good over there," Little said. "And we have some in the hallways also."
The costs for roof repairs were estimated based on a flat rate of $16 per square foot, Dedeaux said. Repairing roof leaks just at Columbus High School, which boasts the largest student population of all Columbus campuses, could cost $4.3 million, according to the estimate.
The presentation also identified other needs, such as air conditioner replacements and window repairs, which would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The district's spending on school maintenance was $195,207 in Fiscal Year 2019 and around $230,000 in each of the previous fiscal years.
-- Yue Stella Yu Schools matter for every community-- Virginia: January 11, 2020 [ abstract]
No matter where you travel across the commonwealth, from Bristol to Norfolk, the most important investment we can make for our communities is in our public schools. It’s where we give our children the tools and guidance to forge their path in life and where our businesses find their workforce to grow their company and, in turn, our economy.
That’s why it’s unconscionable that our children’s educational opportunities vary so dramatically in Virginia from one ZIP code to another. Students and educators in some parts of the state endure dire working conditions that threaten not only their ability to teach and learn, but also their health and safety. These conditions send students a clear message: Their education, and their futures along with it, are not valued.
It’s a message that was heard loud and clear when part of the auditorium ceiling collapsed during a band concert at the 120-year-old Maury High School in Norfolk, and one that’s sent every time class changes are disrupted in Lee County because it’s raining outside and the hallways flood. It’s a message sent to students and teachers in Chesterfield County when they are diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease because preventative maintenance was not appropriately completed for their cooling systems, and when children at Flatwoods Elementary in Lee County were dismissed multiple times in one month because of antiquated boilers filling classrooms with smoke.
And it’s not just the facilities.
-- Opinion - Jerrauld "Jay" Jones and Todd Pillion Hawaii Board Of Education Wants More Transparency In School Construction Projects-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: January 07, 2020 [ abstract]
At the end of the last legislative session in May, many Hawaii Department of Education schools had plenty to cheer about. House Bill 1259 appropriated nearly $295 million for capital improvement projects to certain schools over the next fiscal year.
Approved requests included $2 million for a new performing arts center at Nanakuli High and Intermediate, $1.7 million for new baseball infield turf at Kailua High and $3 million for an all-weather synthetic track at Kealakehe High on Big Island.
That money was on top of $110 million for repair and maintenance projects statewide and $61.5 million for various capital improvement projects, such as building new classrooms to account for growing student populations or new athletic facilities to comply with federal laws.
But despite the infusion of cash to some DOE schools for much needed improvements and upgrades to their grounds, it’s not clear how those projects got the green light ahead of others. It’s a perpetual concern the Board of Education is trying to address.
The BOE has asked DOE leadership to come up with specific criteria for executing both capital improvement and repair and maintenance projects. It is suggesting that projects should be prioritized by safety and accessibility, followed by a school’s socioeconomic and academic needs, according to a Nov. 21 BOE memo.
The DOE is expected to share its new criteria by Feb. 20.
-- Suevon Lee Area schools spend millions to maintain buildings, grounds-- Dayton Daily News Ohio: December 24, 2019 [ abstract] Schools try to focus their spending on classroom education, but a review of larger local districts show some have to put aside millions of dollars per year to maintain their buildings and properties, contributing to a string of recent investments and levy requests.
The Dayton Daily News asked the three largest districts in Montgomery County – Dayton, Centerville and Kettering schools – plus the slightly smaller Springboro and Northmont districts, how much they spend per year on facilities maintenance and repair.
The answers ranged from about $3.5 million per year in Northmont to $5 million in Springboro, $6 million in Centerville, $8 million in Kettering and $11 million in Dayton. Those were costs to maintain existing facilities and did not include new construction projects, such as Kettering’s new auditorium.As with most school costs, salaries and benefits top the list, in this case paying for both skilled trades maintenance staff, as well as the many custodians who keep buildings clean and functioning from day-to-day. Other costs include contracts with outside companies for projects such as roof repair or computer networking upgrades, plus maintenance materials and custodial supplies.Penn State University’s Center for Education Policy Analysis said recently that “a growing body of research has found that school facilities can have a profound impact on both teacher and student outcomes.” They said the quality of school facilities affects teacher recruitment and effort, as well as student health, behavior and achievement.
-- Jeremy P. Kelley Newport-Mesa school district appeals state fines over rat infestation and other problems-- Los Angeles Times California: December 22, 2019 [ abstract]
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District has appealed about $20,000 in state fines for various workplace violations at three of its campuses, including plumbing and maintenance issues and a rodent infestation problem at one high school that was so bad it triggered a student walkout last year.
The fines are the result of three separate inspections by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health that were conducted in May, June and November 2018. The fines were initially levied last December, but the district is appealing.
District spokeswoman Annette Franco said Newport-Mesa declined to comment on the case because of the legal issues involved.
“We prioritize safety of our students and staff and continually evaluate and improve upon our practices,” she said.
Cal/OSHA’s investigation was triggered by a complaint filed by the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers after students at Newport Harbor High School staged a walkout in April 2018 to protest the rodent problem at the campus.
About 150 students, chanting and holding signs bearing slogans such as “Congrats, we have rats” and “The plague, Part II,” protested in front of the campus administration building during a school day.
Teachers and students said they had complained for months about a rat infestation at the school’s Dodge Hall, where math and world language classes are held. They told about live and dead rodents, rat urine and blood from a rat crushed in a trap on and around desks.
Around the same time, representatives of the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District visited the campus, and a county health worker who was at the school for a routine inspection reported vermin evidence elsewhere, including rat droppings around a cafeteria trash bin.
-- HILLARY DAVIS For Small, Rural, Crumbling â€" and Closing â€" Classrooms, New School Bond Rules Could Be Big-- Lost Coast Outpost California: December 18, 2019 [ abstract] The foul odor had invaded almost every classroom. It was late March 2017, and Burnt Ranch Elementary was teetering on disrepair. The heating and ventilation systems were so unreliable that educators and staff in the small Trinity County school had been warming up frigid classrooms with portable heaters. Water leaked through the light fixtures, spilling onto the floor.
Kathleen Graham, the superintendent and principal, knew something had to be done, but raising the money through local bonds – California’s main driver of school facilities funding – was next to impossible for the single-campus, 100-kid district. The alternative wasn’t much better: Competing with larger, better financed and more amply staffed districts for a piece of a state bond passed in 2016, a process that involved navigating California’s byzantine School Facilities Program.
But as winter became spring in rural Northern California, Graham recalled, the need only became more pressing. “Our buildings,” she said, “just went off the charts with mold.”
Health and safety cases like Burnt Ranch have become top-of-mind as California voters weigh a new statewide school bond that would generate $15 billion for schools, community colleges and universities. Proposition 13, slated for the March ballot, would not only raise much-needed funding for maintenance and construction, but also end the first-in, first-out application system for state bond money that disadvantages small, poorer and rural schools.
-- Ricardo Cano Dayton schools debates $30 million maintenance bill-- Dayton Daily News Ohio: December 15, 2019 [ abstract] Dayton Public Schools has budgeted more than $30 million for repairs of relatively new school buildings in the next few years, but district leaders disagree on how much will be spent in the end or what repairs the school buildings actually need.
Last month, when school board member Sheila Taylor voted against borrowing $40 million for the facilities work, she said it was because there was no detailed list of what the money would be spent on — which boilers or roofs or parking lots needed to be replaced at specific schools.
School board President William Harris said to Taylor that all that information had been available for some time. Asked moments later where that specific list of projects was, both Harris and associate superintendent Shelia Burton told this newspaper the list was in a December 2018 report from consultant Four Seasons Environmental.Four Seasons Environmental is a Monroe-based company that produced a 210-page maintenance Plan document for the district and its buildings. The document contains neither a list of specific projects nor an assessment of whether the school buildings are in good or poor condition. The report suggests dollar amounts that each building might need annually for maintenance, repairs and eventual equipment replacement, based on square footage and types of building components.
-- Jeremy P. Kelley Leaky ceilings, outdated science labs, shifting foundations: A look inside some of Hamilton County's schools-- Chattanooga Times Free Press Tennessee: December 15, 2019 [ abstract] Gerald Harris stood at the top of a set of concrete bleachers overlooking the school's track and football field, his back to the white and red concession stand.
Despite peeling paint and sagging wooden walls, the stand still showcases signs commemorating historic victories — the 1997 football state championship and the 2013 and 2014 girls track and field state wins.
Harris, principal and alumnus of Tyner Academy, scanned the field, brown from December rains and winter weather. Then he spread his arms wide and said, "Imagine what this place could look like. Imagine what we could do here."
Sports facilities don't make a school; Harris and educators like him know. And it's common in a school district with 74 school buildings for some projects to get shuttered while others take priority.
Hamilton County Schools has spent $93 million on a backlog of maintenance and facilities improvements in the past decade. Nineteen of its school buildings are considered poor or unsatisfactory facilities, according to a preliminary report presented by MGT Consulting to the Board of Education and Hamilton County Commission this summer.
It isn't only Tyner's ballfields that are failing its students — so are its classrooms, according to the consultants.
For several months this spring, MGT assessors walked every school and evaluated the physical conditions of the buildings and grounds, the suitability of existing classrooms and resources for the education programs the building is meant to provide, and the technology readiness of each building, according to Dan Schmidt, director of MGT's Education Consulting Group.
-- Meghan Mangrum Providence school buildings still dealing with long list of issues â€" leaks, asbestos, rodent sightings and more-- Providence Journal Rhode Island: December 15, 2019 [ abstract] PROVIDENCE — Jamie Cannarozzi spends her mornings preparing her classroom at Carl G. Lauro Elementary School for her students’ arrival, but what she does often goes beyond the typical tidying and setting up that one might expect.
Dealing with a roof leak along the length of her classroom windows occupied much of her pre-class time last year.
“I would come in in the morning and spend up to 30 minutes emptying buckets, drying the floor and putting the buckets back before the students came in,” she said during a recent phone interview. “I just feel like our building, and the district in general, is kind of in a constant state of triage.”
Leaky roofs, discolored tap water, broken bathroom stall doors, rodent sightings and the presence of asbestos and lead are among some of the issues described to The Providence Journal in interviews and noted in the Johns Hopkins University report on the Providence schools released in June. (The city said there are currently no “active abatement projects” regarding asbestos and lead in the schools.)
But work orders recently obtained by The Journal from Aramark, the facilities management company that serves the Providence Public Schools, show a detailed snapshot of the maintenance issues handled by the company over the summer, when city officials were attempting to spruce up the buildings before the start of the school year and just months before the state assumed control of the district.
Between June 1 and Sept. 30 — a period of 122 days — Aramark received 1,846 requests for maintenance through its task-scheduling system.
Among the requests, 45 contained the word “safety” in reference to a safety hazard or concern, 121 mentioned the word “leak” and 56 had the word “hole,” usually in reference to hole in a wall, floor or ceiling.
-- Madeleine List Schools facility report shows which schools are nearing capacity-- East Oregonian Oregon: December 11, 2019 [ abstract] PENDLETON — Only a few years out from a capital improvement bond, two Pendleton School District-commissioned facility studies gave the school system good marks on its buildings.
“Due to the recent bond passage, the lion’s share of the district’s needs regarding their facilities have been met,” the long range facilities plan concludes. “Security, accessibility, early learning and building systems being their priority.”
The studies don’t recommend any building replacements or expansions, but they do reveal some other facts about the district.
Like which schools are nearly full and which facilities have plenty of room for more.
But maintenance is not direly needed at any district building, with newer facilities like Washington and Sherwood Heights elementary schools literally needing $0 in maintenance.
“I don’t think there was a lot of surprises,” said Michelle Jones, the district’s director of business services.
The studies were done by Scott Marshall, a principal architect for Straightline Architecture, a firm with offices in La Grande and Boise. Over the course of the studies, Marshall examined each facility, its maintenance needs, enrollment and capacity.
-- Antonio Sierra A Building Dilemma-- The Nevada Independent Nevada: December 08, 2019 [ abstract]
ELY, Nevada — On a corner lot next to Little League fields, the walls forming a new school have taken root. The one-story building shines bright against the backdrop of Pinyon Juniper-dotted mountains to the east.
If construction goes as planned, this will be the new home for 181 students who attend Learning Bridge Charter School next year. It’s the only charter school in White Pine County, and the fact that it’s getting a new building is a big deal: There hasn’t been a new school facility constructed in this central-eastern county since 2001.
The charter school’s leaders say the move will be a family affair, emblematic of its parent support. Don’t expect large moving trucks to haul items from the school’s current home — a roughly 52-year-old building leased from the Ely Shoshone Indian Tribe — to its new headquarters.
“When we move this school into the other school, we’ll move it with the parents,” Principal Jerri-Lynn Williams-Harper said. “We’ll literally move this school in our cars and pickup trucks because that’s how deeply embedded our parents are.”
Learning Bridge Charter School’s new building sits on donated land, easing some of the project costs. The price tag is estimated to be $3 million, which officials said will be financed with the help of a loan. Despite a waitlist that has reached triple digits, the school isn’t expanding enrollment. Instead, Williams-Harper said the new building offers a different kind of expansion — more academic possibilities.
“We’ll be able to offer our students even more because we’ll have a new building, new things,” she said. “We’ll be able to do some new programming, but we will still have the same number of students.”
Her vision aligns with what leaders of the neighboring White Pine County School District say new facilities could do for their students, which is to create a better learning environment. They say two of the school district’s buildings, in particular, need an upgrade.
Up the street and around the corner from the new Learning Bridge building lies David E. Norman Elementary School. It was built in 1909. And on Ely’s main drag sits White Pine Middle School, circa 1913. For all the charm and history that come with these century-old buildings, there’s also a laundry list of maintenance headaches, said Paul Johnson, the district’s chief financial officer.
The district wants new buildings. The catch: money.
“I believe strongly there needs to be a new facility for our K-8 kids,” he said, referring to students in kindergarten through eighth grade. “We simply can’t do it ourselves. We need help.”
-- Jackie Valley and Joey Lovato Parents concerned about maintenance issues at Wake County elementary school-- CBS17 North Carolina: November 22, 2019 [ abstract] RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Parents at a Raleigh elementary school told the Wake County Board of Education this week they’re concerned maintenance issues in the school are impacting the health and safety of their kids and their teachers.
The parents of children at Durant Road Elementary School mentioned unreliable HVAC systems, black growths, damaged ceiling tiles, and broken sinks.
“One teacher shared this: the black growth and HVAC problems have caused me great issues with my asthma. I’ve had to see a doctor as much as three times in one month. I’ve had steroid shots and prednisone just so I could breathe,” said Heather Goode, a parent.
Collette Meador, president of the school’s PTA said, “You must keep our kids and our staff safe.”
Dr. Jim Martin, chairman of the school board, said the issues the parents highlighted are a concern across the district.
“The school system has been looking into that. In fact, we have quite a number of schools where there are quite a number of facilities issues that just haven’t been able to be addressed,” he said. “Furniture, carpets, plumbing, there’s quite a number of things that need to be done. How do we make sure these things get done in a timely fashion?”
CBS 17 obtained a copy of a letter the school’s principal sent to families earlier this month noting that WCPSS administrators recently toured the school to identify the various issues.
“We noticed the sour smell on the first-grade hallway. We discussed the HVAC system that was replaced four years ago. We checked one of the school’s 14 modular classrooms, as well as, classrooms along the third and first grade hallways,” wrote principal Janet Kehoe. “WCPSS Environmental Quality has conducted an air quality test in the first-grade hallway. There will be additional testing conducted this week.”
-- Michael Hyland School Maintenance Still a Question As Facilities Director Praises Report-- Westport Now Connecticut: November 20, 2019 [ abstract] The director of school facilities Tuesday night gave his thumbs-up to a recently completed Master Plan Facilities Study report but could not account for why so many existing school maintenance issues were not previously reported.
“I think they did a good job,” Ted Hunyadi told the Board of Education (BOE) in regard to an 869-page report prepared by consultant Antinozzi Associates.
The BOE received it at its Oct. 7, where it was discussed briefly, but has not yet made it public.
According to Michael LoSasso, an architect with the firm, the town’s seven schools, excluding Coleytown Middle School (CMS), have around $96 million in repairs they will need over the next 10 years, with that number adjusted for inflation.
-- Jarret Liotta Aging schools struggle with deferred maintenance issues amid cold snap-- Education Dive National: November 19, 2019 [ abstract] Dive Brief:
The nationwide cold snap last week left Kingsbury High School in Memphis too cold for school, with a gas leak partially to blame for the 70-year-old high school having no heat when temperatures dipped, Chalkbeat reports.
Issues related to deferred maintenance and aging buildings are an ongoing concern for districts nationwide, and Kingsbury's heating and ventilation problems in particular have reportedly cost Shelby County Schools $70,000 in heating and air system repairs.
The district is also considering plans for managing the high maintenance costs of its 28 aging buildings, with one option including consolidating two or three buildings into one to reduce overall maintenance costs.​
-- Shawna De La Rosa Report: Rural Arizona Schools Struggle with Lack of Funding-- Public News Service Arizona: November 18, 2019 [ abstract] COTTONWOOD, Ariz. — Out in Arizona's wide-open spaces, dozens of rural school districts are struggling to serve their communities and often are challenged just to keep the doors open.
A recent report by The Rural School and Community Trust found rural schools in Arizona and across the country struggle with inadequate funding, changes to the communities they serve and providing educational opportunities for all of their students.
The report found Arizona's rural school graduation rates are among the lowest in the country. Wes Brownfield, executive director of the Arizona Rural Schools Association, said the biggest struggle for many districts is to fund and maintain school facilities.
"If I've got a high school with 80 kids in it, first of all, I have to provide the same services as if I had 800 kids," Brownfield said. "When a school building is built, there's money to build the building, but there's never money included in preventive maintenance.”
He said other recurring problems include low teacher and staff salaries, transportation costs, and the "hollowing out" of living standards for middle-class rural families.
The report said about 50,000 of Arizona's 1.1 million public- and charter-school students attend rural schools. Outside of the state's three main cities, rural schools are found in Arizona's pine forests, arid deserts and vast reservation lands.
Brownfield said the expansive distances can wreak havoc on school bus systems.
-- Staff Writer Crumbling Classrooms: A Look Inside MPS Schools & the Millions It Will Take to Repair-- Alabama News Network Alabama: November 14, 2019 [ abstract] Two hundred million dollars in deferred maintenance… That’s just the estimate for Montgomery Public Schools, but one board member said that number could actually be higher. Unusable classrooms, faulty heat and A.C. units… and numerous schools that need new roofs.
Now, we’re taking you inside the schools to see these issues up close.
It is no secret that Montgomery Public Schools is facing major infrastructure issues…and it’s not something school leaders try to hide.
But when you actually go inside the schools, you may be shocked to see just how bad things are. Sidney Lanier High School’s façade will stop you in your tracks…there’s a reason its called ‘The Castle.’ But some things inside the building may stop you in your tracks too… and for all the wrong reasons.
“We could very easily spend 200 million or more, to get us where we need to be,” Chad Anderson, Executive Director of Operations for MPS said.
And that’s across the entire school system. Anderson is responsible for school maintenance and figuring out how to pay for a long list of needs: “If we get more money or we don’t, we’re going to tackle it as quickly as we can. It’s just with more money, we can take bigger bites out of things.”
Anderson said around 30 of the 52 school roofs need to be replaced…and Sidney Lanier is at the top of that list. There are classrooms that are completely unusable because the roof has been leaking for years: “The biggies, like Lanier, Jeff Davis, those big schools that are in that upwards of 1.5 million to 2.5 million dollars, those are things that we just don’t have the funding for in the district right now.”
-- Samantha Williams Heaters in APS classrooms not working during cold snap-- KOAT7 New Mexico: November 13, 2019 [ abstract] ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —
Faculty and staff submitted more than 200 work orders for maintenance to come fix the heating unit(s) in classrooms or school buildings between October 21 and October 25, 2019, according to documents obtained by KOAT after submitting a public records request.
Within the work orders, faculty described their classrooms as "freezing." One faculty member said, "Room is extremely cold and our students and staff member are having to come into concourse to do class hours where it is warmer. Can we get this fixed please?"
The documents also show a faculty member saying, "We have several classroom areas where the fans are still blowing and the classrooms are below 50 degrees to begin the day."
In the district's 142 schools, there are several different kinds of HVAC systems and every unit requires a specially-trained technician for maintenance and repairs, according to an APS spokesperson.
-- Justin Matthews 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 SCS lead testing renews call to address $500M deferred maintenance list-- Fox13 Tennessee: November 12, 2019 [ abstract] SHELBY CO., Tenn. - There are now 35 Shelby County Schools that tested positive for traces of lead in some of its water sources.
Part of the problem may be the age of the pipes in these older facilities. SCS Superintendent Dr. Joris Ray said one of the schools testing positive for lead is 100 years old.
"We have over half a billion dollars in deferred maintenance and I'm going to do something about it," said Ray.
School board members say the Reimagine 901 Plan would tear down older schools, possibly ones dealing with lead issues, and build new ones in its place
FOX13 asked board members where they would get funding for the new facilities.
"New money will, of course, be an ask, and that we'll be asking county commissioners as well as other funding, but we're excited we're looking forward to it. When you talk about building something new people don't fight you on money. They want to see our school districts do better, they want to see new schools," said Dr. Althea Greene, SCS Board member.
Since the testing is mandatory by the state, FOX13 also reached out to members of the Shelby County Delegation about the recent test results and the push for new buildings.
-- Kirstin Garriss Troy superintendent: Our school buildings are severely lacking-- Dayton Daily News Ohio: November 06, 2019 [ abstract] Troy voters will decide in March whether to fund a complete replacement of the district’s aging elementary schools, as the school board plans to place a bond issue on the ballot.
The school district hopes to issue $98.7 million in bonds to build four new schools — three elementaries to house preschool through fourth grade and one new elementary/middle school to house grades 5-6, replacing seven existing schools.
Troy City Schools officials said as part of their partnership with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, the district would eventually receive a $31.8 million reimbursement from the state for its share of the project. Superintendent Chris Piper said Troy is expected to become eligible for that money in 3-8 years.
The school board unanimously took the first vote Monday, asking the county auditor to certify what property tax millage would be needed to fund the project. A second vote, to officially put the issue on the March ballot, is expected at the Dec. 9 school board meeting.
Piper said Tuesday that the bond issue is expected to be 6.54 mills, pending confirmation from the county auditor. According to district documents, it will be combined in a single vote with a 0.5-mill levy for ongoing maintenance. That combined millage would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $246 per year.
Troy’s seven existing elementary schools — Concord, Cookson, Forest, Heywood, Hook, Kyle and Van Cleve — are 77 years old on average, according to district officials. Concord and Van Cleve are 100 and 105 years old.
-- Jeremy P. Kelley Teacher’s union: Connecticut schools are “falling apartâ€-- The Hour Connecticut: November 05, 2019 [ abstract] Mold. Heat. Cold. Dust. Rodent droppings. Asbestos.
These are a few of the hazards faced by students and teachers in Connecticut, according to the Connecticut Education Association, which announced the results of a survey of more than 1,200 teachers from 334 schools about environmental hazards in classrooms Monday.
According to the union, 74 percent of teachers who responded reported experiencing “extreme” hot and cold temperatures in their classrooms; 48 percent reported “damaged walls, ceiling tiles, carpeting, or vents;” 39 percent said they had “experienced mold and mildew problems;” and 30 percent “reported rodent dropping in their classrooms,” among other concerns.
Approximately 53 percent of those surveyed “reported environmental conditions in their classrooms that are not conducive to teaching and learning,” according to the report.
CEA officials called for a greater effort to address the environmental issues in Connecticut schools in the release.
“We must take action to ensure the health and safety of everyone in our public schools,” said CEA Executive Director Donald Williams. “This is not just a Connecticut problem. Nearly half of public school buildings across the country have poor indoor-air quality, and teachers have the highest rate of asthma among non-industrial occupations.”
“Devastating cuts to our school budgets ultimately undermine staff, students and critical programs, and now we are also seeing a direct impact on building facilities and maintenance,” said Williams. “As buildings get older, more repairs are needs and budgets need to include adequate funding to keep them in working order, free from toxins and other hazards that can cause health concerns for our children and teachers.”
-- Ben Lambert 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 New legal opinion says Dunwoody has no authority over DeKalb Schools construction, trailers-- Reporter Newspapers Georgia: October 28, 2019 [ abstract] The Georgia Department of Education is the only government entity with authority over the DeKalb County School District when it comes to school construction and maintenance, including adding trailers to alleviate overcrowding, according to a legal opinion from an attorney hired by the city of Dunwoody.
The new legal opinion backs up the city’s claims that it cannot force the school district to stop adding trailers to overcrowded schools as part of a years-long war. Frustrated residents have demanded the city stop the school district from adding more trailers by enforcing local building codes, but officials say they are handcuffed by state law from doing anything.
“The Georgia Constitution does not give municipalities the power to affect local school districts, nor has the General Assembly delegated any of its power to the city,” wrote William A. White, a partner with Smith Welch Webb and White Attorneys at Law, in the Sept. 26 report to Assistant City Attorney Bill Riley.
“It is my opinion that the city does not have the authority to directly compel a local school system to comply with its local ordinances,” he said. “This is the case even in the realm of the construction, maintenance and report of school facilities.”
Requests for comment from DeKalb Schools and the state Department of Education on the legal opinion were not immediately answered. School officials have said adding trailers is currently the most cost-effective and efficient way to alleviate severe overcrowding at Dunwoody and many other north DeKalb schools.
-- Dyana Bagby Is closing a beloved school worth a modernized one?-- Nueces County Record Star Texas: October 25, 2019 [ abstract] At the new Menchaca Elementary School in South Austin, the glass wall in the art room can roll up so the classroom opens into an outdoor space. In another area of the campus, students can climb onto cascading wooden platforms to watch presentations, and classrooms abut large workspaces for students to collaborate on group projects.
Slated to debut in January, Menchaca is an example of a “modernized school” officials want to replicate throughout the Austin school district. To do so, district leaders want to shutter 12 schools and consolidate them with others, eventually housing the students at these updated campuses, some of which have yet to be built.
The ambitious plan, which spans five years, has prompted concern among families at the schools proposed for closure. They don’t want a modernized facility if it means locations being uprooted, teachers losing their jobs and academic programs being compromised. They also are uneasy with the fact the district doesn’t have the money to build the new schools, which they fear equates to consolidated campuses without any improvements.
In the next few years, district officials intend to call for another bond election — likely topping the $1.1 billion bond package voters approved in 2017 — but said they needed to start the process somewhere. This includes developing a plan to close Brooke, Dawson, Joslin, Sims, Maplewood, Metz, Palm, Pease, Pecan Springs and Ridgetop elementaries, as well as Webb Middle School and Sadler Means Young Women’s Leadership Academy. Those campuses, more than half of them east of Interstate 35, have aging facilities that are diverting desperately needed dollars from improving academic programs, which can be better accommodated in modernized schools, administrators say. The total cost of deferred maintenance is $26,858 per student at the campuses slated for closure, and $17,759 per student at the schools that would remain open, according to district data.
Teachers constantly worry about the conditions of their rooms, and the schools are uncomfortable environments, district operations officer Matias Segura said.
-- JULIE CHANG 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 Long before problems at one Norfolk school, millions in needed repairs across the city were put off-- The Virginian-Pilot Virginia: October 19, 2019 [ abstract] The parent at the podium wanted city leaders to understand one thing: It would be difficult and expensive to fix all of Norfolk’s school buildings, but any other option was unthinkable.
“It is so clear that all our hope and confidence in the future is inextricably bound up in the education of our children today,” Karen Jones Squires told the City Council. “We cannot continue to be satisfied with the abysmal state of so many of our school buildings.”
That was 2009.
One of the recommendations from the school facilities committee that Jones Squires chaired back then was to replace Sherwood Forest Elementary and turn it into a K-8 school. Neither happened, even though the renovation was on the district’s capital improvement plan at the time and labeled a top priority.
It’s not clear why the big plans for Sherwood Forest never materialized. With every passing year, conditions at the school have deteriorated — the last audit of the district’s buildings in 2017 said less than 30% of the school was in “good” condition — until this month when teachers shared with The Virginian-Pilot their worries that the district was downplaying reports of rats, roaches and mold. The district says outside tests show the building is safe.
The last decade of deferred maintenance at Sherwood Forest isn’t an anomaly, either, in Norfolk, Hampton Roads or across Virginia.
-- Sara Gregory School facilities toursâ€" 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 Maricopa County bonds and overrides: 26 school districts ask for local taxpayer money-- azcentral.com Arizona: October 16, 2019 [ abstract] Dozens of school districts in Maricopa County are asking voters for more money in November.
Some schools need security upgrades. Other district leaders say they need funds to build new schools. Some are asking for taxpayer money to keep teacher salaries competitive.
The Nov. 5 election is with mail-in ballots. In 2017, the first year all school ballot measures were conducted by mail, all 27 bond and override measures passed. Voters can either drop their ballot in the mailbox or return them in-person to a voting location.
What are bonds and overrides?
Bonds and overrides affect local property taxes. School districts do some of the math in estimating the impact on voters' taxes and provide that in the voter pamphlets, which can be found on the Maricopa County School Superintendent website.
A bond may be issued by public school districts to pay for longer-term projects, such as building new schools, renovating existing ones or investing in technology and transportation infrastructure. Voters approve the sale of bonds to raise money for these projects.
An override can increase a district's classroom budget by up to 15% for seven years, though the last two years are used for phasing out the override. This is why school districts typically ask voters to renew existing overrides in their fifth year, to avoid a phase-down.
The two types of overrides districts are asking for this year are:
maintenance and operations overrides, the most common type of overrides which are used for operational expenses such as teacher salaries and student programs.
District additional assistance overrides which supplement capital funding and typically fund technology, books and other equipment.
-- Lily Altavena Bright idea: Montgomery Public School Board considers converting all lights to LEDs in cost-cutting move-- Montgomery Advertiser Alabama: October 14, 2019 [ abstract] In an effort to decrease the district's power usage while saving money, Montgomery Public School Board members are considering a proposal to convert all school light fixtures to LEDs.
During an Oct. 7 board meeting, Director of Operations Chad Anderson and a representative of LED Solutions presented a plan that after the light fixture conversion, would save the district $3.6 million in electrical bills over the next 10 years.
The contract would cost $6.9 million. The savings projected by the company are after paying for the contract.
If approved by board members, the contract would pay the Alabama based company to replace all light fixtures that aren't already LED, which are then under warranty for 10 years.
"The life expectancy is much longer than that but this time frame is what we have warranted," LED Solutions employee Robert Jones said. MPS' maintenance department has already started installing LED fixtures when doing replacements, which Jones said the company would also warranty.
-- Krista Johnson 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 Safety concerns a priority in BOE capital plan-- Daily Mountain Eagle Alabama: October 13, 2019 [ abstract] The Walker County Board of Education approved a capital plan last month that is primarily aimed at tackling safety concerns.
Walker County Schools Superintendent Dr. Joel Hagood recently discussed the 10 item plan of possible capital projects with the Daily Mountain Eagle.
The first item on the agenda in 2020 is replacing the roof of Parrish Elementary School. Hagood said a portion of the roof has already been replaced, and it will cost an estimated $600,000 to finish the project.
Due to the roof's flat surface, it has caused maintenance issues over the years.
"The roof at Parrish Elementary is something that has to be done because it's a flat roof. It's a rubberized material expanding and contracting with the weather," Hagood said. "We may fix one area and then it pops up in another area."
The school board also intends to build a new field house at Cordova High School in 2020 for $300,000, since the current one is condemned.
"Our plan was to renovate the inside of the field house, but as we went in there and started gutting it and we took the lockers off the wall, the wall was bowed, considerably, because that outer wall is underground," Hagood said. "I think we're very blessed that it didn't cave in."
Third on the capital agenda is the possibility of land acquisition at Oakman High School in 2020. Hagood said a property owner there is interested in selling some land near the high school gym, which would allow for the expansion of a student parking lot and the option to create a road that would lead up to Oakman Middle School.
Hagood added that the land purchase would eliminate safety concerns of having to park on a bank near the highway, and it would also help alleviate traffic congestion.
-- NICOLE SMITH Orangeburg County school inventory: Old facilities with many needs-- Times and Democrat South Carolina: October 12, 2019 [ abstract] Orangeburg County School District facilities and maintenance officials paint a picture of a district with old facilities needing significant maintenance.
"Our facilities are very old," Interim Superintendent Dr. Darrell Johnson said following an exhaustive inventory presentation of the district's schools during a board work session on Tuesday. "These buildings are 50 to 60 years old. The roofs are in disrepair. Some tough decisions might have to be made by this board."
District Director of maintenance and Facilities David Hess, along with Chief of Auxiliary Services Robert Grant, gave trustees an overview of the conditions of the district's schools and their respective facility needs based on a survey of the facilities compiled as a result of the Abbeville lawsuit.
-- Gene Zaleski School system unleashes repair ‘blitz’ at Midlothian Middle-- Chesterfield Observer Virginia: October 09, 2019 [ abstract] Amid parents’ concerns about mold, Legionella bacteria and a mysterious, foul odor in the 95-year-old building, the Chesterfield school system is implementing its new facility maintenance program this week at Midlothian Middle School.
The school’s principal, Patrick Stanfield, notified Midlothian Middle families via email last Thursday that it will be the county’s first secondary school to take part in the school system’s advanced maintenance and preventative program (AMPP), a blitz-style approach to knock out a series of repairs over the course of a few days.
According to Stanfield’s message, work was scheduled to begin Tuesday. Areas of focus could include masonry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, carpentry and painting throughout the building.
That’s in addition to other maintenance work already completed. Over the past several months, the school system’s facilities staff has addressed moisture issues from a lack of insulation on piping and examined and repaired issues related to humidity and ventilation, Stanfield noted.
“The goal is to make our building the best 95-year-old building it can be,” he wrote.
School officials are billing AMPP as a focused, collaborative approach to preventative maintenance and repairs, in which a 15-person team of tradesmen and supervisors reports to a school building and completes a list of specified tasks over a 3- or 4-day period to minimize impact on instruction.
Before work begins, facilities supervisors conduct a building walk-through to assess needs. Input from school leadership and staff also is considered in the process of creating a master work order, after which all parts and supplies are ordered and a team is assigned to complete the projects.
-- JIM MCCONNELL Bronx BP Releases Report Calling for School Construction Authority Reform-- CityLand New York: September 23, 2019 [ abstract] Report outlines action plan for the School Construction Authority to address public school overcrowding and cost proposals. On September 4, 2019, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. released a report outlining an action plan for the School Construction Agency to address public school overcrowding and school construction cost proposals. The School Construction Authority is charged with the building and maintenance of public school space in New York City.
President Diaz’s report, titled “Reforming the School Construction Authority: An Action Plan for Efficient Use of Public School Space,” outlines measures the School Construction Authority can take to improve school overcrowding conditions, build new schools faster and better utilize existing space.
President Diaz’ number one recommendation within the report directs the School Construction Authority and the Department of Education to “. . . eliminate all Transportable Classroom Units as soon as possible.” The report notes that forcing students to learn in trailers harms their education and is unacceptable. The report continues, “If there is a single TCU remaining at the end of this five-year capital plan, there must be real consequences for leaders at the [Department of Education] and [the School Construction Authority].”
-- Abby Cannon Proposed hike on fee to help pay Howard school costs draws opposition from developers-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: September 19, 2019 [ abstract] A proposal that would raise a fee builders pay toward Howard County school construction costs drew tense opposition Wednesday from developers, affordable housing advocates and businesses, all of whom described the bill as regressive.
The measure, which is poised to pass the County Council, would hike the one-time fee assessed on new homes from $1.32 per square foot to $6.80 per square foot, a 415% increase. The fee is charged to developers who build new homes.
Opponents say this cost will be passed on to the consumer, thus increasing the cost of homes countywide.
But the revenue — lawmakers expect to generate $150 million over 10 years — would help pay for the school system’s renovation, maintenance and construction costs. As of late June 2018, the school system still has $54.3 million in debt service, according to a state analysis.
The school system last week announced a much-needed replacement of the 46-year-old, one-story Talbott Springs Elementary School will be delayed by at least three years because of anticipated low budgeting from the county, schools Superintendent Michael Martirano previously said.
-- ERIN B. LOGAN Several Columbus schools get air conditioning for first time under ‘Operation: Fix It’-- The Columbus Dispatch Ohio: September 11, 2019 [ abstract] Sheila Evans is wearing long-sleeve shirts to school for the first time in her 21 years as a Columbus City Schools employee.
Now in her second year as Sherwood Middle School principal, Evans said she and her students are still getting used to the upgrades made in their 54-year-old building on the East Side. She has never worked in air conditioning before.
“It’s so nice, to the point where we get cold,” joked Evans, who said many buildings were “unbearable” this time last year.
In the past two years, Columbus City Schools has completed 155 maintenance projects through Operation: Fix It, a $125 million, districtwide initiative funded by a portion of a tax increase voters approved in 2016.
For many buildings, including nine this fall, that means having air conditioning for the first time.
Throughout the state’s largest school district, which has more than 51,000 students, 31 buildings are without the amenity found in virtually all modern workplaces but still lacking in many urban schools nationwide. Of those buildings, 21 have partial air conditioning in common areas such as cafeterias and libraries.
Research has shown sweltering heat negatively affects student learning and numerous studies have linked the quality of school facilities, including classroom temperatures, to student achievement.
Though $125 million may sound like a lot of money, Columbus officials and experts agree the investment is small compared to what is needed.
-- Alissa Widman Neese State committee talks K-12 school construction, major maintenance funding-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: September 11, 2019 [ abstract] CHEYENNE – Lawmakers held preliminary discussions Tuesday in Casper regarding legislation that could transfer funds to an account used for capital construction and major maintenance needs for school districts statewide.
With the decline of federal coal lease bonus revenues, the challenge for state legislators and local school administrators has been to find revenue to fill that gap for building projects.
In recent years, lawmakers have broadened revenue sources for K-12 school capital construction by directing investment income to a school major maintenance account and depositing one-third of state royalties on school lands to a mineral royalties account. But the Legislature will still have some work to do during its next session.
Matthew Willmarth, senior school finance analyst with the Legislative Service Office, told members of the Select Committee on School Facilities on Tuesday in Casper there is no mechanism to transfer those funds to the School Capital Construction Account. That would require legislation or a budget bill footnote, he said.
In addition, he said, state royalties on school lands are accrued throughout the fiscal year, but the entire revenue is not received July 1, which is when the fiscal year starts.
Investment income is generally not calculated until up to 90 days after the end of the fiscal year, and that creates a cash flow problem, Willmarth said.
-- Steve Knight OCS: No major Dorian damage to Onslow schools-- JDNews.com North Carolina: September 07, 2019 [ abstract] Onslow County schools made it through Hurricane Dorian without any major damage to school sites and students will return to school Monday.
School and district administrator and maintenance staff with Onslow County Schools spent Friday conducting evaluations of school facilities.
“Based on their reports, preparations made prior to the storm were effective. All indications are other than some minor situations there has been no major damage to any school sites,” OCS said in announcement Friday.
Onslow County Board of Education Chairwoman Pam Thomas said there were a couple places where there are still tarps on roofs after Hurricane Florence that wind blew around the tarps but those were quickly fixed and there is no extensive water damage.
Thomas said any places where there were tarps had been reinforced before the storm.
“There wasn’t just a tarp. The areas had been patched and then re-tarped, which gave them double protection,” Thomas said.
There were other minor items such as playground equipment or siding blown around but they were all items that could be easily addressed, she said.
-- Jannette Pippin Austin ISD Says School Closure Plan Is About More Than Saving Money; It's About Spending Smarter-- kut 90.5 Texas: September 06, 2019 [ abstract] The Austin Independent School District said it will save about $240 million in maintenance costs by closing 12 schools in the district and moving students to other campuses. But school officials say this plan wasn't proposed to just save money, it will also help students academically.
"This is really about reinvesting in the right way so our students can get some meaningful support and resources as a result of these reallocations," Nicole Conley, AISD's chief business officer, said at a news conference with AISD officials and school board members.
"There are people in this room that look like me, and we were the exceptions to the rule growing up," AISD Board President Geronimo Rodriguez, who is Latino, said. "I believe that if we are focused on academic programs that are focused on student achievement and student success, then kids like me growing up are the rule and not the exception."
The group addressed some of the questions the public is asking a day after the district released a draft of proposed closures to deal with declining enrollment and budget issues.
Some East Austin families are questioning why more school closures have been proposed in their neighborhoods than anywhere else and say it's unfair.
-- CLAIRE MCINERNY First community meeting on school facilities nets valuable input-- Grand Forks Herald North Dakota: September 06, 2019 [ abstract] At the first community meeting on the future of Grand Forks school facilities, parents and others voiced concerns about issues such as the deterioration of some buildings and the need to ensure that students receive an equitable educational experience no matter what school they attend.
Some said they worried that if, to save money, the district moves to larger class sizes or a “mega-school” that replaces a few smaller elementary schools, students will suffer academically and socially.
The meeting, held Thursday, Sept. 5, at Valley Middle School, was the first of five that are planned this month. Others are set for Tuesday, Sept. 10, at Discovery Elementary School; Sept. 16 at Grand Forks Central High School; Sept. 19 at Viking Elementary School; and Sept. 26 at Wilder Elementary School. All meetings will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Those who are unable to attend may provide input through “Thought Exchange,” a portal on the school district’s website which allows participants to see and react to others’ comments.
At the start of Thursday’s meeting, about 50 participants heard a detailed presentation by administrators and the school district’s demographer, Robert Schwarz, Kansas-based RSP Associates.
Administrators described the issues -- especially financial and deferred maintenance -- facing the district. Schwarz outlined such things as the functional capacity and the cost of operating each of the district’s buildings, as well as enrollment and population trends.
-- Pamela D. Knudson Supervisors exploring takeover of school maintenance-- Chesterfield Observer Virginia: September 04, 2019 [ abstract] Long-simmering tensions between Chesterfield’s two elected governing bodies regarding school facility maintenance finally boiled over last week.
Following positive tests for the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease in cooling towers at four county schools, and the subsequent revelation that the school system failed to repair or replace many malfunctioning HVAC components despite being repeatedly alerted to the problems, the Board of Supervisors is strongly considering an action it has long been reluctant to take: putting the county government in charge of maintenance at Chesterfield’s more than 60 school buildings.
Citing a section in the county charter that gives the Board of Supervisors authority to “control and manage the fiscal affairs of the county and all property, real and personal, belonging to the county,” Dale District Supervisor Jim Holland directed County Administrator Joe Casey at last Wednesday’s board meeting to consult with staff and provide recommendations about how school maintenance should be managed going forward.
“We didn’t ask to be put in this position,” said Leslie Haley, the board’s chairwoman. “If you want to call us ‘Big Brother’ or whatever, by charter it’s what we’re charged with doing. We have a responsibility to every citizen in this community to make certain that we are being good stewards of not just your tax dollars, but [public] facilities. I think it’s a consideration we need to be mindful of.”
School Board Chairman Rob Thompson doesn’t think his fellow board members “will voluntarily give up maintenance of our facilities.”
“I think [taking over school maintenance] would exceed the county’s authority. As they look into it in the next week or two, they’ll find that out,” he said.
With two high-ranking school officials sitting in the front row of the county’s Public Meeting Room – including Chief Operating Officer Nita Mensia-Joseph, who currently oversees maintenance of all school facilities – the five supervisors alternately expressed frustration with the school system’s inability to properly care for its buildings and concern about the possible impact of such failures on students, staff and visitors.
-- JIM MCCONNELL Building projects keep Newport-Mesa busy as new school year draws near-- Los Angeles Times California: August 31, 2019 [ abstract] For campus administrators, teachers and students, school officially goes back in session Tuesday as classes begin in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.
But there was no summer break for maintenance crews and construction teams that continued to work through the off-season on several major projects and completed some long-awaited updates to campuses throughout Newport Beach and Costa Mesa:
Corona del Mar High School: sports fields
Corona del Mar High School is getting two lighted synthetic-turf sports fields.
One of them will include a rubber track at its perimeter.
The updates also will include scoreboards, fencing, gates and upgraded walkways. Both fields will include bleachers, with seating for up to 664 spectators at the main field and 200 at the second field.
-- LILLY NGUYEN School maintenance updates from around the county-- The News-Review Oregon: August 23, 2019 [ abstract] While students enjoyed summer vacation, crews have been hard at work freshening up school campuses throughout the county.
In addition to seismic upgrades at some schools, pavement projects across the Roseburg school district and a Yoncalla gym update entering its third phase. Repairs and renovations are nearly complete at the Douglas High School cafeteria.
The Douglas High roof and beams were damaged in February’s snowstorm. Along with the repairs, new insulation is being added to improve energy efficiency. Properly installed drainage sumps, which will allow for effective water removal, are also being added.
Construction will still be going when school starts next week.
“They are going to still be wrapping up, like putting on the ceiling tiles and hooking up the kitchen again,” Winston-Dillard Superintendent Kevin Miller said.
Miller said potentially unsafe areas will be taped or fenced off. Repairs should be completed by the second week of September.
At the Roseburg school district, Physical Plant Manager Tracy Grauf said minor work included pavement projects on playgrounds at Green, Eastwood, Hucrest and Winchester elementary schools, updates to the Jo Lane Middle School bus lane and the entryway to Sunnyslope Elementary.
“We are basically cleaning up some rough playgrounds, some driveways that were failing and walkways that were failing and stuff like that,” Grauf said.
-- Erica Welch Dozens Of Denver Schools Sweat Out Record-Breaking Heat On First Day Of School-- CPR News Colorado: August 19, 2019 [ abstract] Today was the first day of class for 95,000 Denver Public Schools students, and it was also a scorchingly hot day with a record-breaking high of 98 degrees.
Of DPS’s 207 schools, 60 lack air conditioning, 15 fewer than last year. Many of the schools were built decades before air conditioning was common. Stedman Elementary in Northeast Denver was built in 1922 and is still without air conditioning.
“We have schools even older than that,” said Mark Farrandino, deputy superintendent of operations for DPS. “There’s only so much we can do so quickly. I think we’re going as quickly as we can given what the approval was of our citizen advisory committee and the voters in Denver in 2016.”
The 2016 bond measure raised $628 million for the city’s public schools, of which $252 million went to school maintenance, including $70 million specifically for cooling solutions at the district’s hottest schools. Those funds were used to improve the 15 schools that were updated last year, but DPS estimates it would need to spend about $200 million more to put central air in all the schools without it.
Farrandino said the district has started discussing potential 2020 measures.
-- Claire Cleveland School Board to lobby lawmakers for capital funds-- Ocala StarBanner Florida: August 16, 2019 [ abstract] Members float lobbying for a state cellphone tax. For decades, state has taxed landlines to pay for capital needs at universities, colleges and K-12 districts.
School Board members plan to lobby state legislators for more capital dollars to cover new construction and maintenance. One idea: Ask the lawmakers to add a cellphone tax.
For nearly 50 years there has been a tax on landline phones, cable television and electricity to pay for school capital needs. That program, called Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO), has paid state universities, colleges and K-12 school districts billions of dollars through the decades for new construction and maintenance.
But the fund is shrinking because there are fewer landline phones and cable subscribers statewide and more energy-efficient products, especially air conditioners.
The School Board is discussing this lobbying effort because half of Marion County’s schools are more than 50 years old. Air conditioning systems are failing, new roofs are needed, and officials fear they may never catch up on routine maintenance if the state doesn’t begin ponying up more PECO dollars soon.
Marion County Public Schools received only $896,000 in PECO maintenance funds in 2018-19 and will receive nothing in 2019-20. The money is used for 47 campuses that serve 43,000 students.
The crisis means that 82 percent of the School District’s list of projects for the next five years is unfunded. The district will only have $76.4 million, all from a local capital property tax, of the $429.7 million needed to renovate and maintain its campuses and dozens of district offices through 2024.
And now the district is faced with spending $21 million on costly repairs of aging administrative buildings or using that money to build a new office complex. The board believes that it makes financial sense to build a new complex.
Robert Knight, the district’s facilities director, said that the board must find a new funding source because “it’s clear the state does not intend to be a major player when it comes to (capital) funding.”
Knight said the district has gotten no money from the state for new construction in a decade and very little ($5 million in 10 years) for maintenance.
-- Joe Callahan Vermont schools desperately need upgrades, but the state offers little help-- VTDigger Vermont: August 16, 2019 [ abstract] At the preK-8 Concord School in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, students went without a gym for the better part of January, February and March.
That meant no basketball, no school play, and no all-school assemblies.
The problem? The prefabricated corrugated metal building was built with a flat roof and no insulation when fuel was dirt cheap, under the assumption that the building’s heat would melt any snow, according Kingdom East Unified School District Superintendent Jennifer Botzojorns.
Now, the building is several decades past its warranty date, and the HVAC is on the fritz. That means that when a winter storm hits, snow quickly piles up on the roof, which in turn, she says, becomes structurally unsound.
Kingdom East officials put a $24 million bond before voters earlier this summer to make improvements at the Concord School along with the district’s Lunenburg and Burke Town schools. (In Burke, a child’s foot recently went through a rotted floor board in a middle school classroom.)
But the bond vote failed. “Resoundingly,” Botzojorns noted.
The state once contributed about 30% toward school construction projects, but it suspended the program in 2007. Since then, local districts have been mostly on their own to pay for maintenance and renovations.
Vermont’s schools are in varying condition. But many are showing their vintage, especially since the last major spate of school construction took place in the 1960s, during the push to create bigger union high schools serving larger geographic regions.
“I’m hearing increasingly from superintendents that they’d like to see school construction aid restored,” said Jeff Francis, the executive director of the Vermont Superintendents Association.
-- Lola Duffort Working overtime, maintenance staff prepare Decatur schools for first day-- Herald&Review Illinois: August 13, 2019 [ abstract] DECATUR — The buildings and grounds department of the Decatur School District has been working seven days a week for more than a month to complete their summer projects.
“At first, we just worked 40 hours a week and I thought I'd see how that went,” said Steve Kline, director of buildings and grounds.
With so many projects underway because of the district's BOLD (Building better Opportunities for Learning in Decatur) plan, and the first day of school upon them, the maintenance staff has been working overtime — literally. Thomas Jefferson closed as a middle school at the end of the 2018-19 school year as part of the BOLD plan, which combines the two middle schools at the Stephen Decatur building.
The merger is part of the first phase of the facilities plan, which would reduce the number of buildings from 22 to 17 over the course of several years. It would also add air conditioning at all buildings and increase the capacity for some of the most popular programs.
To complete the work this summer, Kline said he initially added only Saturdays in the hopes that enough work would get completed to keep them on schedule, but then he also added Sundays. Both weekend days are optional for maintenance staff, and usually about half of them work each of the weekend days.
-- Valerie Wells Oakley to decide fate of four school parks-- East Bay Times California: August 12, 2019 [ abstract] Oakley City Council will decide on Tuesday whether to cut funding for maintenance of four parks at local schools.
After 18 months of discussion with the Oakley School District, city staff has recommended the city discontinue spending $150,000 annually for the maintenance of four parks on school district land. The parks include those adjacent to Oakley, Gehringer, Vintage Park elementary schools and O’Hara Park Middle School.
A message on the city’s website said: “The item on the City Council agenda is NOT to close parks, it is about accountability and ensuring that these taxpayer funds are being wisely used.”
The affected parks date back some three decades before the city was incorporated. That’s when the school district, which owned the land, allowed for the parks to be developed adjacent to their schools. In turn, the county established an agreement with the school district to provide money for the parks’ maintenance. After the city’s incorporation, the county agreement was transferred to the city and renewed in 2002, according to the city staff report. Money to maintain the parks came from developers’ park dedication fees.
-- JUDITH PRIEVE Enterprise School District assessment details costs to repair school.-- The Wallowa County Chieftain Oregon: August 06, 2019 [ abstract] On Monday night, the Enterprise school board received an estimate of costs to do deferred maintenance on their elementary school, junior high and high school buildings. The report, prepared by The Wenaha Group of Pendleton, was funded by the Oregon Department of Education and is part of a program intended to improve statewide K-12 educational facilities, especially in rural communities. The preliminary estimates of the repairs recommended in the Wenaha Group’s study are expensive. They total $1.5 million for the elementary school, $3.6 million for the high school, and a whopping $11.6 million for the art deco junior high school, which was built in 1918. And this estimate does not include the costs of seismic retrofits and some structural repairs that may include portions of the CMU walls in the elementary school.
“But we don’t have to do all of them,” said School board president Kate Fent. “We mostly want to fix the roof and some other major problems.” Under the deferred maintenance assessment programs, Oregon will provide grants that match whatever funds are raised through bonds or donations to do the repairs, up to $4 million dollars. Not every repair included in the assessment is essential. Some include costs for items that can be done later, or in smaller increments such as replacing worn carpeting or painting walls.
-- Ellen Bishop Norwin School District Using Goats For Landscaping Maintenance-- KDKA2 Pennsylvania: August 01, 2019 [ abstract] NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pa. (KDKA) — A herd of goats is roaming the Norwin School District.
The district announced Thursday that they are using goats from North Hungingdon’s Nuisance Wildlife Solutions to clear overgrown weeds from a steep hillside overlooking Knights Stadium.
The animals got to work Wednesday and will be on the job for “several weeks” on an area that is difficult for employees to maintain, officials said.
“I’m looking out for the safety and well-being of our employees on that rough terrain to clean it up as best as we can,” Norwin School District’s Director of Facilities and Property Services P.J. Petrarco said in a release. “Clearing the hillside is also beneficial for the safety of our students and staff.”
-- Staff Writer Providence officials point to school building improvements-- Providence Journal Rhode Island: August 01, 2019 [ abstract] PROVIDENCE — City and school officials offered a counter narrative Thursday to the teachers union’s complaints that some of the district’s buildings are in deplorable condition.
During a tour of the Veazie Street Elementary School near Branch Avenue, Mike Borg, director of public property, noted the new flexible membrane roof, part of $7.2 million worth of major renovations to the school planned over the next five years. The school was built in 1909.
The original tar roof sprung a major leak last winter, which can still be seen in the discolored tiles on the upper floors. The city had to step in and repair the leaks to the tune of $128,000, Borg said. It’s just this kind of costly emergency repair that Providence is trying to avoid by developing a five-year master plan for major capital repairs.
The Providence schools, like so many schools in Rhode Island, are seeing the result of decades of deferred maintenance, estimated at $372.4 million for Providence alone and that was just to make the schools “warm, safe and dry.”
Borg said help is on the way. The city recently approved $20 million worth of major renovations, including Veazie’s new roof. And the Rhode Island Department of Education approved a plan by Providence to spend $278 million in repairs that, when completed, will “touch” every one of the city’s 41 schools. That bond will be floated by the city; the state will reimburse Providence for 82 percent of the total cost. (Voters have already approved some of that bond).
-- Linda Borg Local school board adopts 10-year plan for facilities maintenance-- Redwood Falls Gazette Minnesota: July 30, 2019 [ abstract] Each year the Minnesota Department of Education requires schools submit a 10-year facilities maintenance plan. That plan outlines the projects each school district plans to do over the next decade to help sustain the buildings and grounds for the district.
Tom Anderson, Redwood Area School District director of finance, presented the most recent local plan to the Redwood Area Board of Education during its July 22 meeting.
According to Anderson, school districts have the ability to levy funds to do maintenance projects, with up to $380 per pupil unit available.
However, not all school districts are able to collect the full amount, as the funding available is based on the average age of all of a school district’s facilities. Those that are less than 35 years old receive a lower amount. In addition, the full allocation does not just come from the levy. The local funds are equalized with state aid.
Anderson said about 73 percent of the funding comes from the levy, with the rest being covered by the state. With the addition of the new Estebo Career Development and Training Center, the average age of the local facilities will drop, said Anderson, which means for a while the district will experience a slight drop in the facilities maintenance funding.
-- Troy Krause 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 Lots of work going on at Gwinnett schools-- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: July 08, 2019 [ abstract] The impact of their physical environment on student success is a concept that didn’t receive much attention until the last few decades. But poor conditions can lead to increased truancy, vandalism and bullying, a lack of focus for students and high teacher turnover.
When facilities are well-maintained and obsolete structures make way for retrofits or newer buildings with technological advances, improvements on student outcomes will follow, according to several national studies.
Gwinnett County school officials are keeping that in mind as they undertake a multimillion-dollar program of school construction and maintenance this year.
As the largest district in the state, Gwinnett County experienced a construction boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Averaging about five new schools a year, it needed to keep up with growing enrollment. The district went from 80,000 students in the 1994-1995 school year to 136,000 in 2004-2005. The 2019-2020 school year has a projected total of 180,500 students.
To pay for that growth, the school system has sizable debt. According to data from the National Council on School Facilities, Gwinnett is paying over $50 million in interest on $1.2 billion debt.
-- Arlinda Smith Broady Duval School Board approves master facilities plan-- jacksonville.com Florida: July 02, 2019 [ abstract] Following a months-long process including 14 workshop meetings, more than 20 community gatherings and multiple plan revisions, the Duval County School Board voted to approve its master facilities plan Tuesday night.
Superintendent Diana Greene’s 23 pages of recommendations — which she titled “A Bold Plan” — consists of $1.9 billion in school enhancements ranging from safety and security to addressing a lengthy maintenance backlog.
Following a half-hour discussion, the plan was approved 5-1, with board member Charlotte Joyce voting no. Board member Ashley Smith Juarez did not attend the meeting or vote, but has expressed strong support for the plan in the past.
MAP | School-by-school look at Duval Schools’ master facility plan
The master plan was originally drafted in March by a facilities planning consultant. After multiple meetings with members of the community, Greene’s version came out. Significant changes included preserving historic schools, deciding against consolidating popular campuses and removing portable classrooms within the district.
“We have gone through at least 20 different iterations trying to find the plan that was the most effective,” Greene said.
The master facilities plan would be funded in part through a half-cent sales tax increase in Duval County, increasing the rate from 7 cents to 7.5 cents for 15 years. The school district says that would raise about $80 million each year. Greene also said she would request a $500 million bond so work could start right away on high priority projects.
Currently, Duval schools have garnered $243 million in deferred maintenance costs. Repairs in schools within the district are costing $500,000 per month.
-- Emily Bloch Texas School Finance Bill is a monumental step forward for Texas taxpayers-- Victoria Advocate Texas: July 02, 2019 [ abstract] Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Legislature made school finance reform and property tax relief the signature issue of the 86th legislative session.
The final result was HB 3, a monumental school finance bill that dedicated $5 billion in state tax dollars to local maintenance and operations (M&O) property tax relief. That’s important because maintenance and operations taxes are for school district operations and make up around 50 percent of many Texans property tax bill.
Some are saying the tax relief provided by HB 3 is not enough. But what makes HB 3 such a significant achievement is not just the M&O property tax cut. What makes HB 3 special is the inclusion of measures to ensure M&O property bills stop rapidly rising.
First, a little history.
In 2006, Texas attempted to lower skyrocketing tax bills by reducing maintenance and operation tax rates by one-third from $1.50 to $1. While reducing tax rates was a significant move in the right direction, many homeowners did not see a property tax cut, and their M&O property tax bills continued to rise as their property values increased. Today, property tax bills of many families year-over-year are rising much faster than their income or ability to pay, causing some to lose their homes.
HB 3 is a different and better property tax relief plan.
First, 2019 tax bills for most Texas homeowners will be slightly less than they were in 2018 as M&O tax rates are reduced. Even if slight, this is an actual property tax cut.
-- Opinion - Kara Belew Guest Column: Special needs students would benefit from improved school facilities-- The Florida Times-Union Florida: June 28, 2019 [ abstract] Our youngest child is high-functioning and high-cognitive autistic.
We had our children in private schools, but they could not and would not work with special needs children — so traditional public school became our only option to provide our children an appropriate education.
Over the last two years we have seen many changes in the school district that have benefited all students, including those with special needs. As part of our advocacy work we have delved into many parts of the school district’s operations including curriculum, budgeting and facilities.
The Duval school district’s half-cent sales tax referendum is urgently needed. Even with proper maintenance, old systems break down and are more expensive to repair because parts are not readily available.
Repairs are very disruptive to the classroom; imagine conducting a meeting in your office while the air conditioning is not functioning — and a plumber is repairing the bathroom next door.
This is what many of our teachers and students have to deal with each day.
The Civic Council and some City Council members have raised concerns about the cost of the plan, comparing it to construction costs of charter and private schools. But there are different requirements for building traditional public schools — as opposed to charter schools — that must be taken into account when comparing costs. These differences include:
• Enhanced building requirements that are mandated by the State Requirements for Educational Facilities policy.
• The fact that public school buildings serve as community hurricane shelters.
• The fact that public schools are required to accept all students — and thus have a greater need for space to meet this responsibility.
• The need to provide support space for our vulnerable special needs children.
This referendum would address the urgent capital needs of all schools in the district.
-- Tim and Darlene Miller Worcester school roof replacements, other projects in region approved by MSBA board-- telegram.com Massachusetts: June 26, 2019 [ abstract] The Massachusetts School Building Authority, the state agency responsible for helping public school districts with the cost of renovating and replacing schools, approved a bevy of local projects on Wednesday, including five in Worcester.
The authority’s board of directors invited planned roof replacement projects at Burncoat Street Preparatory School, Tatnuck Magnet School, Vernon Hill School and Worcester East Middle School into the MSBA’s Accelerated Repair program. It also accepted a boiler replacement project at Lincoln Street School into the same initiative.
Worcester has relied on the Accelerated Repair program, which provides funding for school roof, window, door and boiler replacement projects that can be completed within 18 months, to help it afford dozens of building upgrades over the past decade. The school district has used the initiative to replace windows and doors at roughly four schools a year since 2012. Beginning this year, the school department is shifting its focus to roof and boiler replacement projects.
“We’re really revisiting all the needs we have across the district” after the completion of the door and window replacement campaign, said the Worcester schools’ chief financial and operations officer, Brian Allen. “It’s not just the Accelerated Repair projects. We’re looking at other projects as well.”
The latter plans, which have been laid out through 2023-24, include things like bathroom renovations, floor repair, deferred maintenance and other improvements at dozens of schools.
-- Scott OConnell School Patrol: Summertime is no vacation for crews maintaining a school building-- abc3340 Alabama: June 20, 2019 [ abstract] OAK MOUNTAIN -- Every hallway at Oak Mountain Intermediate is jammed packed. It's been that way since the day before the last day of school.
"All of the stuff in the classroom has to come out and that comes out on the last day of school," said Shane Hughes, maintenance director at Oak Mountain Intermediate School.
It is all part of the summer cleaning process. And Hughes admits, it's a big job."
"Oh my gosh," he said about the responsibility of maintaining a school large enough for 700 students. "It is a lot. And it falls on me."
The perception may be schools go dark over the summer. But Hughes said it's quite the opposite.
"It's an 8-hour job every day," he said. "All summer long."
It is the busiest season for maintenance crews, especially getting the building ready for fall. From keeping the grass mowed, to repairing parts of the roof -- crews have to do it all, including cleaning every single classroom.
"Not only that but we have to strip the floors," Hughes said. "We strip and wax them back. Four layers."
It's a three-person crew at Oak Mountain Intermediate. But district officials point out the same work is being done at every elementary, middle, intermediate and high school in the district.
And again, it must be done by the fall, before classes start.
Teachers say they appreciative.
-- Wendell Edwards Two Burlington schools getting millions of dollars in building improvements-- MyChamplainValley Vermont: June 19, 2019 [ abstract] Two schools in Burlington that share the same campus are in the process of getting millions of dollars in building improvements.
It’s been in the works since Town Meeting Day two years ago, when Burlington voters approved a bond for school infrastructure.
The Burlington School District is nearing the end of year two of its ten-year capital improvement plan. The district developed that plan in July 2017, not long after voters gave it permission to borrow $19 million.
The school district’s property services director, Marty Spaulding, said the bond money is being combined with money the district already had in its budget “to address $39 million of deferred and preventative maintenance needs at all of the schools in the district, with the exception to the high school.”
Spaulding gave the school board a walk-through Tuesday evening of the construction progress at Edmunds Middle School and Edmunds Elementary.
The capital plan includes about $10 million for work at the Edmunds campus, including one project taking place right now. When students return this fall, they’ll go into both buildings through a central entrance that will be compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
-- Mike Hoey Referendum might be needed for school maintenance in Janesville-- Gazette Extra Wisconsin: June 17, 2019 [ abstract] Referendum.
It’s not a word Janesville School Board member Kevin Murray wanted to say out loud, but he thought the public needed to know.
Neither new buildings nor remodeling are driving the need for more money. Instead, it’s the less-glamorous prospect of addressing an estimated $120.43 million worth of building maintenance: aging boilers, replacement of air-handling units, asbestos abatement, updating electrical panels and new windows.
At a May 28 meeting, the board discussed the maintenance needs cited by Unesco, a Madison-based program management firm.
Of the $120.43 million in projects, an estimated $77.84 million worth of items are in the “alert” or “alarm” category, according to the firm’s report.
The report isn’t a surprise. For years, the board’s finance, buildings and grounds committee has whittled away at the Unesco list. The projects were funded either through the district’s capital improvement budget or through Act 32.
Act 32, which the Legislature passed in 2009, allowed school districts to exceed state-imposed revenue caps for projects that resulted in energy savings.
Revenue caps limit the amount of money districts can raise. If a district needs more money, a referendum is often the only option.
-- Catherine Idzerda After decade of deferred maintenance, Dayton school district budgets $51M to fix, maintain buildings-- Dayton Daily News Ohio: June 10, 2019 [ abstract] Dayton Public Schools plans to spend $51 million over the next three years on repairs and maintenance of school buildings that are between seven and 13 years old. The district’s school buildings were replaced in the 2000s through a comprehensive rebuilding effort funded by both the state of Ohio and Dayton schools taxpayers.
“For several years before I got here, and before Dr. Burton was in charge of operations, preventative maintenance was not done. It was reactionary – just fix what we needed to fix,” DPS Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli said. “You cannot maintain a building that’s used every day – and some of our buildings are almost 24-7-365 – and keep them up to par without some type of preventative maintenance plan in place.”
-- Josh Sweigart 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 Fund Our Facilities Coalition announces legislation to invest $85 million in school building repairs-- The Philadelphia Sunday Sun Pennsylvania: June 07, 2019 [ abstract] The union leaders and legislators who comprise the Fund Our Facilities Coalition met on May 29 at Richard Wright Elementary School to announce legislation sponsored by State Sen. Vincent Hughes that would invest $85 million to make critical repairs to Philadelphia’s school buildings.
The dollar amount in Hughes’ companion bills –- SB 555 and SB 556 –- represent exactly half of the $170 million the coalition has said is needed to address immediate health and safety concerns, and to ensure every Philadelphia school building is safe, clean and healthy.
Funding for SB 555 would come in the form of a $125 million grant from several Commonwealth special funds with outstanding balances. SB 556 calls for a $125 million grant that would be funded from the current state budget surplus. With each bill, Hughes proposes directing $85 million to the School District of Philadelphia; $30 million to 134 school districts throughout the state with a significant number of students experiencing poverty; and $10 million to the remaining public schools in the state.
“We are in a position to fix a critical structural need and we cannot afford to lose this opportunity to provide thousands of teachers, students and school staffers with a healthy, safe environment each day,” Hughes said. “The investments I am proposing would help fund the critical maintenance and repair and provide those conditions. We must act now and repair the unhealthy and unsafe conditions for the future of our students and our education system.”
-- Staff Writer Hughes introduces bill to raise $85 million for immediate school repairs in Philly-- Philadelphia Public School thenotebook Pennsylvania: May 29, 2019 [ abstract] Pennsylvania State Sen. Vincent Hughes has introduced legislation that would raise $85 million for repairs to Philadelphia school buildings. The money would come either from unused money in state special programs or from a surplus in the general fund.
Hughes made the announcement Wednesday morning with the Fund Our Facilities Coalition, made up of state and city legislators and union members, at Richard Wright Elementary School.
“We are in a position to fix a critical structural need, and we cannot afford to lose this opportunity to provide thousands of teachers, students, and school staffers with a healthy, safe environment each day,” Hughes said. “The investments I am proposing would help fund the critical maintenance and repair and provide those conditions. We must act now and repair the unhealthy and unsafe conditions for the future of our students and our education system.”
Hughes (D-Philadelphia) is proposing a $125 million package. Of that, $85 million would go to Philadelphia, where the coalition has estimated that it will take $170 million to make all District schools free from lead paint, asbestos, and other immediate health hazards. Of the remainder, $30 million would go to 134 high-poverty school districts and $10 million would be split among other districts.
-- Staff Writer 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 Children can't learn in a bad environment. Duval County PS explains massive building maintenance backlog-- CBS47 Florida: May 14, 2019 [ abstract] The Duval County School District says funding cuts led to a nearly $2 billion shortfall that's needed to renovate the oldest schools in the state.
Action News Jax told you last week when DCPS passed a half-cent sales tax proposal to fix the aging schools.
Now they need help from Mayor Lenny Curry and City Council to make this special election happen in November.
More than $200 million is needed to pay for a massive maintenance backlog.
Parents wanted to know how we got to this point — Action News Jax Courtney Cole went to the school district for answers.
"Children can't learn in a bad environment where a school is decaying. They need to take care of it,” said Annette Defeo.
Defeo told Cole she just moved here from New Jersey.
When Cole explained the half-cent sales tax proposal to Defeo, she said if it means helping the kids, bring it on!
-- Courtney Cole K-12 advocates join calls for infrastructure spending-- Journal Star Illinois: May 14, 2019 [ abstract] SPRINGFIELD — A group of K-12 education representatives on Tuesday added to the chorus of calls for a statewide capital infrastructure bill that goes beyond road and bridge projects.
At a Capitol press event, the group detailed infrastructure needs at school districts across the state, appearing in front of poster boards with images of outdated and dilapidated Illinois school facilities. They did not, however, give any suggestions as to how the revenue for capital infrastructure projects could be raised.
“I think our role is to show that the need exists across the state pretty widespread, and then show the most effective and efficient ways that we could use the money to enhance educational opportunities,” said Brent Clark, executive director of the Illinois Association of School Administrators. “I think our big job is to rely on the General Assembly to determine the revenues to fund a capital bill.”
In a budget proposal packet distributed by Gov. JB Pritzker in January, K-12 deferred maintenance needs were estimated at $9.3 billion. The state has not passed a capital projects bill since 2009.
Superintendents at the news conference detailed 100-year-old buildings, excessive use of mobile classrooms and crumbling facilities that schools don’t have the funding to correct.
Brian Ganan, superintendent of Komarek School District 94 in North Riverside, said his district’s building was constructed in 1936 and has significant infrastructure issues.
-- Jerry Nowicki Grants will assess, repair Grant County schools-- Blue Mountain Eagle Oregon: May 07, 2019 [ abstract] Four Grant County schools were recently awarded Technical Assistance Program grants from Oregon Department of Education’s Office of School Facilities.
Three of the grants assess deferred maintenance issues for school buildings and a fourth determines if seismic upgrades are needed.
Prairie City, Monument, Grant and Dayville school districts received word on March 14 they’d received the TAP grants.
Prairie City School District was also recently awarded a $2.5 million grant from the state’s Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program.
Monument School District
Monument received three TAP grants, including a Facilities Assessment grant for $20,000, which addresses the current physical condition of the buildings and determines needed renovations; a Long-Range Facility Plan grant for $25,000 to prepare for the future; and a Seismic Assessment grant for $25,000 to determine the condition of district buildings to withstand a significant earthquake.
-- Angel Carpenter How a new school facility can improve learning-- MultBriefs - Exclusive New Hampshire: May 06, 2019 [ abstract] "The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It’s about what you are made of, not the circumstances." Years ago, as a high school math teacher, this quote was displayed in my classroom as a way to remind my students that, regardless of their circumstances and their environment, they could overcome adversity and succeed.
In life, we make do with the hand that is dealt to us. We find a way to exploit our strengths to compensate for our differences. Yet, for all the promise of a positive outlook when dealing with shortcomings in life, the reality is that sometimes an upgrade can go a long way towards changing one’s promise for a better future.
In America, there are nearly 100,000 public and charter schools scattered across our 50 states. They represent a combined 6.6 billion gross square feet of instructional space, sitting on over 1 million acres of land.
According to this report back in 2011, school districts had an estimated $271 billion of deferred building and grounds maintenance in their schools, excluding administrative facilities, which averaged $4,883 per student. Having an adequate facility for schooling matters.
Inadequate space can lead to other unintended problems, such as lost instructional time due to building closures because of poor indoor air quality, mold, water leaks, or other similar issues.
The middle school in my New Hampshire school district had to close its 8th grade classroom wing for an entire calendar year when a heavy snow load compromised the roof structure. Classrooms had to be relocated to other district facilities, causing major disruption to all involved.
-- Brian Stack 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 Juneau city manager warns of property tax hikes if state ends school bond debt reimbursement-- KTOO Public Media Alaska: April 30, 2019 [ abstract] Shifting costs for school maintenance debt could result in an increase in property taxes in many communities, and the City and Borough of Juneau is not happy about it.
The Alaska Legislature is debating potential cuts to school bond debt the state has historically paid for.
Juneau City Manager Rorie Watt explained at a committee meeting of the Juneau Assembly on Monday that Juneau may owe up to $23 million more than planned if the state decides to stop paying its portion of debt for school infrastructure permanently.
The city would have to pay $7.1 million this year alone.
“So we don’t know on funding of school debt if we’re going to get the House version, the governor’s version, the Senate version. And we don’t know if it’s this fiscal year, every fiscal year moving forward,” Watt said.
Watt said that if the state decides to shift the costs onto municipalities, Juneau residents can expect to see local property taxes increase between 4.5%-14% over the next several years.
Watt and other municipal leaders across Alaska have accused the state of reneging on its commitment to fund up to 70% of school bond debt.
“We want to make the best financial decision in the way that’s the least impactful to our taxpayers and citizens, but we don’t know if the state is going to honor that program,” Watt said.
-- Adelyn Baxter How crumbling school facilities perpetuate inequality -- Phi Delta Kappan National: April 29, 2019 [ abstract] With Congress and the president pledging to address America’s long-term infrastructure needs, the challenges of maintaining school facilities are gaining more visibility. It is about time, too, because our public school facility infrastructure needs significant upgrading. The average public school building was built around 1968 — more than 50 years ago — and the National Center for Education Statistics reports that half of all public schools in the United States need at least one major facility repair (Alexander & Lewis, 2014). The American Society of Civil Engineers (2017) gave our public K-12 infrastructure a quality grade of D+ on their 2017 Infrastructure Report Card.
However, despite tremendous needs, many of our schools lack the funds to renovate or modernize their obsolete and crumbling facilities. The State of Our Schools 2016 report documents a $38-billion-per-year shortfall on capital investments for public school construction and an additional $8-billion gap in maintenance and operations spending (Filardo, 2016). This spending gap has worsened in recent years. States and localities cut capital spending for elementary and secondary schools nationally by nearly $21 billion, or 26%, between fiscal years 2008 and 2016, after adjusting for inflation (Leachman, 2018).
How the condition of school buildings affects education
The Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education stated in a 2014 Dear Colleague letter that:
Structurally sound and well-maintained schools can help students feel supported and valued. Students are generally better able to learn and remain engaged in instruction, and teachers are better able to do their jobs, in well-maintained classrooms that are well-lit, clean, spacious, and heated and air-conditioned as needed. In contrast, when classrooms are too hot, too cold, overcrowded, dust-filled, or poorly ventilated, students and teachers suffer.
Decades of research confirm that the conditions and qualities of school facilities affect students, teachers, and overall academic achievement. In their review of the peer-reviewed literature, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health conclude that “the evidence is unambiguous — the school building influences student health, thinking, and performance” (Eitland et al., 2017).
-- Mary Filardo, Jeffrey M. Vincent, and Kevin J. Sul Houston Middle School won't open for years due to earthquake damage, officials say-- KTUU Alaska: April 26, 2019 [ abstract] HOUSTON, Alaska (KTUU) - Houston Middle School, hit by the massive earthquake that shook Southcentral at the end of November, was left too unsafe to use, and now school officials say it will remain closed for two or three years due to the damage.
According to Mike Brown, the director of operations and maintenance at the Mat-Su Borough School District, the school won't re-open for students for several years, and discussed the options on how it will happen.
Right now they are looking at two timelines for completion, either December of 2021 or August of 2022. These dates were presented at a meeting on Thursday as the two most likely timelines for having kids reoccupy what is Houston Middle School.
RELATED: Houston Middle School looking at a potential $35 million replacement price tag
"We've worked with the Borough to do a comprehensive assessment," said Dr. Monica Goyette, MSBSD superintendent. "And a few weeks ago, we received the assessment, and want to let the community know what results of that were."
-- Beth Verge Roof projects a priority as school board reviews budget-- JDNews.com North Carolina: April 26, 2019 [ abstract] With another hurricane season approaching, Onslow County Board of Education members focused on the need to replace aging roofs on school buildings as they discussed the capital outlay budget proposal for the upcoming year.
The board reviewed a $3.8 million proposal for school building projects that includes roofing work and replacement at five schools, including Richlands High School, Southwest High School, Sand Ridge Elementary School and Swansboro Middle School.
“All these roofs are past their life expectancy; these are probably the worst,” said Onslow County Schools maintenance Director Dusty Oliver.
But with 20 schools that have roof work needed in the near future, board members said they want to see a list of the most critical projects in case there are other projects that need to be addressed sooner rather than later.
After Hurricane Florence, the school district has seen the significant damage that can happen when there is a breach or damage to roofs.
“If we have another hurricane in September, what roof, what major system would fail?” school board member Jeff Hudson asked.
With painting and other interior projects in the proposal the board said they want to make sure the roofs can protect the interior of the schools.
“We don’t want to do the inside stuff if the roof is not in good shape,” Board Chairwoman Pam Thomas said.
-- Jannette Pippin When school districts can’t raise funds for facilities-- The Hechinger Report Kansas: April 22, 2019 [ abstract] EFFINGHAM, Kan. — In 2014, a cash-strapped school district in rural northeast Kansas turned to its residents with a plea: Pay a little more in taxes annually so we can renovate classrooms, update the wiring and give students better spaces to learn.
Voters rejected the measure by a margin of 54 to 46 percent. While disappointing, the results were hardly surprising to the district’s leaders. Unified School District 377 has tried — and failed — to pass measures for capital construction five times in 18 years. The last successful school bond campaign was in 1974.
Since then, maintenance problems have compounded. One snowy morning this January, the 26-year-old boiler in the district’s central office building, which also houses the preschool and kindergarten classes, sputtered to a stop. Replacing it would cost as much as $50,000, said Superintendent Andrew Gaddis, who has been in the position for about 18 months. The best-case scenario would be an affordable patch job that would last through the winter, buying the school board a little more time.
“We’ll have to find the money somewhere,” said Gaddis in his office later that month, sporting a small blue and gold “Kansans Can” pin on the lapel of his blazer. “Any teacher will tell you kids can’t learn if they’re not comfortable.”
-- Emily Richmond NEW PLANS FOR OLD MULDOWN SCHOOL PROMPT PUBLIC DISMAY-- Daily Inter Lake Montana: April 18, 2019 [ abstract] New plans for the current Muldown Elementary School that would convert the gymnasium into a maintenance facility instead of preserving it for sports practices and activities have some school staff, parents and community members scratching their heads.
The Whitefish School District is constructing a new school building, but part of that larger project also includes retaining the kindergarten wing and the gymnasium in the current building, while the rest of the school would be demolished.
Dow Powell, owner’s representative for the school district on the construction of the new Muldown building, last week presented the plan to the Whitefish School Board April 9, saying the gym area of the current building would be converted to a maintenance and receiving area, replacing the current receiving and maintenance buildings that are adjacent to the Whitefish High School track.
Those buildings could be demolished in the future as part of a proposed new stadium at the high school.
“The proposal was to keep the kindergarten wing, button things off, keep it warm and keep it alive for a future use — maybe extra classrooms for overfilling classes,” Powell said. “That is going to be a pretty nice and easy fix.”
Several parents and teachers spoke against the proposal during public comment, noting a desire to keep the gym for youth and high school sports practices.
Dana Grove, a first-grade teacher at Muldown, noted how the conversation about the gym came after a presentation on the district’s extracurricular involvement.
“I think it’s interesting that we had this great discussion about activities and how 85 percent of our kids are in all these activities and we have all these growing needs and we’re going to eliminate a gymnasium in Whitefish,” she said.
-- DANIEL MCKAY DOE Lays Out A 10-year ‘Road Map’ For Fixing Old Schools, Building New Ones-- Honolulu Civil Beat Hawaii: April 17, 2019 [ abstract] Hawaii Department of Education officials are hoping a new statewide facilities master plan will persuade lawmakers to provide more money for maintaining and renovating aging public schools and building new facilities.
Extensive and wide-ranging, the master plan lays out an exhaustive list of 1,300 desired capital improvement projects across all 261 DOE campuses.
It was published late last week on a website managed by Jacobs Engineering Group, an outside firm commissioned by the DOE to conduct the study.
The estimated total price tag for “top priority” projects, such as additional classroom space to account for overcrowding or basic repair and maintenance to make schools safer, is $7 billion, according to the 309-page report. That figure rises to $11 billion when accounting for all levels of priorities.
Under the DOE’s current approximately $300 million annual CIP allocation from the Legislature, those “Priority 1” projects — which include the “highest, non-negotiable needs” identified in each area of Hawaii — would take 23 years to address.
-- Suevon Lee Hammond releases results from 2nd round of school lead testing-- Chicago Tribune Indiana: April 17, 2019 [ abstract] The School City of Hammond released results from a second round of lead testing on Tuesday.
It found 32 of the 115 water sources originally flagged last summer again had lead levels above 15 parts per billion — the EPA’s action threshold.
None, however, are drinking fountains currently in use. Those were taken out of service last August, officials said.
Those fountains are in the process of being fixed or permanently kept out of service, Buildings and maintenance Director James Burggraf said during a school board meeting. Affected kitchen sinks and other water sources were labeled “do not drink.” Large drinking water dispensers were provided to each school.
All 14 buildings tested were built before 1986 — when building codes first banned the use of lead components in parts of the water supply system, he said.
New results found 12 places flagged at Morton High School, followed by eight at Columbia Elementary, five at Clark High School, 5, and two at Miller Pre-K.
Lafayette Elementary, Scott Middle School, the Area Career Center, and the administration and maintenance buildings each had one.
No raised lead levels were found at Franklin, Lincoln Elementary, Gavit, Hammond High, or the transportation building, according to Burggraf’s presentation.
Trustee Carlotta Blake-King asked why Lew Wallace and Maywood elementaries and Eggers Middle School weren’t included.
-- Meredith Colias-Pete CCSD approaching event horizon for school maintenance repairs-- Las Vegas Sun Nevada: April 14, 2019 [ abstract] For homebuyers who like vintage houses, there’s nothing quite like coming across one that’s been lovingly maintained.
Otherwise, headaches can abound in the form of Frankensteined wiring, wheezy air conditioners, rust-eaten plumbing and other problems that can quickly wreck a budget.
Old school buildings are no different, and that’s a major problem for the Clark County School District. As pointed out in a top-to-bottom study of the district’s operations last year, CCSD hasn’t had an overall plan for predictive, preventive or routine maintenance for its 360 school buildings. Rather, the district has simply been addressing problems as they’ve occurred.
The result: CCSD is facing $6 billion in deferred maintenance costs. And in the meantime, far too many Southern Nevada children are being educated in buildings where air conditioners go out, rainwater runs in through the roof and the plumbing goes bad.
To her credit, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., has partnered with a Republican colleague, Todd Young of Indiana, to introduce a bill that would help CCSD and districts nationwide deal with their infrastructure needs. The proposal, called the Public Buildings Renewal Act, would allow districts to enter into public-private partnerships to replace old buildings with new schools.
But while Cortez Masto’s bill might help CCSD make some progress, far more funding will be needed to catch up to the problem.
-- Editorial Newport News officials outline proposal to fund school maintenance projects-- Daily Press Virginia: April 12, 2019 [ abstract] The Newport News School Board and City Council plan to meet Tuesday to discuss two proposals to close the gap between the school division’s approved operating budget and the overall city spending plan.
The proposed city contribution to the division’s budget next year includes $110.9 million in the general fund — the amount the city provided in the current budget — and just under $10 million in debt service for payments on school construction projects.
The general fund falls about $2.4 million short of the school division’s funding request to operate the 27,000-student school system for the fiscal year that starts in July.
The school division’s budget, without any cuts made from not receiving more city funding, comes in at $315.7 million — $197.4 million from the state, $113.3 million from the city, $3.1 million from the federal government and $1.8 million from other revenue sources.
It’s $10.7 million, or 3.5% , more than the current year, most of which is due to an additional $8.7 million in state revenue.
-- Jane Hammond and Josh Reyes Wisconsin voters again improve spending increase for schools, but some large building projects rejected-- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Wisconsin: April 10, 2019 [ abstract] Wisconsin voters in April continued a years-long trend of approving higher spending on schools in local district referendums.
According to Wisconsin Policy Forum report, voters approved referendum questions totaling $783 million. Total borrowing requests on school district ballots statewide reached $1.2 billion, with voters turning down some of the largest individual ballot items.
Voters approved 45 of the 60 questions on this year's ballot.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum report shows a 15 percent drop in approval ratings compared to last year when voters said yes to 90% of referendums on the ballot. Even so, 2019 ranked as the third-highest approval year since revenue caps were created in the 1993-94 school year.
"To get large numbers like these, you probably need a lot of things to happen at once," said Jason Stein, research director at the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
Factors such as the economy and interest rates often indicate how the public will vote on school spending. A recent Marquette University Law School survey showed that voters felt it was more important to spend on schools than to lower property taxes.
Much of the support was found in increases for basic district operations, such as teacher salaries, school maintenance, transportation and classroom spending. Districts have said that state-imposed spending caps and Wisconsin's school funding formula have caused them to turn to local voters to approve higher spending.
-- Margaret Cannon Waist-deep water didn’t waste a school day-- Juneau Empire Alaska: April 08, 2019 [ abstract] The Marie Drake building was back in service Monday despite flooding Friday that forced students to the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaat.at Kalé auxiliary gym and sent others home.
Flooding, which created a waist-deep pool of standing water in the building’s boiler room, was apparently caused by a burst pipe, said Kristin Bartlett, City and Borough of Juneau School District chief of staff.
Bartlett said it took an impressive, coordinated and weekend-long effort to get the building that houses both Montessori Borealis and Yaakoosge Daakahidi Alternative High School ready for students by Monday.
“It was an amazing turnaround by our maintenance department,” Bartlett said. “They had a lot of people on duty, and they had a lot of support from the City and Borough of Juneau and AEL&P. They spent Saturday drying things out and Sunday making repairs.”
-- Ben Hohenstatt ‘Tough decisions’ await Albemarle School Board on capital projects-- The Daily Progress Virginia: March 31, 2019 [ abstract] The Albemarle County school division will be able to move forward with its next high school center under the county executive’s proposed capital budget for next year. However, “tough decisions” await board members on other projects, said Rosalyn Schmitt, the division’s chief operating officer.
The fiscal year 2020 capital budget provides $30.2 million for the high school center. Additionally, $529,000 will go toward ADA improvements at Western Albemarle High School and a softball field restroom facility.
The rest of the division’s $42.4 million allocation is slated for replacing school buses, school maintenance, technology and upgrading the telecommunications networks, among other items.
Schmitt said an additional $11.5 million earmarked for school improvement projects in fiscal year 2021 could be moved up if necessary.
The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the fiscal year 2020 budget on April 9 and is scheduled to adopt a budget on April 16.
As the budget process for the next fiscal year starts to wrap up, Schmitt said it’s unlikely the division will receive more than the $11.5 million for other school projects. How it will be spent still is undecided.
“The School Board has to tackle and prioritize that $11.5 million because the needs far outweigh that amount,” Schmitt said.
-- KATHERINE KNOTT Audit: poor accounting, mismanagement contributed to confusion over RPS capital funding-- Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia: March 28, 2019 [ abstract] Inaccurate books. Poor communication. Misused money.
All hampered city and schools officials during the past five years and contributed to confusion over the amount of construction and maintenance money available to Richmond Public Schools during last year’s budget process, according to a report issued this week by the city auditor.
The audit doesn’t match Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney’s description of a financial house in order at recent town halls where he’s selling a tax increase, thrusting the survival of his pitch to raise the real estate tax rate from $1.20 to $1.29 per $100 of assessed value further into question.
Most Richmond City Council members have said they won’t support the increase, but Stoney’s spending plan, including $19 million he has proposed for RPS maintenance projects such as HVAC and roof repair, depends on it.
Kimberly Gray, the 2nd District councilwoman and a frequent critic of Stoney, seized on the auditor’s findings as evidence that the city and school system hadn’t properly handled the money they already have.
“We cannot afford to have this level of waste and the lack of accountability,” Gray said.
Auditor Lou Lassiter’s analysis began at the council’s request after city and school officials clashed last year over how much remained in the school system’s maintenance and construction budget.
Council members thought RPS had a certain amount of money. The school system said it had far less. Months later, after purportedly balancing the books, Stoney’s administration announced different figures altogether.
-- Mark Robinson Buffalo schools take aim at controversial maintenance contract-- WIVB.com New York: March 25, 2019 [ abstract] BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - The era of the horse and buggy is something Buffalo students get to read about in their history books, but when it comes to maintaining school buildings and grounds, the old ways are as up to date as students' smartphones.
A practice in Buffalo Public Schools dating back to the 19th Century is still in place for hiring building engineers to keep each schools clean and in good condition. At the same time, the engineers also receive generous stipends, as independent contractors to hire custodians, and buy whatever supplies and equipment are necessary to get the job done.
Buffalo Public Schools' Chief Financial Officer Geoffrey Pritchard said on average, the engineers receive a base salary of about 45,000 dollars a year, and receive an annual stipend of $300,000 depending on certain factors.
Any money that is not spent, Pritchard said, the engineers get to keep, but there is little to no accounting for how the money is used.
"We don't know whether the amounts that they receive really correspond to the facility that they have because some of it is opaque, we don't actually see that."
The engineers are members of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 409, and Pritchard said the union contends the engineers do not have to account for how the money is spent, "Contractually they have never been required to provide that information to us."
-- Al Vaughters A look inside Greenport School as district prepares Capital Improvement Plan-- The Suffolk Times New York: March 22, 2019 [ abstract] 1,600 cracked floor tiles.
That’s a portion of what the Greenport Union Free School District’s proposed $27.1 million bond project, or Capital Improvement Plan, would fix. The project, first proposed last February, would transform and refurbish multiple parts of the school.
Three options are currently in play for the project. A second option would eliminate funding for a turf field and lower the bond cost to $24.9 million. A third option would also eliminate field repairs and tennis court repairs and cost $22.2 million.
The Suffolk Times conducted a guided building walk-through with Superintendent David Gamberg and maintenance mechanic Charles Mosher to review the physical parts of the school that require updates.
At previous school board meetings, some community members criticized the district for not being explicit enough on where the bond money would go. The plan would raise the tax levy a minimum of roughly $410 for the average Greenport homeowner, based on the third option of $22.2 million.
The majority of the money for the project will be generated by bond sales. An additional $25,000 will be appropriated from the Capital Reserve Fund.
-- Kate Nalepinski 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 CCSD's billion dollar maintenance backlog: Can Washington help?-- 3 News Las Vegas Nevada: March 19, 2019 [ abstract] LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Something’s in the air, and Cinnamon can smell it.
She's the pot-bellied pig at Mabel Hoggard Elementary, a math-science magnet, that also has chickens and vegetables and a lot of cool learning.
The reason the school choir was singing, was a U.S. Senator came here with the Superintendent.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada visited the school, along with the head of CCSD, Dr. Jesus Jara and Trustee Linda Young.
They're here at this school, parts of which are 67 years old, to talk about the unglamorous but essential topic of deferred maintenance.The senator is co-sponsoring a bill that would spend $100 billion to help districts like our's keep their schools from crumbling.
The “Rebuild America’s Schools Act” would offer districts direct grants and school construction bonds over the next decade to repair and modernize their facilities.
“It really is an investment in the infrastructure of our schools across the country, and I want to make sure here in Nevada we are primed and ready to go after that money,” Cortez Masto told me.
CCSD sure needs it.
In five years, 68% of its 338 campuses will be 20 years or older.
It has a deferred maintenance backlog of $6 billion, and the superintendent says that it’s so big, Washington needs to help.
“Every single student deserves a high-quality instructional facility,” says Dr. Jara.
CCSD faces a maintenance backlog, according to the District, because it continues to grow by leaps-and-bounds, now with more than 320,000 students.
Legislation passed in 2015 allowed the district to borrow up to $4.1 billion over ten years for maintenance and construction, but even that is being stretched by the ever-growing needs of a growing school system.
-- Jeff Gillan Orleans school district wants to shift $10 million from facilities to academics, requiring change to state law-- The Lens Louisiana: March 19, 2019 [ abstract] The Orleans Parish School Board’s legal committee on Tuesday took no stance on the district’s request to redirect $10 milion from a fund used for facility repairs to academics. The move would require a change to a 2014 law that dedicates the money solely for school facilities.
Their decision came after two former district facility department employees criticized the district’s proposal, citing the need to keep post-Katrina facility investments and repairs working well. The district’s proposal is one of 10 priorities in its proposed agenda for the upcoming state legislative session. The committee chose not to take a position on the proposal, instead moving it to the full board’s Thursday meeting without a recommendation.
The district’s proposal is to shift $10 million from the school facilities preservation fund to schools, special education and a “system-wide needs fund.” The proposal states it will continue to deliver the $35 million it promised in 2014 to facility maintenance and repair. But not everyone agrees with that interpretation.
“The board did not commit to $35 million a year; you committed to the funds that would be generated,” former district facility head Ken Ducote said.
Ducote now leads the Greater New Orleans Collaborative of Charter Schools. He was initially cut off at two minutes, as is customary for public speakers. A board member allowed him to finish speaking.
-- Marta Jewson Senate backs interim committee on school construction, maintenance-- Idaho Press Idaho: March 19, 2019 [ abstract] The Senate just voted 26-7 in favor of a resolution to set up an interim committee to study Idaho’s methodologies for public school construction and maintenance in Idaho, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Winder, R-Boise, said is a continuing problem that the three years of study of Idaho’s school funding formula didn’t address, because it wasn’t within that panel’s purview. Idaho requires school district patrons to vote by a two-thirds supermajority to raise their own property taxes to pass a bond to build a new school. Voters also must approve tax levies for facilities improvement and maintenance.
-- Betsy Russell Tulsa Public Schools heats up maintenance efforts while preparing for hiring search-- KJRH.com Oklahoma: March 18, 2019 [ abstract] TULSA, Okla. — Steve Gilford started working as an electrician at Tulsa Public Schools back when he was 18.
Spring break is a time to tackle the many projects that stack up throughout the year, which can be anything from fixing lights to air conditioning.
"I take great pride in what I do as far as making a great environment for the kids and the teachers and the staff. We really enjoy our jobs," Gilford said.
This comes as the district makes a push for hiring. There are six maintenance openings now, but staff expect many more by the summer, and it's competitive.
"We find that there is a huge demand in the Tulsa area alone. A lot of companies out there are looking for people with licensed skills in everything from carpentry to painters to electricians to plumbers and HVAC mechanics," TPS maintenance manager Jason Coan said.
On an average year, the maintenance team tackles more than 40,000 work orders. Now they're looking to train the next generation as many plan to retire in the years to come.
"They know what the environment is, they know what they're looking at, they've lived it day to day. We'd really like those people to come in with a fresh set of eyes to work with us, to learn about our skills and our trades and a great opportunity to show what Tulsa Public Schools can do for the community," Coan said.
-- Megan Allison 14 Bend-La Pine schools had leaks after snow-- The Bulletin Oregon: March 16, 2019 [ abstract] Fourteen schools with recently renovated and aging roofs suffered leaks throughout Bend for the past two weeks after a record snowfall, but all leaks were repaired by Thursday for less than $500, according to Bend-La Pine Schools.
The district first heard a leak complaint March 4, and district maintenance crews repaired each leak as soon as they heard about it, according to Dan Dummitt, Bend-La Pine Schools maintenance director. He confirmed in an email that most of these leaks are new problems, not repeat offenders from the last major Bend snowstorm in 2017.
Most of the leaks were caused by ice dams, barriers that form after heavy rooftop snow melts due to interior heat, then refreezes. This causes ice and water to back up and leak into the building.
Many schools had leaks in classrooms, according to district spokeswoman Julianne Repman. Ponderosa, Juniper and Bear Creek elementary schools each had leaks in one classroom, and Summit and Mountain View high schools had about three classrooms with dripping ceilings. The other areas with leaks were Cascade Middle School’s gym, Highland Elementary’s interior courtyard windows, Amity Creek’s principal’s office, a kitchen window at Elk Meadow Elementary, a skylight in Pacific Crest Middle School, Buckingham Elementary’s library, RE Jewell Elementary’s back entryway, Ensworth Elementary’s staff lunchroom, and the track shed at Mountain View High School.
-- Jackson Hogan 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 Gary Purington retiring as RSU 16 school maintenance director-- Sun Journal Maine: March 10, 2019 [ abstract] MECHANIC FALLS — For 38 years Gary Purington got up at 4 in the morning, was at school by 5, and worked 10- to 12-hour days – often longer.
“Gary knows every inch of the elementary (school) buildings . . . and that knowledge has been a labor of love for Gary,” said Mary Martin, former teacher and principal at Elm Street School in Mechanic Falls and chairwoman of the Regional School Unit board of directors.
Scott Penney, Public Works director for Mechanic Falls, added, “His whole life was the school. Seven days a week. Morning, noon, night, whatever.”
Purington, maintenance supervisor for RSU 16’s three elementary schools in Mechanic Falls, Minot and Poland, is retiring Friday.
The man who spent most of his career at Elm Street School calls his time maintaining the schools “self-inflicted hours.” All those hours of dedication did not go unnoticed.
Purington said a teacher at Elm Street School approached him recently and said, “You’re the last of the icons at the school here.”
-- ERIKS PETERSONS Small tax, big return: Education facilities tax has benefit of tapping out-of-state workers-- Daily News-Miner Alaska: March 10, 2019 [ abstract] News-Miner opinion: Alaska has a substantial amount of maintenance and construction needs at its K-12 schools and at University of Alaska campuses. The state is also a bit short of revenue right now, as most everyone is probably aware of following the release last month of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s stripped-down budget proposal for the next fiscal year.
So how can Alaska raise a bit of money to help pay for this needed care and construction?
Republican Sen. Click Bishop, of Fairbanks, has proposed an annual $30 employment tax, with the revenue to be deposited in the educational facilities maintenance and construction fund. Money deposited into that account is contained within the general fund and can be used by the Legislature for any purpose, but the intent is that the money in that pot be used to improve education facilities. School districts would have to provide some level of matching funds to receive money from the account.
The head tax is a good idea.
And what makes this idea so good is that this education facilities tax would be imposed on all employees, including those who are self-employed and those who are nonresidents.
Getting those nonresidents to help out is the big draw of Sen. Bishop’s bill.
Alaska has thousands of out-of-state workers, as Sen. Bishop notes in the bill’s sponsor statement:
-- Opinion Despite outside help, DeKalb Schools slow to fix maintenance backlog-- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: March 09, 2019 [ abstract] Three years ago, the DeKalb County School District agreed to pay SCC Service Solutions $5.4 million a year to help resolve a backlog of thousands of maintenance requests each month from schools across the district.
Despite spending more than $11 million with the vendor, the district still can’t keep up with the need. At the end of January, more than 3,300 outstanding requests remained to address issues such as dripping faucets, bad odors, cold rooms and missing bathroom stall doors across the county’s 137 schools.
“Very frustrating,” said Elia Kelley, whose daughter attends Dunwoody Elementary School, where she said the bathrooms went without soap for months before the problem was highlighted in an article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last fall.
When school district officials issued the request to contract with SSC Service Solutions in 2016, they portrayed the move as part of the district’s efforts to decentralize maintenance efforts to “continually improve operational efficiencies and provide for a safe, clean and well managed environment for students, faculty and parents.”
-- Marlon A. Walker My Turn, Tim Williams: Why target small communities in school closures?-- Salisbury Post North Carolina: March 06, 2019 [ abstract] For 91 years, teachers, many of whom were residents of Faith, nurtured, mentored, encouraged, loved and taught each and every child that came their way.
Since 1928, many children from Faith and the surrounding community have obtained a quality education that prepared them for their lives ahead. School test scores prove that Faith students are learning and teachers continue to do an excellent job.
Since its beginning in 1928, Faith school became and has continued to be the heartbeat of the little town. The school sits geographically in the center of the town. The sound of children playing during the school day can be heard all over the town. The flag waving at the entrance of the school can be seen from many vantage points. This is Faith school, our community school.
During 2018, a rather large group of Rowan County’s citizens all came together at the request of the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education and Superintendent Lynn Moody to discuss the possible consolidation of some of the county’s schools. The group was to make recommendations to the board as to the best way to go about this huge task. The school closings were said to be necessary in order to sew up the bleeding arteries that were draining the school dry in terms of school upkeep and maintenance dollars. It was said that it took an average of $153,123 per school per year in maintenance needs, or $5.35 million per year for the system. The task force put together a three-tier consolidation plan.
-- Opinion - Tim Williams San Diego Unified To Improve Maintenance Process After Heating System Outage-- kpbs California: March 06, 2019 [ abstract] The San Diego Unified School District is improving how it addresses and communicates around maintenance issues after it took more than four weeks to fully resolve a heating system outage at a school in City Heights.
The outage that began in late January affected 15 classrooms at Monroe Clark Middle School. The school provided portable heaters while it worked to fix the problem, which was resolved on Feb. 21, but a teacher told KPBS some classroom temperatures reached the low 50s. The school also offered instructors the opportunity to move to a warmed space during the outage but none chose to relocate.
In a March 1 memo to the school board, Superintendent Cindy Marten said the outage was linked to inaccurate breaker settings for a newly installed heating and air conditioning system, which required communication among multiple parties, including a subcontractor. She said after examining its response to the issue the district plans to better review newly installed equipment.
That includes the way maintenance of new systems are handed off from a contractor to district staff, which is known as commissioning.
-- Tarryn Mento APS may divert $3M for maintenance costs-- Albuquerque Journal New Mexico: March 05, 2019 [ abstract] ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque Public Schools, one of the largest school districts in the country, with nearly 145 schools and over 80,000 students, now has a financial plan to maintain facilities for another year after voters recently rejected the mill levy/bond package that included maintenance money for the district.
But APS higher-ups Scott Elder, chief operations officer, and Tami Coleman, chief finance officer, anticipate that up to $3 million will have to be tapped from the operational fund – the pot of money that pays for things such as teacher and staff salaries, and day-to-day expenses.
Voters rejected APS’ entire mill levy/bond package last month in a special, mail-in election.
One of the measures would have resulted in $30 million a year for maintenance and equipment, and would not have raised taxes. Since voters didn’t approve it, APS is having to make do with the current mill levy funding that is still trickling in. That was approved by voters in 2013, but will run out by July 1.
-- SHELBY PEREA Taking a look at the poorest school district in Texas-- The Wichita Eagle Texas: March 04, 2019 [ abstract] QUINLAN, TEXAS
When Superintendent Graham Sweeney arrived at the Boles Independent School District 33 years ago, school buildings were crumbling. Teachers taught two grade levels at a time. One hundred fifty-six students were enrolled.
The Austin American-Statesman reports the Boles district, 50 miles northeast of Dallas, collected the least local property tax revenue per student of any district in the state. Boles still ranks last by that measure, but education there has improved dramatically, thanks to the state's school finance system, that, for all of its flaws, has lifted up the poorest school districts in the state.
"When I first came here as a superintendent, we didn't have a maintenance director or anything, so I ordered — and it was a big deal — $7.77 of nuts and bolts ... and put it in my closet and about $20 worth of tools. I helped mow at the time. Buying a mower for $600 was a big deal," Sweeney said. "We were just scraping by. There were times we were in the red, and we wondered how we could keep going."
Poor districts like Boles sued the state and won in 1989, creating a system aimed at equalizing the wide disparity in local property tax revenue by shifting tax revenue from property-rich districts to help property-poor districts. The process is called recapture, but it is often colloquially referred to as Robin Hood.
-- JULIE CHANG Waterford High School District to ask voters for $9.9M for maintenance, upgrades-- The Journal Times Wisconsin: March 03, 2019 [ abstract] WATERFORD — Nearly 20 years after voters last approved borrowing via a referendum, the Waterford High School District Board is asking voters on April 2 to authorize financing $9.9 million for needed infrastructure work at the school.
This referendum follows two failed attempts in 2016 and 2017 to get voter approval for $12.21 million in borrowing to fund a new fieldhouse.
This time, the referendum spending is set to include what district officials call crucial updates to building infrastructure like roof replacements, milling and repaving of existing parking lots and the addition of 200 parking spaces as well as the replacement of outdated furnaces and cooling systems.
Those in opposition to the fieldhouse said the building was not necessary, but School Board President Don Engler said that lack of need is not a valid argument this time.
“These are not wants, they are needs of the district,” he said.
Engler said the school has more than 10 levels of roofs that are leaking.
“Right now we have buckets in hallways, so we had to do something,” he said.
-- CAITLIN SIEVERS Does the state’s school building reimbursement formula hurt poor cities and towns?-- MASS Live Massachusetts: March 01, 2019 [ abstract] A formula created in 2004 to ensure the state was giving poor cities and towns enough help building new schools includes a quirk that some say is now hurting the same communities it was meant to help.
“It perpetuates inequity,” said state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, who introduced a bill to change the formula.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority provides state funding for school building projects that is matched with money from cities and towns.
The state covers between 40 percent and 80 percent of eligible construction costs. The size of the state match is calculated based on a formula that reflects how poor the community is — so poorer communities get more money.
The state funding does not cover the full percentage of construction costs because certain expenses are ineligible for reimbursement, like legal fees or asbestos removal. There is also a cap on the total amount the state is willing to pay per square foot, which is virtually always lower than the actual cost.
So, an 80 percent reimbursement rate generally means that around 62 percent of costs are actually covered.
The program also allows communities to apply for “incentive points,” which raise the size of the state match. Districts get points for things like building energy efficient facilities, regionalizing a school district, renovating existing buildings or adopting best practices for maintenance.
-- Shira Schoenberg Consultant: Greenwich school district lacks policies for managing projects-- Greenwich Time Connecticut: February 27, 2019 [ abstract] GREENWICH — When Interim Superintendent Ralph Mayo walked into his new office last July 15, his chief operating officer told him point-blank that the school district has few systems in place to manage capital projects.
That was because earlier that month, members of the town’s finance department discovered that work had started to replace the roof at Julian Curtiss School without the funding in place to pay for it.
An interim appropriation for $617,000 was rushed through the Board of Education, the Board of Estimate and Taxation and the Representative Town Meeting. As the request made its way through the process, town officials asked how such a misstep could have occurred.
Together, the BOE and the BET asked blumshapiro, a consulting firm, to investigate how the district manages maintenance work and capital projects.
The boards got their answer Tuesday night. The school district has no policies outlining to staff how to open, manage and close projects; no checklists to hold them accountable; no software to keep track of progress; and little understanding of their financial management software, MUNIS, the consultants said.
“We had hoped to see policies, procedures and a protocol manual,” blumshapiro partner Jeff Ziplow said. “That does not exist. The way things are tracked right now — manual notebooks, Excel spreadsheets — there is nothing centralized. There is no consistency across all projects. There are no governing standards in place.”
-- Jo Kroeker some pennies are more equal than others: inequitable school facilities investment in san antonio, texas-- EPAA/AAPE Texas: February 25, 2019 [ abstract] In Texas, local taxpayers fund the majority of educational facilities construction and maintenance costs, with local wealth influencing facilities outcomes. The traditional school districts that comprise the predominantly Latino and segregated San Antonio area vary considerably in property wealth as well as district capacity and expertise. We conducted an analysis of 12 San Antonio area school districts to address the questions: 1) To what extent do state and local investments vary by district? 2) How do district actions and constraints affect facilities quality and equitable investment? Methods include descriptive quantitative analysis of facilities investment data and qualitative interviews with school district leaders, staff, and school finance experts. Examining Texas school finance data demonstrated the variance in school district investments in educational facilities. Despite some districts with lower property wealth exerting higher levels of tax effort, they were able to raise less money per student for educational facilities through interest and sinking taxes. Interview findings revealed that several districts acknowledge lacking the capacity to maintain high-quality facilities for all students. Respondents frequently criticized current state policies and funding for educational facilities as inadequate, inequitable, and inefficient and expressed a need for policy improvements in an era of increasing state disinvestment.
-- Marialena D. Rivera, Sonia Rey Lopez Terry L. Stoops: Addressing school facilities needs requires fresh ideas-- News & Record North Carolina: February 20, 2019 [ abstract] On Feb. 12, Sharon Contreras, superintendent of Guilford County Schools, appeared before the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor to discuss teacher compensation and school facilities.
She offered sobering statistics on the age and condition of school buildings and the investment needed to address longstanding school renovation and maintenance needs.
While all agreed that massive school capital needs exist, there was little consensus on how to address them.
In 2016, the Statewide Facility Needs Survey indicated that North Carolina had $8.1 billion in immediate school capital needs. In her testimony, Dr. Contreras pointed out that a comprehensive facility study showed Guilford County Schools alone requires more than $1.5 billion to renovate or rebuild nearly half of the district’s 126 schools that were rated as unsatisfactory or in poor condition due to age and an $800 million deferred maintenance backlog.
These needs exist despite a $457 million bond approved by voters in 2008, an infusion of $44 million in recession-era federal funds, and annual allocations from the N.C. Education Lottery and Guilford County taxpayers.
In fact, district spending on capital expenditures is relatively high compared to other North Carolina districts. Over the last five years, Guilford County spent an average of $603 per student per year on capital outlay, the 22nd highest average capital expenditure in the state during that period.
Dr. Contreras urged Congress to support the Rebuild America’s Schools Act of 2017, a bill introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, chair of the Committee on Education and Labor. The legislation would create a $70 billion grant program and $30 billion tax credit bond program to be used for physical and digital infrastructure needs in high-poverty schools.
While $100 billion sounds sizeable, the United States has more than 100,000 public school facilities and at least $200 billion in facility needs.
-- Opinion - Terry L. Stoops School’s furnaces are stuck in the building-- Mount Desert Islander Maine: February 16, 2019 [ abstract] TREMONT — When the furnace at the elementary school here reaches the end of its useful life, it will require removing a wall to get it out of the school. Officials are saving up for that day.
“The only way to get it out is to go through a wall, a concrete wall to be precise,” Principal Jandrea True explained to selectmen recently during a budget presentation.
Within the boiler room on the rear side of the building are two furnaces, both 20 years old. There is just enough room to work around them between the concrete walls that surround them on two sides with pipes coming out of another and a staircase leading down into the room on the final side. A door, marked by an exit sign, leads from the room into a covered shed to the outside that has a door approximately three feet high.
“It’s not very efficient for a person to go in and out of, let alone a boiler,” said True at the select board meeting.
At the foot of the stairs a door leads from the room into another where four oil tanks sit, holding a total of 1200 gallons between them. During the winter season, the two furnaces burn an average of 12 gallons of oil an hour.
“They barely shut off,” said Bob Williams who has been head of maintenance at the school for six years. “They’re pretty much at the end of their life expectancy.”
Larger maintenance items have been addressed in the last few years with a contingency fund within the school budget. According to True, with the $25,000 added to this fund each year, there will be $100,000 in it at the start of July or fiscal year 2020.
Many of the long-term maintenance items were highlighted in a building assessment report conducted in 2015 by Sealander Architects.
-- Sarah Hinckley WFISD talks about future of school buildings and maintenance needs-- News Channel 6 Texas: February 15, 2019 [ abstract] Adding air conditioning and updating old classrooms to keep up with changing times are just a couple of the facility and maintenance upgrades multiple Wichita Falls ISD schools have had to undergo.
Director of maintenance Chris Fain and Executive Director of Operations Brady Woolsey said there are at least 5 schools that are almost 100 years old.
Classrooms have been added on to the existing structures of some of WFISD’s oldest school buildings. The district has also had to come up with other ways to deal with the rising number of students over the years.
“The growth of the school has needs and so we have to bring in portable buildings to some of our campuses,” Fain stated.
Fain also said his staff of maintenance workers are constantly tending to an average of 100 work orders a week.
There is always something to be fixed, especially in aging buildings that could have anything from cracks in the tiles or are in need of major roofing and pipeline repairs. This past year maintenance costs for the district reached about a million dollars.
Compared to newer buildings in the school district, some of WFISD’s older classrooms are smaller, around 600 square feet. “A newer building like Scotland Park or Southern Hills – most of those classrooms are 800 or close to 1000,” Fain said.
-- Camille Connor HVAC repairs contribute to rising RSS maintenance costs-- Salisbury Post North Carolina: February 12, 2019 [ abstract] SALISBURY — Rowan-Salisbury Schools received an extra $500,000 for facilities maintenance in the 2018-19 fiscal year, but the cost of maintaining aging schools is projected to produce expenses that top what’s budgeted.
Chief Financial Officer Carol Herndon made the announcement during Monday’s Board of Education work session as she talked about the upcoming year’s budget, saying, “It’s no surprise that the cost to maintain old and aging facilities is escalating.”
Specific numbers were not immediately available, but Herndon and Assistant Superintendent Anthony Vann said they’re working to understand exactly what’s producing the projected overage.
“It is still a big and concerning issue for us as a district that we are continuing to spend a lot of operating dollars in making our schools ready and able to be open for our students,” Herndon said. “I don’t know what it means for how we might go about budgeting for those dollars next year, but we haven’t seen the trend change this year.”
School board member Dean Hunter responded to the announcement by asking whether items on which maintenance money is being are in fact capital or long-term needs.
“At some point, we’re muddying the waters between the maintenance that’s needed and capital needs,” Hunter said. “I’ve been around long enough to know that we continue to hear, maybe not from our current commissioners, that, ‘All you ever do is ask for money.’”
-- Josh Bergeron Kamras lays out $21 million capital maintenance request for Richmond Public Schools-- Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia: February 12, 2019 [ abstract]
What will it cost to repair and maintain Richmond Public Schools’ facilities next year?
According to the capital spending plan that Superintendent Jason Kamras proposed to the Richmond School Board on Tuesday night at a budget work session: $21 million. The sum covers major capital projects — HVAC and roof repairs, security upgrades, and plumbing and electrical work — across the school division for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Kamras' proposal includes $1.25 million for new security cameras in schools; $1 million to enhance the school system’s wireless infrastructure; and $1 million for improvements to schools' bell and intercom systems.
At Tuesday’s session, the RPS administration provided a project-by-project breakdown of the proposed spending that requires School Board approval. The budget would direct dollars to two buildings the School Board had previously marked for replacement: George Wythe High in South Richmond and Woodville Elementary in the East End.
The schools were among five the board said it wanted to rebuild under the $225 million first phase of its long-term facilities plan. But neither was funded for construction through the 1.5 percentage-point meals tax increase that generated $150 million for school construction when it kicked in last year.
About $140 million from the tax increase paid for the construction of three new schools: a new middle school on Hull Street Road, a new George Mason Elementary School in the East End and a new Greene Elementary School in South Richmond. The new buildings are scheduled to open at the start of the 2020 school year.
-- Mark Robinson Chapman School building tour reveals wear and tear-- Wicked Local Weymouth Massachusetts: February 11, 2019 [ abstract] During a recent heavy rainstorm, there were approximately 68 buckets placed in the hallways throughout Chapman Middle School to collect water runoff from roof leaks, according to Weymouth construction supervisor John MacLeod.
MacLeod said roof leaks still occur in some locations of the school a few days after a storm because of how the water flows.
“Sometimes there are 20 buckets (placed) days after a storm,” he said while touring the Chapman with residents during a Feb. 9 school building committee forum. “The maintenance staff does a phenomenal job. They know how to attack it and where to put the buckets out.”
The building tour also revealed stained or missing ceiling tiles in various places because of water leaks.
MacLeod said the maintenance staff decided not to replace the ceiling tiles in a hallway section because of constant leaks.
Building Committee chairman Ted Langill said portions of the school’s exterior walls have asbestos encased.
“It takes significant maintenance to maintain it,” he said.
Weymouth is mandated to remove the asbestos by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Langill said Chapman lacks a comprehensive fire protection sprinkler system, and the building’s heating and ventilation system needs to be replaced.
-- Ed Baker Study of Henderson County school facilities finds $150M in needs-- BlueRidgeNow.com North Carolina: February 11, 2019 [ abstract] The Henderson County School Board is looking to prioritize $150 million in facility needs over the next decade, which includes millions in upgrades to the district’s oldest schools.
The School Board was briefed on the 10-year facility needs study by Emily Kite of Novus Architects, whom the board hired last year to walk the 1.8 million square feet of school facility space and come up with a list of needs.
The all-encompassing assessment covers facility and school safety needs throughout the county as well as whether each schools meets current capacity needs recommended by the N.C. Department of Instruction. It also works to connect buildings together and replace modular classroom units.
That adds up to a $149.9 million list of needs over the next 10 years, covering renovations, new construction and overall maintenance needs at the schools. About $44.4 million is recommended in the 2019-20 fiscal year.
At this point the list is only an assessment of the school system’s needs, not necessarily what the School Board plans to ask of county commissioners this year.
“It’s not if these projects need completed, it’s just when,” said Superintendent Bo Caldwell. “We certainly want to work together with the county commissioners to let them know of our needs and work together with them for the funding.”
-- Andrew Mundhenk Sen. Ford backs bill for school infrastructure-- Salisbury Post North Carolina: February 08, 2019 [ abstract] SALISBURY — N.C. Sen. Carl Ford has joined the list of sponsors for the Building North Carolina’s Future legislation, which would fund infrastructure projects for North Carolina schools.
Senate Bill 5 would allow the state’s 115 school districts to apply for money for building schools and making repairs and renovations.
Ford, R-33, said the bill would allow the state to help kindergarten through 12th-grade schools with construction and maintenance.
The bill currently has 20 senators as sponsors. Sens. Harry Brown, R-6, Kathy Harrington, R-43, and Joyce Krawiec, R-31, are the primary sponsors.
“I haven’t heard anyone against it,” Ford said. “I’ve heard people wanting more.”
Ford said the state House has begun talks about drafting a bill addressing money for school construction and upkeep. However, that version would have debt associated with it. The bill had not been filed as of Thursday.
Ford said the House and Senate leadership will meet to try to agree on a school infrastructure bill or may decide to continue with separate bills.
Ford said the Senate bill would be a much better and quicker way to get money to school districts.
-- Liz Moomey Lowell High School maintenance issues probed by state-- Lowell Sun Massachusetts: February 02, 2019 [ abstract] LOWELL -- The head of the local teacher's union has called upon a state agency to investigate ongoing building issues, particularly heating, at Lowell Public Schools.
Paul Georges, president of the United Teachers of Lowell, said he contacted the state Department of Labor Standards in mid-December, initiating an investigation that included visits to Lowell High School and other school buildings.
"What we're trying to do is ensure time in school is productive and conducive to learning," Georges said.
The Department of Labor Standards was not immediately available for comment Friday evening, but multiple city officials indicated they were aware of the complaint. A report from the agency has not yet been released, though it is expected soon, according to Georges.
In response, city officials contend more work than ever is being done to address years of deferred maintenance at school buildings.
"Is it going to happen overnight? No," Mayor Bill Samaras said.
Long-term efforts -- like preparing requests for state funding for repairs at nine schools -- are a sign the district and city are "absolutely working in the right direction," according to Georges. He said the complaint is meant to pressure the district to implement short term solutions and prevention measures.
"I was finding out things that were preventable weren't being done," Georges said.
When Georges filed the complaint in December, he said an electronic system notifying the district when boilers shut off in school buildings was not functioning.
-- Elizabeth Dobbins Funding options, equity at issue in Duval County school facilities planning-- Florida Times-Union Florida: February 01, 2019 [ abstract] For the 2017-18 school year, Orange County Public Schools received about $308 million from impact fee and sales tax revenues to use for new schools and maintenance costs.
Duval County Public Schools, which has an estimated $1.08 billion worth of repair and replacement needs, received no money from those sources. For facilities, Duval only has property tax revenues and an annually decreasing amount of state maintenance money to work with.
“We are one of only two districts that don’t collect anything other than [property tax] millage,” said Don Nelson, Duval’s assistant superintendent for operations.
Limited funding options were among the talking points at Loretto Elementary School in Mandarin on Thursday at the first of seven community meetings about the condition of Duval’s 157 public schools. Duval has the oldest facilities in Florida, with about 65 percent at least 50 years old. All of them are safe, functional and equipped with the necessary technology, district officials said, but 111 are in below average, poor or very poor condition or need replacement.
The $1.08 billion estimate to repair or replace aging buildings came from a Jacobs Engineering Group study commissioned by the board. The buildings’ conditions affect the learning environment for students and teachers and impact neighboring property values and business development, district officials said.
New schools are like new houses, Superintendent Diana Greene said.
“You have a better feeling when you’re in a brand-new house. Sunshine every day. It does something for your attitude,” she said.
The district paid Jacobs $1.2 million to develop a long-term facilities plan, which potentially could include recommendations to close and consolidate some schools while repairing or replacing others. In addition to age, building condition and the repair/replacement cost, the district will consider school grades, enrollment projections, available land for more buildings and the impact on programs, transportation costs and the neighborhood. Once Jacobs completes the facilities plan, it will hold community meetings, likely in the spring. The board is expected to make its decisions in late spring or early summer.
-- Beth Reese Cravey Kilili backs $100B school infrastructure plan-- Marianas Variety National: February 01, 2019 [ abstract] WASHINGTON, D.C. (Office of the CNMI Congressional Delegate) — U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, chairman of the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, joined Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott of Virginia and 152 other Democrats in introducing H.R. 865, the Rebuild America’s Schools Act.
The bill would fund $70 billion in grants and $30 billion in bonds to replace or repair school facilities and equip classrooms for digital learning. In addition to the educational benefits, the bill would create more than 1.9 million good-paying jobs.
Schools in the Marianas and other U.S. insular areas are particularly in need of repair and rebuilding. Even before Typhoon Mangkhut and Super Typhoon Yutu struck the Marianas and Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit the U.S. Virgin Islands, an Army Corps of Engineers evaluation put the cost of deferred maintenance at island schools at $177 million. The Rebuild America’s Schools Act sets aside $350 million for island schools.
“The last big investment by the federal government in our public schools was the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, when the Democrats were last in the majority,” Congressman Sablan said. “$44.4 million went to the Marianas to modernize classrooms, strengthen technology infrastructure, and pay teachers in 2009. Ten years later, it is time for more investment in our schools.”
-- Staff Writer Foot the bill or boot it?-- Minot Daily News North Dakota: January 30, 2019 [ abstract] A Minot attorney wants North Dakota to tap into the billions of dollars in a school trust fund to pay for educational facilities, sparing schools from having to pursue bond issues.
“Why don’t we use that money? Why don’t we take the tax burden off people’s backs,” Robert Hale said.
At Hale’s request, Rep. Larry Bellew, R-Minot, is sponsoring House Bill 1525, which would use a portion of the Common Schools Trust Fund principal to acquire, construct and maintain public school buildings across the state. The House Education Committee took testimony on the bill Tuesday.
The bill proposes to use the Common Schools Trust Fund to pay off existing school bond issues, estimated at $800 million to $1.2 billion statewide, and replace future bond issues, Hale said.
Long-time legislator Bellew admits passing a bill that spends from the Common Schools Trust Fund will be difficult.
“That’s been almost a sacred cow since I have been here. We’ve always used the Common Schools Trust Fund for foundation aid,” he said. “It will make it a very hard sell.”
An alternate method for paying for school building maintenance and improvements is attractive to districts such as Garrison, where voters have rejected five bond referendums and a measure to double the building fund tax to 20 mills.
“We have approximately $7.7 million capital payments, expected over the next 10 years. That includes everything from roof repair to just general maintenance of plants to replacement of various items,”said Supt. Nick Klemisch. “Our last bond referendum sought to replace the current elementary and add on to the high school, which would have eliminated over $5.5 million off of that capital maintenance by taking that building off-line and then addressing some of the major concerns with the high school.”
-- JILL SCHRAMM Soon you can use 311 to request repairs at public schools and recreation centers-- Greater Greater Washington District of Columbia: January 28, 2019 [ abstract] It's about to get much easier to request repairs for broken equipment at DC public schools and recreation centers. In this year’s budget, the DC Council fully funded the addition of DC Public Schools (DCPS) and Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) facility maintenance requests to the city’s existing 311 system.
This means that any resident or visitor will be able to contact 311 for these service requests, just like they already can for dozens of other city services. They will also receive a 311 service request tracking number, emailed status updates, and the ability to call 311 for follow-up questions about the issue they flagged.
School and park users expect well-maintained and safe facilities. Sometimes things break, wear out, or just don’t work properly any longer. Even though DPR and DCPS run their own programs and facilities, they are generally not responsible for facility maintenance—that's the Department of General Services' (DGS) job. Unfortunately, the current process makes it difficult to point out these types of problems and causes extra administrative work for DGS, DPR, and DCPS.
Requests currently flow through facility staff to DGS
DPR and DCPS staff can submit their facilities maintenance requests to DGS maintenance-request" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(15, 149, 53); transition: color 0.2s linear 0s;" target="_blank">online, but this places the entire burden on school and rec center staff to find and report broken things. As much as they walk around the facility, they might not notice every maintenance problem. Plus they have other responsibilities—like teaching classes and coaching basketball—so submitting maintenance reports might not be a top priority.
-- Mitch Wander School district needs $6 billion more for maintenance and capital needs through 2025-- The Nevada Independent Nevada: January 27, 2019 [ abstract] Rain was falling steadily on a recent afternoon when Roy Brod handed out assignments to his school district maintenance crew. Leaky roofs. Suspicious smells. Water heater problems.
The group knew it could be in for a long night. Meteorologists were predicting several days of wet weather. Brod was predicting a thousand work orders for water leaks during that time.
“When it rains, we have a lot of calls,” Brod, a construction supervisor, said matter-of-factly.
The nature of his business is repairing what breaks in the Clark County School District, the fifth-largest in the nation. He leads the emergency response crew, a five-person team that includes one plumber, one HVAC technician, two building engineers and himself. They’re responsible for tending to whatever problems arise in the 8,000-square-mile district from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.
His first stop on this day is Veterans Tribute Career and Technical Academy, where a staff member reported a water-heater leak. Brod and Michael Abbey, a plumber, arrived within an hour and a half to find a small puddle of water next to the heater. They diagnosed the issue — a cracked drain line — and stopped the leak. They needed a new part to fully repair the drain line.
Brod likened their work to triaging patients in a hospital. They bandage broken fixtures or systems as best as possible and then move on to other calls in the queue. Full fixes would come later.
The work method speaks to the reality facing the school district. Associate Superintendent Blake Cumbers, who oversees the facilities division, said there are too many needs, too few skilled workers and not enough funding to wrap their hands around all the maintenance problems. The district has capital and modernization needs estimated at $10.1 billion through 2025 but only $4.1 billion allocated. The facilities division also routinely lacks 40 to 50 workers because of vacancies.
-- Jackie Valley East Longmeadow High contending with leaky roof-- Western Mass News Massachusetts: January 24, 2019 [ abstract] EAST LONGMEADOW, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- The onslaught of rain throughout western Massachusetts is posing problems for East Longmeadow High School.
maintenance workers rushed to patch leaks in the roof as students made their way into school Thursday morning.
The schools superintendent told us the school had more than 10 leaks throughout the building.
Parents took to social media to express their frustrations and an unanticipated evacuation that happened while our cameras were rolling is only making things worse.
"The building was built in 1960," said East Longmeadow School Supt. Gordon Smith.
Smith said that it's no secret the high school has seen better days.
"Right by that skylight, water has found a way in," Smith added.
Though students side-stepped drip barrels early in the school day, Smith said that their maintenance staff is working to patch things up.
-- Ryan Trowbridge, Audrey Russo Extending sales tax for Iowa schools gathers speed-- The Gazette Iowa: January 24, 2019 [ abstract] DES MOINES — After being stalled in legislative traffic in recent years, a 21-year extension of a one-penny sales tax projected to bring more than a $16 billion investment in school infrastructure improvements and property tax relief by 2051 appears to be moving full-steam ahead this year.
“This is very important for our school districts to make sure they have the ability to replace existing buildings that are in need of repair or falling down or if they are a growing district and need to build a new facility,” Iowa House Education Committee Chairman Cecil Dolecheck, R-Mount Ayr, said Thursday.
“It has to happen,” added Rep. Sharon Steckman, D-Mason City, who said some local school districts have been deferring building and maintenance until the Legislature extends the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education Extension (SAVE) beyond 2029, when it is scheduled to expire.
Without the guaranteed 20-year revenue stream from SAVE, school districts face bond financing interest rates 1 to 1.5 percent higher, Dolecheck said.
After hearing support from representatives of school boards, teachers, farmers and other interest groups Thursday, a subcommittee sent House Study Bill 18 to the full House Education Committee for action as soon as next week.
The House approved a similar bill 95-3 last year, but it was not taken up by the Senate. This year, Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, plans to move similar legislation out of subcommittee next week.
Like Dolecheck, she said the extension is vital for districts of all sizes across the state.
“For a lot of districts, they’re not necessarily building but replacing roofs and boilers and paving sidewalks,” Sinclair said. “For a lot of districts, this is routine maintenance and it is essential if we don’t want (the cost) to come out of the general fund, which would mean an increase in property taxes.”
She thinks senators want more discussion of the property tax relief aspects of the bill to make sure it is going to the right places.
-- James Q. Lynch Thorp School feeling the deep cuts from the passing of the McCleary fix-- Daily Record Washington: January 24, 2019 [ abstract] Walking down the halls of Thorp School, the walls and floor slowly transition into different materials. This is because as the school’s population increased through the years, and so did the add ons.
Some of the older sections of the school date as far back as the 1930s and anyone who steps out onto the old gym court can truly imagine what a basketball game 89 years ago would have felt like with its built-in wood bleachers and six-inch court sidelines.
A significant problem for a school with such a rich history is it takes a lot of upkeep in order to keep operations going. Thorp’s future is looking precarious after the state Legislature’s actions to come into compliance with the state Supreme Court’s McCleary ruling to fully fund K-12 education, which stripped nearly all of Thorp’s funding to maintain such upkeeps, according to school officials.
In attempting to come into compliance with McCleary, the state Legislature capped the amount school districts in Washington are allowed to collect through education enhancement (previously maintenance and operations) levies at $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value. This is a sharp contrast from the $3.42 per $1,000 Thorp collected in 2017. The districts are supposed to receive an increase in funding from the state to make up for the shortfall, but many districts across the state have said the state contributions fall short of making up the difference.
By capping the levy at $1.50 it has taken away $400,000 worth of funds that Thorp normally budgeted out for improvements in the school like replacing roofing, adding fences, fixing sewer lines and more, school officials say.
-- Samira George Basement Floods at South Point - Aging Building-- emissourian.com Missouri: January 21, 2019 [ abstract]
As work gets underway in the gym at South Point Elementary to repair cracks in the walls, school officials had another issue to deal with Monday.
Washington School District Superintendent Dr. Lori VanLeer said a section of the boiler in the old building at South Point cracked, causing the basement to accumulate water.
“The maintenance department worked to repair the issue in order to get the heat up and running in the basement and classrooms above it,” she said.
VanLeer said the district’s insurance company was notified and CATCO, a cleaning and restoration company, was brought in to assess the damage, tear out wet wall base, and dry and repair damaged areas.
“The basement rooms are not used as regular classrooms, but we do use the space for special classes such as STEM, ELL, speech language, special education PT/OT therapy and math interventions,” she said. “We also have equipment and supplies relevant to those curriculums to replace.”
Those teachers are now working to determine what all is damaged, she said, and that information will be reported to the insurance company.
South Point Principal Aimee Harty said those special classes have been relocated to other areas of the building for the time being.
“I am very grateful for the swift action of our buildings and grounds team in cleaning up the water and repairing the cracked section of the boiler,” Harty said. “I am also grateful for the flexibility of the South Point teachers and students.”
VanLeer noted the school does not have central air because the HVAC renovation for the entire building was too extensive and costly. Retiring the building has been in the district’s long-range plan for years.
-- Susan Miller Toms River Regional $147M school repair referendum: What you need to know-- Asbury Park Press New Jersey: January 21, 2019 [ abstract] TOMS RIVER - Voters in Toms River, Pine Beach, Beachwood and South Toms River will be asked Tuesday to decide the fate of a $147 million referendum to fund repairs to the Toms River Regional district's 18 school buildings.
Why is the referendum needed?
The request comes as the district faces a backlog of maintenance needs. The district's schools are aging, with many of the buildings constructed in the 1960s and 1970s.
Just this year, air conditioning systems at the High School North auditorium and South Toms River Elementary media center failed, a pedestrian bridge near Cedar Grove Elementary was shut down because it was deemed unsafe, and a sinkhole opened in blacktop in front of North Dover Elementary, revealing a 6,500-gallon tank that's since been covered for safety and will be addressed after consultation with state environmental officials.
For the past decade, Toms River Regional has spent between $2.7 million and $3.6 million a year on maintenance. Since the 2014-15 school year, the district has also funded $4.7 million in capital projects, including such items as boiler replacements and bleachers, according to Michael Kenny, coordinator of the Office of Grants and Communication.
-- Jean Mikle The Urban-Rural Divide: Funding rural school maintenance a challenge-- The Observer Oregon: January 18, 2019 [ abstract] While school districts in the state’s metropolitan areas pass high-priced bonds with regularity, communities in rural parts of the state must include only what is “absolutely necessary” to pass bonds — and even then it most often is a struggle.
In Eastern Oregon, it often takes two decades (or, in Baker’s case, seven) for a school district to pass a bond. In 2014, the La Grande School District passed a school bond on its third try in eight years. In 2016, the Umatilla School District passed a bond on its third try in 10 years. In Baker City, voters rejected a bond in 2018 for the third time in 12 years. Meanwhile, some urban school districts are passing bonds every eight to 12 years.
In November 2018, 11 Oregon school districts had bonds on local ballots — six of which passed. The districts were scattered across the state, from Ashland to Astoria to Baker City. Ashland School District asked for $109 million from its taxpayers to raze and rebuild a new middle school, completely renovate an elementary school built in 1948 and upgrade technological infrastructure across the district. Although Ashland had approved a bond in 2006 to rebuild another elementary school, the 2018 bond passed overwhelmingly, with almost 69 percent of the vote.
The Baker School District, on the other hand, was asking for $48 million to build a new elementary school and renovate its high school to allow seventh and eighth grades to be on the same campus. Baker City taxpayers hadn’t approved a school bond since 1948, and this time around a bond in Baker failed again, receiving just 31.6 percent of the votes — marking 70 years since the school district last successfully passed a bond.
-- MAX DENNING School board asked to fund priority repairs-- Dothan Eagle Alabama: January 17, 2019 [ abstract]
A significant amount of improvements to Dothan’s public schools will need to be made in a short amount of time and the school board will be asked to fund those improvements next week.
The Dothan City Board of Education received a comprehensive review of repair, maintenance, and reconfiguration needs at each of the city’s schools. Many of those repairs and reconfiguration plans must be complete before the 2019-20 school year begins in August due to the board’s vote in November to reconfigure the school system.
The board will be asked next week to authorize the superintendent to engage in a $15 million bond issue to fund many of the improvements. Additionally, the system could leverage an additional $5 million to $7 million through energy savings that can be put toward more improvements.
The board will vote Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 5 p.m. at its regularly scheduled meeting at Beverlye Magnet School.
-- Lance Griffin North-side schools face millions in updates-- Ottumwa Courier Iowa: January 16, 2019 [ abstract] OTTUMWA — The Ottumwa School District faces millions of dollars in improvements to its north-side buildings, according to a recent facility assessment. Just how much the district will need to spend is yet to be seen.
The district contracted with Estes Construction to conduct a comprehensive facility condition report with total recommendations ranging from $35.9 million to $42 million. The report will be used by the facility committee to create a District Facility Master Plan.
“We want to be proactive thinkers when it comes to our facility planning instead of being reactive,” said Superintendent Nicole Kooiker. “We also want to be able to get community feedback and support for whatever decisions we make in the future. We want a long-term plan that will be beneficial for our students and families for many years to come.”
The report was broken up into the categories of health and life safety, building improvements and site improvements. Each recommendation was given a grade of urgent, required, recommended or suggested.
“We wanted to get a comprehensive review of the ongoing facility needs at some of our older buildings and use that to prioritize the long-term maintenance and capital improvement plans in each of those facilities,” said John Berg, the district’s Chief Financial Officer, who also sits on the facility committee.
-- Tracy Goldizen Middle school building poses hazards
-- Moab Sun News Utah: January 10, 2019 [ abstract] Outdated infrastructure in the Grand County Middle School is posing a risk to student learning, a health teacher at the school says.
Sentiments within the Grand County School District that the Grand County Middle School is due for replacement date back to as early as 2007, according to a report from that year regarding the structural health of buildings owned by the school district called the “Grand County School District Facilities Assessment.”
The team of building assessors from MHTN Architects that prepared the report for the school district provided a recommendation based on their findings that the middle school “be scheduled for replacement as soon as reasonably possible.”
The replacement can’t come soon enough for the students and teachers working inside the building.
Brook Shumway, a physical education and health instructor, said during a tour of the school on Dec. 14 that its aging appearance and functionality impacts teachers’ abilities to effectively teach and students’ sense of pride in their school.
“You’re always tracking down an electrician, a maintenance person to get this fixed, to get that fixed,” Shumway said. “It’s just not a prideful thing for the students to sit in a school that’s just not up to snuff, if you will.”
-- Carter Pape Size of Pittsylvania County Schools preliminary budget request reflects dire maintenance needs-- GoDanRiver.com Virginia: January 10, 2019 [ abstract]
CHATHAM — There was a dark humor laced in much of the discussion during Thursday night’s budget committee meeting for Pittsylvania County Schools as the group wrestled with the needs sitting in front of them.
The meeting began with a scroll through the lengthy list of funding requests received by the central office from its various departments and schools that totaled nearly $12.4 million initially presented during their first meeting a week before.
Director of Finance Tracey Worley said staff met on Wednesday to present a list of 15 items of top priority to each department that had cut the cost by over half to $6.1 million.
The implementation of phase two of the county schools’ compensation study makes up over a third of that total at $2.4 million, and it’s also the highest priority.
However, with the governor’s proposed budget potentially increasing the state-funded raises from 3 to 5 percent, the school hopes to have at least $1.96 million of that raise covered by state monies.
-- Halle Parker Iowa should act quickly on school funding-- Quad-City Times Iowa: January 09, 2019 [ abstract] After a divisive election season, the Iowa Legislature can get off to a strong, bi-partisan start this year by approving a long-term extension of the statewide one-cent sales tax that funds construction projects at Iowa's schools.
This, really, is a no-brainer. For years, Iowa school districts have relied on a one-cent sales tax to pay for an array of maintenance and improvement projects.
In fact, Scott County voters were among the first, in 1999, to approve of the tax to pay for building projects. Almost immediately, the proceeds from the tax were earmarked in Davenport for classroom renovations at Central High School, along with an array of other projects.
Other districts in our area also used the proceeds to improve their learning environments, with the penny sales tax becoming a vital, accepted, part of their budgets.
The sales tax has been around for so long that voters in all of Iowa's 99 counties approved it. And, in 2008, the state legislature converted it to a statewide sales tax, bringing equity to its distribution. It's now known as Secure and Advanced Vision for Education, or SAVE.
Still, this tried-and-true funding source is due to expire in 2029.
There is no doubt this funding is vital to our schools.
In Bettendorf, for example, the money is going toward construction of the new Grant Wood Elementary School. That's a big project, but the funds also have been devoted to other expenses, like heating and air conditioning costs, buses and tennis courts.
-- Editorial Building Committee presents $71.4 million schools project to Westerly council-- The Westerly Sun Rhode Island: January 07, 2019 [ abstract] WESTERLY — Town Council members focused mainly on the need for regular maintenance Monday following a presentation of the proposed $71.4 million school building project by the School Building Committee.
School officials are hopeful that as much as half of the project cost would be reimbursed by the state Department of Education. If that happens, the direct cost to the town's taxpayers would be $35,711,423, according to the committee's current projections and estimates.
Superintendent of Schools Mark Garceau walked the council through the process used by the building committee that resulted in plans for a $41.9 million new State Street School, $10.2 million in renovations, reconfiguration and additions to Dunn's Corners School and $3.48 million in renovations, reconfiguration and additions to Springbrook School.
The projects also calls for $206,587 to prepare Tower Street School Community Center for use as temporary quarters for students during construction as well as $4.2 million in improvements at Westerly High School's Babcock Hall and $9.3 million in improvements at the high school's Ward Hall. An additional $1.9 million in general districtwide improvements would also be made.
-- Dale Faulkner Richard Montgomery Artificial Turf Field Underwent Maintenance to Address Safety Concerns-- Bethesda Magazine Maryland: January 03, 2019 [ abstract] The artificial turf playing field at Richard Montgomery High School underwent maintenance in the fall following complaints that athletes received deep, recurring lacerations during practices and games.
After the installation contractor made an inspection of the Rockville school’s field, crews reduced the level of infill and base mixture to allow greater movement of the turf’s fibers, according to a memo sent by Superintendent Jack Smith to the school board. The date of maintenance was not disclosed.
No other similar injuries have been reported at eight other schools with artificial turf fields and it is unclear how many injuries were reported at Richard Montgomery.
A youth flag football tournament scheduled during the maintenance work was moved to Gaithersburg High School, according to a Nov. 27 post on the organization’s website, which has since been removed.
-- CAITLYNN PEETZ Bangor’s schools are nearly a century old. The city wants to find out how many repairs they need-- Bangor Daily News Maine: January 02, 2019 [ abstract] School buildings in Bangor may be undergoing an infrastructure makeover in the next few years.
The school committee unanimously voted to contract Oak Point Associates for a facilities study to assess all 11 school buildings for required updates or possible consolidations, and to use $170,000 from the reserve fund to pay for the facilities study.
“Some of our buildings, you can only put so many coats of paint on them,” Superintendent Betsy Webb said. “It is really is time to say that in the next decade, they may need to be fully gutted and renovated.”
The school buildings in Bangor are 50 to 100 years old. After Oak Point Associates, an architecture firm based in Biddeford, surveys the condition of the buildings, the architects will recommend options for future growth and expansion, maintenance and repairs, and possible construction.
The school department owns land on Griffin Road, which may be suitable for construction of an elementary school.
-- Eesha Pendharkar HPS maintenance, custodial crews keep busy over holiday break-- Hastings Tribune Nebraska: December 31, 2018 [ abstract] While students, teachers, and most staff at Hastings Public Schools have the luxury of two weeks off for Christmas break, maintenance and janitorial staff press on to get the district’s campuses recharged and ready for 2019.
Christmas break traditionally is one of the busiest times of the year for those who work behind the scenes on projects that would be a huge disruption to learning if they were tackled during regular school hours. A maintenance crew of 10 led by supervisor Matt Greiss and 26 workers under the direction of custodial supervisor Doug Jorgensen have made their lists and checked them twice to be sure all gets taken care of before students return to the grind to finish out the new year.
Jeff Schneider, director of finance and operations at HPS, said that without the well coordinated efforts of these two departments, school operations would fall into disarray in a hurry. How the maintenance and custodial teams labored hand-in-hand following last year’s electrical fire in a portable building used for music classes at the old Morton Elementary School site exemplifies just how important their collective presence is on campus while students are off enjoying a much needed break between semesters.
The fire occurred on Dec. 29, 2017, while the Morton campus was being used as a temporary meeting site for the Alcott School community.
-- John Huthmacher 2 men injured in Carmel High School explosion are in 'good' and 'fair' condition, hospital says-- Indianapolis Star Indiana: December 28, 2018 [ abstract] The two men who suffered severe burns following a gas explosion at Carmel High School are out of danger, a hospital official said Friday morning.
Independent contractor Mike Terry is in fair condition, while high school employee Mike Wyatt is in good condition, Eskenazi Hospital spokesperson Todd Harper said.
Both men were taken to the hospital's burn unit Wednesday after a blast that damaged part of the school's roof and sent rubble into stairwells and part of a gym. The explosion came from a second-floor mechanical room and started a small fire on the roof, Carmel Fire Department officials said.
The blast occurred as workers were performing routine maintenance on a boiler, specifically during the reigniting process, when a natural gas leak occurred, the state Department of Homeland Security said Thursday.
-- Emma Kate Fittes Hawaii to Roll Out Database to Track School Repair Backlog-- US News & World Report Hawaii: December 25, 2018 [ abstract]
HONOLULU (AP) — THE Hawaii Department of Education is rolling out an online database to track the estimated $868 million backlog of repair and maintenance projects in the public school system.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports the state plans to launch the database early next year to show when money is appropriated for projects, when it is allocated, when contracts are awarded and how much of the contract has been paid.
Hawaii schools have about 3,800 pending projects that are broken down into 11 categories. Roofing projects make up the biggest category at $196 million followed by grounds projects at $185 million.
-- Associated Press Aging school buildings to be examined for facilities plan in the new year-- The Exponent Telegram West Virginia: December 23, 2018 [ abstract]
CLARKSBURG — Harrison County Schools’ facilities will be under the microscope after the new year as the county Board of Education begins the process of updating a comprehensive plan for school buildings.
A maintenance report distributed by Harrison County Schools maintenance Director Joe Ammons to board members recommends closure or replacement of at least three county school facilities.
The North View Elementary School building, built in 1927 with additions in 1957 and 1993, “is sub-par,” Ammons wrote. “There is virtually no acreage on site. It is difficult to access. This facility needs replaced.”
Current needs at the facility include a complete upgrade to the HVAC system, which is now 30 years old, a new fire alarm system and a total kitchen upgrade to address inadequate food storage space.
Ammons described the electrical system in the building as “barely adequate.”
The Norwood Elementary School building was built in 1924 with additions in 1951 and 1994.
“Structural condition of the school, at this time is safe, but stressed,” Ammons wrote. “Expansion is not an option. The building needs to be closed and replaced.”
The building is not fully ADA compliant, requires replacement of a 50-year-old hot water system and window air conditioning units “are not effective in high heat,” according to the report.
In Lost Creek, the elementary school also “should be closed,” according to Ammons.
The building, currently operating with a 100 percent utilization rate, was built in 1914, with an addition in 1994.
-- JoAnn Snoderly School Board Says Collaboration with City Council is Key to Solving School Capacity and Overdue Maintenance Issues-- The Zebra Virginia: December 21, 2018 [ abstract] Alexandria, Va. — In a press release issued today, Alexandria City School Board issued the following statement: “Collaboration with the City will be key to resolving facilities issues and setting the schools on a positive trajectory for the future, both the Alexandria City School Board and Superintendent agreed as the Capital Improvement Program Budget for the next ten years was approved to go forward to City Council on Thursday.”
The School Board has called on the City Council to make both school capacity and upkeep a priority and identify funds to address urgent needs outside of the budget cycle. ACPS is simultaneously juggling the two issues of capacity and maintenance and will need to find comprehensive ways to resolve both over the next several years.
School Board Wants Reserve Fund for Repairs
The School Board is requesting that the City Council consider a mechanism to address urgent non-capacity needs such as establishing a reserve fund for repair and renovation projects that could be used if needed in the future. ACPS is currently conducting building assessments of all schools that will provide an up-to-date, comprehensive view of the condition of all its facilities and is concerned that the condition of some buildings may have changed since the last facilities assessment in 2014.
“It’s going to take collaboration with the City as well as community support to make sure we can provide proper long-term solutions to the issue of growing enrollment — a positive problem to have — as well as the issue of deferred maintenance and aging facilities. It’s going to be essential for our next School Board and City Council to work hand in hand to help us find space and fund urgently needed repairs,” said School Board Chair Ramee Gentry.
-- Mary Wadland Schools pitch $57 million maintenance catch-up plan-- Chesterfield Observer Virginia: December 19, 2018 [ abstract] Chesterfield school officials have developed a plan to carry out $57.3 million in critical facility projects by fiscal year 2022 – the first step in addressing a backlog of major maintenance needs that has contributed to system failures, structural defects and safety issues at local school buildings.
Christina Berta and Nita Mensia- Joseph, who lead Chesterfield County Public Schools’ finance and operations departments, respectively, presented the proposal to the Board of Supervisors during its afternoon work session last Wednesday.
Berta has worked closely with the county’s budget staff to identify potential funding sources that could be reallocated to major maintenance.
At the same time, Mensia-Joseph and her team combed through a consultant’s countywide facility condition assessment and drafted a list of highest-priority projects to be completed over the next few years.
“This is kind of our emergency catch-up plan,” she said.
Berta called it “a path forward toward stabilization of major maintenance.”
“The elephant in the room that everybody is talking about is ‘What is it going to take for us to address the immediate issues we’ve identified within the major maintenance plan?” she added.
Bill Champion, a mechanical engineer with Maryland-based firm EMG, told county leaders in October that the school system has about $50 million in “immediate” major maintenance needs, which he defined as “failure is imminent, if it has not failed already.”
-- JIM MCCONNELL Floods prompt questions on maintenance at Greenwich schools-- Greenwich Time Connecticut: December 15, 2018 [ abstract] GREENWICH — A faucet in October, a gasket in November, and a pipe coupling in December.
The leaks and floods at Cos Cob School and Greenwich High School have some officials concerned about whether the school board has a handle on routine maintenance at its buildings.
On Wednesday night, the $46 million Performing Arts Center at GHS experienced its first major equipment failure — just three years after it opened. A vibrating isolator, a part that holds two pipes together and muffles the sound of vibrations, broke and caused the building to flood.
“This project has had difficulties since birth, and it’s troubling that now the building is reaching its childhood years and there are these kinds of problems,” board member Peter Sherr said. “It’s particularly troubling because the building was built at such a marquee price by a marquee builder.”
The leak started around 6 p.m. — right before an orchestra concert and during a parent presentation for Innovation Lab — and a work crew responded quickly, MISA committee chair Joseph L. Ross said. The water covered the galleria floor, seeped into the gym and ran down toward the dressing rooms.
All performances at the PAC — organized by the school or by private groups — will be relocated or rescheduled for the next six to eight weeks. And all Cardinals home basketball games will be relocated or rescheduled for “the next several weeks” because access to the gym will be limited to classes and some practices.
-- Jo Kroeker Snowstorm does little damage to city, county school facilities-- TimesNews Tennessee: December 14, 2018 [ abstract] KINGSPORT — Despite a storm that dumped upwards of a foot of snow in some places in Kingsport and Sullivan County, officials of both school systems reported only minor damage to their facilities.
“I’m not aware of any snow-related damage, other than some trees here and there that took some of the brunt of wet snow,” Kingsport City Schools Assistant Superintendent of Administration Andy True said Wednesday of the 14-school system. “I’ve been with Bill (Shedden, supervisor of maintenance and custodial services) on multiple occasions in the past few days and he hasn’t mentioned any damage.”
On Thursday, True said he checked with Shedden again.
“Nothing major to report from here,” True said.
Likewise, Sullivan County Schools Supervisor of Facilities and maintenance Charlie Hubbard reported no substantial damage across the system that includes 21 school buildings, along with other non-school facilities.
“So far, everything is good,” Hubbard said Wednesday. “When a little bit of a thaw occurs, we may have some minor leaks.”
-- RICK WAGNER Tumbling down: With $200M in deferred maintenance, Montgomery public schools in dire need of repairs-- Montgomery Advertiser Alabama: December 14, 2018 [ abstract] During Thanksgiving break, maintenance workers crowded the front office of Robert E. Lee High School to tear out its carpet and refurbish the wooden floors beneath.
The carpet had already been flea-bombed once, but infestations are complicated, with flea eggs hatching in weekslong cycles. It was decided that tearing the carpet out was a good way to get faster results.
Chad Anderson, MPS executive director of operations, explained that cats were getting into the school through an opening at the back of the building and leaving behind fleas. maintenance workers found the hole, created a makeshift grate to cover it and now that the front office has hardwood floors instead, Anderson hoped the problem is solved. But, he pointed out, when one problem is solved, another usually appears.
Capitol Heights had a similar problem. Holes were letting in rats big enough to set off the security motion sensors when the rodents roamed the middle school's halls.
Problems of varying sorts and severity plague a majority of Montgomery County's public schools, where a $3.1 million maintenance budget can't scratch the surface of what it takes to take care of the district's aging buildings. There are students occupying 54 schools, but the maintenance department is responsible for maintaining 65 buildings.
The district's pest control contract is only $60,000.
"The schools still have great bones — they would withstand a lot. But just like any house, there needs to be constant upkeep and maintenance and that takes money," Anderson said.
-- Krista Johnson Barnette positioned to get finished if Legislature funds school maintenance projects-- Daily News-Miner Alaska: December 11, 2018 [ abstract] FAIRBANKS — Completing a long overdue remodel at one of Fairbanks’ oldest schools, Barnette Magnet School, is the No. 1 project on a ranked list of school maintenance projects by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.
If the ranking stands, the Barnette project is first in line if the Legislature allocates money to the state’s Major maintenance Grant Fund.
The department’s list was released on Nov. 5. It is subject to change and approval by the state Board of Education.
“I am excited that (Barnette) is number one. We will have to wait and see how the budget process goes,” said Dave Norum, executive director of facilities management at the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, in an email.
State funding for capital projects has sharply declined since 2013.
The Barnette project is one of 72 projects on the department’s fiscal 2020 capital improvement projects list.
When the 31st Alaska Legislature convenes on Jan. 15, 2019, it faces upward of $100 million worth of requests from school districts across Alaska for things like replacement of roofs, underground storage tanks, elevators, plumbing pipes, boilers and more.
-- Amanda Bohman Boiler stays as maintenance items get trimmed-- Brattleboro Reformer Vermont: December 11, 2018 [ abstract] TOWNSHEND — School officials all agree that replacing a boiler at Leland & Gray Union Middle and High School is a must.
"The Leland & Gray boiler is being held together with tape and bubble gum, and apparently it's gone out a couple of times today," Joe Winrich, West River Modified Union Education District board chairman, said Monday during a meeting. "There are people literally checking on it hourly and sometimes you need to manually shovel the chips."
Winrich said an engineer attended a building committee meeting along with staff and administrators. Discussion revolved around reducing a proposed $726,000 line item for deferred maintenance in the district's four schools.
"Obviously, that's a huge number to swallow," Winrich said, adding that professionals were asked how to keep the buildings safe and look at whether they were at "the end of their useful life."
His recommendation was to allocate $100,000 for safety-focused maintenance, $100,000 for loan payments for a new boiler at L&G and $100,000 to $140,000 for hiring professionals to develop a multi-year plan for addressing needs.
Winrich said he did not have the list of projects that could be put off another year ready to present at the meeting. Board member Drew Hazelton said he was worried "we're kicking this down the road again."
The district is seeking a grant via Windham Wood Heat Initiative to replace the boiler.
"We need to move quickly," Winrich said. "Things are in process so we can get that grant money."
He said the project must happen or the building will be cold.
-- Chris Mays Tour reveals issues at Whittier Middle School-- The Eagle-Tribune Massachusetts: December 11, 2018 [ abstract] HAVERHILL — Concerns about a leaky roof at J.G. Whittier Middle School prompted a tour of the building Wednesday, during which the principal pointed out problems he said are being addressed.
School Committee member Maura Ryan Ciardiello, who has a sixth-grader at Whittier, said building issues include a leaky roof and possibly mold or mildew. She said she arranged for the mayor to tour the school with its principal, Brian Gill, and a concerned parent.
"For years people have been talking about issues with moisture in the building, and I didn't realize it was steam pipes that were the cause of it," Ciardiello said after the tour. "I have one child at the school and two more who will be attending and we need to do something immediately to fix these problems."
She also noted that both the boys and girls locker rooms are being used for other purposes, including storage.
As a new member of the Joint maintenance/Facilities Subcommittee, Ciardiello said she plans to discuss issues of district-wide school maintenance.
"After what I saw during the tour, it looks like the district is addressing the issues at Whittier, but it's not something you can just put a Band-Aid on," she said. "We also have issues at the Consentino School that need to be addressed, as well."
She added that overall, Whittier's custodian is doing a good job
-- Mike LaBella Hopson to present proposal to close schools, build anew to shrink Shelby County Schools footprint-- Commercial Appeal Tennessee: December 08, 2018 [ abstract] Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dorsey Hopson will present a proposal Tuesday to shrink the district's footprint, which could include closing dozens of schools over the next five years.
It will also include suggestions on building new schools to replace dilapidated facilities in under-invested neighborhoods across the city.
With a growing list of over $500 million in deferred maintenance projects and 17,000 open seats across the district, a need to downsize and replace facilities prompted Hopson to develop a long-term plan to address both issues.
The Shelby County Commission, the local funding body for SCS, has long requested such a plan. But what happens to the proposal after Hopson presents it is unknown, as his last day as superintendent is Jan. 8. The work to analyze the district's footprint and present a long-term plan is his last major project of his six-year tenure.
Board member Billy Orgel, chairman of the facilities committee, said he expects Hopson to present a combination of closures, new construction and rezoning.
"We're trying to be efficient with the use of our funds," Orgel said.
-- Jennifer Pignolet School Building Authority set to make decisions on school projects-- MetroNews West Virginia: December 08, 2018 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the state School Building Authority’s Finance Committee have been working on ways to possibly stretch the $45 million the agency has for projects submitted by more than two dozen county school systems.
The full SBA meets Monday to decide which counties will receive this year’s NEEDs grants.
Representatives from 27 counties made their pitches to the SBA in late October. The projects total $135 million but the SBA only has $45 million to spend this cycle. Ben Ashley, SBA’s director of architectural services, said the finance committee hopes to increase that number.
“Maybe do some different, creative things with our finance plans. We’re hoping to take the $135 million in requests and maybe get a few more projects with some different ideas,” Ashley said.
Most of the counties that made presentations six weeks ago were seeking money for additions, renovations and maintenance projects. Only two counties are seeking funding for new schools.
-- Jeff Jenkins $12M needed to repair Amherst’s elementary schools-- Daily Hampshire Gazette Massachusetts: December 06, 2018 [ abstract] AMHERST — More than $12 million in maintenance and repairs are needed at Amherst’s three elementary school buildings over the next five years, according to a report school officials will submit for the town’s capital planning process.
At a recent Amherst School Committee meeting, Sean Mangano, finance director for the schools, presented a list of $12.38 million in costs over the next five years related to keeping Fort River, Wildwood and Crocker Farm elementary schools in good repair, with nearly half of these expenses for new roofs at the aging Fort River and Wildwood buildings.
The current plan calls for a $3 million roof at Fort River in fiscal 2022, and a $3 million roof at Wildwood in fiscal 2023.
With Town Council replacing Town Meeting as Amherst’s legislature, it will be up to these elected officials to determine what spending is approved in the capital plan for fiscal 2020, which begins July 1.
School Committee Chairwoman Anastasia Ordonez said committee members will need to have a frank discussion with both the new Town Council and Town Manager Paul Bockelman about these maintenance costs, which are in line with an analysis the facilities department released in March.
-- SCOTT MERZBACH
To prioritize school roofing projects, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is surveying 36 sites-- Winston-Salem Journal North Carolina: December 03, 2018 [ abstract] Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools will soon have a survey conducted on more than 30 roofs throughout the district to determine priorities, pricing and other details for future maintenance work.
The 36 roof sites include all or portions of roofs at several school campuses as well as the main administration building and the Education Building where school board meetings are housed.
In total, there are approximately 6.5 million square feet of roofing on buildings district-wide, and this study encompasses 2.63 million square feet.
The cost for this study is expected at $76,300. But the district has $205,000 in cost savings from the Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy roof replacement project, which was part of the 2016-18 Capital Projects.
The details and cost of the study were discussed at the Buildings and Grounds Committee meeting on Nov. 13 and ultimately approved during the following school board meeting.
The work will be done by third-party contractors, Darrell Walker, an assistant superintendent with the district, said. The hope is to secure a bid and have a contract ready for board approval by the meeting on Dec. 11.
-- Michael Bragg ASD assesses few injuries, extensive damage at Anchorage schools-- KTVA Alaska: December 01, 2018 [ abstract]
On Friday after the powerful quake all 6,000 staff and 48,000 students made it home alive. During school evacuations, a custodian was injured by glass, one student may have broken a wrist, and a teacher in Chugiak went into labor, said ASD superintendent Dr. Denna Bishop at a news conference on Saturday.
ASD head of maintenance Bryan Stenehjem says every school in the Anchorage School District was damaged in the earthquake Friday. They are currently being assessed and some are still not safe to enter.
Stenehjem led a guided tour to see some the worst damage.
At King Tech High School a cinder block wall on the second story came down. Structural engineers were on the campus Saturday afternoon to evaluate the extent of the problem. Stenehjem says his team worked until nearly midnight the day of the quake doing an initial assessment of every ASD school.
maintenance crews worked to prioritize what schools are safe to go into, which ones have minor damage, and which ones to "red tag" for severe damage, including Hanshew Middle School.
-- Shannon Ballard & Joe Vigil Maintenance deferred: Without funding, problems can grow like ... mold-- Stamford Advocate Connecticut: December 01, 2018 [ abstract] STAMFORD — Facility needs reports from almost 10 years ago warned of the mold now plaguing Stamford Public Schools.
At least seven of the Stamford public school buildings where mold has been found during the past several months were flagged for mold assessments during the district’s last facility needs study, performed in 2009.
A look at the maintenance recommended in the study, compared to what the city actually spent to shore up the buildings could show why Stamford got to the point where the district needed to shut down a school. The report from consultant EMG called for about $138 million in capital improvements, less than half of which the schools have seen.
Outgoing Board of Education Chairman David Mannis said the district, often given about $4 million to $5 million to spread across 20 buildings, usually favored spending on more pressing issues like security upgrades.
“What we realistically hope to get will be devoted to building safety issues and compliance issues,” he said. “Mold concerns drove us to say, ‘What caused it?’ and that led us (now) to look at, for example, window leaks. But in past years, they were just window leaks and didn’t get attention. ... A lot of these things have been around and they didn’t seem as urgent because people hadn’t identified that connection properly.”
According to the city’s Mold Task Force website, mold has been found in the following elementary schools: Davenport Ridge, Hart Magnet, Julia A. Stark, K.T. Murphy, Newfield, Northeast, Roxbury, Springdale, Stillmeadow, Toquam Magnet and Westover Magnet.
-- Erin Kayata North Allegheny school board addresses capital improvement plan-- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pennsylvania: November 30, 2018 [ abstract] The North Allegheny school board on Nov. 7 discussed the 2019 capital improvement plan, which highlights $14 million in projects in addition to the planned expansion of Franklin Elementary School and the renovation of McKnight Elementary.
The board also held a state-mandated public hearing on the Franklin expansion, which has a maximum project cost of $33 million. That amounts to $1.4 million in average debt annually, and an impact of 0.241 mills in taxes.
No one presented evidence during the Franklin hearing other than the architect. One resident said he would email his questions to administrators instead of speaking.
Most of the projects in the 2019 capital improvement plan are maintenance and cosmetic work at the schools, such as repairing paving. The biggest plans are at the intermediate high school, including installing turf and lights on the baseball, football, softball and soccer fields, resurfacing the track and replacing or constructing dugouts for the baseball and softball fields.
“If it is in here, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be done,” said member Richard McClure, chairman of the board’s buildings and grounds committee.
-- SANDY TROZZO 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 Get the lead out, state’s schools told: New law requires parental notice-- Times-Gazette Tennessee: November 25, 2018 [ abstract] New state law taking effect in January makes it mandatory that parents of Bedford County students be notified within five days if any school’s water tests show high levels of lead.
The state considers anything more than 15 parts per billion of lead content to be high. But if level tests show 20 parts ppb, parents have to be warned of the potential risks.
“I know that we did test on our own two or three years ago,” School Superintendent Don Embry said.
Sources outside the school system will be conducting future biennial lead detection tests, Daniel Kleindienst, school maintenance director, told school board members Tuesday night. Tests only have to be conducted every two years if lead levels remain in the acceptable range — one which trickles down from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Complicated standards
When it comes to knowing whether water’s safe to drink, it very nearly requires an environmental degree to understand those EPA standards.
If test results show that lead levels equal or exceed 20 bbp, the school system will immediately remove the water source, such as a drinking fountain. That source cannot be used until retesting confirms the water is within policy standards.
-- DAWN HANKINS State’s share of a new Bassick called into question-- ctpost Connecticut: November 22, 2018 [ abstract] BRIDGEPORT — The state office of School Construction Grants authorized the city to proceed with a brand new Bassick High School but not at the 78.9 percent reimbursement rate the school board was told would be chipped in.
Kosta Diamantis, director of the office, said this week that the reimbursement rate on a brand new Bassick would be roughly 69 percent, requiring the city to bond for the rest.
The difference could mean the city must bond $36 million rather than $24 million on the projected $115 million project.
Even so, Diamantis said the city stands to break even or do better on the project price tag in the long run because there would be less costly environmental clean up and maintenance moving forward.
“There would be more things reimbursable in a brand new school than in a renovation,” Diamantis said. “The difference in maintaining a new school versus a school that is old would more than make up that 10 percent.”
Diamantis said he was sold on a new versus renovated or a blend of old and new, after meeting with project architects and city building officials.
The state official said he also plans to visit the school on Monday to set his mind at ease about the historic nature of the 1929 portion of Bassick.
-- Linda Conner Lambeck Albia school improvements come with a hefty price tag-- Albia Newspaper Iowa: November 21, 2018 [ abstract] Estes Construction ICAT (Iowa Construction Advocate Team) was hired by the Albia Community School Board to study facility improvement needs at the high school and junior high, Lincoln Center, Mick Technology Building and the Monroe County Sports Complex.
Their job was to identify short and longer term needs and provide information to the board to help produce a District Facility Master Plan. The assessment made of the buildings was a visual, non-destructive inspection, identifying existing conditions and providing an estimate of probable costs to perform the necessary maintenance, repairs or renovations required to bring the current conditions into compliance with building codes, quality, comfort, improved learning environment, aesthetics and accessibility requirements for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The report is intended to be used as a planning tool for the school district to use in short and long-term facility goals.
At first glance of the report, the costs are eye-popping, particularly in terms of the work already done in the district using mostly S.I.L.O. (School Infrastructure Local Opetion) penny sales tax. Those major projects included the remodeling and addition to Grant School, remodeling of Kendall School, construction of the new track and soccer field, building the MAC wrestling facility, air conditioning at Lincoln Center, addition of the new high school cafeteria and improvements done to the football field.
-- Staff Author Moody's: Detroit school district needs another state bailout-- The Detroit News Michigan: November 20, 2018 [ abstract] Without state support to address its growing capital needs, Detroit's public school system poses a potential threat to Detroit's economic revitalization, Moody’s Investors Service said Tuesday.
The rating agency said for fiscal 2019, the Detroit Public Schools Community District has budgeted $9 million in capital expenses, out of a budget of roughly $760 million. Detroit's school buildings have $500 million in capital needs and deferred maintenance.
The Moody's report projected the figure could top $1.5 billion by 2023 if unaddressed.
“The district cannot finance capital improvements on its own and the City of Detroit has its own challenges, placing the burden on the State of Michigan to potentially step in again,” said Andrew Van Dyck Dobos, an analyst at Moody’s. “Absent state support, or sizable philanthropic donations, the deteriorating school facilities will obstruct the City of Detroit's post-bankruptcy economic revitalization.”
In 2016, state lawmakers approved a $617 million bailout for the district that split the district into two organizations. The old Detroit Public Schools pays off the district's old debt, and the new community district provides education for Detroit’s children.
-- Jennifer Chambers DOE Launches Modernized Facilities Maintenance Program-- Big Island Now Hawaii: November 19, 2018 [ abstract] The Hawai‘i State Department of Education (HIDOE) is reconfiguring its facilities maintenance program to align the Department’s strategic focus on providing respectful learning environments with its core value of ensuring access to a quality public education for every student in every community across the state.
Superintendent Christina M. Kishimoto said the effort reflects the Department’s commitment to a well-defined accountability structure and to making project data both understandable and publicly available.
The three-part initiative involves streamlining how the Department contracts repair services to fast-track priority projects, increasing the community’s access to project details with an online database under development, and implementing a data-driven analysis to plan for future school needs.
The initiative, already underway, is being called Future Schools Now, conveying the urgency of modernizing all Hawai‘i public schools to foster innovation and world-class learning. HIDOE’s facilities maintenance branch oversees 4,425 buildings and more than 20 million square feet of space across 256 campuses statewide with a fiscal 2018 facilities budget of $274 million.
-- Staff Author Greenwich school board fields question on maintenance-- Greenwich Time Connecticut: November 18, 2018 [ abstract] GREENWICH — A 20-year-old agreement assigned the job of maintaining Greenwich’s school buildings, grounds and fields to the Department of Parks and Recreation. But Board of Education members are now eager to change that.
“This document needs vast overhauling,” school board Secretary Barbara O’Neill said at a Board of Education meeting last week. “The fields are in terrible shape, and we need to figure out a better system of upkeep, renewal and improvement.”
And as criticism has mounted over the condition of the fields, they have never been more popular: Demand from sports groups to use the town’s field has doubled in the past two decades, Director of Parks and Recreation Joe Siciliano said.
“As far as I can tell, the board has never revisited this to see how it’s working,” school board Chair Peter Bernstein said of the maintenance agreement. “I thought it was worthy of a discussion, and probably an overhaul, because the condition of some of our fields, especially at the elementary school, is the subject of a lot of discussion.”
-- Jo Kroeker Highlands School Board eyes updates to facilities use policy-- TRIB Live Pennsylvania: November 18, 2018 [ abstract] The Highlands School Board is updating the policy governing the use of district facilities by community groups and individuals.
It includes additions and changes to fees and the fee structure.
The existing policy was adopted in March 2017.
The school board is expected to take a final vote to approve the updated policy , No. 707, at its meeting on Monday.
“The only reason policy 707 is being updated was to clarify the costs assigned to for-profit and non-profit, which had been confusing to all in the past,” School Director Judy Wisner said in an email.
Under the proposed policy, for-profit organizations would have to pay use, maintenance and personnel fees.
Non-profit organizations would not have to pay use fees.
As discussed by the board, the changes, if approved, would take effect in January.
The board discussed, and most members seemed to agree, with grandfathering requests that have already been made under the existing policy. There was concern about assessing higher fees on groups that have already set their budgets and made their requests.
Under the restructured and updated policy, fees no longer vary by building.
-- BRIAN C. RITTMEYER Winchester schools' four-year Capital Improvement Plan totals nearly $50 million-- The Winchester Star Virginia: November 17, 2018 [ abstract]
WINCHESTER — Nearly $50 million in maintenance repairs and major renovation projects are included in the final draft of the 2019-2023 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for Winchester Public Schools, though some of the costs extend five to 10 years beyond the plan.
The proposed CIP was presented at a Winchester School Board work session on Monday evening.
During the presentation, it was mentioned that the Daniel Morgan campus, comprising both the intermediate and middle schools, will be over capacity in the 2019-20 school year. The projected peak enrollment will reach 1,366 for a campus meant to hold 1,280 students. When board Chairwoman Allyson Pate saw the capacity figures, she said, “I think yikes.”
Included in the the 2019-2023 CIP are $1.25 million in roof repairs at Virginia Avenue Charlotte DeHart Elementary School and at Daniel Morgan. Security vestibules at both Frederick Douglass and Garland Quarles elementary schools will cost an estimated $125,000. The school division also will need $3.83 million in new school buses over the next five years and beyond.
The plan calls for $15 million to replace mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems. It was noted that the MEP system at Frederick Douglass will be 30 years old in 2020, while the system at Virginia Avenue Charlotte DeHart will be 30 years old in 2025. The system at Garland Quarles will be 30 years old in 2027. Not every system will need replacing, and there will be varying levels of work needed.
At some point after fiscal 2023, $1.35 million will be needed to improve Handley High School’s athletic facilities, including refurbishing the track, replacing tennis courts and replacing synthetic turf.
-- ANNA MEROD MCPS Taking Action To Address Concerns About Security, Maintenance Issues-- Bethesda Beat Maryland: November 16, 2018 [ abstract] Public comments at recent school board hearings didn’t fall on deaf ears.
More than 100 people have testified in recent weeks at school board meetings concerning Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jack Smith’s proposed fiscal 2020 capital budget and amendments to the 2019-2024 capital improvement plan.
Some common themes that arose included general maintenance concerns, including restrooms in disarray and crumbling ceiling tiles in schools. Additionally, many people drew attention to potential security issues arising from the use of portable classrooms and pedestrian safety.
The testimony drew MCPS staff to action, and many of the issues are already being addressed, Chief Operating Officer Andrew Zuckerman told the school board Friday morning.
For example, he said, some school representatives said pedestrian safety on their campuses is an issue, and in response school safety staff have already visited or plan to go to the schools and assess the issues to develop an appropriate solution.
-- CAITLYNN PEETZ Basic needs aren’t being met: Schools run behind on maintenance-- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: November 14, 2018 [ abstract] LaTonya Hill is certain her classroom is making her sick.
The Dresden Elementary School special education teacher has spent more than two weeks out of her classroom battling sinus and upper respiratory infections she said were not common before she began working at the school in 2016. At first, she attributed the health problems to working with children who carry a lot of germs. She spent two weeks on bed rest after her second upper respiratory infection of the school year, which began in August. She said she is worried about mold.
“I’ve never had all these problems, and there doesn’t seem to be much (school administrators) can do about it,” said Hill, adding she was advised by school officials to wear a surgical face mask to work.
Of the school’s 29 active maintenance requests, reported to the school district’s operations division, nine are for leaks in classrooms and hallways, or for standing water.
Metro Atlanta schools have more than 10,000 school maintenance requests for hundreds of school buildings across the region, anything from major overhauls for heating and cooling systems to needing soap and other supplies in a school lavatory. The repairs often take a backseat to competing priorities as teacher salaries, retirement benefits and growing administrative staffs take a large chunk of the annual budget, forcing districts to use special, voter-approved tax pots for much-needed maintenance and renovation.
-- Marlon A. Walker Deferred maintenance leads to heating problems, at least 9 school closures-- Commercial Appeal Tennessee: November 14, 2018 [ abstract] Years of budget constraints combined with aging infrastructure came to a bitter cold tipping point Wednesday as at least nine schools in Shelby County closed due to heating system malfunctions.
Five schools announced closures Tuesday night, and another four dismissed halfway through the day Wednesday.
Over the last few days, Shelby County Schools' maintenance team has responded to calls of low or no heat in buildings "despite all efforts to have heating systems up and tested beforehand," Superintendent Dorsey Hopson said in an email to board members.
Those teams were preparing over the last few weeks by transition systems from air conditioning to heat.
"In anticipation of the cold front coming through into this week, these efforts were amped up to make sure all schools had heating systems up and ready to operate," Hopson said. "These activities culminated over the long weekend which included startup of several new boilers at schools that received new capital equipment."
The district will "continue to work around the clock to avoid major issues," he added.
-- Jennifer Pignolet Quick action prevented worse flood damage at Emmaus High School-- The Morning Call Pennsylvania: November 13, 2018 [ abstract] If not for the quick thinking of the Emmaus High School maintenance staff, the flooding that damaged 40 classrooms and other areas and closed school for a week could have been much worse.
That was the assessment of disaster mitigation specialists who gave a report Monday to the East Penn School Board on how the water affected the school and what has been done to rehabilitate the building since the flooding during torrential rains Friday, Nov. 2. Classes resumed Monday with a three-hour delay.
Andrew Goldberg, CEO of RestoreCore of King of Prussia, praised the district staff.
“The quick action of the staff here made all the difference in the world,” Goldberg told the board. “We do a lot of jobs that are similar to this and we see all different types of responses. This was as good as you could have done.”
Because the staff got the water out of the building within two to three hours, it allowed the cleanup crews to dry the building faster, which meant less permanent damage, he said.
As it was, the water damaged 40 classrooms, the main office, auxiliary gym and the wrestling room.
-- Margie Peterson It's a real concern for us: Chesterfield parent worries about county's school repair backlog-- ABC8 News Virginia: November 07, 2018 [ abstract] CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The new superintendent for Chesterfield County Public Schools, Dr. Mervin Daugherty, says the district will need $1 billion over the next 20 years for its maintenance backlog.
Concerned parents told 8News they don't want their children learning in deteriorating schools and they worry about how the impact it could have on the students.
"It's a real concern for us," said parent Thomascine Taylor. "I just can't believe that we're at this state right now."
Taylor, who has a seventh-grader at Falling Creek Middle School, spoke with 8News about the condition of the school.
"You can see the water damage at different spots here in the ceiling so it makes you wonder how is that going to affect my child," Taylor told 8News.
Some of the repairs needed are new roofs and new heating and air conditioning units. Superintendent Daugherty told 8News the transition will take time and that his team is working to get the most pressing issues fixed right away.
"It's going to take a process," Daugherty said. "Can't fix it overnight, but I think if we have a process to work through this, over the next several years, I think we can get there."
-- Sierra Fox Vancouver legislators: Make it easier to pass school facilities bonds-- The Columbian Washington: November 07, 2018 [ abstract] Battle Ground voters, take note: Two Vancouver-area state legislators promised the Washington State Board of Education on Wednesday that they would support legislation making it easier to pass school facilities bonds.
During a legislative panel at the board’s meeting, which is happening at the Educational Service District 112 offices in Vancouver this week, Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, and Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, said they would consider legislation allowing facilities bonds to pass by a simple majority, rather than the 60 percent supermajority currently required.
Doing so would require an amendment to the state constitution, but Stonier said she would sponsor legislation this year to begin that process.
“I think the time has passed. It’s time for us to go back to a simple majority,” Stonier said during Wednesday’s legislative panel.
“I will sign that bill,” Harris added. “I’m probably unique in my caucus.”
An amendment to the state constitution requires two-thirds support in the Legislature. Proposed amendments are then placed on the next state general election ballot and become law if approved by a majority of voters.
Battle Ground Public Schools has run three facilities bonds since 2016, citing overcrowding in classrooms and deteriorating school buildings. The effort has thrice failed, despite more than 50 percent of voters supporting the measure each time. Voters in the school district, meanwhile, approved a four-year maintenance and operations levy in 2017 with 53.7 percent of the vote. Levies require a simple majority of support.
The district’s overcrowding committee, a 29-member coalition tasked with helping to redraw campus boundaries, urged the Battle Ground school board Monday to lobby to reduce the supermajority threshold.
Battle Ground is not alone in struggling to meet the required supermajority. Preliminary results from Tuesday’s election show that of the 13 districts that ran bonds, four won. Another five, meanwhile, would have passed if only a simple majority was needed.
-- Katie Gillespie Borough, school district make friendly overtures-- Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Alaska: November 06, 2018 [ abstract] FAIRBANKS — Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Bryce Ward wishes to work with Superintendent Karen Gaborik on a proposal for how to finance school building maintenance, he said at a joint meeting between the borough and school district on Monday.
The two sides came together to improve relations and discuss a thorny topic, the school district’s $33 million in reserves.
On Thursday, the Borough Assembly takes up a measure diverting $7 million of the reserves to fixing school buildings.
School district leaders want to spend the money on equipment replacement and offsetting potential revenue shortfalls over the next few years.
Ward said he was “not real thrilled” with a four-year drawdown plan renewed by the school district administration.
He didn’t take a position on the borough ordinance, sponsored by his predecessor, Karl Kassel.
“It’s a methodology to deal with maintenance. It’s not the only methodology,” Ward said.
The mayor said he would like to bring the assembly a new plan in January.
School district Superintendent Karen Gaborik also expressed a desire to work collaboratively on a plan for making school building improvements.
“I am open to that conversation,” she said. “We don’t want our buildings falling apart.”
-- Amanda Bohman Auditors Raise Questions About Technical High Schools' Maintenance, Accounting-- Hartford Courant Connecticut: November 01, 2018 [ abstract] A wide-ranging report on the state Department of Education found that almost all of the Connecticut’s technical high schools did not have sufficient staffing to ensure the buildings were clean enough “to provide students with a healthy and comfortable environment.”
The state Auditors of Public Accounts said that 16 out of the 18 technical schools did not have sufficient custodial staffing according to an analysis done in 2017 by the state education agency, with one school, J.M. Wright Technical High School in Stamford, at a staffing level considered “below not healthy.”
Four schools had staffing levels considered “below not acceptable” and five schools had levels considered “not acceptable,” the auditors said in their report Thursday.
State Auditor John Geragosian said the situation raised concerns for health and safety and also from a cost perspective.
“The buildings are often assets of the state,” he said. “If you don’t maintain them, it’ll end up costing you a lot more in maintenance costs and shorten the life of the building.”
The schools with staffing levels considered “below not acceptable” include A.I. Prince Technical High School in Hartford, E.C. Goodwin Technical High School in New Britain, Platt Technical High School in Milford and Bullard-Havens Technical High School in Bridgeport.
Kerry Markey, spokeswoman for the technical high schools, said while the schools have had too few maintenance workers, they have always been clean and healthy. That’s because the system has prioritized the need to have clean, safe schools, she said, and has contracted out for maintenance and custodial services when needed.
-- Kathleen Megan DeKalb backlog shows school maintenance needs never end-- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: October 27, 2018 [ abstract] On Oct. 10, 2017, just after noon, the DeKalb County School District received an urgent maintenance request from Oak Grove Elementary School in Atlanta.
“Good morning! The contractor still smelled gas in the kitchen and asked when we last had a system check,” the person wrote. “It appears to be coming in by a window A/C unit from the outside meter/line. My cafeteria staff has complained of headaches for 3 days. A work order has been submitted. Is there any hope of getting someone to check it out? I heard someone say it was checked (and) nothing was wrong but if that were true, we wouldn’t smell the gas.”
The work never got done, according to DeKalb County School District records.
It is one of more than 6,800 active work orders for DeKalb’s 140 or so buildings through October 10 that have been assigned but were not listed as complete. Some of the requests go back to early 2017. Eight requests made on Oct. 9 and 10 had not yet been assigned to be addressed.
Among the work orders are seemingly simple requests. Light bulbs are needed for blown lamps in a teacher parking lot. Several schools report clogged toilets. Briar Lake Elementary School officials asked for tree limbs to be removed from a walkway on June 20. At Towers High School, the refrigerator in the culinary arts room isn’t keeping food cold.
Several thousand of the requests were biannual requests seeking supplies and to check exhaust fans and water heaters. Many were about leaking roofs and air conditioning issues.
-- Marlon A. Walker County seeks fix for $1 billion school repair backlog-- Chesterfield Observer Virginia: October 24, 2018 [ abstract] The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors has directed county staff to come up with a long-term plan to address the school system’s massive backlog in major facility maintenance.
Could that ultimately result in the county assuming responsibility for maintenance of more than 60 school buildings? That’s likely to be one of the options the board considers over the coming weeks and months. Such a move could exacerbate an already strained relationship between the Board of Supervisors and School Board, which under Virginia law has authority over school operations.
Regardless, the two supervisors who serve on the county’s audit and finance committee sent a clear signal last week that they have no intention of sitting by and letting the school system solely determine how to administer $1 billion in needed maintenance projects over the next 20 years.
“To sit here and think this is going to get fixed on its own without a lot of input from the county is unrealistic,” Matoaca District Supervisor Steve Elswick said. “I would like to hear staff’s recommendations. I don’t have a timeline for that. Staff needs to tell us we can realistically come back at some point and say this is where maintenance needs to go long-term.”
Complicating matters is the School Board’s recent decision to withdraw from participation alongside the Board of Supervisors on the audit and finance committee – a move that will add 60 to 90 days to both elected bodies’ typical decision-making timetables, said County Administrator Joe Casey.
-- JIM MCCONNELL Dover, schools discuss sharing maintenance-- fosters.com New Hampshire: October 24, 2018 [ abstract] DOVER — They met for two hours but could have likely met for another two hours and still have more to discuss.
The only thing that ended the 5 p.m. Wednesday meeting of the Joint Fiscal Committee, made up of members of the City Council and School Board, was the 7 p.m. City Council meeting held in the adjacent room at the McConnell Center.
While the discussion was wide-ranging, a central theme was how the school and city could better share services, especially as it comes to facility maintenance.
All seem to agree on the need to undertake and implement a shared maintenance plan for the city schools, but the committee did not make any concrete steps to begin such a process other than agreeing to continue the conversation.
School Board Chair Amanda Russell highlighted the need to replace ceiling panels Dover Middle School as a failure to not think long term for maintenance needs. “It’s a $100,000 problem that should have been dealt with when the building was built,” she said.
But Russell said the district can’t replace the ceiling until it installs a dehumidification system in the school. When the Dover Middle School was completed in 2000, there was a space created for that dehumidification system, but one was never installed, she said.
There was talk about installing the system in 2023, “which is 23 years too late,” Russell said.
School District Superintendent William Harbron said with the new opening of an $87 million high school it is imperative to develop a maintenance plan to protect the city’s investment for the long term, referencing the 50-year life of the previous high school that will be knocked down in the coming months.
-- Brian Early Pueblo D60 assessment notes $785 million in needed repairs-- The Pueblo Chieftain Colorado: October 24, 2018 [ abstract] It was, to paraphrase architect Jack Mousseau, a bitter pill.
But one that will have to be swallowed if Pueblo City Schools' (D60) mission of providing a high-quality education as a high-performing school district is to be fulfilled.
On Tuesday, Mousseau, a principal in the Denver-based MOA Architects, presented to the board of education an in-progress review of a district-wide master plan and facilities assessment commissioned by the district.
It's a report that paints a dismal picture of aged and failing buildings, severely underutilized square footage, continual declining enrollment and, perhaps most telling, nearly $785 million in needed repairs.
"We're not coming to tonight with resolution but with the situation," Mousseau told the board. "It's what I would call the state of the school district."
A state that was revealed through well-researched data on enrollment projections, student capacity of schools, facility conditions and operations, and maintenance costs.
In all, D60 has 30 permanent buildings, with but a single one built in the last 25 years. Five were constructed between 1993 and 1968 with 24, or 80 percent, built before 1968.
And with a dwindling life span comes a host of problems and issues. District-wide, $785 million is needed to address what's defined as a "condition issue," with $218 million required to rectify what are deemed top-priority, or critical issues, that could lead to a school closing itself.
-- Jon Pompia School maintenance director, staff aim to save dollars-- Times-Gazette Tennessee: October 21, 2018 [ abstract] While Bedford County students enjoy a mini fall break through Monday, the maintenance department will be working to save taxpayer dollars.
“We like to say we’re the mortar between the bricks,” Daniel Kleindienst, director of school maintenance, said during Tuesday’s regular monthly meeting of Bedford County Board of Education.
His crew tries to take advantage of days schools are not in session to get projects completed. To say that local school maintenance has a big job is an understatement. Kleindienst’s department maintains over 1.4 million square feet of buildings and nearly 360 acres — all of which has to be bushhogged, mowed and trimmed.
“We like to toot our own horn,” said Kleindienst. “The way we do that is to do our jobs very efficiently.”
Savings search
Board member Diane Neeley, who serves District 4, said she appreciates how crews have upgraded Liberty. She also said she was appreciative of the money-saving efforts.
The maintenance director responded, “You all make my job a whole lot easier when we have your support.”
Crews have started this project with metal trim work in the back — an effort to see if they can do the whole refurbish job in-house. This effort could save the system nearly $45,000, Kleindienst said.
“I believe we can do it,” Kleindienst said. “Our people are good.”
-- DAWN HANKINS Eugene School District seeking voter approval for $319.3 million bond measure-- The Register-Guard Oregon: October 20, 2018 [ abstract] The Eugene School District is asking voters to pass a $319.3 million general obligation bond measure to finance rebuilding three schools and for renovations and improvements at several others.
The bond measure is the largest in Lane County history and would increase the property taxes on a median assessed home of $204,147 by about $135 a year, district officials say. That hike would be on top of the roughly $1,600 that the owner of a median assessed home already pays annually to support district schools.
The general obligation bond would rebuild North Eugene High School for $135 million. Edison Elementary School and Camas Ridge Elementary School also would be rebuilt at a cost of $42 million and $40 million, respectively. Gilham Elementary School would get $9 million in renovations..
Other listed projects include $31 million in maintenance repairs and improvements; $16 million worth of school safety, security and seismic upgrades; $12 million to provide equitable facilities; $8 million for curriculum; $6 million for career technical education; $6 million for technology; and $4.8 million for school buses.
The bond would not pay for teacher salaries and public employee retirement accounts and is restricted only to capital projects. The measure appears on the ballot as Measure 20-297.
Bond supporters have been ramping up their efforts to inform voters about the measure and how they say it will benefit current and future students, as well as the overall community.
On Saturday morning, bond supporters met at Edison Elementary School in the south Eugene region to kick off another round of canvassing. Before going door to door, the group heard from current and former Eugene mayors, including Lucy Vinis, Kitty Piercy and Jim Torrey.
-- Alisha Roemeling Dayton plans to spend millions on school building maintenance. Here’s why it now has the funds.-- Dayton Daily News Ohio: October 15, 2018 [ abstract] Dayton Public Schools leaders say they need to spend tens of millions of dollars in the coming years to perform deferred maintenance on 10-year-old schools and older facilities as well as making other capital investments.
DPS Treasurer Hiwot Abraha said at a school board meeting last week the district’s overall financial forecast “looks very good,” but she cautioned that next June’s new state budget and major spending on capital projects are key issues to watch.
RELATED: Recent history of Dayton schools’ facilities
Associate Superintendent Shelia Burton said an evaluation of capital spending needs is ongoing, but esimated the district may have to spend “more than $13.6 million per year.” Abraha budgeted almost $10 million this year and almost $12 million for each of the following four years.
Capital spending the previous three years was less than $5 million combined,wog according to district documents. Capital spending includes things like building repairs and replacement of vehicles, computers and equipment.
“I didn’t put the $13.6 million they were asking; shocker. I put about $11 million on that one,” Abraha said. “If we put all our spending on capital improvement, our spending in (classroom) instruction will be lower. We need to watch on that one.”
-- Jeremy P. Kelley New ordinance could address school repairs: School district budgeting process for education could be a hurdle-- Daily News-Miner Alaska: October 12, 2018 [ abstract] News-Miner opinion: Borough Mayor Karl Kassel wants to limit how much money the school district can set aside into its reserves and to require excess money be placed into the district’s facilities maintenance account. An ordinance introduced at the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly meeting Thursday would do that.
Every year, the Fairbanks school district has money left over from its operating budget. This money is moved into reserve accounts, which has been standard practice. However, the district was scrutinized in the spring when it threatened layoffs and program cuts in spite of having ballooning reserve funds. Superintendent Karen Gaborik defended the district’s then-$30 million fund balance by saying it reflected long-term responsible management. She said this budgeting would help the district get through the state’s fiscal crisis.
The borough is in a tight situation with its $270 million maintenance backlog. School repairs are on that to-do list. The borough owns the schools, but the district’s facilities maintenance account is what pays for improvements such as new roofs or windows. A bond package that would have paid for some school repairs, Proposition 1, was rejected by the voters in the Oct. 2 municipal election. Proposition 2 would have allowed the borough to collect money for more facilities maintenance, but that failed too.
The proposed ordinance is Mayor Kassel’s contingency plan. It would cap the funds in the school district’s unrestricted reserve accounts, or fund balance, at $9 million. Any other unused operating budget money beyond that $9 million would need to be moved to the district’s facilities maintenance account so there will be money to repair schools.
On paper it sounds like a good idea, but the Board of Education and district officials aren’t keen on it.
Board of Education President Heidi Haas said in an email that the ordinance “will have significant negative impact on the finances and operations of the district and the school board budgeting process. It is critical that the board have a full understanding of the financial and legal implications of this proposed action by the assembly.”
-- News-Miner opinion Residents question multi-million-dollar outdoor facilities project at Unionville school-- Daily Local News Pennsylvania: October 12, 2018 [ abstract] EAST MARLBOROUGH—A planned multi-million outdoor facilities project in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District is being challenged by some residents who claim it will put an undue financial burden on the district’s taxpayers.
District officials hired a consulting firm to review existing outdoor facilities and make recommendations. Some of those recommendations indicate fields used for varsity softball, soccer, field hockey, middle school football and girls’ lacrosse are over established standards but sustainable with high levels of maintenance.
In addition, the existing synthetic turn and synthetic track should receive new surfaces within the next two years. The consulting firm reported that the greenhouse program could be expanded with potential community-based gardening. The report states that the upper portion of land at the Unionville High School campus could be utilized for expanded stormwater management facilities serving new synthetic turf tennis, and parking areas.
“I don’t see a need for this project,” said Jack Greenwood of East Marlborough, who was a health and physical education teacher in the Kennett School District for 40 years and who coached numerous sports. “Your long-range plan is based on constant spending.”
Greenwood said the outdoor facilities project, which could cost in excess of $10 million, would put a financial strain on the district’s seniors on a fixed income.
-- Fran Maye A/C problems worsen in PBC schools after district delays millions in fixes-- Palm Beach Post Florida: October 11, 2018 [ abstract] Nearly two years after voters raised taxes to pay for better school facilities, air conditioners are breaking down more often in Palm Beach County’s public schools, forcing more students to study in overheated classrooms.
In the first five weeks of classes, the school district logged 2,172 reports of malfunctioning air conditioners on its campuses and facilities, a 6 percent increase from the same period a year ago, a Palm Beach Post analysis of school maintenance records shows.
The growing problems come after district administrators delayed $20 million of AC repairs and replacements scheduled for the last school year.
Flush with money from an increase in the county's sales tax, the district had planned $27 million in fixes last year.
But three-quarters of the work was postponed, district officials said, as a result of new priorities and a slow-moving competitive-bidding process to select firms to do the work.
With most planned fixes left undone, AC malfunctions increased this year in many of the district's 165 traditional schools and other facilities, The Post found.
The growing problems have wreaked havoc on campuses across the county. AC breakdowns have made learning more difficult for thousands of students, forced some classes outdoors and in some cases even required students to seek medical treatment.
-- Andrew Marra Horry County Schools considering tax increase to fund building, renovation projects-- myrtlebeachonline.com North Carolina: October 09, 2018 [ abstract] Some Horry County School board members are starting to speak in favor of a tax increase as available funding continues to fall short of expected expenses.
Most board members were present Monday for a joint meeting between the facilities and finance committees, and the meeting centered on options for funding the district’s five-year capital plan.
The plan includes new and replacement schools, renovations, maintenance and upkeep across all of the district facilities at a total cost of more than $754 million, according to previous Sun News reports.
Board member and finance committee chairman John Poston noted that the committees have been discussing funding options for about a year, but no action has been taken.
John Gardner, the district’s chief financial officer, showed committee members funding projections looking at different millage rates through 2024, which is when the penny sales tax is set to expire.
At each millage rate, Gardner showed funding available under a “pay as we go” option, which involves the district solely using tax revenue without borrowing; borrowing up to 8 percent of its debt capacity; or asking voters to approve a bond referendum, which would be between $125 million-$250 million based on the millage rate.
-- DAVID WEISSMAN Essexville-Hampton school district seeks millage renewal for buildings-- Michigan Live Michigan: October 08, 2018 [ abstract] ESSEXVILLE, MI -- A Bay County school district is seeking a millage renewal to help pay for school maintenance, security and repair costs.
The Essexville-Hampton Public Schools district is asking for voter approval of up to 3 mills to continue funding of a so-called "sinking fund" for various building needs. The millage proposal appears on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.
If approved, the 10-year millage will generate $947,187 for the school district in its first year. Homeowners would pay $3 for each $1,000 in taxable value of their homes. The owner of a $100,000 home with a taxable value of $50,000 would pay $150 annually.
-- Isis Simpson-Mersha LCS prioritizes capital maintenance needs-- The News & Advance Virginia: October 06, 2018 [ abstract]
City Council’s request to delay funding on replacement and renovation projects for Lynchburg City Schools by a year could have implications for significant maintenance needs in city schools.
LCS Assistant Superintendent Ben Copeland said if funding pushbacks continue, the division will need to make decisions on certain equipment replacements — such as chillers and HVAC systems — to avoid “catastrophic failures of things during the school year.”
“We’ve gotten lucky with a few things that have occurred over the past five years,” Copeland said. “I hope I continue to have good luck in all that we do, but at some point and some time something is not going to last as long as we want it to and we’re going to be in a bind.”
Copeland said City Council also requested the division prioritize capital maintenance projects for FY 2020.
“The way I approached the prioritization is fairly simple, roofs over everything else because if you have roof issues, you have the potential for multiple other issues,” Copeland said.
-- Liz Ramos Clarksburg School Making Slow Progress on Repairs-- iBerkshires.com Massachusetts: October 05, 2018 [ abstract] CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Officials and volunteers are still working out the kinks on an ambitious plan to make necessary renovations to Clarksburg School.
There was a rush of volunteers in the wake of last year's failed school vote but progress has been slow — hampered by lack of funding, bidding procedures and lines of communication between town and school officials.
"The town is the school, the school is the town, it's never going to be successful if it's an us versus them," said Superintendent of School John Franzoni at brief meeting of the ad hoc school renovation committee. "We have to work together. ... If we don't make these improvements to the school, it won't be a long-term viable option for the kids."
The school district had been in line for a $19 million renovation and addition at the nearly 60-year-old school but voters balked at the steep cost and two votes failed to win the needed two-thirds majority to authorize nearly $8 million in borrowing.
But the building still needs significant repairs and updates to meet current code including complying with the federal American With Disabilities Act. A preliminary estimate done during the feasibility study had a cost of $4 million to address priority projects that included the removal of asbestos.
So far, the town has offered $82,000 from its state Green Communities Grant to fix the obsolete boiler system (expected to be done this fall) and some $500,000 in state funding has been earmarked for the roof that is under the control, at the moment, of the Division of Capital Asset Management and maintenance.
-- Tammy Daniels Washington County Public Schools maintenance backlog: about $63.5 million-- Herald-Mail Media Maryland: October 04, 2018 [ abstract]
Washington County Public Schools currently has $63.5 million worth of unfunded routine maintenance and replacement projects, with approximately $53.9 million at school facilities.
According to a school system report for fiscal year 2020, the total figure includes $9.2 million in projects to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, many of which can only be fixed with a major facility renovation.
The report, which the Board of Education approved 6-0 on Tuesday, will be sent to the state for approval. Board President Melissa Williams was not present for the vote.
WCPS' unfunded maintenance increased approximately $8 million from last year’s report, partially due to construction costs rising over the past two years. Projects vary from roof and HVAC replacements to updating energy conservation efforts.
The highest priority maintenance projects total more than $28.2 million, according to the report. That includes more than $8.9 million in elementary schools, more than $7.1 million in middle schools and more than $12.8 million on the high school level.
The highest priority projects to update facilities for ADA compliance would cost $238,530 for elementary schools, $308,760 for middle schools, $179,700 for high schools and $39,000 for other buildings, totaling $765,990.
-- Alexis Fitzpatrick Framingham School Committee Approves $4.6 Million Capital Infrastructure Plan; Including $1.1 Million For Air Conditioni-- Framingham Source Massachusetts: October 03, 2018 [ abstract] FRAMINGHAM – Tonight, October 3, the City of Framingham’s School Committee voted to approve the school district’s annual request of priority capital projects.
These projects and the district’s capital planning process save money in the long-term by prioritizing preventative maintenance and health safety projects, utilizing existing infrastructure, and fully using warranties and cost effective contract vehicles in partnership with municipal departments.
“The School Committee’s request seeks to fund what is sorely needed so students, staff, and our community can benefit,” said Adam Freudberg, Chair of the Framingham School Committee and District 4 Member. “Security improvements, environmentally friendly upgrades, ADA compliance, exterior upgrades, and fixing a major health safety and educational delivery gap at Framingham High School by adding air conditioning were prioritized by the committee. With this plan, we have teamed up with the Superintendent and Buildings and Grounds to create an opportunity to make limited strategic investments to support our current students and educators, as well as the generations to come.”
-- Susan Petroni How Hillsborough’s school air conditioning crisis got so bad-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: September 28, 2018 [ abstract] Jim Dieringer took a call from a Sickles High parent whose son came home sopping wet after a day in class with no air conditioning.
The school, just 21 years old, had reported dozens of cooling problems since the year began. The mom asked Dieringer, the manager of air conditioning for Hillsborough County schools, what could she do to help.
"Vote," he told her.
Hillsborough residents are being asked to approve a half-cent sales tax to support school capital projects, including more than $600 million for air conditioners that are breaking down at an alarming rate. In a frenzy of appearances before the Nov. 6 election, district leaders are making the case that the state has caused the crisis by shortchanging public schools.
But they’re telling only part of the story.
While it’s clear that decisions in Tallahassee have cut Hillsborough’s school revenue by hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years, the record also shows that district leaders made decisions — and non-decisions — that contributed to the decline.
In its quest for better teachers, better programs and a better credit rating, the Hillsborough school system fell into a cycle of reactive maintenance and crisis management when it came to its buildings. Those priorities are borne out in budgets showing that, year in and year out, the district spends less on maintenance than other large counties in Florida.
The problem is not entirely the state’s fault, deputy superintendent Chris Farkas conceded in a recent interview.
"It’s not 100 percent," he said. "We made decisions."
-- Marlene Sokol Leaky roofs, lead in the water, fire risk: Baltimore schools face nearly $3 billion maintenance backlog-- Capital Gazette Maryland: September 27, 2018 [ abstract] Federal Hill Preparatory Principal Sara Long says she’s grateful that when her school’s 43-year-old roof leaks, the damage is mostly in the stairwells and hallways.
If there’s heavy rain and wind, tiles fall down. Big puddles form. Bits of the auditorium ceiling crumble to the floor.
Her concern, she says, is the day when “suddenly it’s happening in a classroom.”
As the lack of air conditioning in many Baltimore public schools garnered recent media attention and finger-pointing from the governor and others, the school system’s other maintenance needs — which affect teachers and students year-round — generate less outrage.
There are aging roofs, rusted pipes, cracking steps and broken elevators — all piling up to a massive maintenance backlog that has swollen to nearly $3 billion. That’s more than double the district’s annual operating budget.
“We do have the oldest school buildings in the state of Maryland. That can’t change from a quip or from a magic wand,” says city schools CEO Sonja Santelises. Addressing the backlog in repairs, she says, is “not going to happen overnight.”
-- Talia Richman 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 Construction projects continue at schools-- The Franklin Sun Louisiana: September 26, 2018 [ abstract]
Summer construction work at area schools continue to stretch deep into the school year, said Superintendent Lanny Johnson.
Johnson said improving the parking area at the school in Gilbert was the largest project tackled by the school system. It was decided gray rock would be laid instead of concrete due to the discovery of water and gas pipes.
Johnson made those remarks at the School Board agenda meeting Monday.
Construction projects are also ongoing at the multi-purpose building and gym at Franklin Parish High School. The batting facility at the high school moved a step closer toward completion with the wiring and lights being hung.
“The building program is going slow, too slow for me,” Johnson said. “I look for it to be done by Thanksgiving.”
Johnson also assured the School Board, that contractors would not receive final payment until a punch list was complete and he and the architect signed off on the work.
In other construction projects, Johnson said the old school building in Baskin was still scheduled to be torn down this summer. maintenance crews were battling with water leaks in two-inch lines at several facilities in the parish. Hot water heaters also were installed in pre-k restrooms throughout the parish.
In other business, the School Board has begun reviewing requirements for graduation exercises.
School Board members hope to crack down on pre-graduation vandalism, which has been a problem in recent years.
“There is a difference between a prank and vandalism,” said School Board member Tim Eubanks.
-- Joe Curtis BTV residents will decide in November whether to invest in a $70 million high school renovation bond-- Burlington Free Press Vermont: September 25, 2018 [ abstract] The Burlington City Council voted 11 to 1 in favor of placing a $70 million bond to renovate Burlington High School on the November ballot.
Approximately $30 million of the total is earmarked for dealing with deferred maintenance.
The School Board will be responsible for managing the project, but the City Council and the mayor will have final approval each time the school district wants to borrow money under the bond authorization , according to the memorandum of understanding discussed at Monday's City Council meeting.
The City Council also decided on Monday to approve a ballot item for a $30 million bond sewer infrastructure bond.
Where the $70 million will go to:
- Making the high school accessible for all students and in compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act rules.
- Reorganizing classroom instruction, student support and departmental spaces to create flexible spaces with up-to-date access to technology.
- Seeing to $30 million in deferred maintenance needs: new windows, roof, insulation and upgrades to the HVAC/AC, LED lighting and stormwater management systems.
- Enhancing building safety and security.
- Installing a new fire safety automated sprinkler system.
-- Nicole Higgins DeSmet Pueblo school board member: It's time to talk about closing schools-- The Pueblo Chieftain Colorado: September 24, 2018 [ abstract] If Pueblo City Schools (D60) decides to consolidate and/or close schools, the policies dictating the process are now in place.
During its regular September meeting, the board of education adopted, on second reading, the pair of policies, one new and the other an update of a long-standing policy.
Although there was opportunity for public comment, no one addressed the board relating to the strategems.
Per the revised policy, it will be Superintendent Charlotte Macaluso who takes the lead in recommending a closure.
"Whenever expenditures in operating a school significantly increase due to decreased enrollment or other factors, the board may consider whether closing the school is justified," reads the adopted policy. "The superintendent shall provide the board with information and any recommendation for school closure based upon a review of operating costs, including staffing (teachers, secretaries, educational assistants, custodians and administration needed to deliver the educational program), utility costs, the costs of maintenance, the condition of the school and options for providing adequate, alternative educational capacity for students in the event of possible closure."
Macaluso retains the option of appointing an advisory steering committee of stakeholders to assist in gathering information and developing recommendations.
The second policy relates to the board's responsibilities in the process.
-- Jon Pompia Alachua County Schools Facilities Crisis And Tax Referendum On Forum Agenda-- WUFT5 Florida: September 21, 2018 [ abstract] Troubled with roof leaks, broken air-conditioners and overcrowding, Alachua County Public Schools officials assert that a districtwide facilities crisis adversely affecting how students learn.
The district maintains that state lawmakers have cut funding for local schools to improve facilities by $168 million over the last 10 years. A lot of the district’s schools are out of date and have maintenance issues, said Jackie Johnson, the district’s public information officer.
Facilities are just one of the topics on the agenda at the “Making Our Schools Everyone’s Priority” forum set for 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Gainesville High School. The Education Foundation of Alachua County, the Education College Council, the League of Women Voters and the Alachua County Council of PTAs are sponsoring the forum.
Other topics include the district’s education gap and students’ mental health needs. Alachua County Schools Superintendent Karen Clarke; Valerie Freeman, director of equity and outreach, and Veita Jackson-Carter, the Systems of Care program administrator, are scheduled to speak.
If voters approve a half-cent sales tax referendum on the ballot in November, the county would reap an extra $22 million annually each of the next 12 years. The measure would cost families around $5 more a month, according to the school district.
-- Christina Morales Philly schools are falling apart, and taking students’ self-esteem down with them | Opinion-- The Inquirer Pennsylvania: September 21, 2018 [ abstract]
To know what the Academy at Palumbo is, you have to know how the kids talk about the Academy at Palumbo.
I've worked there, and I've worked with kids who wanted to go there, and I've seen the high quality of education that the school provides. It's the kind of school that Philadelphia's middle schoolers hope to get into, and that they don't want to talk about too loudly as not to jinx it. To get in is not only to symbolize your achievement — it's to keep your head above water in a school district that chews students up and spits them out. It's a chance.
Earlier this month, Palumbo, where I worked as a substitute teacher last year, was flooded after heavy rain. The photos and videos are brutal; The ceiling was entirely underwater, and debris was floating across the floors as if it were monsoon season in Thailand. School was dismissed early. But if you had read Palumbo's school maintenance report, which ranked Palumbo very highly, you'd have thought the building was in pristine condition.
Now, there's a lot to say about a building condition system that rates a school that can't sustain a few days of wetness roughly as an 89 out of 100. Philly's neighborhood schools are falling apart, as they are, on average, 66 years old, and the situation is an infrastructure disaster.
We're hurtling into a climatically absurd 21st century with our kids placed in aging fortresses that are not ready to match a hotter, wetter, and generally crappier future. The hallways are jungles, the floors are swamps, and fixing these schools would cost a jaw-dropping amount of money — if many of them weren't just destined to be shut down to make way for upscale condos.
-- Quinn O'Callaghan UL facilities plan could cost district $46 million-- The Times Leader Ohio: September 21, 2018 [ abstract] BELMONT — Union Local School District will hold a series of meetings to seek input from staff and the community about a school facility improvement plan that could cost $46 million.
John Jefferis, project manager with PCS & Manage in Barnesville, and David Sneed, education planner and consultant, presented Thursday a plan to the school board about what improvements the district could make. Board members had commissioned the educational facilities plan earlier this year. The purpose is to meet the needs imposed by aging infrastructure and buildings.
“It’s an evaluation of space and building components and codes and standards,” Sneed said of the plan. “The first phase, of course, is to complete this assessment. It addresses all those issues, as well as some issues the staff brought up.”
Sneed said one of those issues is the need for space.
“All that was factored in. We gave a price tag for all of that,” he said. “We’ve got a comprehensive plan that will involve curriculum, operations, maintenance, school access and safety.”
Sneed said the bus garage and maintenance buildings also were evaluated, as were the athletic fields. The total cost of the initial plan is about $46 million.
-- Staff Author Viroqua Area Schools referendum focuses on growth-- Vernon County Broadcaster Wisconsin: September 21, 2018 [ abstract] When voters in the Viroqua Area School District go to the polls for the fall general election Nov. 6, they will be asked to vote “yes” or “no” in a referendum to allow VAS to issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $36.82 million.
The bonds would pay the cost of a district-wide building and improvement program consisting of construction of additions for academic and other purposes at the elementary school, high school and Laurel High School; safety and security upgrades; remodeling and modernizing school buildings; capital maintenance and building infrastructure improvements; site and athletic improvements; and acquisition of related furnishings, fixtures and equipment.
“Vernon County was the fasted growing county in the state of Wisconsin last year, and at VAS we are running out of space for children,” District Administrator Dr. Kehl Arnson said. “The Board worked to develop a long-range plan that includes more space for our students to learn and grow.”
-- Angela Cina After Years of Underfunding, Some Maine Schools Are Decaying-- Maine Public News Maine: September 18, 2018 [ abstract] Many of Maine’s school buildings were built more than 50 years ago, and they need a lot of work: asbestos and lead removal, new roofs, windows and doors. But in the face of budget cuts after the Great Recession, many schools have struggled to keep up with those maintenance needs, forcing some districts to make tough choices.
This is part one in a two-part series.
There’s a giant, plastic tarp hanging below a hole in the ceiling inside the biology lab at Woodland Junior-Senior High School. When it rains, water leaks through the roof shingles, accumulates in the tarp, and is funneled into one of the classroom sinks. You can see the water damage in the wood below.
“The cabinets — these are all swelled up,” says Facilities Director Craig Croman, swinging open a cabinet door. “This is very nice room. Except, this.”
Croman is basically a one-man repair crew at the school in Baileyville. Outside, near the back of the building, he scratches at a roughly dime-size hole near a window and pokes his finger through. There’s little insulation remaining inside.
“I can tell you that if you put sodas against the exterior windows, it may not freeze. But it’ll be nice and cold for the students,” Croman says with a laugh, asked what it’s like in the winter. “We’d love to get the new unit heaters, with everything electric. But it’s a lot of money. And trying to get taxpayers to foot the bill for this whole thing is difficult.”
Mary Filardo, the executive director of the 21st Century School Fund, says fixing these long-lasting, persistent challenges is never easy for local districts, particularly rural ones. That’s why her organization advocates for assistance from the federal government, too.
“You look at the whole family has got to step in,” Filardo says. “It’s going to take a federal, state, local partnership to ensure any kind of equity in our school districts.”
-- ROBBIE FEINBERG SBA OKs money for financially distressed county, digital building plans-- Charleston Gazette-Mail West Virginia: September 18, 2018 [ abstract]
The West Virginia School Building Authority’s board voted Monday to award Calhoun County the first money from a fund the Legislature mandated to provide “emergency grants to financially distressed” counties.
The board also approved paying about $120,000 annually to establish a digital system for counties’ decade-long plans for school constructions, closings and renovations, called Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plans [CEFPs].
The state will pay North Carolina-based Dude Solutions Inc., which it already pays to provide a school building preventive maintenance software program, to provide this new service.
Separately, state Department of Education Executive Communications Director Kristin Anderson said the education department is putting $410,000 toward the new service.
In a law passed in 2017 (House Bill 2561), state lawmakers required the SBA to maintain at least a $600,000 fund to help school systems that are “either in deficit or on the most recently established watch list established by the Department of Education of those counties at-risk of becoming in deficit.” The law says the “emergency grants” are to be for “making repairs or performing urgent maintenance.”
-- Ryan Quinn Klamath County School District construction crews finish summer projects-- Herald and News Oregon: September 16, 2018 [ abstract]
Before school started last week, six fifth- and sixth-grade teachers at Peterson Elementary School spent at least a week moving supplies, books and other curriculum materials from modulars and the main school building to classrooms in a new building on campus.
Students were greeted with new desks, SMART technology, painted concrete floors and bright windows.
Stephanie Hull, who teachers fifth grade, said moving a classroom takes time, but she was pleased with the new space. “Not every teacher is lucky enough to have a new room,” she said. Hull, a Mazama High School graduate, has taught in the district for 27 years.
The new building features six classrooms, restrooms and a small break room area for teachers. Plans include doubling the size of the parking lot adjacent to new building, and workers before school started Sept. 4 leveled and graveled the area along Clinton Avenue. Future plans include paving the area to create permanent parking.
Peterson, with 600 students, is one of the largest elementary schools in the district.
The Peterson Elementary School classroom building was just one of a dozen projects the district’s maintenance crew took on this summer. The 13-member crew includes plumbers, electricians and carpenters.
-- MARCIA SCHLOTTMANN Lawmaker: State overspent for school construction costs in excess of $100 million-- Daily Local News Pennsylvania: September 14, 2018 [ abstract] One of the facets of school costs that can drive up property tax bills is large-scale infrastructure projects. Many school buildings across Pennsylvania are many decades old and require costly maintenance or replacement.
The traditional way that such a project gets completed is by putting out a notice to builders that they can bid on the contract, and then the lowest bid that meets the contract’s stipulations wins the job. But another method that has seen some popularity in Pennsylvania and across the country largely circumvents the public bid process, drawing accusations that it has left taxpayers on the hook for inappropriately inflated expenses.
The Pennsylvania House State Government Committee held an informational hearing Thursday to look at the topic in relation to legislation proposed by Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford. His bill would end the practice of using cooperative purchasing agreements to arrange for school infrastructure projects.
“We certainly live and operate in a time when school districts are looking for any opportunity to save money,” Topper told committee members. “We also know that a huge cost to school districts is any kind of a construction project, whether it be a roofing project, an expansion, renovation.
“And so we're just looking to make sure that this system that we have currently in place that offers not only competitive bidding but also this cooperative purchasing for construction is actually working,” he continued. “I think there have been cases across the state where it has not been working.”
-- Dave Lemery Maintenance issues mounting for Lee County schools as tax vote gets closer-- News-Press.com Florida: September 12, 2018 [ abstract] The gymnasium at Franklin Park Elementary School in Fort Myers doesn't have air conditioning, and when it rains, water seeps into the building.
As students exercised in the gym Wednesday, the doors were opened to ventilate the building, and a large fan blew air.
The children inside didn't seem to mind the inconvenience of the warm building, but school Principal Michelle Freeman does.
"Just think about my babies in here," she said. "They have no air conditioning."
The problems at Franklin Park are among a slew of issues the Lee County school district has put on the backburner because it doesn't have the money to fix them. The maintenance problems are among the reasons why the school district wants voters to pass a half-cent sales tax referendum in November.
The school district invited reporters to take a tour of some schools Wednesday, allowing principals to highlight what is needed at their schools. The reporters left the district's offices at 9:30 a.m. and rode a school bus to four schools.
-- Thyrie Bland City working with Picayune School District to repair gas leaks at Roseland Park Elementary-- Picayune Item Mississippi: September 11, 2018 [ abstract] Picayune Public Works crews have been working with Picayune School District maintenance personnel to repair natural gas leaks in Roseland Park Elementary campus.
Public Works Director Eric Morris said there have been two recent reports of gas leaks at the school, the first was reported to the city last week. City crews responded and turned off the gas to the campus’ cafeteria, and School District maintenance crews conducted repairs to the problem, which was a leaking plumbing fitting on the school’s side of the utility connection, Morris said.
Monday, city crews received another call of a gas leak at the same school in the morning and afternoon. Morris said the Public Works employees responded both times, as did school maintenance crews. Natural gas service to the school is currently suspended as the District maintenance crew conducts repairs.
Tuesday afternoon crews were in the cafeteria replacing fittings. District maintenance Supervisor Arnold Smith said he expected the repairs to be complete that day, after which a certified plumber would be called in to conduct a 24 hour pressure test. Smith said the results of the test will be presented to Picayune’s Public Works Department in order to have the service restored.
The Item has received reports via social media that children and staff were moved to the school’s multipurpose room yesterday due to the leak, and that some had fallen ill due to the leak.
-- Jeremy Pittari Ex-Strongsville schools maintenance foreman faces jail time, admits ripping off school-- Cleveland.com Ohio: September 11, 2018 [ abstract] CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A former maintenance foreman at Strongsville City Schools faces jail time after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing more than $60,000 in district money that he used to outfit his Columbia Station home and to buy a custom-built John Deere utility vehicle.
Robert Schwerman, 49, stood before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Carolyn Friedland dressed in a zipped hooded sweatshirt, jeans and tennis shoes. He pleaded guilty to theft in office and tampering with records charges, and agreed to repay the school.
Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Matthew Meyer, who assisted in the investigation, told Frieldand the state will not take Schwerman's home if he makes good on his promise to repay the school.
Schwerman faces up to three years behind bars. Friedland could also sentence him to probation.
His sentencing date was not immediately scheduled.
A grand jury indicted Schwerman in May on the two criminal counts, several months after school officials received anonymous tips about Schwerman and reported the allegations to Ohio Auditor Dave Yost's office.
Schwerman was in charge of the maintenance department and controlled the accounts, therefore acting as his own check-and-balance, Meyer said at a news conference announcing the charges.
-- Cory Shaffer Call for action on Lowell school repairs-- LowellSun.com Massachusetts: September 09, 2018 [ abstract] LOWELL -- School principals describe boarded windows, crumbling stairs, moldy walls and fire code violations at district schools in a report presented to the Lowell School Committee Wednesday night.
The update, which lists the top eight to 12 needs at each facility, is the latest document in an ongoing discussion of the condition of school buildings
School Committee member Jackie Doherty requested a list of the top 10 most pressing facility issues at each school in February amid a winter of closures and heating issues at Lowell High School.
"My intention was to try to give us some focus, because if we look at the pile of work orders it's a ridiculous document," she said.
Though the school district uses the buildings, almost all are owned by the city, a setup that can create tension between the two entities. City Manager Eileen Donoghue said the district is responsible for custodial services, like cleaning, and the city is responsible for repairs.
She said she has not seen the list presented to the School Committee, but she is in communication with the district regarding building problems. Donoghue attributes these problems to years of inadequate staffing levels and deferred maintenance.
"These are very real and ongoing needs of the city when it comes to capital plans," she said.
Donoghue said a consultant is completing a review of city and school buildings to develop a feasibility study of maintenance needs.
-- Elizabeth Dobbins Springfield schools gearing up to sell sales tax increase to voters-- The State Journal-Register Illinois: September 09, 2018 [ abstract] Under the circumstances, District 186 Superintendent Jennifer Gill is proud of how well the district has maintained its aging facilities over the past few years.
The district has leveraged dollars from health, life and safety bonds to renovate some of its oldest buildings and keep up with maintenance. But with 81 percent of Springfield’s public schools now 50 years or older, the task has not been easy.
“That’s something that I’m proud about in District 186,” Gill said. “You can walk into our schools, you can see modern elements. But in order to do this next level of work that we need to do, there has to be something above and beyond our health, life, safety dollars that we’ve been able to sell bonds for and pay back over time.”
This “something” beyond existing revenue sources, school proponents hope, is a 1-percentage-point countywide sales tax increase that would go exclusively to Sangamon County school districts for facilities upgrades.
This question will be in the hands of Sangamon County voters, who will answer the binding referendum question at the ballot box in November.
If approved, the sales tax increase would not be applied to cars, trucks, ATVs, boats, RVs, mobile homes, unprepared food, drugs (including over-the-counter and vitamins), farm equipment and parts, farm inputs and services.
Advocates say the sales tax is a better way to fund facility improvements than other alternatives, such as raising property taxes or even more borrowing. For one, several counties across Illinois have already taken advantage of the sales tax as a revenue source.
-- Brenden Moore Republican Senator Asks AG: Is Virginia Violating Brown v. Board As School Infrastructure Deteriorates?-- The Republican Standard Virginia: September 07, 2018 [ abstract] As students throughout the Commonwealth head back to school, the discussion that many parents, teachers, advocates, and elected leaders are now having is the state of Virginia’s education infrastructure. There have been scores of reports and inquiries into the condition ofmaintenance-hidden-in-previous-years-surplus/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; color: rgb(191, 30, 46); text-decoration-line: none !important;"> Richmond Public Schools (RPS) and the under-maintained, asbestos-laden, air condition-less, crumbling infrastructure that house the school children of Richmonders. However, as has recently come into the light, the problem is far more widespread.
Rural areas of Virginia are also victim to lacking maintenance in school infrastructure. From leaking roofs, to substandard internet connections, those from the rolling hills of lesser-traveled parts of the state now having something, unfortunately, in common with the urban areas.
Last month, State Senator Bill Stanley (R-Franklin County) and Paul Goldman, former head of the Democratic Party of Virginia, teamed up to shed light on this previously little known factor. Although a General Assembly subcommittee has been created to address public concerns surrounding “obsolete” school facilities, which Stanley heads, the Republican from Southwest Virginia has taken it upon himself, with guidance from others, to ask Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring a question: Is Virginia violating the Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision by leaving schools in a dilapidated fashion?
After all, nearly one-third of schools in Virginia are 60 or more years old, some of which date back to before World War I.
-- Alex Lemieux Air-conditioning problems plaguing Guilford schools; one school dismissed early-- News & Record North Carolina: September 05, 2018 [ abstract] GREENSBORO — The cooling systems in more than two-thirds of Guilford County’s public schools have had problems or service interruptions this academic year, which began last week for most students, just as temperatures rose.
School maintenance staff and contractors have had to go to 81 schools to address air-conditioning problems this school year, some of them multiple times, Chief Operating Officer Scott McCully said. The district has 117 schools, not including nine that are located on college campuses.
Southwest Middle School students went home about 1 p.m. Aug. 29, the third day of school, after the cooling system for the entire building shut down.
District maintenance staff responded promptly to the school after staff discovered the problem first thing that morning, Principal Alisa Armond said.
As the day went on, she said, condensation formed on the floors in the cafeteria and common areas due to the heat and they had to put down sheets of construction paper in the walkways to prevent people from slipping.
“I didn’t look at thermostats; it was very warm, I will say that,” she said.
When maintenance staff realized they didn’t have a part they needed to get the repair done right away, Armond said, district leaders decided to cancel school. maintenance staff fixed the issue that evening and students came back to a cool school the next morning, said Armond, who added that they’ve had no problems since.
-- Jessie Pounds D204 to spend $34.2 million on school repairs over next 4 years-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: September 05, 2018 [ abstract] Fixing leaky roofs, securing all classrooms with better locking systems, and finishing work to air condition elementary school are just a few of the projects that Indian Prairie School District 204 expects to complete over the next four years.
District 204 officials Tuesday outlined a plan to spend $34.2 million on repair maintenance work that has been put off in recent years because of the lack of funding.
To pay for the work, the district will tap existing money from its capital outlay account, developer contributions, the sale of properties and fund balances.
Chief School Business Official Jay Strang said the community at last year’s Engage 204 sessions identified the deferred maintenance of school buildings and school security as priorities in the district.
In the first year, the district will spend $10.5 million, $4.5 million of which will cover the cost of air-conditioning the elementary school classrooms that still don’t have it and another $1 million will be earmarked for improving the public address system in schools and upgrading classroom locks.
Deferred maintenance projects, such as replacing the roofs at Graham Elementary in Naperville and Fischer Middle School in Aurora; replacing the asphalt parking lots at the Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora and Hill Middle School and Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville; and fixing the leaky masonry walls at Fischer and five elementary schools will cost about $3.6 million, Strang said.
-- Suzanne Baker School system addresses maintenance: Digging ourselves out of a hole-- Chestfield Observer Virginia: September 05, 2018 [ abstract] Faced with sweeping budget cuts during the recession a decade ago, the Chesterfield school system deferred millions of dollars in major facility maintenance projects in order to marshal operational resources and avoid having to lay off teachers.
A decade later, the School Board is taking steps to address those maintenance deficits, track ongoing needs and ensure that facility upkeep remains a budgetary priority in future years.
Nita Mensia-Joseph, the school system’s chief operating officer, recently presented the board with findings from a long-awaited facility condition assessment of 55 Chesterfield public school buildings.
Eight schools that are being replaced with proceeds from the 2013 bond referendum – Manchester Middle, Enon Elementary, Beulah Elementary, Matoaca Elementary, Reams Road Elementary, Ettrick Elementary, Crestwood Elementary and Harrowgate Elementary – were not included in the study, which was conducted by Maryland-based contractor EMG at a cost of nearly $740,000.
“I feel like it was money well spent,” said Rob Thompson, the Matoaca District’s representative on the School Board.
EMG inspected all 55 buildings and assessed the current condition, remaining useful life and replacement cost of systems such as HVAC, structural, roofing, electrical, plumbing and kitchen equipment. The company also interviewed school staff, prepared recommendations and submitted a draft executive summary.
Mensia-Joseph didn’t specify what it will cost the school system to act on the facility condition assessment, saying it would be “irresponsible” to throw out a dollar figure before the School Board has decided which schools will be replaced or renovated as part of the planned 2020 bond referendum.
-- JIM MCCONNELL Pasco School Board nixes capital fund sharing with charter schools-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: September 04, 2018 [ abstract] Citing concerns about promising money they can't assure, Pasco County School Board members on Tuesday killed an effort to craft a plan for sharing capital funds with local charter schools.
"Our budget changes every year," board member Steve Luikart observed. "We can't guarantee something that is not guaranteed to us."
District officials brought the idea of creating a sharing plan, based on criteria such as student demographics and performance standards, to the board in early August. They did so at the behest of charter operators, who worried that without some arrangement they might have no money in 2019-20 to cover maintenance and facilities expenses.
Related coverage: Pasco School Board to discuss whether to share capital funding with charter schools
Their concerns stemmed from legislation that exempts school districts with high debt ratios for construction projects from sharing their property tax revenue with the charters. Lawmakers fully covered a charter construction and maintenance budget of about $150 million this year, but have indicated if they don't repeat that level in the future, districts will be on the hook for the difference.
-- Jeffrey Solochek Time to Address State's Aging School Buildings-- The News & Advance Virginia: September 02, 2018 [ abstract]
The Virginia Constitution is explicit: “The General Assembly shall provide for a system of free public elementary education and secondary schools for all children of school age throughout the Commonwealth, and shall seek to ensure that an educational program of high quality is established and continually maintained.”
The so-called “Education Article” in the state’s 1971 Constitution enshrines public education as one of the fundamental rights of Virginia’s children, following the state’s long-standing interest in public schools dating back to Thomas Jefferson’s push for an educated populace. But, as always, the question of money — that phrase “continually maintained” — has always been a bone of contention: Who foots the bill?
Sen. Bill Stanley, a Republican who represents part of Pittsylvania County, is hoping to fundamentally change that equation.
One of the most visible signs of the inequity between rich and poor school divisions is the age and condition of school buildings. Less-well off divisions are simply unable to upgrade their facilities or build new schools when needed because of the cost and the hit the local real estate tax rate would take. The average cost of a new elementary school in Virginia is upwards of $20 million, while middle and high schools are significantly higher at $40 million and more than $60 million. If a division chooses to go cheap up front and renovate, the long-term costs such as maintenance rise.
-- The Editorial Board Canton Area School District to be Closed Next Week Due to Mold-- WENY Pennsylvania: August 31, 2018 [ abstract] Canton, PA (WENY) – The Canton Area School District has closed its schools after finding elevated levels of mold during an air quality test. Each summer the custodial maintenance staff checks the buildings diligently, going through all of the procedures and protocols in place.
This summer a higher than normal level of mold was found in the school, which is what ed to the decision to close the school down for the remaining of this week and next week after students had already been 4 days into the new school year.
The amount of mold that was found during the air quality test did not require the school to close. The choice was made based off the Superintendent acting on the side of caution.
-- Chris Johnson Guilford schools working on plan to extend lead testing-- News & Record North Carolina: August 30, 2018 [ abstract]
GREENSBORO — Guilford County Schools leaders hope to announce soon a plan or proposal for more lead testing at the district’s drinking water taps, Chief of Staff Nora Carr said Thursday.
In the meantime, school maintenance staff have begun a new ritual: running all the drinking water faucets and fountains in almost every school for about a minute at the beginning of every school day. Staff began this procedure on Monday, the first day of classes for most schools.
Flushing gets rid of any water that sat in a faucet or other fixture overnight, lessening the opportunity for the water a child drinks to have picked up lead from the fixture.
The district is taking these steps out of “an abundance of caution,” Carr said Thursday in an interview. Research shows when lead builds up in young children, it can harm their intelligence, focus and behavior.
The school system last year tested for lead in one tap per building in 99 schools and 10 administrative buildings that are on a municipal water system. Three faucets showed lead near or above the EPA’s action level of 20 parts per billion. That’s the point at which the EPA recommends steps be taken to fix a problem. One tap, a faucet in a small, white sink in the kitchen of Southeast Guilford Middle, tested at 194 ppb. That’s nearly 10 times the EPA’s action level.
-- Jessie Pounds Half-cent tax revenue chips away at mountain of facility needs in Hernando schools-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: August 30, 2018 [ abstract] BROOKSVILLE — A new roof at Pinegrove Elementary School. An updated gymnasium at Challenger K-8. Patched leaks, new air conditioning systems and replaced flooring. The list of recent improvements at Hernando County schools goes on and on.
The district has routed more than $21 million in funding to school projects since 2015, when Hernando County voters agreed to a half-cent sales tax to spruce up school facilities. The total amount collected tops $26 million, finance records show. As promised, the district will use all of it to chip away at the long list of improvements needed in local schools.
"As I get it, I spend it," head of school facilities Erik van de Boogaard told the Tampa Bay Times. "It’s filling a huge hole ... If we didn’t have it, we would be in dire straits."
Because of other school needs, he said, the district had to cut spending on building updates in recent years. Without the added revenue from the half-cent tax, many maintenance projects wouldn’t be possible.
Many aren’t, even now, so van de Boogaard learned to be creative about the timing and scope of jobs to ensure the funds stretch as far as possible, said Greg Laskoski. He serves on a half-cent oversight committee that school officials formed when they asked constituents to consider the tax.
-- Megan Reeves Voters to consider $158M for Oregon City school buildings-- Clackamas Review Oregon: August 30, 2018 [ abstract] Would you pay about an extra $30 a year in property taxes for Oregon City school facilities?
That's the question the Oregon City School Board is asking local voters by unanimously deciding to place a $158 million bond on the November ballot.
Approximately $90 million of OCSD's bond would go to replace Gardiner Middle School and $20 million would renovate Ogden Middle School, officials estimate. Much of the remaining $48 million is allocated to address safety and security updates starting as early as the summer of 2019 at the district's other 10 schools.
"The bond would allow the district to address deferred maintenance issues such as leaking roofs, as well as to update, repair, and replace outdated mechanical and electrical building systems," said district spokesman Michael Clark.
-- Raymond Rendleman Spring ISD to begin maintenance projects at four campuses-- Houston Chronicle Texas: August 21, 2018 [ abstract] Spring ISD will begin work soon to beautify and maintain mechanical systems at four campuses at Link Elementary and Wells, Dueitt and Twin Creeks middle schools.
Earlier this month, Spring ISD trustees approved a $6.39 million package for maintenance projects at Link Elementary School and Wells Middle School.
A second package of $10.5 million will go to maintaining Dueitt Middle School and Twin Creeks Middle School.
Both packages are part of the $330 million bond passed in 2016 that pledged $40 million toward maintaining campuses.
“These are some of the older campuses we have and it’s just age. This is the maintenance just like you would do on a car to keep it running in top condition,” said Gary Hutton, executive director of planning and construction.
Originally opened in 1982, Link Elementary School will have new flooring and new paint job as well as beautification on the exterior of the building that will cost about $2.6 million.
-- Mayra Cruz Report: Virginia spending on school infrastructure down 33 percent-- Virginia Mercury Virginia: August 13, 2018 [ abstract] Between state and local governments, in 2016 Virginia spent 33 percent less than in 2008 on school capital projects, like building new schools or renovating existing ones, according to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington, D.C., research and policy nonprofit.
Virginia is among 36 states in which capital spending fell in that time period, the report states.
Several localities across Virginia are struggling with school maintenance.
Norfolk faces complaints from parents about mold and insect infestations in its schools, and students in Lee County rearranged seats to avoid leaking ceilings. Richmond schools have grappled with everything from ceiling tiles falling on students to broken stall doors in the bathrooms. However, the school system and the city had to recently make a joint admission that the school system maintenance-than/article_053f91ec-a4c5-5185-b582-aba346275f26.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(77, 178, 236); text-decoration-line: none;">had nearly $7 million in leftover money from past projects that was previously unaccounted for.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities used data from the Census Bureau to generate its report, along with state budget documents. It shows that, in 2008, state and local governments spent $1.72 billion on school construction, renovations and upgrades. But in 2016, adjusted for inflation, that number dropped to $1.16 billion.
-- Katie O'Connor Carlsbad schools seeking $265 million for upgrades, repairs-- sandiego Union Tribune California: August 10, 2018 [ abstract] Carlsbad Unified School District will float a $265 bond measure in November to fund science and math labs, technology, school site safety, and repairs to aging campus infrastructure.
The school board voted last month to place the measure on the November ballot, after approving a facilities master plan in January. That document describes improvement and maintenance projects needed in the next 15 to 20 years.
In 2006, district voters passed Proposition P, a $198 school bond measure that funded the modernization of Carlsbad High School and construction of the Sage Creek High School. The new high school christened its $14 million performing arts center on June 4, according to the high school website. With the completion of that project, the district closed the book on Proposition P.
This year, officials turned their sights to the next series of improvements that they hope to accomplish through subsequent school bonds.
The district aims to prepare students for “in demand careers,” including health care, biomedical science, computer science, robotics and skilled trades, by upgrading science and engineering labs, and career technical education facilities.
-- Deborah Sullivan Brennan DeKalb students return to schools in various states of disrepair-- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: August 09, 2018 [ abstract] It’s the first week of school and already the ceiling is leaking at Dresden Elementary School.
A garbage can sits beneath a waterlogged ceiling tile in front of a message board showing school uniform examples. The same area leaked a year ago after Hurricane Irma forced schools to close for a week.
The same area leaked in 2016 after normal rainfall.
Several schools are reporting leaks, plumbing back-ups and other issues. District officials said maintenance workers are addressing.
“There are various reasons a roof or ceiling may leak,” DeKalb Schools spokesman Andre Riley said via email. “This includes excessive rain, condensation, a malfunctioning plumbing assembly, or simple wear and tear.”
How often the leak recurs suggests the district has done little to fully fix it.
-- Marlon A. Walker Richmond Public Schools has millions more for school maintenance than originally thought-- Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia: August 09, 2018 [ abstract]
When Richmond School Board members approved spending $277,000 on a leaky roof at Fairfield Court Elementary on Monday, they worried the work would wipe out nearly a fifth of the money they had to maintain 44 schools this year.
They were weighing decisions about how best to triage issues across the division’s outdated facilities based on what the City Council approved for building needs this year: $1.56 million, which Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney recommended in his budget proposal. Fixing a roof here would mean far less money for boiler maintenance in the winter, or repairs to air conditioning units that would inevitably fail again next spring.
As the fiscal year that ended June 30 wound down, the RPS administration told School Board members that they had $825,000 in maintenance money left. But in a joint release issued Thursday, city leaders announced the division would have $6.9 million more in leftover money to work with — still shy of the $31 million schools requested — in money already allocated to school maintenance.
-- Justin Mattingly MCPS Review Reveals Elevated Lead Levels in Water at 86 Schools-- Bethesda Beat Maryland: August 08, 2018 [ abstract] After a maintenance/drinking-water-results.aspx" rel="noopener" style="color: rgb(0, 82, 156); text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">countywide review of school water, elevated lead levels were detected in water outlets at 86 Montgomery County public schools.
Water stations with high-level readings were immediately taken out of commission as the school system has worked through testing since winter, but 153 of the 238 outlets with elevated lead levels had been accessible to students, according to district data finalized last week.
In 2017, the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill requiring periodic testing for the presence of lead in each drinking water outlet located in all schools.
The law required all initial testing to be done by July 1.
Montgomery County Public Schools tested 13,248 outlets at 208 school sites. About 1.8 percent of the outlets showed lead levels over 20 parts per billion, a guideline for lead levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and specified in the state law. About 1.1 percent of the water stations with high-lead levels were accessible to students.
-- DANIELLE E. GAINES Maintenance crews crank through busy summer schedule at local schools-- The Conway Daily Sun New Hampshire: August 07, 2018 [ abstract] CONWAY — While the students and teachers are enjoying a summer break, maintenance staff across SAU 9 have rolled up their sleeves and are in the process of giving the schools and grounds a makeover. It means lots of early mornings and late nights to try to beat the heat, but a ton for work is getting done.
Topping the to-do list is a $1.2 million renovation to the heating and ventilation systems at Pine Tree School in Center Conway.
“Every year, I marvel at what Andy (Grigel, buildings and grounds coordinator for the Conway School District) and his crew are able to do in just six weeks,” Jim Hill, director administrative services for SAU 9, said.
Hill said the Pine Tree project is in full swing and on schedule for completion later this month before classes begin for the 2018-19 school year on Aug. 30.
“We’re on time and on budget,” he said with a smile.
Pine Tree marks the third year in a row that the district has undertaken a bond project on its elementary schools. In 2016, a $2 million bond was approved 822-285 for similar work at John H. Fuller Elementary.
-- Lloyd Jones Pasco School Board considers sharing construction funds with charter schools-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: August 07, 2018 [ abstract] LAND O’ LAKES — Despite facing a shortfall for its own construction and maintenance projects, the Pasco County School Board will consider sharing its capital funds tax revenue with some local charter schools.
The issue arose Tuesday as an offshoot of the board’s ongoing contract negotiations with Dayspring Academy, the county’s oldest charter school. Dayspring’s contract expired in June and was extended through Aug. 15. Founder John Legg, a former state senator, said his trustees did not want to further stretch out the deal without an understanding on capital money.
"We’ve got students that need a better facility," Legg told the School Board, saying Dayspring might seek mediation instead. "We just can’t wait another year."
State lawmakers recently required school districts to share their property tax income for buildings and repairs. Pasco was exempted, however, because of its high debt ratio for new schools and renovations.
The law has caveats, though, that could require Pasco to contribute a portion of its revenue in future years, if the Legislature does not fully fund charter school capital needs. For fiscal 2019, the Legislature covered the budget amount.
-- Jeffrey Solochek Busy summer for Iberia schools maintenance-- The Daily Iberian Louisiana: August 06, 2018 [ abstract]
As Iberia Parish students ease back into the routine of going back to school and filling their day with classroom work and homework, parish maintenance workers and their contractors have burned the midnight oil, so to speak, to make last-minute preparations to get schools and classrooms in tip top shape for the new school year.
“We start at the end of school. We say, ‘Send us a list of everything that needs replacing,’ ” Iberia Parish Schools general manager of maintenance Harry Lopez said last week.
“So during the summer we usually have a list of about 30 to 40 work orders that we are working on all summer but when principals return at the start of school they discover new things that need adding and that jumps up to 100 a day,” Lopez said.
-- SHERISE HENRY A school called Excel failed. Now, D.C. Public Schools is reviving the all-girls campus-- Washington Post District of Columbia: August 05, 2018 [ abstract] The first day of school is in two weeks, and the staff at Excel Academy in Southeast Washington needs to make sure everything is just right. Teachers crammed preschool classrooms with colorful books, plush seating and games. maintenance workers tidied the school garden, pruning the sunflowers and picking the ripe vegetables.
Teachers and administrators are also ensuring that the city’s families are aware the school even exists, recruiting them through community events, churches and phone calls.
Until this spring, Excel had been a charter school. But then it failed. Now, the traditional public school system, having brought Excel into its domain, is gearing up to reopen the school — the only public all-girls school in the District.
Excel Academy opened as a charter school in 2008, but the D.C. Public Charter School Board voted to close it earlier this year because of poor performance. About 700 students attended Excel last year, and enrollment is poised to plunge to roughly 300 this coming academic year. The school system said it expects enrollment to increase by late August, with more families signing up each day.
-- Perry Stein Maintenance motivation: Schools work to have facilities ready by Aug. 15 start-- Orange County Review Virginia: August 05, 2018 [ abstract] With classes starting on August 15, two weeks earlier than in recent years, summer break has been anything but for Doug Arnold and his staff in facilities and maintenance at the Orange County Public Schools.
In addition to overseeing a long list of projects done every summer, Arnold has been the point person for two major enterprises: the installation of modular restrooms at Porterfield Park and the complete renovation of the track and field at Orange County High School.
The new restrooms are a much-needed upgrade over the portable toilets that inspired the derisive nickname “Port-a-Potty Park.” One of the two units was installed on Monday behind the football bleachers. The other one will be set up near the baseball field once the ground dries out after weeks of frequent and often heavy rain.
The modular units have sinks and plumbing and will be connected to existing sewer lines. Arnold said they will be open in time for the first home football game on Friday, Aug. 31, against Culpeper. The cost of the lease-purchased units was presented to the school board earlier in the year as $230,000.
The rain has caused a hassle over at Orange County High School (OCHS), where the old track has given way to a dramatic construction site full of heavy equipment and huge piles of soil. The football team will have to wait a year before holding practices there, but Arnold said the track will be ready to use well before track season in the spring.
-- Hilary Holladay Mold again found at Capital High School-- Charleston Gazette-Mail West Virginia: August 04, 2018 [ abstract]
Mold has again been found in Kanawha County’s Capital High School, though details are scarce.
Briana Warner, the school system’s communications director, wrote in an email that “visible mold was found in several classrooms.”
When asked where, she forwarded information she said was from Terry Hollandsworth, the school system’s maintenance director, saying that rooms 127, 137, 144, 153, 230-C and 230-D “were found with elevated, greater than outside, mold levels.”
According to Warner, air sampling was completed in 22 rooms at the school on July 17, and the school system received those results with recommendations on July 24. The school system called its secondary clean-up contractor — after its primary contractor did not respond — on Thursday and has them scheduled to start cleaning on Monday, Warner said.
Hollandsworth wrote the types of mold detected were ascospores, Aspergillus, Botrytis, Bipolaris, Curvularia and Epicoccum.
“Abatement begins on Monday with Belfor,” Warner wrote, referring to the property restoration company. “Pinnacle Environmental will follow up with air quality testing. This is of highest importance and they will get it cleaned and tested as quickly as possible."
-- Ryan Quinn Bemidji Area Schools approves long-term maintenance plan-- The Bemidji Pioneer Minnesota: August 03, 2018 [ abstract]
BEMIDJI—Bemidji Area Schools has a new ten-year plan to fix up its buildings.
School board members in July approved a long-term facilities and maintenance plan that aims to spend about $1.8 million each year, about $1.2 million of which comes from taxpayers in the district. The remaining $600,000 comes from the state.
So where does that money go? The largest expenses this coming school year are $600,000 for "roof systems," another $225,000 for mechanical systems, and $201,000 for environmental health and safety management, according to documents presented to school board members last month. District staff plan to spend about $410,000 annually on health and safety-minded projects like asbestos removal and fire safety. They can save up some of the money the district receives each year to spend on more expensive projects, if necessary.
-- Joe Bowen Mildew, leaks, roof problems plague Chester Co. schools after voters deny $38M bond-- The Herald South Carolina: August 03, 2018 [ abstract] CHESTER COUNTY
Water seeps through walls and floors, outlets are faulty and chalkboards are covered in mildew at the Chester County Career Center.
Those are some of the problems county residents say they see there and the district’s schools.
The Chester County school board is gathering public feedback to go back to the drawing board after voters denied a $38 million bond in February. The bond would have paid for school renovations and a new workforce readiness center, as well as maintenance, renovation and upgrades to the district’s schools.
The needs were identified by the district in a multi-year capital improvement plan. The bond did not include a property tax increase.
-- Amanda Harris Austin ISD making upgrades to keep kids cool at school-- KXAN Texas: July 31, 2018 [ abstract] AUSTIN (KXAN) -- With another school year kicking off in less than three weeks in Austin, maintenance crews are in crunch time to make sure the district's schools stay cool once students return.
"Our maintenance department is also working throughout the district to check our chillers, our air handler units, just basic routine preventative maintenance and we are way ahead of schedule," says Louis Zachary, Director of maintenance at AISD.
The district is also replacing several HVAC systems or upgrading the current systems in place. In all, 37 projects are underway at AISD schools, the majority of which are on the A/C units. Funding for the $45.5 million-worth of projects is coming from a 2013 AISD technology bond that was slated for upgrades to classrooms and infrastructure.
Harris Elementary in east Austin is one of the schools receiving a new HVAC system. Right now the ceiling tiles in the hallways are down as the new system is being run through the building.
"But it will be ready for the first day of class," Zachary says.
Over the summer, AISD maintenance staff place a school's AC on an unoccupied mode, meaning that it typically doesn't kick on unless the school becomes about 85 degrees.
And in the event the AC goes out when students return to class, plans are in place.
-- Kate Weidaw Hannibal School Board expected to raise school debt service levy-- Hannibal Courier Post Missouri: July 29, 2018 [ abstract] An increase in the debt service levy to patrons in the Hannibal Public School District #60 would help expedite a plan for major HVAC upgrades at the district’s facilities, school officials say.
At the district’s annual tax rate hearing in August, the Board of Education is expected to increase the 85 cent debt service levy to $1.07 cents, raising the total levy to $4.24 per $100 of assessed valuation.
Technically, the school district has two levies — the debt service levy and the operating levy. Both have ceilings set by the Missouri Auditor.
The levies dictate how much people pay in personal property taxes for the maintenance and development of taxpayer-supported entities.
In previous years, the Hannibal School District has set a debt service levy lower than the maximum. The proposal this year is to raise the debt service levy 22 cents to $1.07, but still below the set ceiling of approximately $1.11.
According to school district officials, the $1.07 cent debt service levy provides enough support for a $13.5 million to $14.5 million general obligation bond financing issue subject to voter approval on the April 2, 2019, election.
That bond issue would help fund improvement at buildings in the district.
-- Eric Dundon New Hampshire gets money to address asbestos in schools-- The State New Hampshire: July 29, 2018 [ abstract] CONCORD, N.H.
New Hampshire is set to receive a $140,000 federal grant to help communities address asbestos contamination in schools.
The state's Democratic congressional delegation announced this week that the money from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would be directed to the New Hampshire Asbestos in Schools Program. The program reviews school asbestos management plans to ensure they comply with the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, maintain an asbestos accreditation and certification training program, and provide educational outreach to parents, teachers, and school maintenance personnel on the dangers of asbestos exposure.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said that it was critical for the health and safety of the children that the state combat asbestos. The grant, she said, would provide critical information for all stakeholders in the event of asbestos exposure.
-- Associated Press School Board eyeing reallocating $10M for school repairs-- Richmond Free Press Virginia: July 23, 2018 [ abstract] Richmond Public Schools officials want to reallocate $10.1 million to make acute emergency repairs to school buildings across the city.
At Monday night’s meeting of the Richmond School Board, Darin Simmons Jr., RPS’ chief operating officer, recommended redirecting toward repairs a little more than $13 million from the school system’s architectural and engineering account that was set up several years ago for the construction of new schools.
Under the plan, $10 million would be used to replace roofs, heating and air conditioning systems, windows and broken facades at 17 city schools, the Richmond Technical Center, the Richmond Alternative School and the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center, with $3 million set aside for emergencies.
Excluded from the list are George Mason and E.S.H. Greene elementary schools, Elkhardt-Thompson Middle School and George Wythe High School, which school officials said was deliberate because they are slated for replacement.
However, as critical as school officials noted the repairs to be, nothing can happen until the School Board votes to move the money and Richmond City Council endorses the plan to reallocate the funds for school maintenance.
-- Ronald E. Carrington Classrooms: When it comes to maintenance, there-- Amherst Bulletin Massachusetts: July 19, 2018 [ abstract] AMHERST — With students still a month and a half away from heading going back to school, one would expect the hallways and campuses of Amherst’s Public Schools to be silent, peacefully and quietly awaiting the rush of energy that is the first day of school.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead of silence during a weekday visit to one of the district’s five schools earlier this month, one could hear the low hum of an industrial carpet cleaner, the clanging of metal chairs being dragged across the ground and the voices of those who work to maintain and improve on the town’s public school facilities.
One of those voices belongs to Qusiem Raines, who works as a member of the maintenance staff for Wildwood Elementary School. Raines works tirelessly to prepare the school for the upcoming year, moving the furniture from every room of the school so that he can shampoo the carpets. Across the Valley, it is busy time for people like Raines who work cleaning and repairing school facilities in anticipation of September.
Unfortunately for Raines, the air conditioning is broken at Wildwood, making the school as hot and humid as it usually is outside, if not more so.
-- Mack Cooper Kamras announces 'bathroom blitz' initiative for Richmond schools-- Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia: July 15, 2018 [ abstract]
Bathrooms in Richmond’s schools will soon get an upgrade.
On Friday, Richmond schools Superintendent Jason Kamras announced a “bathroom blitz” — an effort to beautify the school division’s decrepit bathrooms.
City officials allocated just $1.6 million to school maintenance for this year. The system requested over $30 million more than it received.
“Peeling paint, broken stall doors and faucets that don’t work were sadly all too common,” Kamras said in his weekly email to the Richmond Public Schools community. “I promised our students I would tackle this. So that’s what I’m going to do.”
Kamras, who took over in February, said that when he was touring all 44 of the city’s schools, students often complained to him about the conditions in the bathrooms.
Student tour guides would regularly make it a point to show him the bathroom in their school just to make sure he knew how bad it was, he said.
About two months after Kamras completed his 44-school tour, he announced his commitment to “fixing and beautifying” the bathrooms.
Kamras said every bathroom will be upgraded by the start of the upcoming school year in September.
-- Justin Mattingly Winona school board to vote on $10M referendum Thursday-- Wiona Daily News Minnesota: July 14, 2018 [ abstract]
In a few days, Winona school board members will decide whether to ask voters for $10 million to repair and renovate the district’s aging school buildings.
The referendum was proposed in late May by a task force comprised of residents, teachers and school board members. A large share of the money would go toward security projects, like the addition of locked vestibules, and critical maintenance projects, like the installation of new hardware and mechanical systems.
“We’re a lot more honed in on what people do and don’t want,” said board member Karen Coleman. The district’s most recent attempt at a referendum, last fall, was squashed by voters who criticized the plan for its $81 million price tag and the way it reconfigured the district’s elementary schools.
-- Kyle Farris School maintenance staff hard at work over summer months-- The Outlook Alabama: July 12, 2018 [ abstract] Summer is a busy time for local school systems. Though students may not be walking the halls and learning in the classrooms, there is a lot of what could be considered “behind the scenes” work taking place throughout the system. This includes the school bus fleet and maintenance inside the school buildings themselves.
“We had several large projects we have been working on this summer,” Alexander City Schools maintenance supervisor Mark Simmons said. “We choose our projects based on pre-planned budgets.”
In addition to routine maintenance at each of the schools, including submitting water samples to test for lead and other contaminants and holding an annual safety equipment review with members of the Alexander City Fire Department, the city schools maintenance department has been taking on major projects at each facility around town.
-- Donald Campbell School district considers expense of old classrooms-- Half Moon Bay Review California: July 11, 2018 [ abstract]
Construction for new La Honda Elementary School classrooms is complete, but the community is split on what should become of the old.
The La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District board punted on a decision over the future of 58-year-old classrooms at La Honda Elementary at its June 21 board meeting. People worry about the cost of either tearing them down or maintaining them.
“Parents said it needs to go. Others said we should keep it at least a year. It wasn’t completely clear,” board member Andy Wilson said.
Without modernization or repair, the district estimates that annual upkeep would cost $36,000, and $2,000 per month for utilities.
Essential maintenance would require additional expenditures for roofing, heaters and upgrades to make them fully accessible. Those would total up to $647,000, and could necessitate greater electrical capacity, which might result in an additional $100,000 to $150,0000 to support.
A complete overhaul of the classrooms to bring them up to contemporary standards could cost $4.1 million to $4.2 million.
Those who suggested keeping the old facilities have floated several ideas.
District documents note the possibility for a new community meeting space, science lab or museum of local history. It could become a workshop for bikes, drones, woodworking, computers and coding, or possibly an art school. Some have even suggested that it could be used as homes to alleviate a housing shortage for local teachers who don’t make enough money to buy property in the area.
-- Sara Hayden CPS Announces $7.5 Billion Proposed Budget-- Chicago 5 Illinois: July 06, 2018 [ abstract] City officials on Friday announced a proposed budget for Chicago Public Schools, including an investment of nearly $1 billion for school modernization and funding for the first step of universal pre-k, officials said.
The district proposed a $7.5 billion budget, largely focused on operational costs. But the budget includes almost $1 billion in investments to new schools, new annexes and maintenance to existing schools. The number is the largest single-year capital investment in more than two decades, according to the city.
The mayor’s office said the budget would provide 3,700 more children with access to full day pre-k and 5,000 more students would have access to IB, STEM, Classical and Magnet programs.
The mayor said the 3,700 spots for pre-k would first go to children and families most in need. The priority will be on families with a household income of 45,000 a year or less.
-- Sandra Torres Money tight for maintenance, capital projects in Pasco County schools-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: July 03, 2018 [ abstract] Pasco County schools expect to receive $1.14 billion over the next decade for construction and maintenance projects.
It might sound like a lot, but district officials anticipate having $1.25 billion in expenses over the same time period.
And that amount doesn't include some priorities, such as an east-side technical high school to pair with the west-side one opening in the fall.
The 2018-19 fiscal year, which began Sunday, is proving daunting on its own, chief finance officer Olga Swinson told the School Board on Tuesday.
"We could probably use another $20 million just to do everything we want to do," Swinson said.
There is positive news, she said, in that the district will see a 7.1 percent increase in the tax roll, generating about $42.1 million in capital revenue, and the Penny for Pasco collections continue to generate their highest returns since voters approved the sales tax more than a decade ago.
But state support for capital needs continue to lag, Swinson continued, and much the the revenue is tied up in debt service and construction to ease population growth. The district currently has about $508 million in construction debt.
-- Jeffrey Solochek PICKERING PARENTS: THE CONDITIONS OF PICKERING MIDDLE SCHOOL IN LYNN ARE -- Itemlive.com Massachusetts: July 02, 2018 [ abstract] LYNN — Parents are upset about the lack of priority being given to maintenance and repairs at Pickering Middle School, citing the poor condition of the building.
Mary Gatlin, a Pickering parent, spoke at last Thursday’s School Committee meeting and presented a letter signed by approximately 125 parents and Lynn voters in support of improved maintenance and safety enhancements at the school. She said the group was ready to mobilize volunteers and fundraise as needed.
“On a recent short tour for incoming parents and students, many of us were shocked at the conditions we saw in Pickering — stained and peeling paint, bubbling plaster, water stained ceilings, insulation peeling off pipes, plywood covering broken windows,” Gatlin said.
“The conditions that we saw were unacceptable. We can no longer continue to defer basic maintenance while hoping for a new school. We are asking for your help in triaging conditions at Pickering and using the summer months to transform it into a vibrant and welcoming space for our children and the staff people who work there.”
Heather Cahill said she understands Pickering is not the only school with poor conditions.
“However, I still feel that since my kid is going there, it is personal to me,” she said. “It seems like we’re just not fully equipped. I know your hearts are in the right place. You do want to see our kids have the best school they can possibly have, but I don’t think you’re able to give us what we need.”
-- GAYLA CAWLEY New crisis looms for Detroit schools-- Detroit Rising Michigan: July 01, 2018 [ abstract] Two years after a brush with bankruptcy, Detroit's public schools face a new crisis in deteriorating school buildings that could prove more daunting to fix.
Detroit Public Schools Community District currently has nearly $530 million in capital improvement needs for more than 100 occupied school buildings spanning 10 million square feet. And the traditional means of paying for major repairs is unavailable because of a debt moratorium imposed by lawmakers in the district's 2016 bailout.
The moratorium effectively shuts the state's largest school district out of the capital debt markets until existing bonds are retired by 2040 at the earliest, DPSCD Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said.
A facility assessment by OHM Advisors and Alfa Facilities Solutions LLC concluded the price tag for replacing roofs, boilers, doors, windows and HVAC systems will rise to $1.5 billion by 2023 if nothing is done to put a dent in years of deferred maintenance.
-- Chad Livengood Schools - including one where teachers said building was making them sick - getting millions in renovation-- Winston-Salem Journal North Carolina: June 24, 2018 [ abstract]
Every summer, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools buildings go under routine maintenance work — some more extensive than others — while students and teachers are out of the classrooms.
This summer is no exception, with dozens of projects and millions of dollars — 2016 bond money, included — but one school in eastern Winston-Salem is receiving more public attention for the work being done and how it got there.
Removal of old and installation of new heating and air conditioning units in portions of Ashley Academy for Cultural & Global Studies is now underway, with the goal of finishing by the end of the summer. The district also plans to work on a portion of the roof on the school’s gym, said Barry Motsinger, director of capital projects for WS/FCS.
-- Michael Bragg SCS has a list of 25,000 maintenance requests, some up to 12 years old, with no clue on how many were resolved-- commercial appeal Tennessee: June 22, 2018 [ abstract] A child born on the same day as the oldest maintenance work order on file with Shelby County Schools would now be in middle school.
The district has a database reflecting 25,000 pending maintenance requests dating to 2006.
That doesn't mean 25,000 projects are left undone. An unknown number of requests were made multiple times, and the system filed them each separately, according to district officials. A chunk of the requests may be from schools that are closed, often due to the building's condition, or occupied by charters or other entities now responsible for facility upkeep.
But the real number of unaddressed requests is a mystery.
Chief of Operations Beth Phalen told the school board this week that she discovered employees were not properly using the online system to handle maintenance requests. Either they were using other methods of deciding which projects to fix, or they were not marking completed projects in the system. Teachers and principals still use it to submit work orders.
Many of those orders were likely addressed, Phalen said, possibly through other means of summoning staff to fix a broken toilet or a window that wouldn't close just right.
-- Jennifer Pignolet Area school districts begin summer maintenance work-- The Exponent Telegram West Virginia: June 17, 2018 [ abstract]
CLARKSBURG — Heating and cooling upgrades, revamping of floors and lighting improvements are among the many summer maintenance projects planned for area schools this summer.
Harrison County Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Operations Jimmy Lopez said some of the main projects they will be doing this summer come from the Energy Savings Group.
This is Phase III of the savings project and includes: The boiler replacements and controls upgrades at three facilities, interior and exterior lighting improvements, a rooftop unit for heating and cooling in the cafeteria and gym at Washington Irving Middle School and a unit ventilator upgrade at Liberty High School.
-- Victoria Cann Regional school fund to allow fixes, not just builds-- The Arctic Sounder Alaska: June 16, 2018 [ abstract] Some schools that are getting older just need a little TLC and don't need to be made again from scratch. That's one of the issues touched on by House Bill 212, which passed through both the Alaska House and Senate this legislative session.
"This will add major maintenance to the Regional Education Attendance Area (REAA) fund in addition to new school construction," said the bill's primary sponsor, Rep. Neal Foster (D-Nome), speaking before the Senate Finance Committee on May 8. "I think it's a great way to keep our costs down overall in terms of preventative maintenance."
Co-sponsors included former House District 40 Rep. Dean Westlake (D-Kiana), Rep. Tammie Wilson (R-North Pole), Rep. Chris Tuck (D-Anchorage) and Rep. Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak).
"It doesn't do this by adding more money and increasing the size of the pie. What it does is re-allocates how the pie is cut," explained Foster's Finance Committee aide Jane Pierson on May 8. "The schools will benefit by helping reduce the deterioration of schools and in the long run, save millions because for example, it's better to be proactive and replace a roof than be reactive and replace an entire school."
Before the change went through, the REAA fund only allowed for new school construction. While the fund will still explicitly prioritize building new schools, it will allow rural districts to apply for help in doing preventative maintenance, as well.
-- Shady Grove Oliver Drinking water exceeds lead limits at 63 Montgomery Co. schools-- WTOP Maryland: June 15, 2018 [ abstract] WASHINGTON — Summer break is now in full swing for students in Montgomery County, but county drinking water testing reports show kids who attended more than 60 schools in the system could have been exposed to dangers levels of lead.
In updating the results of its ongoing maintenance/drinking-water-results.aspx" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; color: rgb(0, 140, 186); text-decoration-line: none; line-height: inherit;" target="blank">Drinking Water Testing Program, Montgomery County schools say drinking outlets at 150 schools in its system have been tested for lead. Many have already been fixed.
While the county says on its website only 97 of the 9,748 outlets tested are accessible to students, a closer look at the individual school reports finds that a majority of the offending outlets are in elementary schools’ classrooms.
The Environmental Protection Agency sets a threshold of 20 parts per billion for the lead in drinking water before the fixture needs to be replaced. Nearby school systems like D.C. won’t let lead exceed 5 parts per billion. In Prince George’s County Schools, it’s 10 parts per billion, or ppb.
Of the 94 Montgomery County elementary schools tested, 46 have at least one drinking outlet that tested above the EPA threshold. Four others come within 1 part of the 20 ppb threshold. See the county’s maintenance/drinking-water-results.aspx" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; color: rgb(0, 120, 160); text-decoration-line: none; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; cursor: pointer;" target="blank">testing reports by school here.
-- Megan Cloherty 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 Chicopee officials again debate merging school, city departments-- MASS Live Massachusetts: June 14, 2018 [ abstract] CHICOPEE - One School Committee member is asking for a serious study of a long-discussed idea to merge the city and school maintenance departments to increase efficiency and save money.
School Committee member Donald J. Lamothe asked for the proposal to be sent to the board's finance subcommittee. Members approved it in a 10-0 vote last week.
"I would like to investigate how best to merge facilities departments," Lamothe said. "I would like the mayor to consider forming a task force."
Lamothe said the task force ideally would have members of the School Committee and City Council as well as representatives from the school and city maintenance departments to best find a way to merge the departments.
The School Department has one department that cleans, makes repairs and provides overall maintenance to the 17 school buildings, while the city maintenance department oversees City Hall, the library, the senior center and several other buildings.
-- Jeanette DeForge IPS to ask for $52 million from taxpayers for school safety on November ballot-- rtv6 ABC Indiana: June 06, 2018 [ abstract] INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Public Schools is moving ahead with one of its plans to ask Indy homeowners to agree to a tax hike to support city schools.
The capital referendum now will allow the district to raise $52 million for school safety projects and maintenance instead of $200 million they were initially going to ask for.
The $52 million would be used for capital expenses including 2,500 retrofitted doors, new lighting and strengthening windows with a special film and fire safety improvements across the district.
-- Rafael Sanchez Facility fragility: Schools have limited options to maintain athletic facilities-- MagicValley.com Idaho: June 03, 2018 [ abstract] WENDELL â€" Wendell High School’s 42-year-old gymnasium shows its age.
Paint is peeling off the bricks on the outside wall. Inside, some of the ceiling tiles have water stains. There’s a hole in one of the tiles, probably from a student who kicked a ball up there, said Troy Fletcher, Wendell School District maintenance coordinator. Several bleacher sweats have cracks.
Fletcher has been focusing more on fixing doors throughout the high school, and there’s one glaring example of a future project at the east entrance of the gym. The glass pane in one of the doors is out of place. Instead of filling out the entire pane, the glass looks like someone pushed it down a few inches, creating a gap at the top.
The list of small but noticeable issues at the school almost overwhelms Fletcher â€" largely because he can’t see any major fixes on the horizon.
“They give me a budget, I have to work with it. I stay within that budget,†he said. “I guess it’s always been tight around here.â€
From 2014 to 2016, four bonds proposed by the Wendell School District failed. A large chunk of the bond money would have gone toward the gym, which was in need of a new roof. Every time the bond failed, district officials feared the gym would be condemned.
-- VICTOR FLORES Pa. lawmakers weigh tweaks to school project subsidy-- Philadelphia Tribune Pennsylvania: June 01, 2018 [ abstract] An advisory committee of state lawmakers is looking to subsidize public school building maintenance to maximize taxpayer investments.
That is one of the main recommendations in a report released by the Public School Building Construction and Reconstruction Advisory Committee, state Rep. Joseph Markosek (D-25) said in a press release.
Markosek, a member of the board and the Democratic chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the recommendations should yield a more efficient and cost-effective plan for the state’s subsidy, known as PlanCom, which is aimed at public school construction and renovation projects.
“The committee conducted extensive interviews around the state, gathering input from school officials, parents, board members, architects, contractors and energy specialists,†Markosek said.
-- Phillip Jackson Under different plans, Columbus schools could be fixed, and then shuttered-- The Columbus Dispatch Ohio: May 29, 2018 [ abstract] Columbus City Schools officials are simultaneously pursuing plans to spend $125 million on school-building repairs and to possibly close some of the ones they just fixed. In November 2016, district voters approved a 0.5-mill “permanent improvement levy” that raises $4.4 million a year for building and grounds maintenance, or $20 million between January 2016 and the end of the 2020-21 school year. About half of that was set aside to buy 104 school buses at $100,000 apiece, with the rest going toward new technology, flooring, paving, lighting and other upgrades.
-- Bill Bush School Board OKs Asking Voters to Approve $27.7 Million in Bonds for Major Maintenance-- KUAC Alaska: May 22, 2018 [ abstract] The Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board decided Monday to ask voters this fall to approve a $27.7 million bond package to pay for roof repairs and electrical upgrades to district facilities. The board also took one last look at next year’s $238 million district budget before considering final approval tonight.
-- Tim Ellis SLIDESHOW: Aging high school buildings at center of $91 million bond vote-- Sonoma West California: May 16, 2018 [ abstract] Voters in the west county have a couple more weeks to consider whether to approve a $91 million general obligation bond issue to fund maintenance, repair and upkeep at Analy, El Molino and Laguna high schools.
Measure A is one of the very few local questions on a June 5 election ballot that is dominated by partisan primary contests and a countywide sheriff’s race. It requires 55 percent approval in order to pass.
-- Bleys Rose Mankato School District has more funds for building maintenance-- The Free Press Minnesota: May 07, 2018 [ abstract] Mankato Public School District leaders are planning extra school building improvement projects thanks to an increase in local and state funding.
The School Board has approved three sizable building and parking lot summer maintenance projects in recent weeks and is making plans for years to come.
A new funding formula for districts to update and maintain buildings, improve accessibility and continue required health and safety programs is in the second of a three-year phase in.
-- Kristine Goodrich Local schools working to keep classrooms cool during rising temperatures-- WVAH.com West Virginia: May 01, 2018 [ abstract] With the warm temperatures finally here this week, many schools are in the process of turning on the air conditioners. But what preventative measures are being taken so students are not sitting in warm, sticky classrooms?
It's the time of year where kids would rather be outside, but still must be in the classroom learning. It's a busy time of year for school maintenance staff as well as they are trying to maintain and fix HVAC and window AC units.
-- Ashley Bishop Chicago schools chief promises 'accountability' in addressing school cleanliness problems-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: April 25, 2018 [ abstract]
Taking on long-standing complaints about school cleanliness, Chicago Public Schools plans to conduct monthly inspections of buildings as part of a process that could result in sanctions against companies that were recently awarded renewals on multimillion-dollar maintenance contracts.
Parent advocates and the Chicago Teachers Union greeted the effort with skepticism at Wednesday’s school board meeting. The district’s plan follows years of discord about school conditions that resurfaced after a rodent infestation at Mollison Elementary school late last year and questions raised by the Chicago Sun-Times about subsequent building inspections.
-- Juan Perez 3.5 million square feet of school maintenance, one man-- The Times News.com North Carolina: April 21, 2018 [ abstract] Todd Thorpe is the face of school maintenance.
Sitting in his office on a Wednesday afternoon, we are surrounded by piles of roofing contracts thanks to major leaks at Broadview Middle School and Cummings High School, where he spent the morning meeting with his team of directors.
One of his two cellphones goes off at least once every five minutes â€" a constant reminder of the 35 facilities he’s responsible for outside of the central office on Vaughn Road.
But Thorpe has learned to take things as they come.
-- Jessica Williams New jobs, maintenance budget included in possible fall South Milwaukee school referendum-- Journal Sentinel Wisconsin: April 18, 2018 [ abstract] A referendum to establish a building-maintenance budget, improve building safety and hire staff to deal with mental health and social issues is being considered by the school board.
-- Darryl Enriquez Stevensville school bond ballots to be mailed Wednesday-- NBC Montana Montana: April 16, 2018 [ abstract] The Stevensville School District is asking voters to approve two bond requests totaling more than $22 million.
The 20-year-bonds would pay for safety and deferred maintenance, renovation and upgrades.
If both bonds are approved voters in Stevensville who own a $200,000 house would pay about $190 a year for 20 years.
-- Kevin Maki Elmhurst District 205 staff provide update on facility plan communications-- my Suburban Life Illinois: April 13, 2018 [ abstract] Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 has needed to delay some of its communication plans related to the proposed Master Facilities Plan, as announced at the April 10 Board of Education meeting.
The Master Facilities Plan, which involves all schools in the district, could cost $97.8 million to $158.8 million, depending on which projects are selected among the variety of repairs, building security improvements and future-ready additions, such as media centers and collaboration spaces. To do just maintenance projects across the district would cost about $26.1 million.
-- Mary Stroka Students at Colter returned to a new school entrance after spring break-- Buckrail Wyoming: April 10, 2018 [ abstract] Students returning to school from spring break at Colter Elementary may have done a double-take yesterday morning, wondering if they were at the right school.
School maintenance crews took advantage of the two-week break to relocate security doors to provide for enhanced visitor management at the school.
What are Wilson County's most important school building needs?-- Tennessean Tennessee: April 10, 2018 [ abstract] Constructing a new high school by 2020 in Mt. Juliet to address growth is far from the only building need in Wilson County, according to an extensive capital plan recently presented.
The proposed high school is one of eight new schools proposed in the long-range plan, that also includes enhancements, repairs and maintenance to every existing school in the district except Springdale Elementary, which opened this school year.
-- Andy Humbles Coos Bay schools move forward with construction of new school, building maintenance-- KCBY Oregon: April 04, 2018 [ abstract] Progress is being made in Coos Bay toward the construction of a brand-new school and maintenance work on other school district buildings.
Last November, voters approved a bond measure for schools in the district.
The nearly $60 million measure will fund the improvement of buildings and new construction, including a new elementary school in Eastside to replace Blossom Gulch.
Corvallis district uses break for maintenance-- Corvallis Gazette-Times Oregon: March 31, 2018 [ abstract] maintenance staff at the Corvallis School District have been using Spring Break this week as an opportunity to do work at local schools.
Kim Patten, facilities and transportation director for the district, told the Gazette-Times last week that just because the district is seeking a facilities bond does not mean it has stopped doing maintenance work.
Voters in the district will decide in the May 15 election whether to give the district a $200 million bond package that would fund new buildings for two district elementary schools and pay for safety, security and seismic upgrades, repairs and expansions at all other district schools.
-- Anthony Rimel Regents need millions of dollars for maintenance, repair costs-- The Public Opinion South Dakota: March 30, 2018 [ abstract] Stagnant enrollment at South Dakota’s system of state universities, coupled with the continuous demand for new facilities to compete for students, has caused the state Board of Regents to look for a different way to pay for maintenance and repair.
The two percent that Gov. Dennis Daugaard and the Legislature want for M and R sounds small. But the number is huge applied to hundreds of millions of dollars of buildings at the six traditional campuses and the two university centers in Sioux Falls and Rapid City.
A special report a small group of regents, system officials and two university presidents prepared threw the board into more than one hour of subtly fierce argument Thursday over what to do and when to do it.
-- Bob Mercer 'At the end of its life' says Holyoke maintenance chief on schools' need for $13.8 million in renovations-- Mass Live Massachusetts: March 29, 2018 [ abstract] HOLYOKE -- The public schools' maintenance director detailed the need for renovations at Kelly, Sullivan and Morgan schools in a video Thursday.
"These boilers were installed in 1974...These boilers, while they still do operate, they're very inefficient and the replacements would be highly efficient and much smaller," said Whitney G. Anderson, maintenance administrator for the Holyoke public schools. (see video above)
Anderson was describing the two H.B. Smith Co. cast iron hot water boilers operating in the basement of Kelly School, 216 West St.
-- Mike Plaisance Polk school district has trouble keeping up with growing population-- The Ledger Florida: March 28, 2018 [ abstract] Polk County’s population clock is ticking toward 1 million residents with 350,000 people expected to move in over the next 20 to 25 years.
How will the county keep up with school growth if it can barely keep pace now with routine maintenance?
It’s a question that the School District is now attempting to answer, having initiated a growth study in January with help from a consultant.
-- Eric Pera West Jefferson Hills will use secure door lock made by district maintenance worker-- Trib Live Pennsylvania: March 23, 2018 [ abstract] Jay Atkinson stood inside Thomas Jefferson High School after hearing about yet another school shooting and thought about the students.
His mind raced to: â€Å"What's going to happen if it happens here? We've got to do something to try to keep them safe.â€Â
The custodial maintenance worker in the West Jefferson Hills School District began to look around. If an intruder gets into the building, what could be done to keep the students safe?
-- Stephanie Hacke Massie: LCS needs to improve buildings, consider elementary school consolidation-- News Advance Virginia: March 21, 2018 [ abstract] As Lynchburg City Schools Interim Superintendent Larry Massie prepares to step down in the coming weeks, he has a few recommendations for the division, including taking a serious look at the capital improvement plan and considering consolidating some of the elementary schools.
“I’ve worked in five school divisions, and people are surprised when they hear me say this, but at least two of those school divisions are much poorer than Lynchburg. Lynchburg’s overall condition of the buildings are the worst I’ve seen,†Massie said at the Lynchburg Town & Gown meeting last Wednesday at the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company Administration and maintenance Offices.
-- Liz Ramos What would Blaine’s $12 million school levy pay for?-- The Northern Light Washington: March 21, 2018 [ abstract] Voters in the Blaine school district will vote on a $12 million technology and capital projects property tax levy in the Tuesday, April 24 special election.
The levy would cost taxpayers 51 cents per $1,000 of home value annually and raise $2 million a year from 2019 to 2024.
The district would use that money for a variety of maintenance and replacement projects throughout the district, as well as for funding new technology for students and staff. The district characterizes much of the work as maintenance and replacement projects that are too expensive for the school’s general fund.
-- Oliver Lazenby Fort Mill on its way to building new schools as voters pass $190M bond package-- The Herald South Carolina: March 20, 2018 [ abstract] York County voters appear Tuesday evening to have supported a $190 million bond package for three new schools, buses, building maintenance and technology in the Fort Mill School District.
Fort Mill school board Chair Kristy Spears said shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday that the bond package was on its way to passing with 70 percent in favor, according to results posted at polling sites.
The election results are unofficial until they are certified at 10 a.m. Friday at the elections office, 13 S. Congress St. in York.
-- Amanda Harris Cabarrus schools maintenance list is 35 items and more than $5.5M-- Independent Tribune North Carolina: March 19, 2018 [ abstract] Cabarrus County Schools has identified its top 35 facilities maintenance projects to the tune of a little over $5.5 million.
The Cabarrus County Board of Education got its first glimpse at the district’s 2018-19 proposed budget request during a meeting earlier this month. Although still in the discussion stages, a budget committee has already met several times to identify capital improvement projects, facilities needs and expansion needs.
-- Erin Kidd School district takes over more ballfield maintenance-- Press Publications Minnesota: March 14, 2018 [ abstract] The White Bear Lake Area School District is going to get a little more money from White Bear Township. Of course, there will be more work to do, as well.
The White Bear Town Board approved a contract during its regular meeting March 5 for the district to maintain ballfields one, three and four at Polar Lakes Park. The district currently maintains one and three.
-- Maggie Stanwood Budget boosts school construction-- News 4 Jax Florida: March 12, 2018 [ abstract] Florida lawmakers approved a 45 percent increase in construction and maintenance money for universities, state colleges and public schools in the new state budget.
The annual Public Education Capital Outlay program for the 2018-19 academic year will total $487 million, including $33 million in funding contingent on reimbursements from the federal government related to emergency spending during Hurricane Irma.
-- Lloyd Dunkelberger School Board Hears Facilities Update - Roof Repairs Needed Districtwide-- E Missourian Missouri: March 05, 2018 [ abstract] The Washington School Board listened to a facilities update at its meeting Wednesday.
The district’s facilities committee, which includes board members, maintenance and grounds staff, and administrators, had met earlier to discuss the report.
The update included promised bond issue projects that have been completed, and other planned, but minor capital repairs and equipment that were completed as part of the annual capital projects budget for this fiscal year.
School Board Hears Facilities Updaten Roof Repairs Needed Districtwide-- E Missourian Missouri: March 03, 2018 [ abstract] The Washington School Board listened to a facilities update at its meeting Wednesday.
The district’s facilities committee, which includes board members, maintenance and grounds staff, and administrators, had met earlier to discuss the report.
The update included promised bond issue projects that have been completed, and other planned, but minor capital repairs and equipment that were completed as part of the annual capital projects budget for this fiscal year.
What’s next: Following the Spokane-area school bonds victories-- Spokane Journal Washington: March 01, 2018 [ abstract] Following the Feb. 13 voter approval of separate construction bond measures totaling nearly $245 million, the Central Valley School District and the Mead School district are planning collectively to build four new schools, expand one school, and update a number of other schools.
Mead’s construction plans also include a new football stadium and transportation and maintenance facilities.
-- Samantha Peone 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 School facilities committee recommends spending $88 million on improvements-- The Herald-Independent Wisconsin: February 22, 2018 [ abstract] A preliminary recommendation by the Monona Grove School District Facilities Advisory Committee is all encompassing in that it proposes remodeling five schools in the district, building a new school, tackling maintenance issues and building new athletic facilities â€" all at a cost of about $88 million.
“These are all very preliminary,†committee member Patty Parrott said.
“Making this investment … it’s going to help address things down the line … as things play out,†added Jason McCutchin, another committee member taking part in the presentation to the Monona Grove School Board on Feb. 14.
-- Kevin Passon High school bathrooms, kitchen floor top list of future projects-- Pierce County Herald Wisconsin: February 19, 2018 [ abstract] Members of the Ellsworth School Board discussed upcoming maintenance projects at the Monday, Feb. 12 meeting, which includes the previously-discussed renovations to the high school's kitchen floors and old restrooms that were built in the 1960's.
Doug Peterson, the board's president and chair of the Buildings, Grounds and Transportation Committee, informed the board that he and Superintendent Barry Cain walked through the four original high school restrooms with representatives of Kraus-Anderson Construction.
-- Katie Davidson Official: Replacing Northside heating system costly but necessary
-- Daily Advance North Carolina: February 18, 2018 [ abstract] An aging heating system at Northside Elementary School, pushed to its limits during the unusually cold weather last month, needs to be replaced, the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools maintenance chief said last week.
Frankie Floyd, director of facilities and maintenance for ECPPS, told members of the Board of Education at their Feb. 8 retreat that his staff are working on short-term fixes to the heating problems at Northside but the long-term solution is to install a new system.
-- Reggie Ponder District seeks $91 million high school renovation bonds in June election-- Sonoma West California: February 14, 2018 [ abstract] Voters in the west county will be asked whether to approve a sizeable $91 million high school construction and renovation bond issue on the June 5 ballot.
It would primarily fund future reconstruction and maintenance needs at El Molino, Analy and Laguna highs. Finishing the El Molino performing arts center and remodeling the Analy theater will be the only two specific projects that voters will see listed when casting ballots.
-- Bleys Rose Hinsdale District 181 faces tough cuts to afford maintenance projects-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: February 13, 2018 [ abstract] Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Elementary District 181 will be forced to make some unpopular changes to services and staff to reallocate about $2 million in its annual budgets to maintain its schools.
District officials said Monday buildings and ground maintenance has been neglected in recent years, and now they must make unplanned repairs, such as new roofs at the Lane and Elm schools.
-- Kimberly Fornek Want more information about Twin Falls’ school levy? A community meeting is March 1-- Magic Valley.com Idaho: February 10, 2018 [ abstract] The Twin Falls School District is planning a community meeting about its 10-year plant facilities levy for school maintenance and renovation projects.
The meeting is 7 p.m. March 1 at the Vera C. O’Leary Middle School auditorium, 2350 Elizabeth Blvd.
During the March 13 election, the school district is seeking a 10-year, $4.75 million annual plant facilities levy. It requires 60 percent voter approval to pass.
Helena school board OKs $1.4 million renovation for maintenance building-- Independent Record Montana: February 09, 2018 [ abstract] After some debate at a special meeting Thursday, the Helena Public Schools Board of Trustees voted to move forward with a $1.4 million renovation of two structures to serve as the district's new building and maintenance facility.
The current building and maintenance facility is located on the Bryant Elementary School campus, but it will be demolished to make room for the new school that will be built there. The district owns the two structures near Helena High School that will be renovated to serve as the new building and maintenance facility.
-- Erin Loranger Troy: What to do about old schools?-- My Dayton Daily News Ohio: February 09, 2018 [ abstract] The Troy City Schools Board of Education has renewed discussions about the fate of aging elementary buildings and the overall maintenance of the district school facilities.
“In my mind, you have older buildings and at some time have to do something about them,†Superintendent Eric Herman told the board during a January work session that included updates on various topics.
Herman shared with the board a packet of information about the size, age, available space, detailed assessments of conditions and needs at each of the district’s nine buildings. The information, he said, was intended to help focus as “our conversation needs to move forward.â€
Among documents was one looking at instructional space in the buildings. All of the elementary schools (grades through six) were listed as “full,†including one building where the computer lab was removed to make way for classroom space. The junior high and high school listed one available classroom in each.
The district has a permanent improvement levy that generates around $700,000 a year and also spends another $225,000 to $250,000 a year for maintenance projects in addition to permanent improvements, district Treasurer Jeff Price said.
An assessment of building needs showed more than $119 million in projected renovation costs or $45 million for HVAC, plumbing and electric renovations. The latter estimate included no brick and mortar or roof work.
The district’s call for something to be done about buildings is not new.
The board last year sought approval of a 4.61-mill bond issue for two new schools to house prekindergarten through grade six students on land the district proposed to buy off Ohio 55 at Nashville Road. The funding plan included 33 percent state funding.
The bond issue was rejected by 60 percent of voters in November.
Following the January board discussion, Herman announced he would be retiring this summer.
Doug Trostle, board of education president, said the facilities review would continue as the board embarks on the effort to find a new superintendent.
“The challenges of maintaining our buildings will continue to be one of our top priorities. Districts throughout the state, who have not already updated their facilities, are having the same discussions,†he said.
“While the board recognizes the critical needs of our district, we also realize the community must share in our concern and be engaged in the identification of any long-term solution. We will continue to evaluate how we might update our facilities to enhance the educational opportunities for all of our students,†Trostle said. “ I am confident both our current and future superintendent will enthusiastically participate in this process.â€
-- Nancy Bowman Clark-Pleasant schools plan $5 million upgrade projects-- Daily Journal Indiana: February 04, 2018 [ abstract] Five Clark-Pleasant school buildings are set to get $5 million in needed repairs and maintenance in the coming months.
The work, which includes new flooring and wall coverings, upgrades and repairs to heating and air conditioning systems and parking lot and roof work, is planned to mainly be done when students are out of school, said Jay Staley, Clark-Pleasant director of business.
-- Annie Goeller LongTerm Facilities Maintenance-- Aitkin Age Minnesota: February 02, 2018 [ abstract] Aitkin Schools and the Board of Education are working on a 20 Âplus year facility plan for the district. It is important that the community is informed and has input on what the facilities will look like in 2041.
A road map or strategic plan will help to guide decisions in the future. It can be hard to look that far ahead or to imagine life in 2041, but for our kids we must do it. It is that important. The process of planning has begun and Aitkin Schools will continue to inform the community of its plans as things progress. For now our overarching goals for facility improvement are: increase student achievement by providing our students with a 21st century learning environment; provide PreÂ-KÂ12 students with a safe and secure learning environment; collaborate with the community on a resource that they can connect with and make use of.
-- Brad Kelvington Exactly what maintenance does Dayton levy fund?-- Union-Bulletin Washington: February 01, 2018 [ abstract] Isn’t it funny how, within the mass propaganda campaign to “Vote Yes for Our Kids,†so little is mentioned about how the taxes we are encouraged to levy upon ourselves are not exclusively spent on school maintenance and repairs?
Four years ago, the Dayton School District floated a 20-year, $19.9 million construction bond to fix a school it lamented was simply falling apart. In an April 5, 2014 Union-Bulletin article by Rachel Alexander, superintendent Doug Johnson brought out, reluctantly I imagine, some interesting points:
-- Carolyn Henderson 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 North Stonington residents to vote on halting schools project just before groundbreaking-- The Day Connecticut: January 28, 2018 [ abstract] North Stonington â€" Residents here will vote this week on something that may never have happened before in southeastern Connecticut: canceling a school building project after spending more than $1 million, signing one large contract and getting ready to break ground in just a few weeks.
On Thursday at 7 p.m., residents will vote at a town meeting in the gymatoruim on whether or not to proceed with a contentious school building project. Passed at a referendum nearly two years ago, the $38 million project â€" of which taxpayers will be responsible for about $21 million after state reimbursement â€" is intended to address serious maintenance concerns in the school district’s aging buildings, and constructing additions.
-- Charles Clark School building maintenance, tech funding questions on Feb. 6 ballot-- Farmington Daily Times Connecticut: January 26, 2018 [ abstract] FARMINGTON â€" Farmington voters will go to the polls on Feb. 6 to decide whether to replace the traditional technology bonds with a six-year levy.
The Farmington Municipal School District currently pays for technology using what it called “ed tech notes,†a two-year bond that funds schools’ one-to-one laptop programs, safety and security systems, cameras and video surveillance, and communications systems, according to Superintendent Eugene Schmidt.
-- Megan Petersen Baltimore City school heating, air conditioning take center stage in Annapolis-- WBALtv11 Maryland: January 24, 2018 [ abstract] Baltimore City school maintenance problems, such as the cold schools crisis, took center stage Wednesday in Annapolis.
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Discussions started at the Board of Public Works meeting on Wednesday morning and spilled into committee hearings in the afternoon.
Baltimore City school heating and air conditioning problems were dissected at the meeting.
The panel zeroed in on maintenance struggles, spending practices and how projects are prioritized.
-- David Collins Hopkinton school board pulls back on $30M facility project-- Concord Monitor New Hampshire: January 24, 2018 [ abstract] It’s back to the drawing board for the Hopkinton School District and its proposed multimillion-dollar facility project.
The school board voted this week to rescind their warrant article that would have asked taxpayers to approve a $30 million bond. The project would have encompassed various long-deferred maintenance projects, including some necessary to bring the district into compliance with New England’s secondary school accreditation organization, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
-- Caitlin Andrews Cedar Park High School athletic facility to be upgraded as part of district maintenance plan-- Community Impact Newspaper Texas: January 18, 2018 [ abstract] The 2018 components of Leander ISD’s 10-Year Major maintenance Plan include upgrades to Cedar Park High School’s athletic facilities and other renovations throughout the district, according to LISD documents.
The LISD board of trustees approved the plan at its meeting Jan. 18.
“The district recognizes the need to plan for major maintenance projects independent of bond funding,†LISD Superintendent Dan Troxell said.
-- Abby Bora Manatee County School District maintenance monitors school heating systems during freezing temps-- My Sun Coast Florida: January 18, 2018 [ abstract] MANATEE COUNTY (WWSB) - As the Suncoast experience freezing temperatures, school officials are monitoring central heating systems at Manatee County Schools.
maintenance will be all hands on deck at schools to fix any heating issues that may occur throughout the day.
-- Marla Spence Baltimore Schools Maintenance Nightmare: Project Baltimore Follows the Money-- Fox Baltimore Maryland: January 17, 2018 [ abstract] BALTIMORE (WBFF)-- No heat, cancelled classes and frustrated parents. Baltimore City Public Schools is facing more criticism over how it spends its money. Project Baltimore analyzed budgets and found city schools has been cutting money from maintenance, while spending the most in the region on administration.
Students were back at Calverton Elementary Middle School on Tuesday for the first time in two weeks.
“If they were spending their money well, then why is the school out for a whole two weeks, because they can’t, they don’t have the funds to fix the heat,†said Calverton parent, Shakia Epps.
-- Chris Papst District approves facilities maintenance bonding-- Aitkin Age Minnesota: January 17, 2018 [ abstract] Aitkin Schools Superintendent Brad Kelvington shared the district’s Facilities and Finance Committee report, which focused on the maintenance of existing facilities.
The committee believes everything is in place to allow bonding to go forward, but another work session could be held to finalize plans. Board member discussion focused on the benefits of the facility updates.
-- Lynn Mizner Duval School District To Give $3.8 Million Maintenance Dollars To Charters-- WJCT Florida: January 17, 2018 [ abstract] The Duval County school district will be giving $3.8 million to the county’s charter schools by the end of this month, district staff told board members Tuesday.
The revenue-sharing is a new state requirement, coming out of an education law known as House Bill 7069.
Florida school districts pay for most building and maintenance projects with local taxes, called capital outlay dollars.
-- Lindsey Kilbride City Schools Slashes Maintenance Budget, cites increasing costs-- Fox Baltimore Maryland: January 16, 2018 [ abstract] BALTIMORE (WBFF)-- As Annapolis pours millions of dollars into Baltimore City Public Schools for emergency maintenance, a Project Baltimore investigation has learned North Avenue has been slashing millions from its maintenance budget.
Baltimore City Schools is under fire over freezing buildings. The frigid temperatures that kicked off 2018 created a maintenance nightmare for North Avenue. Eighty-five schools, nearly half its buildings, suffered burst pipes or broken heat.
-- Chris Papst School projects in Petersburg in line for state maintenance money-- KFSK.org Alaska: January 15, 2018 [ abstract] Petersburg’s school district has been notified it should be receiving some state funding for projects, some that have already been completed and one that’s already started.
Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter reported that news to the school board this week. On a radio call in show Tuesday, Kludt-Painter explained that these are projects the district applied for state funding for several years ago.
-- Joe Viechnicki School board reviews capital improvement plan-- The Gazette-Virginian Virginia: January 11, 2018 [ abstract] In an attempt to schedule and prioritize future renovation projects, Halifax County School Board members reviewed a draft overview of the capital improvement plan at their regular monthly meeting Tuesday evening.
maintenance Director Jay Jennings and Superintendent Dr. Mark Lineburg presented the plan that will be brought back for consideration at the board’s February meeting.
Listed as most important needs to be addressed for 2018-2019 in the plan are replacing overflow pipe in an irrigation pond at the high school; paving the STEM Center faculty/staff parking lot; replacing two boilers at the middle school; beginning a curtain replacement schedule; and beginning a painting schedule.
-- Ashley Hodge Cold-Weather Closures Expose Years of Underinvestment in Urban Schools-- Governing Magazine National: January 10, 2018 [ abstract] Thousands of schoolchildren in Baltimore missed classes last week as a cold snap forced officials to close schools. Frigid temperatures and ruptured water pipes made some school buildings uninhabitable for students and teachers.
Those kinds of closures could become more frequent in cities across the country, many education advocates say, thanks to a generation of underfunding construction and maintenance costs in urban districts.
-- J. Brian Charles Task force recommends $500M in RI school repairs-- Turn to 10.com Rhode Island: January 09, 2018 [ abstract] Gov. Gina Raimondo has been getting an earful from communities that are plagued with school building problems.
A newly formed State Buildings Task Force has recommended the governor spend $500 million in state bonds for school repairs after a study found Rhode Island's 300-plus schools need $2.2 billion in maintenance.
Chaska school maintenance worker dies after falling off ladder-- Twin Cities Pioneer Press Minnesota: January 08, 2018 [ abstract] An employee working at a Chaska middle school has died after he fell off a ladder.
A spokesman for the Eastern Carver County School District says 51-year-old Daniel Buesgens was trying to repair a heater in a maintenance room of a domed athletic center when he fell off an 8-foot ladder Monday morning.
Buesgens was working in a room that is not in a public area. He was found by another school employee.
Heating problems in Philly schools rise as temperatures plunge-- WHYY Pennsylvania: January 05, 2018 [ abstract] With temperatures plummeting, facilities workers in Philadelphia’s public schools have dealt with a steady stream of weather-related maintenance issues.
“Our building engineers are working double time on this,†said school district spokesperson Lee Whack. “It gets cold every winter, but obviously not this cold.â€
The region’s deep freeze has made life especially difficult for the district’s facilities team, which oversees an aging building stock on a limited budget. To replace all the heating systems the district says are on borrowed time would cost more than $70 million, according to a WHYY analysis.
-- Avi Wolfman-Arent Frozen pipe shuts down Muddy Brook elementary school-- The Berkshire Eagle Massachusetts: January 02, 2018 [ abstract] GREAT BARRINGTON â€" After being closed for two days due to a burst pipe, Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School will reopen Thursday.
A frozen pipe on the third floor burst and sent water onto that floor, as well as onto the two floors below, according to Peter Dillon, superintendent of Berkshire Hills Regional School District.
He said the leak was discovered by staff at about 4:30 or 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Standing water was 2-inches deep in some places.
An estimate for the cost of damage is yet to be determined, Dillon said. Right now school maintenance staff as well as outside contractors are busy drying out the building and replacing water-drenched sheetrock and ceiling tiles. The school will remain closed Wednesday.
Facility improvements won’t come cheap-- HNGnews.com Wisconsin: December 23, 2017 [ abstract] Anticipated student population growth in the Monona Grove School District will eventually mean changes for existing and future schools.
The ad hoc Facilities Advisory Committee is considering those options, as well as taking a look at the need to maintain the district’s existing school infrastructure by investing in priority capital maintenance projects.
“We have several good options on the table,†committee member Jo Miller said. “But we want to make sure we’re doing our due diligence. We want to take our time to make sure we get our recommendations right. That’s going to take more study and more discussion.â€
-- Kevin Passon
School Board Discussed Maintenance Projects-- SW News 4U Wisconsin: December 21, 2017 [ abstract] The Boscobel School Board met for its December meeting on Monday.
One interesting item on the agenda was the resolution to move to the Six Rivers Conference from the SWAL. The long anticipated move was once again tabled by the Board due to some “sticky language with the WIAA,†as reported by District Administrator Greg Bell.
-- Emily Schendel School maintenance backlog on the rise-- Chesterfield Observer Virginia: December 20, 2017 [ abstract] Catching up on overdue major building maintenance could cost Chesterfield’s school system more than $100 million, a school official acknowledged during a meeting last week.
Christina Berta, chief financial officer for Chesterfield County Public Schools, told members of the Audit and Finance Committee that facilities staff are “working through a laundry list of projects†as they conduct a system-wide assessment of school building maintenance.
“The last [estimate] was about $125 or $130 million in critical needs that have been identified by the team, but we’re still scrubbing that list,†she said.
-- Jim McConnell Elida School Board suspends maintenance position; moves forward with Gomer demolition-- Hometown Stations Ohio: December 19, 2017 [ abstract] Elida, OH -
A contract suspension Tuesday night from the Elida School Board.
Elida School Board members decided to suspend the contract for the Safety, maintenance and Facilities Manager. Members said, it's in the best interest of the District to reorganize certain administrative functions. Members said this contract suspension is permanent, effective January 19th. This contract is the only one affected, and the position has been held for over 15 years.
-- Jessica Gavin Vandalism Increases Old Morgan School Maintenance Costs-- Zip06 Wisconsin: December 19, 2017 [ abstract] A few years back, the town had visions of new tenants moving into the planned Village at Mill Pond at the old Morgan School by this time. Instead, police are working to prevent homeless people and partying teens from wrecking the former high school on Route 81, and the town is seeking to minimize maintenance costs on a building most thought would be replaced by new owners by now.
Department of Public Works Director Peter Neff told the Board of Selectmen (BOS) that the town has had trouble with homeless people breaking in and young people breaking in to have parties in the building.
-- Eric O'Connell Director of Schools responds to photographs of maintenance issues at VHS-- The Rogersville Review Tennessee: December 13, 2017 [ abstract] ROGERSVILLE â€" “What’s the deal with the pictures in the paper, director?†Commissioner Danny Alvis asked Director of Schools Steve Starnes during a Thursday afternoon, Dec. 7, meeting of the County Commission’s Education Committee.
Alvis was referring to a series of five photos of alleged building maintenance problems at Volunteer High School that had been taken by students and sent to the Kingsport Times-News.
That newspaper had published them in that’s day’s edition along with an article in which Starnes also had been quoted. (PUB. NOTE: The student-made photographs in question were not provided to The Rogersville Review.)
-- Bill Jones School Committee drafts capital plan for facility needs-- Sippican VillageSoup Massachusetts: December 07, 2017 [ abstract] MATTAPOISETT â€" Members of the Old Rochester Regional School Committee have drafted a 20-Year Capital Plan to fund facilities and maintenance needs at Old Rochester Regional High School.
The plan, said Old Rochester Superintendent Doug White, is in its very early days. It was requested by Suzanne Szyndlar, Paul Dawson and Mike Gagne, the town administrators of Rochester, Marion and Mattapoisett, during a recent meeting.
The meeting came as the school committee begins to plan several potential facilities upgrades, ranging from routine tiling work to a potential $5 million athletic complex overhaul pitched by ORR TURF (Tri-Town Unified Recreational Facilities, Inc.). In order to help fund the requests, White said, the administrators asked to see a list of budget needsâ€"the capital planâ€"ranked by priority.
-- Andrea Ray Lowell school board adopts maintenance plan in wake of boiler issues
-- Lowell Sun Massachusetts: December 06, 2017 [ abstract] LOWELL -- After portions of the high school were without heat for several days in November, the School Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to create a comprehensive maintenance strategy for the district's 28 schools.
Committee members, district administrators, and maintenance staff have been in talks for weeks with their counterparts on the municipal side of government about creating such a plan.
-- Todd Feathers Danville's new school board members hear about bond sale, projects-- The Daily Item Pennsylvania: December 05, 2017 [ abstract] DANVILLE â€" The Danville Area School District has sold $6 million in bonds during an online auction to cover the remaining costs of the $16.5 million building project and to cover some additional work, such as razing the former Riverside Elementary School and a maintenance building, building a new maintenance facility and moving the tennis courts from the middle school to the high school campus.
The school board, with three new members beginning their terms, Tuesday night approved a $5,000 proposal for Mid-Penn Engineering Corp., Lewisburg, to demolish both the school and maintenance building between May and July. The board also approved two other contracts with Mid-Penn â€" to renovate the stadium press box and field house at a cost of $10,560 and to remove the 10,000-gallon underground fuel oil tank at the Riverside school site for $3,500.
-- Joe Sylvester Brick work at Plymouth school lead district’s capital outlay requests-- Wicked Local Plymouth Massachusetts: November 28, 2017 [ abstract] The brickwork at Nathaniel Morton Elementary School, the old high school on Lincoln Street, is in serious need of repair and will be the school district’s main maintenance project in the coming rush for capital outlay funding for fiscal 2019.
-- Rich Harbert School Board to consider maintenance projects-- Aiken Standard South Carolina: November 27, 2017 [ abstract] The Aiken County School Board is expected to approve maintenance projects at Midland Valley High and A.L. Corbett Middle-Busbee Elementary at its regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 28.
The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Aiken County Public School District at 1000 Brookhaven Drive.
The district received a low bid of $299,988 to install flooring at Midland Valley High and a low bid of $140,000 to paint A.L. Corbett Middle-Busbee Elementary. The Five-Year Facility Improvement Plan for 2018-19 has the funds needed to complete both projects.
-- Larry Wood $113 million in school repairs. 9 overcrowded schools. $51 million to find a solution-- Mrtyle Beach Online South Carolina: November 22, 2017 [ abstract] Many Horry County schools are old, in poor condition and overcrowded. And the district doesn’t have the money to cover all the repairs.
According to Horry County Schools Chief Financial Officer John Gardner, the district won’t have any money for repairs until 2018-19, except for $19.5 million the district’s finance committee is recommending to pay for Myrtle Beach Middle School’s conversion to an elementary school.
Horry County Schools is developing a capital plan to pay for repairs, maintenance and possibly new schools using funds from capital projects millage and the penny sales tax. However, Gardner said the district won’t have any money budgeted for the plan until fiscal year 2019-20.
-- Christian Boschult Norwin schools to pursue facilities master plan to address growing enrollment-- TRIBlive.com Pennsylvania: November 21, 2017 [ abstract] Norwin schools added 129 students to their rolls this year. Now, officials want a comprehensive facilities master plan to serve as a blueprint for future use of Norwin schools and buildings.
“We want to come up with a schedule for when (building) maintenance is needed and replacement,†said Robert Perkins, school board president.
-- Joe Napsha Crookston School Board OK’s three-year maintenance agreement with Johnson Controls-- Crookston Times Minnesota: November 15, 2017 [ abstract] Bates also compliments recent art trip to Chicago
Looking to take advantage of a locked-in rate, the Crookston School Board this week approved an agreement with Johnson Controls, Inc. through November of 2020 that will have the contractor coordinating maintenance of HVAC equipment and energy systems in the district’s buildings. Board Chair Frank Fee said the board had the option of approving only a one-year agreement, but by going with three years instead, the district will lock in at a 1 percent rate increase each year of the three-year deal.
The district’s current agreement with Johnson Controls was set to expire on Nov. 30. With the new accord, the district will pay Johnson Controls $65,820 per year.
-- Mike Chirstopherson Who plows school campuses? Twin Falls school maintenance workers gear up for winter-- Magic Valley.com Idaho: November 14, 2017 [ abstract] TWIN FALLS â€" Winter is less than six weeks away and we’ve already gotten the first snow of the season.
It means the Twin Falls School District is thinking about snow removal.
Director of operations Ryan Bowman gave an information report to the school board Monday night about procedures maintenance employees follow during winter storms.
With 16 school campuses, it’s a massive job to make sure parking lots, sidewalks and ramps are shoveled, and safe for students, employees and parents.
“We have a lot of sidewalks and parking lots to clear,†Bowman told the school board.
-- Jullie Wootton-Greener Billerica School Committee supports field maintenance plan-- Wicked Local Billerica Massachusetts: November 06, 2017 [ abstract] As the special election inches closer, the School Committee took a side in the field maintenance dilemma.
At their meeting on Oct. 30, the committee unanimously supported the initial step in the process, aimed at improving the maintenance at the town’s fields.
“We’re committing here to be working to the goal of getting the best fields we can for all of our kids,†said Chairman Jim Gately.
The committee voted 5-0 to support a resolution that included the backing of Article 10.
The polls will be open in Billerica on Dec. 2 to reconsider Article 10, previously voted on by Town Meeting.
The portion of the article in question sought to raise and appropriate nearly $130,000 to fund personnel and capital improvements within the parks, trees, and cemetery department’s fiscal 2018 budget. This is the first step in the process to make field maintenance a town responsibility, not a volunteer responsibility.
-- Nick Greenhalgh Coopersville taking first steps to ensure school facilities stay in top shape-- M Live Michigan: November 04, 2017 [ abstract] While the buildings and athletic facilities in the Coopersville school district all appear to be new, looks can be misleading, according to Superintendent Ron Veldman.
While many people often refer to the high school as the "new" high school, for example, the building is almost 20 years old.
Last fall the district hired GMB Architects + Engineering, of Holland, to examine all of the district's buildings and athletic facilities and help the district create a capital improvement plan for maintenance and replacement.
-- Jeffrey Cunningham Wyoming lawmakers recommend diverting money to pay for school maintenance-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: October 31, 2017 [ abstract] State lawmakers recommended diverting money to pay for the maintenance of Wyoming school facilities Monday, the first major move toward bridging one of the large funding gaps facing education here.
The members of the Select Committee on School Facilities voted to back a proposal that would use a percentage of state mineral royalties to pay for school maintenance and construction, while also diverting the 1 percent severance tax to that end. The money will go toward preserving the state’s more than 24 million square feet of education facilities, part of officials’ shift from building amid dwindling funds and after years of construction.
-- Seth Klamann Addressing mold early can net savings for distric-- Education Dive National: September 06, 2017 [ abstract] The old adage “A stitch in time saves nine†aptly applies to issues such as the development of mold and other maintenance concerns in schools. This problem can easily occur, especially in areas of high humidity or in the wake of plumbing issues or natural disasters. However, it can also be easily addressed if handled right away. Delay can cause massive costs for school districts in terms of repairs, as well as more sick days for both teachers and students.
-- Amelia Harper Hillsborough officials: New sales tax may be the only way to fix schools-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: September 05, 2017 [ abstract] TAMPA  Hillsborough County school officials say they have little choice but to seek voter approval for a sales tax that would help rebuild a system plagued by broken air conditioners, leaking roofs and other problems caused by years of delayed maintenance.
But that won't happen, they said, without a campaign that highlights the good they do and the importance of a strong school system.
-- Marlene Sokol Westfield School Auditorium Renovations, Solar Panel Installation & Water Testing Near Completion-- Tap Into Westfield New Jersey: August 31, 2017 [ abstract] WESTFIELD, NJ â€" Westfield Board of Education member Dana Sullivan itemized a long list of school improvements at Tuesday’s board of education meeting. School begins on Sept. 6.
“As usual, our maintenance staff and custodial staff did a wonderful job of getting those buildings ready,†she said.
The list included large-scale initiatives like auditorium renovations at both Edison and Roosevelt Intermediate Schools as well as smaller but essential maintenance items including painting, boiler replacements and flooring updates.
-- Kate Brochu School starts in month; maintenance under way-- Andalusia Star-News Alabama: July 11, 2017 [ abstract] The countdown is on to back to school, and local school maintenance are busy making sure that everything is spic and span and that upgrades are completed.
Andalusia City Schools Superintendent Ted Watson said school personnel are readying the buildings for kids to return on Aug. 7.
“There was a lot of maintenance that had to be done,†he said. “The new gym at the high school had to have some repairs where a leak had taken place.â€
-- Kendra Majors City Of Brighton Evaluating Summer Turf Maintenance & Snow Removal-- WHMI.com Michigan: July 08, 2017 [ abstract] Talks continue about how to boost efficiencies when it comes to seasonal responsibilities for the City of Brighton’s DPW.
City Council held a study session with staff regarding winter sidewalk and summer turf maintenance, with dialogue centered on potential changes to increase efficiency and safety. Lawn maintenance was the shorter discussion of the two and Council members were said to be open to making changes to improve efficiency and safety. There was no talk of eliminating any employees but its possible different crews could be shifted around or consolidated to save time and equipment, and that some city properties currently maintained could perhaps be left to grow wild.
Grand Jury probe targets charter school maintenance, oversight-- VV Daily Press California: July 07, 2017 [ abstract] A San Bernardino County Civil Grand Jury investigation recommends that Desert Trails Preparatory Academy (DTPA) in Adelanto be compensated for money spent on campus repairs of “major maintenance issues.â€
The Grand Jury focused on two charters overseen by the San Bernardino County Office of Education: DTPA and Norton Science and Language Academy (NSLA), the San Bernardino-based sister school of Apple Valley’s Academy for Academic Excellence.
-- Charity Lindsey Summer maintenance under way at local schools-- West Side Connect.com California: July 06, 2017 [ abstract] NEWMAN â€" The Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District’s maintenance team and contractors are currently working on a variety of projects at each school site in preparation for the 2017-18 school year.
This year’s biggest project is located in the center of Hurd Barrington Elementary, where a wing housing a library, resource facilities and classrooms is being constructed by CT Brayton and Sons Incorporated.
-- Dennis Bloyed Westwood Regional school board approves $3 million maintenance garage at high school-- North Jersey.com New Jersey: June 29, 2017 [ abstract] WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP â€" The Westwood Regional Board of Education will spend $3 million for a maintenance garage at the high school that will include a concession stand, public restrooms and skylights.
Funds for the project, which will also include a sidewalk and track lighting, will be taken from capital reserves, Superintendent Ray Gonzalez said.
-- Catherine Carrera School Facilities Funding Unknown-- Wyoming Public Media Wyoming: June 21, 2017 [ abstract] A funding crisis brought on by a downturn in the coal industry has left policy makers struggling to figure out how to fund education. This year school districts took a hit of $34 million to their operating budgets.
That’s primarily money for teachers and staff, as well as materials and supplies. But the funding for school construction and maintenance is also running out.
-- Tennessee Watson Unit 9 hears about summer school, building maintenance-- Times-Republic Illinois: June 20, 2017 [ abstract] Glenn Raymond School Principal Brad Welsh said there aren't as many students in summer school this year in his building. He credits the hard work that teachers and students put in during the school year to keep students' grades up.
-- Carla Waters Woodsdale Elementary School Playground Project Ongoing-- The Intelligencer West Virginia: June 14, 2017 [ abstract] Ohio County Schools maintenance Director Brian Harto, center, visits Woodsdale Elementary School on Monday with staff members Lowell Thomas, left, and Christopher Peluchette. They are observing work done to improve the school’s playground. Fencing that enclosed the current playground was removed Monday.
Northern Cass voters overwhelmingly approve increased levy for school building maintenance-- Inforum North Dakota North Dakota: June 13, 2017 [ abstract] HUNTER, N.D. â€" It was a landslide victory and a testament of "trust" on Tuesday, June 13, for Northern Cass School District as residents voted to approve a 10-mill property tax increase for school building maintenance.
Superintendent Cory Steiner said 131 residents voted in support of raising the levy and that seven voted against it.
"The numbers speak for themselves," Steiner said. "I think it really goes to show that our district has the trust of its stakeholders and we have great people within our district."
-- Kim Hyatt Summer is no time off for those who maintain Houston schools-- Macon Telegraph Texas: June 10, 2017 [ abstract] As director of maintenance for the Houston County Board of Education, Cecil Parker, along with his staff, keeps busy during the summer while students enjoy their time off
-- Michael W. Pannell Loyalsock Township School Board approves grounds maintenance-- Williamsport Sun-Gazette Pennsylvania: June 09, 2017 [ abstract] The Loyalsock Township School Board approved a bid for resurfacing and paving of the high school parking lot on Wednesday night.
The $19,567 bid, awarded to Dave Gutelius Inc., of Mifflinburg, will allow for the paving to coincide with work that the township is doing on Loyalsock Drive, the connecting road to the school parking lot.
-- Ioannis Pashakis Statewide school construction shortfall may reach $205 million by 2022, report says-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: June 07, 2017 [ abstract] A state school construction funding shortfall, created as coal lease bonus money has dried up, could grow to more than $205 million by 2022, according to a legislative report.
More than $2 billion worth of construction and maintenance in Wyoming has been funded over the years through those bonuses, paid to Wyoming from the federal government. Roughly 100 schools were renovated or built during that time, and the state is now home to more than 22 million square feet of school facilities. maintenance on those buildings costs at least $65 million annually, officials have said.
-- Seth Klamann East Providence High School a 'bomb' of maintenance problems -- Providence Journal Rhode Island: May 31, 2017 [ abstract] ‘Catastrophic failure is a real possibility,’ says the chairman of the schools’ building committee, citing decades of neglect that have have left the 240,000-square-foot school in dire straits.
-- Lina Borg More school construction funds sought in Baltimore County-- WBALTV.com Maryland: May 25, 2017 [ abstract] Baltimore County parents converged on the school board Wednesday demanding more money for school construction.
The county has drastically increased school construction funding the last few years, but many at the school board meeting said it is not enough, because of previous neglect.
Among those upset are parents of students at Towson High School, who showed photos of mold and standing water inside the school.
Parents came to the school board asking for money to start planning for a new building or massive renovation by the year 2022.
â€Å"We've got to make an investment and we have to do it now,†Towson high parent Gretchen Maneval said.
But Towson High is not part of the county's 10-year $1.3 billion Schools for the Future plan, which is currently funding construction of 16 new schools, 12 additions and seven major renovations.
â€Å"It doesn't make sense,†Maneval said. â€Å"When you look at the county's own assessment, Towson has the third worst building condition of all 23 high schools, and there's not even planning dollars allocated to it.â€Â
School board members are considering requesting changes to Schools for the Future in the 2019 budget.
â€Å"I think we need to revise the plan,†school board member Julie Henn said.†I think serious needs have been overlooked for a long time, both with facilities maintenance and overcrowding.â€Â
The plan does call for renovations at Dulaney High School, but parents said it is not enough and they want a new building, instead.
â€Å"The school is approaching 60 years,†Dulaney High parent Jennifer Tarr said. â€Å"It has not been updated. You cannot fix something that has not been touched for many, many years. It's wasted money. (It's) a patch.â€Â
The proposed county budget for next year spends 60 percent on education. A vote on that budget is set for Thursday.
-- Adam May MUSD: $92.6M Maintenance Backlog-- The Manteca Bulletin California: May 25, 2017 [ abstract] School’s almost out for the summer.
That means it is time for Manteca Unified School District to continue chipping away at a backlog of $92.6 million in major and deferred maintenance.
That is in addition to more than $500 million in modernization needs such as being partially addressed by Measure G and the $159 million it is providing to upgrade campuses and enhance school safety.
-- Dennis Wyatt Sedalia School District 200 school board to consider salary, maintenance proposals-- Sedalia Democrat Montana: April 09, 2017 [ abstract] The members of the Sedalia School District 200 Board of Education remain unchanged after the three board members whose terms were up for reelection â€" Kenny Coffelt, Michael Stees and Scott Gardner â€" faced no opposition during the April 4 election.
-- Hope Lecchi Preventative maintenance key for Billerica schools-- Wicked Local Billerica Massachusetts: April 06, 2017 [ abstract] A decade ago, if the boiler at a school broke, the Billerica Public School Department would search for funding to fix the problem. If water damaged tiling, a tense struggle to find money would ensue.
-- Nick GreenHalgh Portland Budget Targets Cuts At High Schools, Invests In Maintenance-- OPB FM Oregon: April 04, 2017 [ abstract] Interim Superintendent Bob McKean has seen his share of red ink years in budgets past as the superintendent of East Portland’s Centennial School District.
-- Rob Manning Harrison school board discusses county facilities, maintenance progress-- The Exponent Telegram West Virginia: March 27, 2017 [ abstract] The Harrison County Board of Education received an update regarding facilities, maintenance and current projects, including the status of the move into the new board office at the former Dominion Transmission building and the latest developments on the new Johnson Elementary School.
-- Kailee Gallahan D204 struggling with too much to fund with too little money-- Naperville Sun Illinois: March 22, 2017 [ abstract] The Indian Prairie District 204 school board was given an overview of several big ticket items facing the district in coming years, including the costs to reduce class sizes, the final phase of air-conditioning work at the elementary schools and other much-needed school maintenance improvements.
-- Suzanne Baker Rollingstone offers to fix school
-- Winia Post Minnesota: March 22, 2017 [ abstract] Amidst deliberations on whether to close Rollingstone Community Elementary School next school year and passionate pleas from Rollingstone community members to save their school, the Rollingstone City Council decided to put its money where its mouth is and reached out to Winona Area Public Schools (WAPS) leaders, saying that it would be interested in coming up with ways to decrease district expense. The council indicated it would be interested in helping with the cost of repairs to the school, maintenance work, and other expenses.
-- Laura Hayes Florida short $36 million for school construction unless it borrows-- Palm Beach Post Florida: March 20, 2017 [ abstract] If Florida lawmakers don’t agree to borrow money to pay for school construction and maintenance projects, they will come up about $36 million short of what state education officials have requested for a key program next year.
-- Lloyd Dunkelberger Could a tax increase fund aging school facilities?-- WRBC-TV Tennessee: March 15, 2017 [ abstract] The cracks in Hamilton County School's aging facilities continue to grow as elected officials decide who and how the bill will be paid for.
Two-hundred million dollars, that's how much Hamilton County School's said they need in deferred maintenance funding.
Some board members questioned why the county can fund a 100 million dollar project to build a new jail, but not fix schools.
The funding needs from schools is a figure Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger describes as "astronomical."
"None of us want to have to build a jail, we would much rather spend the money on education. However we have responsibilities that we have to do both,†Mayor Coppinger said.
One way to gather funds could be a tax increase, but some say that's not something they want to see happen.
2005 was the last time residents saw a tax increase for schools, it's an option some school board members like Karitsa Jones said the county should explore.
-- Tim Pham Glens Falls school officials plan $17.55 million capital project-- Post-Star New York: March 14, 2017 [ abstract] GLENS FALLS â€" Residents will get a chance in May to vote on a $17.55 million capital project to renovate all buildings in the Glens Falls City School District and a separate proposition for $691,200 to add lights to the athletic field.
The Glens Falls Board of Education on Monday approved putting the propositions on the May 16 ballot, along with the budget vote.
The project would address a variety of maintenance needs that were identified in the district’s building conditions survey.
The work would be done at Kensington, Big Cross and Jackson Heights elementary schools, the former Sanford Street School building, as well as the middle school, high school and bus garage.
Superintendent Paul Jenkins said previously that the work includes removing asbestos, installing emergency lighting, upgrading bathrooms, improving sidewalks, fixing chimneys, fixing the gym floors and installing new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.
-- Michael Goot Voters OK Boise, Kuna school construction bonds, levy for West Ada maintenance-- Idaho Statesman Idaho: March 14, 2017 [ abstract] With Boise School District’s easy passage of a $172.5 million bond Tuesday night, officials say they will take up four school construction projects as early as June.
In West Ada, voters gave the school district just over the 60 percent it needed to pass a $160 million facilities levy.
Kuna School District voters approved a $5 million supplemental levy and narrowly OK’d a $40 million construction bond â€" with what preliminarily looked like a 67.0 percent vote for a bond measure that required 66.7 percent.
-- Bill Roberts America's school facilities get a D+ from civil engineers group-- American School & University National: March 13, 2017 [ abstract] Nearly one-quarter of the nation's public school buildings are in fair or poor condition, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) says.
The subpar conditions in many schools combined with the lack of money allocated to address facility needs have resulted in the ASCE's decision to give schools a D-plus grade in the organization's 2017 Infrastructure Report Card.
"The nation continues to underinvest in school facilities, leaving an estimated $38 billion annual gap," the ASCE says.
-- Mike Kennedy Could public schools state capital funding disappear if reform plan succeeds?-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: March 09, 2017 [ abstract] A complicated and controversial measure to change how Florida’s 4,300 public schools get taxpayer money for construction and maintenance projects is limping through the Florida Senate, advancing even as lawmakers agree it needs a lot more work before it might become law.
A complicated and controversial measure to change how Florida’s 4,300 public schools get taxpayer money for construction and maintenance projects is limping through the Florida Senate, advancing even as lawmakers agree it needs a lot more work before it might become law.
-- Kristen Clark House considers cuts to maintenance budget for schools-- Perham Focus (Minn.) Minnesota: March 08, 2017 [ abstract] As the state legislature looks at possible cuts to the Long Term Facility maintenance budget, the Perham-Dent School Board considered its options to pay for such projects at its meeting Monday night.
District Superintendent Mitch Anderson shared with board members an email alert he received from Sam Walseth director of Legislative affairs for the Minnesota Rural Education Association that said House leaders were considering cutting the LTMF funding as part of its budget plan.
"It was a hard-fought equity provision for rural schools," the alert said. "And districts now have 10-year maintenance plans in place with funds committed to those projects. The loss of this funding would be a major disaster for rural education."
-- Debbie Irmen Bills would offer state facility funding for charter schools -- Associated Press Texas: March 07, 2017 [ abstract] AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  Bills in the Texas House and Senate would authorize state facilities funding for charter schools.
Charters are public schools whose students are subject to the same academic accountability standards as those in traditional public schools. But they don't get state funding to pay for buildings and facility maintenance.
New Braunfels Republican Sen. Donna Campbell is proposing to shrink those funding gaps. She's also a leading proponent of "school choice" voucher plans seeking to offer public money for students attending private schools.
Campbell said Tuesday that traditional public schools get an average of $1,400 per student annually for facilities, while charters get none.
Democrat- and Republican-supported House bills also are seeking charter school facilities funding.
Advocates say nearly 250,000 students attend Texas charter schools, and 140,000-plus are on waitlists for them.
-- Staff Writer Arizona may face another billion-dollar school lawsuit-- The Republic (Ariz.) Arizona: February 26, 2017 [ abstract] Less than a year after voters passed Proposition 123 to resolve a $1.6 billion lawsuit over school funding, a new, even larger education lawsuit looms â€" and almost nobody is talking about it.
While the first lawsuit focused on underfunding per-student payments to schools for operational costs such as teacher salaries, this latest dispute centers on nearly a decade of cuts to capital funding for textbooks, technology, buses and building maintenance. Attorneys have warned of a lawsuit for years.
Now, they say they could file one within the next month.
Gov. Doug Ducey in his budget proposal included an additional $17 million to the School Facilities Board for building maintenance, but he continued hundreds of millions of dollars in annual cuts directly to schools for other school maintenance and soft capital such as technology.
Since 2009, ongoing cuts in this area have topped $2 billion.
-- Alia Beard Rau Two more bills to fund school repairs are considered by (Mont.) Legislature-- Missoulian (Mont.) Montana: February 21, 2017 [ abstract] The chief architect of the state budget in the Senate has proposed two bills to help schools pay for major maintenance projects, which will likely compete with three other measures previously introduced.
-- JAYME FRASER Schools seek help from the state to pay for building repairs-- Montana Standard Montana: January 29, 2017 [ abstract] HELENA  One issue dominated testimony to the School Funding Interim Commission last year: a backlog of major maintenance statewide. But legislators disagree on how best to help districts  or if they can afford to do so at all.
A District Court judge ruled in 2008 that the Montana Constitution requires the state to chip in for significant school repairs and updates. Yet, state leaders have repeatedly failed to provide enough funding or to adjust regulations about district budgets that make it difficult to save money. The challenge is largely twofold: State assistance must be adequate and it also must be equitable so a student in Grass Range receives an education equal to one in Missoula.
Two programs the state had used to assist some schools in recent years went unfunded or underfunded in the 2015 session. Both are on the chopping block this session as legislators debate how much responsibility the state has to pay for these projects and the fairest way to divide the money between the state's more than 400 districts.
-- JAYME FRASER Report: Philly needs billions to rehab sagging schools-- newsworks Pennsylvania: January 27, 2017 [ abstract] Nestled among the gleaming towers of Temple University sits Paul Lawrence Dunbar Elementary School, built in 1931 and looking every bit its age.
On rainy days, the school's roof--which is out of date and poorly pitched--becomes a repository for large pools of water. And sometimes those pools of water become a big problem for the students below.
"Quite often we have to move the class because this water seeps down into the classrooms, through the ceiling tiles, onto the floor, and there's children in there with big buckets," said Dunbar principal Dawn Moore.
Dunbar is one of the lucky schools. It will be getting a replacement roof within the year.
But there's a big backlog of projects similar to this one the district can't afford to complete. In fact, there are more than 12,000 of them.
A new report commissioned by the district and released Thursday shows just how expensive that backlog has become, and how much pricier it could get if Philadelphia doesn't commit more money to capital projects.
Right now, the district has $4.5 billion in deferred maintenance, according to the just-completed Facilities Condition Assessment (FCA). In the next ten years, the report says, Philadelphia schools will accumulate another $3.2 billion in needed repairs.
-- AVI WOLFMAN-ARENT Bill aims to amend Constitution on how to pay for Wyoming schools-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: January 26, 2017 [ abstract] CHEYENNE â€" To help solve a looming school construction funding crisis, lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday to amend the Wyoming Constitution to make school districts levy property taxes to pay for new facilities.
The bill would require districts to levy a “special tax†as a condition to receive state money to construct school buildings. The Legislature could also withhold funds barring approval of the school district’s construction proposal.
“There’s no funding mechanism whatsoever for school capital construction, so this is a way for the local district to have some skin in the game,†said Senate President Eli Bebout, one of the bill’s co-sponsors.
Any excess taxes collected for a construction project would go back to the state, according to the bill.
For around 15 years, Wyoming has funded school construction and major maintenance on coal lease bonuses, which is the money mineral companies pay to the federal government to mine land. Since the turn of the 21st century, Wyoming has spent more than $2 billion worth of coal lease bonus payments.
But as the energy sector continues its two-year downturn and the Obama administration effectively instituted a moratorium on coal leases, the payments have dried up: Gov. Matt Mead and lawmakers say the final $120 million coal lease bonus payments will be used during this two-year budget cycle.
-- Seth Klamann, Casper Star-Tribune Detroit teachers, school district settle suit over building problems-- Detroit Free Press Michigan: January 12, 2017 [ abstract] A settlement has been reached between the Detroit's teachers union and the city's school system in a lawsuit over mold, vermin and other problems found in some run-down school buildings.
The agreement calls for a five-member oversight committee to ensure that all building repair requests are handled promptly.
The deal also includes enforcement to compel the district to act on work orders logged by parents and educators, officials said. It requires the district to generate a monthly maintenance report identifying every work order request and its status.
â€Å"This agreement brings Detroit closer to the great public schools the Detroit Federation of Teachers has been fighting for,†DFT Interim President Ivy Bailey said in a news release.
-- Ann Zaniewski Proposal to combine Wyoming school districts lacks support-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: January 12, 2017 [ abstract] CHEYENNE  A proposal to slash the number of school districts in Wyoming by more than half to save money doesn't appear to be making the grade in the state Legislature.
Opponents say the idea is politically toxic in the state that values local control of schools.
"We talked about it 15 years ago, and it's an ugly political deal," said state Sen. Hank Coe, chairman of the Senate Education Committee. "I mean it's the focal point of a lot of our small, rural communities  the schools are."
Consolidating the state's 48 school districts into 23  one for each county  is one of the ideas suggested to ease the state's K-12 funding crisis.
The state faces a shortfall of more than $360 million in its annual K-12 budget amid a sharp downturn in fossil fuel production. In addition, billions of dollars in school construction and maintenance funding is drying up amid a halt in federal coal leasing.
Consolidating school districts would save an estimated $7.5 million, mainly by eliminating many high-level district administrators, including superintendents  many of whom earn well over $100,000 a year.
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"We have districts in the state that have barely over a 100 students, but they have a superintendent for that district, a business manager for that district and that top level administration has similar costs to the larger districts," said state Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie.
-- BOB MOEN Associated Press Schools: Time to catch up on deferred maintenance-- ncadvertiser.com Connecticut: January 05, 2017 [ abstract]
It is time to stop deferring maintenance projects for the New Canaan Public Schools, according to Robert Willoughby, manager of facilities and maintenance. He presented a list of maintenance and facilities capital projects without dollar amounts to the Board of Education meeting on Dec. 19. The projects are expected to be included in the Board of Education’s budget proposal for the 2017-18 fiscal year.
The first meeting on the budget presentation to the BOE will be Monday, Jan. 9.
“I think I have been preaching this for a while,†Willoughby told the board. “There is a log jam coming down the pike,†referring to maintenance expenses that are adding up.
“We have a five-year capital plan that we update each year,†said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi. “It’s a five-year plan so things do change,†he said. “Some new things come up and less frequently, things on there can be deferred or moved away, but generally we learn new things and have to make adjustments to the plan itself,†he added.
“A capital expenditure is anything that isn’t in the operating budget associated with running the schools,†said school board chairman Dionna Carlson, in a phone interview. “There is not a hard and fast rule, but often it is an item over $10,000 and has a useful life of five years,†she said.
-- Grace Duffield Lawmakers struggle to find a solution to school construction shortfall-- Star Tribune Wyoming: January 04, 2017 [ abstract] The money that pays for Wyoming school construction and maintenance is running out, and legislators say they still have no firm plan to address the pending shortfall.
For more than a decade, capital construction on schools has been funded through coal lease bonuses, money paid to the state for the rights to mine land. More than $2.3 billion has been spent on school facilities during that time, lawmakers and Gov. Matt Mead have said, and around 100 buildings were built or renovated.
But a downturn in the energy economy has dried up that revenue stream, with the final $121 million coming in the current two-year budget cycle.
“I don’t know where that funding stream is going to come from (now),†Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, said. “That’s the $10,000 question right there.â€
Twenty years ago, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled in Campbell County v. the State of Wyoming that the state had to deliver an equitable education to all students in Wyoming, from Jackson to Cheyenne. That decision changed how the entire education system was funded, including school capital construction.
Before the ruling, when a district wanted to build a new school, it would have to raise money locally.
Districts “would bond for it, and then they would assess somewhere in the order of six mills of property taxes,†said Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie.
-- Seth Klamann Move away from bond financing for public school construction-- San Francisco Chronicle California: December 19, 2016 [ abstract] Proposition 51, which state voters passed Nov. 8, does nothing to improve how school facilities are paid for. Rather than doubling down on debt to construct needed school facilities, the state should enact sensible reforms that enable all public schools â€" not just those that can afford powerful lobbyists â€" to fund ongoing facilities renewal and construction costs.
Switching from debt-based facilities funding to a cash-based strategy could cut current construction and maintenance expenses nearly in half by simply eliminating interest payments. Viewed another way, for the same cost California could buy twice as much as it does now.
California should overhaul its funding formula to include ongoing facilities maintenance because, by using industry formulas and standards, these costs are highly predictable. Taxpayers are on the hook for already approved bonds and interest; they should at least have more fiscally responsible funding options in the future.
Prop. 51, a $9 billion statewide school bond, allocates the lion’s share of the bond monies to district and charter school construction and modernization. When interest on the debt is counted, its true cost nearly doubles to $17.6 billion.
-- Vicki Alger and Jacob Richards Districts keep old schools going amid construction boom-- GoUpstate.com South Carolina: December 18, 2016 [ abstract] Pine Street Elementary School opened a decade before World War II started.
Reidville Elementary School opened when Harry Truman was president, and Hendrix Elementary School opened the same year man first set foot on the moon.
While it seems new school buildings are a trend all across Spartanburg County, several schools with a long history are still serving students.
Pine Street Elementary is the oldest building still used as a school in the area. Opened in 1929, the building has housed elementary school students for the last 87 years.
â€Å"They don't build buildings like this anymore,†said Principal Anne Jeter.
The school started with about 30 students and a dozen teachers. Terry Gilmer, Spartanburg District 7 maintenance director, said any upgrades  such as recent work on ceilings and heating, ventilation and the air conditioning system  take the building's history into account.
â€Å"We try to keep the age of the building a top priority when we do stuff in it,†he said. â€Å"So, sometimes we'll even have to go to the architect and ask him things about how these things were done (originally)."
Jeter said the history of Pine Street Elementary, which is now included on the National Register of Historic Places, is inspiring.
â€Å"This history of this building is significant to the community of Spartanburg,†she said. â€Å"I am a preservationist, and I like to preserve history because it tells a lot about our past and a lot about our history.â€Â
-- Zach Fox Sales tax decrease effecting school district-- Minden Press-Herald Louisiana: December 15, 2016 [ abstract] The Webster Parish School Board is seeing a steady decrease in sales taxes this year, which means less money for teachers and building maintenance.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dan Rawls said it boils down to the decline in oil field tax revenue in Webster Parish and statewide.
“It’s based on what you take in, and it means a salary supplement cut for employees,†he said. “It’s not the local businesses, it’s oil and gas. It’s killing us just like it is everybody else. When the market’s down, our revenue goes down, and it’s down about 10 percent right now.â€
Rawls said these sales tax collections go toward employees’ supplemental pay, not their base salaries. When the sales tax collections go down, then their supplemental check is less. If collections are more, then employees’ supplemental check is more.
The school board supplements teacher and administrative salaries through the 1969 and 1996 sales taxes. A portion of the 1969 and 1996 sales taxes goes toward instruction costs, materials, purchase of computer equipment and software and school buses. The District No. 6 half-cent sales tax is used for building maintenance and construction.
-- Michelle Bates Bend-La Pine staff to recommend biggest school bond in its history-- The Bulletin Oregon: December 13, 2016 [ abstract] Bend-La Pine Schools staff plans to recommend a $268.3 million bond to the school board tonight that would provide money for new schools, maintenance of existing buildings, additional classrooms and safety and technology upgrades.
The bond, if approved by the board to go before voters in May, would be the largest in Bend-La Pine’s history.
Shay Mikalson, Bend-La Pine’s superintendent, said the district is seeking the bond money to build new schools to accommodate enrollment growth. While it predicted 350 new students this school year, the school district gained about 500 new students. Portland State University, which projects enrollment for the district, predicts continued growth each year, Mikalson said.
More than half of Bend-La Pine’s elementary schools and all of its high schools are either near or over capacity.
-- Staff Writer Lincolnwood School District 74 terminates custodial service provider's contract-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: December 12, 2016 [ abstract] The Lincolnwood School District 74 school board has revoked its contract with the Chicago-based janitorial services company contracted to provide general maintenance and custodial services for the district's four buildings.
Robert Ciserella, the school district's business manager, confirmed he was directed by the school board to seek bids from alternate custodial service providers, following a unanimous vote at the Dec. 1 school board meeting to terminate the school district's three-year contract with Smith maintenance Company.
The contract began Sept. 1, 2014 and was scheduled to continue through August 2017 , but the terms agreed to by both the school district and Smith maintenance Company make the agreement eligible for early termination, according to the contract.
Under the terms of the contract, either party was able to break the agreement without a reason by providing 90 days written notice.
The company was hired to clean three District 74 schoolsâ€â€Lincoln, Rutledge and Todd Hallâ€â€and the district's administrative building.
Ciserella declined to explain the specific circumstances of the board's decision to end its relationship with Smith maintenance, which followed an earlier recommendation from the District 74 Facilities Committee.
-- Natalie Hayes Inspector: Routine maintenance could have prevented CO leak at Marshall Middle School-- 12 News Now Texas: December 05, 2016 [ abstract] BEAUMONT - A Texas state inspector says a January 2016 carbon monoxide leak that sent more then 100 Beaumont ISD students and staff to the emergency room was preventable.
Our news partners at The Beaumont Enterprise obtained a Texas Department of Licensing and Registration. report via the Freedom of Information Act that showed that corrosion and a broken fan were two major factors that led to the CO leak at Beaumont's Marshall Middle School.
The leak forced the students and staff to be treated at area hospitals.
Rob Troutt, chief boiler Inspector for TDLR, told 12News' news partner, The Beaumont Enterprise, that those issues were preventable through routine maintenance and inspection.
The report also indicated there is a strong chance the corrosion on the boiler was the result of a leaky roof.
-- Staff Writer Without working kitchens, students at New York City’s culinary high school are cooked-- Chalkbeat New York: November 30, 2016 [ abstract] Food and Finance High School in Hell’s Kitchen helps students learn to cook alongside professional chefs and enter culinary competitions, all while earning their high school diplomas.
But this year, the school has a problem, and it’s a big one: The kitchens don’t work.
On Giving Tuesday, a day when many nonprofits solicit donations, the school had a pointed request for the city’s Department of Education.
“On #givingtuesday, can the DOE give us gas, so our 430 students can learn to cook? That would be GREAT,†a tweet from the school’s account read.
School leaders say maintenance was performed on the school’s six kitchens over the summer, and should have been finished by the start of the school year. Yet, five of kitchens are still fully out of service, they said, and one has limited capacity.
-- MONICA DISARE Western Alaska schools included on list of state maintenance priorities-- The Bristol Bay Times Alaska: November 25, 2016 [ abstract] The state education department has identified renovations to the Bristol Bay Borough School as a priority yet again, but whether or not any work is funded will depend on what the Legislature does next year.
The education department is recommending $130.3 million in state funding for 16 school construction projects next year, and $156.7 million in state funding for 106 major school maintenance efforts projects.
Bristol Bay Borough's school renovation is ranked third on the list of 106, and the department recommended $9.7 million in state funding for the effort. Last year the Bristol Bay Borough project also ranked third, on a slightly smaller list of projects.
The work needed at the Naknek school includes energy efficiency improvements, and a variety of upgrades, including heating and roofing work.
Last year, funding for the school renovations made it beyond the list and onto the governor's version of the state budget but ultimately $11 million to renovate the Bristol Bay Borough school was deleted from the Senate capital budget in mid-May, as discussions continued past the end of the regular session.
-- Molly Dischner Officials told Philadelphia schools need $5 billion in repairs-- Philly.com Pennsylvania: November 22, 2016 [ abstract] One by one, the dignitaries trooped into the computer lab at Overbrook High School - a room full of dusty desktops at least a decade old that await replacement.
Earlier, they had peered inside two nonfunctioning science labs, where trash sat inside lab sinks and water issues were common.
The Monday tour of Overbrook, a once-grand structure known as "the Castle on the Hill," was meant to give lawmakers who will distribute school-facilities money in Pennsylvania a grounding in just how vast the Philadelphia School District's capital needs are.
It would cost $5 billion to fully meet city schools' repair needs, officials told the state senators, representatives, and other members of the state PlanCon Advisory Committee who gathered at Overbrook on Monday to hear testimony and ask questions.
Just one-third of district schools are considered in good condition, said Fran Burns, the district's chief operating officer.
The average city school is 70 years old, and the district is coping with years of deferred maintenance.
-- Kristen Graham District has $447.7 million in unfunded construction needs-- The Ledger Florida: November 19, 2016 [ abstract] BARTOW  The Polk County School Board members had some concerns when they got a look at the district's 2016-2021 capital work plan.
District officials identified $447.7 million in unfunded new construction needed to support the projected student enrollment over the next 10 years.
In addition, there are $74 million in unfunded major renovation and repair projects.
"What happens if the (half-cent) sales tax (for capital projects) is not renewed?" School Board member Lynn Wilson asked during last week's work session. "Do we have a plan?"
"We're praying," said Rob Davis, interim associate superintendent of operations.
More than $420 million generated by the sales tax since 2004 has paid for the construction of schools, extra classrooms and parking lots, among other needs. If the tax, which expires in January 2019, is not renewed in the 2018 general election, the School District will miss out on about $40 million a year.
The district plans to spend more than $23 million in sales tax money on maintenance projects and more than $22 million in sales tax money on new construction in the five-year plan. The new construction is planned for Bartow High School, which is in the early stages of master planning.
"Bartow has been very patient as it has watched the rest of the county get master plans," School Board member Hazel Sellers said in an October work session. "I'm hopeful about the sales tax renewing ... and thankful we will have a plan going once we get that money."
-- Madison Fantozzi After the sales-tax failure, we need a backup plan for building new schools. Here are 4 options-- The Beaufort Gazette South Carolina: November 18, 2016 [ abstract] Voters have said “no†to bond and sales-tax referendums to pay for new schools and other projects in Beaufort County, but that doesn’t mean they won’t get built.
The Beaufort County Board of Education has at least four options for getting it all done, according to a draft capital improvement plan presented during its work session in Beaufort on Friday. They range from the lengthy â€" like deferring maintenance for years on end â€" to the risky â€" like placing a bond referendum before voters in the spring and a sales-tax referendum on the ballot in 2018.
Voters shot down the district’s preferred method â€" borrowing $217 million and using revenue from a new, 10-year sales tax to pay for the new debt â€" during the Nov. 8 general election. The board eventually will need to adopt a new plan to complete its capital projects, like building new schools in Bluffton, renovating and adding on to its existing schools and fixing roofs and HVAC systems.
Friday’s proposal offers four options to pay for $217 million worth of capital projects:
-- REBECCA LURYE Boiler explosion injures two; elementary school evacuated-- Lexington Herald Leader Kentucky: November 16, 2016 [ abstract] Two school maintenance workers were injured and Sand Gap Elementary was evacuated Wednesday morning after a boiler in the basement of the building exploded.
The injured men were taken by ambulance to a hospital in Berea, emergency management director Greg Hayes said. Both suffered burns, but the extent of their injuries was unclear.
No students were injured, Hayes said. The explosion doesn’t appear to have caused major damage to the building.
-- MORGAN EADS Change would send more money to Florida's aging schools-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: November 16, 2016 [ abstract] Florida Department of Education officials are looking for ways to funnel more money to the state's aging schools and their growing backlog of deferred maintenance and repairs.
On Thursday, they proposed a new formula for doling out money from the Public Education Capital Outlay fund, known as PECO. The change would place more emphasis on facilities' age and square footage, and less on the average allocation over the past five years, department government affairs director Tanya Cooper said. Members of the state Board of Education, meeting in Orlando, heard the proposal as they discussed their goals for the 2017 legislative session.
If lawmakers go along, it could impact the Tampa Bay area's largest school districts, which are straining to keep up with building and maintenance costs.
-- Jeffrey Solochek Wyoming schools face $1.8 billion projected shortfall, report shows-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: November 15, 2016 [ abstract] Wyoming’s education system is projected to face a roughly $1.8 billion shortfall by the end of the 2022 fiscal year, according to a recent report to the Joint Education Interim Committee.
The staggering number, which comes amid an energy industry downturn, has prompted some lawmakers to discuss further spending cuts and the need to raise additional revenues.
The school operations shortfall for 2019 and 2020 was projected to be about $720 million. The deficit was anticipated to increase another $800 million for the two years after that.
Meanwhile, school construction and maintenance are funded under a separate account, where income is already insufficient to meet the major maintenance needs of the state schools, much less any new construction.
“You’re looking at about a $186 million shortfall for the 2019-20 (budget cycle), then about a $189 million shortfall in 2021-22,†said Matt Willmarth, of the Legislative Service Office, referring to the building account. “The reason for these larger shortfalls is, as we have noted in our reports, the past couple years no coal lease sales, and no bonuses, are forecast in our projections.â€
The committee was told that the capital construction account would essentially be empty by mid-2018.
-- Greg Fladager $4 million in bonds could accelerate construction at Lake Zurich District 95-- Lake Zurich Courier Illinois: November 14, 2016 [ abstract] Looking to accelerate work on some $45.6 million in possible construction projects, officials with Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 plan to borrow and issue $4 million in bonds.
The idea to issue the bonds, which would be repaid over five years, would help officials finance certain construction projects in the near future, said Vicky Cullinan, assistant superintendent for business and operations.
The district doesn't have enough "resources" in its annual operating budget to complete the projects in a "reasonable time frame," she said.
"This is not a matter of cash flow shortage," Cullinan said. "It is an opportunity to access additional funding in a responsible manner that does not increase the tax rate to our taxpayers for this debt."
During the 2015-16 school year, the district facilities panel created a long-range facility plan following an eight-month review, Cullinan said. The plan outlines life-safety work, maintenance work and capital improvements, she said.
-- Phil Rockrohr 3 school districts approve multi-million dollar bonds-- KSAT12 Texas: November 09, 2016 [ abstract] SAN ANTONIO - Voters approved multi-million dollar bonds in three school districts during Tuesday's elections.
The first, the San Antonio Independent School District bond and tax ratification has been approved.
The $450 million bond will fund the renovation of 13 schools, upgrading science and technology labs.
The bond also provides funds for teacher compensation for after-school programs and expansion of extracurricular offerings, including classroom space to meet recommended state guidelines.
â€Å"We are grateful to the voters and thank the community for taking the time to understand the needs of our students and schools,†said Pedro Martinez, SAISD Superintendent. â€Å"We will continue to partner with all of our stakeholders as we work to transform SAISD into a model urban school district.â€Â
Also on the ballot was a tax increase. Voters approved an increase in the maintenance and operations tax rate by 13 cents. An estimated $15.6 million in tax revenue will be generated, which the state would then more than match with an estimated $16.5 million, district officials said.
-- Ben Spicer Beaufort County schools penny tax fails; now what?-- WJCL22 South Carolina: November 09, 2016 [ abstract] The Beaufort County School District put forth a list of school facilities projects worth $217 million. On Tuesday’s ballot, voters were asked if they’d be willing to support two methods of funding those projects.
55 percent of voters rejected allowing the school district to issue bonds to fund the list of school infrastructure projects, and 59 percent of voters rejected a one-percent sales tax increase as a funding mechanism for school facilities, repairs and maintenance.
But the school district says the infrastructure needs will not go away, and now the school board will have to explore alternate ways to fund repairs and maintenance.
-- Tori Simkovic Voters approve $180 million in bonds for Oklahoma City Public Schools-- FOX25 Oklahoma: November 09, 2016 [ abstract] Oklahoma voters have approved three bond proposals from Oklahoma City Public Schools.
The bonds, which total up to $180 million, will help the district buy new buses, new computers and iPads and address maintenance issues.
The maintenance bond would repair and replace HVAC systems, roofs, electrical systems and plumbing at schools. maintenance funds will also provide for new fine arts and athletics equipment.
-- AUSTIN PRICKETT Wisconsin taxpayers approve nearly $804 million in school referenda-- Wisconsin Watchdog Wisconsin: November 09, 2016 [ abstract] MILWAUKEE â€" 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 PSD exaggerated deferred maintenance needs-- Coloradoan Colorado: November 05, 2016 [ abstract] Poudre School District officials exaggerated the district's deferred maintenance needs by more than $415 million during efforts to pitch voters a $375 million bond issue to build new schools in Tuesday's election.
District officials, namely Executive Director of Operations Pete Hall, have claimed $500 million in deferred maintenance throughout the election, but a Colorado Open Records Act request by the Coloradoan revealed the district's deferred maintenance tallies just shy of $85 million. Deferred maintenance represents building upkeep that the district has delayed due to funding restrictions.
The district did not publicly disclose the misrepresentation until prompted by the Coloradoan's records request for deferred maintenance line items and costs. Spokeswoman Danielle Clark said an "overbroad categorization" of maintenance needs had occurred throughout the past 18 months during the district's long-range planning process.
Bill Werst, president of the anti-bond organization Citizens for Sustainable School Funding, said the misrepresentation is proof of the need for more transparency from the district. Werst has advocated for PSD to make available detailed plans and cost estimates for new schools included in the bond and to reduce proposed construction costs to either reduce the maximum bond amount or tackle more of the district's deferred maintenance.
-- Sarah Jane Kyle Glastonbury School Officials Unveil New Five-Year Facilities Plan-- Hartford Courant Connecticut: October 31, 2016 [ abstract] Building an auxiliary gymnasium at Glastonbury High School, reconfiguring Naubuc Elementary School and installing air conditioning are among the goals on the school system's new five-year facilities plan.
"This is a long-term plan, not a 'to-do' list for next year," said Douglas C. Foyle, a member of the board of education and chairman of the board's facilities committee.
The committee began developing the plan last spring, gathering input from building administrators and staff, the maintenance department, the athletic department and sports booster groups in town. It compiled a list of six goals for 2021.
"A lot of listening was done as well as a lot of research and thought put in to where we've been and where we want to move forward," Assistant Superintendent Matthew Dunbar said. "This is a list of bigger projects that would be considered, researched and looked at over the next five years, as opposed to those important, ongoing, larger maintenance projects that you see in the capital improvement projects list.
"This list doesn't negate those," he added. "It just goes in a different direction."
Like in its 2017-18 capital improvement program, released last week, installation of air conditioning at elementary schools  Buttonball, Hebron Avenue, Hopewell, Naubuc and the sixth-grade Gideon Welles School  is on the list. The board hopes the town council sends a project to a referendum vote in late winter or early spring.
-- Peter Marteka Lawmakers recommend using rainy day money for school projects-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: October 29, 2016 [ abstract] A legislative committee is recommending tapping the state’s $1.5 billion rainy day account for some $80 million in school building projects this coming year.
The Select Committee on School Facilities voted 8 to 1 to approve a supplemental appropriations bill, which will be used predominately for two school construction projects â€" a $29 million elementary school in Teton County and a $42 million junior high school in Laramie County â€" along with a host of smaller projects, including some immediate funding for Big Horn County.
The recommendation comes as the state is facing $400 million less in revenue than was forecast for the current two-year general operating budget, along with a $100 million shortfall in school operations funding.
The school construction and maintenance budgets have long had a separate funding stream financed almost exclusively through Wyoming’s share of federal coal lease bonus money. But that source is in decline and is expected to run dry in 2018.
Due to a drop in coal lease income, the school construction and maintenance budget of $148 million was already short of covering the major maintenance needs of schools across the state, much less the $212 million in building projects that are next in line under the school capital construction formula.
-- Greg Fladager Albuquerque Public Schools saves millions in maintenance-- KRQE News 13 New Mexico: October 20, 2016 [ abstract] Albuquerque Public Schools have saved two million dollars over the last five years, and it’s all thanks to preventative maintenance.
“The whole philosophy is, be more proactive than reactive,†said John Dufay, the Executive Director of Operations for APS. He said the whole purpose of this new program of maintaining the schools is to prevent catastrophic issues, that cost thousands of dollars.
“We didn’t change the budget, we allocated a certain amount of money for preventive maintenance and a certain amount for reactive,†said Dufay.
The preventative work can by anything from, carpenters coming in to check all of the doors, to oiling the doors, and going through the locks. Dufay said they also re-sealed the floors and have started to replace all the lights with LED lights.
“This past year we did about 71,000 work orders,†he said, and in years past he said they averaged around 50 thousand work orders, but the preventative work is more extensive.
-- Rebecca Atkins Pasco joins ranks of school districts that can't keep up with capital costs-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: October 19, 2016 [ abstract] LAND O'LAKES  Another local school district is straining hard to keep up with mounting costs for maintenance and construction.
The fast-growing Pasco County school system, like neighboring Hillsborough, faces a bleak situation over the next decade, even if it hits the most optimistic financial projections, district officials said this week.
They estimate that Pasco's capital plan  including new schools and buses, roof repairs and preventive maintenance  would cost $1.33 billion. The district's four major funding sources, however, look to generate $900.3 million, leaving a $430 million gap.
"We can only do projects for as much resources as we have," chief finance officer Olga Swinson told the School Board. "So we keep moving projects" far into the future.
Such concerns are widespread in Florida. Look no farther than Hillsborough, where the school system can't afford its growing air conditioning repair list as it continues to pay off debt from its 1990s construction boom.
-- Jeffrey Solochek School Board OKs $187 million bond measure-- Lake Oswego Review Oregon: October 11, 2016 [ abstract] The Lake Oswego School Board approved a $187 million bond measure proposal Monday that would address deferred maintenance at all 10 schools in the district, replace Lakeridge Junior High, perform safety and security improvements and tech upgrades â€" and include funding to replace the district’s swimming pool.
The proposal, which was approved in a 5-0 vote, is scheduled to go before voters in the May 2017 primary election.
District staff cannot take a stance on the measure; they can only provide information. But the publicly elected School Board can now campaign for the proposal, and that effort began Monday night.
“Full steam ahead," said board member Bob Barman. “Let’s get this done right.â€
Other board members said they are ready to step forward and knock on doors to inspire support for the measure.
“I am in full support of the bond proposal,†Board Chair Sarah Howell said. “I’ve been speaking about it so much that my voice is a little raw.â€
The proposal approved this week calls for a three-phase bond measure, with subsequent votes scheduled for 2021 and 2025. Altogether, the three phases total $537 million.
The projects included in Phase One include:
-- Jillian Daley Plan: Schools' maintenance backlog reaches nearly $45M-- HeraldMailMedia.com Maryland: October 09, 2016 [ abstract] The deferred maintenance backlog for Washington County Public Schools' school facilities is about $35 million, with another $9.3 million in deficiencies related to the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the school system's latest Comprehensive maintenance Plan.
With another estimated $400,000 in deferred maintenance at nonschool facilities, the total maintenance backlog is approximately $44.9 million, according to the maintenance plan the board of education approved on Oct. 4.
Board member Jacqueline Fischer said she was concerned about the deferred maintenance backlog because the Washington County Board of Commissioners hasn't provided additional funds for such projects in recent years.
The backlog has been reduced significantly since 2002, when Fischer said she first joined the board and recalled the backlog was more than $80 million.
Closing the older Winter Street Elementary and Conococheague Elementary schools this summer took a big chunk out of the maintenance backlog, maintenance and Operations Director Mark Mills said last week.
The possible closing of Sharpsburg Elementary School in 2020 would further reduce the backlog, he said.
-- Julie E. Greene State weighing plan to raze, rebuild Camden High-- philly.com New Jersey: October 04, 2016 [ abstract] The New Jersey Schools Development Authority is to vote Wednesday on a proposal to demolish Camden High School and replace it with a new building - a project that would cost an estimated $133 million.
If the plan is approved at the SDA's regular meeting in Trenton, the state will oversee a razing of the building known as the "Castle on the Hill," including the tower that defines the school's silhouette.
Plans to upgrade the century-old building have been delayed for more than eight years, and in the past, officials indicated that the tower would be preserved. But according to the proposal before the SDA, studies have determined that a complete renovation of the facility would be cost-prohibitive.
Preserving the tower while building new construction around it would cost at least $200 million, said Paymon Rouhanifard, superintendent of the state-run district.
Rouhanifard said the new building will have a tower. "We want to honor the legacy of that," he said.
The funding also would create four independent learning communities that will operate within the traditional public school, such as vocational programs. The completed building would have room for 1,200 students, according to the proposal before the SDA. About 700 students currently attend.
Built in 1916, Camden High is challenging to heat and cool due to poor insulation and a faulty boiler, and the district has spent millions on repairs and maintenance in recent years.
-- Allison Steele Rio Rancho schools say snakes caused power outage-- KOAT 7 New Mexico: September 29, 2016 [ abstract] RIO RANCHO, N.M. â€â€Power crews were shocked when they went to find out what caused a power outage in Rio Rancho Tuesday.
maintenance crews tracked the outage to solar panels and were shocked to discover two snakes.
The snakes appears to look like a mess of wires in a photo but with a second look people can see one of the wires is a snake.
â€Å"It's a long snake, it's a long one,†Cleveland high school student Walker Stovall said.
Stovall and his friends were at band practice Tuesday when the power suddenly went out.
â€Å"The lights flickered a little bit and the alarms and the doors were locking and unlocking,†he said.
Rio Rancho Public Schools called in maintenance crews to figure out what happened.
Cleveland High School has hundreds of solar panels outside. A Rio Rancho spokesperson said a lot of the power that goes into the school, comes from a transformer box.
When workers opened it they stopped dead in their tracks. They found two bull snakes, one on the ground and the other inside the box, hanging next to wires.
â€Å"The snake crawled up on the truss which carries 12,000 volts,†Beth Pendergrass with Rio Rancho Public Schools said.
-- Kirsten Swanson Hot schools and crushing debt spell daunting decisions in the Hillsborough schools-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: September 28, 2016 [ abstract] TAMPA â€" Crushing debt and deferred maintenance are coming home to roost in the Hillsborough County public schools, where faulty air conditioners are leaving some children too hot to learn.
The problem is a symptom of school system in the grips of a growing financial crisis, cutting costs as it struggles to maintain its reserves and keep up with debt payments on long-ago borrowing to build schools.
“We’re in a situation where we’re dire straits,†chief operating officer Chris Farkas told School Board members Tuesday during the normally routine ritual of voting on a five-year capital improvements plan.
Schools built in the late 1990s are seeing wear and tear, made worse by years of neglect. And the district is still paying for them, having borrowed more than $900 million for school construction to accommodate growth in the boom years.
The payments on that debt come to $65 million a year, taking up much of the district’s capital budget, which is used for maintenance and repairs. To help cover repairs in the past, the district was able to tap into its general fund, used for operating expenses. But that practice has ended as officials work to stabilize the general fund following last year’s disclosure that its reserves had dropped by more than $200 million over four years.
Increasing revenue isn’t an easy option as the state limits districts on how much they can raise through property taxes.
-- Marlene Sokol Taxpayers Shell Out Millions Every Year for Dozens of Abandoned School Buildings-- Chicago 5 Illinois: September 07, 2016 [ abstract] Four years ago this week, schoolchildren were filing into Bontemps Elementary at the start of another year in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood.
Today Bontemps sits vacant and abandoned â€" its sign flapping in the wind; The insides have been gutted and ransacked as the building remains one of the dozens of schools that are empty shells in neighborhoods across Chicago, more than three years after Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s mass-closing of nearly 50 Chicago Public School buildings in 2013.
“It’s been completely vandalized,†says Asiaha Butler, president of the Resident Association of Greater Englewood, who was recently allowed inside to tour the Bontemps school building. “Weeks of vandals. I mean, I think that folks spent weeks in this school.
“They took out all the wiring,†Butler says. “They took out all the insulation, all the plumbing â€" every piece of copper you can think about is absolutely missing from this building.â€
Yet Chicago taxpayers continue to shell out money, every year, for Bontemps and the dozens of other Chicago Public School buildings that sit, vacant and often vandalized, throughout the city. For the past three and a half years, NBC5 Investigates has been tracking the utility and maintenance costs for these empty buildings, and -- so far -- the taxpayer bill tallies more than $6.2 million spent to heat and light these vacant buildings through May of 2016.
-- Phil Rogers and Katy Smyser Swallows’ nests to be removed at Ukiah High School-- Ukiah Daily News California: September 02, 2016 [ abstract] In a cleanup effort largely unrelated to the ongoing eradication of cockroaches at Ukiah High School, maintenance employees plan to remove the nests birds have built on many of the buildings.
“We won’t be knocking down or killing any birds,†said Gabe Sherman, director of maintenance, Operations and Transportation for the Ukiah Unified School District, explaining that cliff swallows have been building mud nests â€" using a combination of saliva and dirt â€" high on buildings such as the gym for years.
“In the past, they’ve just been knocked down, but that leaves behind traces that the birds are attracted to, so they return and build their nests again,†said Sherman, adding that it’s not necessarily the nests that are the problem, but the feces the birds coat the campus with.
“They’re (defecating) everywhere,†he said, describing the feces as dropping on walkways, doorways and even drinking fountains. “Even when you wash it off, it leaves behind a stain.â€
The problem is not just aesthetic, however. During recent visits by California Department of Pest Regulation employees to evaluate the school’s cockroach eradication efforts, Sherman said his staff was told that the birds pose a greater health risk than the insects because of pathogens their feces can carry.
Sherman said state regulations prohibit the removal of nests in the spring and summer, but as of Sept. 1 they can legally remove them.
“But I still saw some activity in some of the nests this week, so I don’t want to remove them just yet,†he said, explaining that the plan is to remove them the weekend of Sept. 10. “It has to be done on the weekends, but this weekend is a holiday weekend for Labor Day, and I wanted to give my staff an actual three-day weekend, since they’ve been working so hard with other cleanup efforts related to the cockroaches.â€
Sherman said the plan is to use pressure washers to remove the nests and more thoroughly clean the area to hopefully prevent the birds from returning. In addition, he said they plan to install netting and spikes to physically prevent future installations.
-- Justine Frederiksen Daly City school closes after sewage backs into restroom-- KTVU.com California: August 30, 2016 [ abstract] As California schools age, maintenance and repairs become more important to their mission of delivering an education.
An increasing amount of schools are forced to put off maintenance and repairs as little problems turn into bigger ones. Bigger is always more expensive.
School District officials canceled all classes at Daly City's Westlake Elementary School. But the reason why could have been easily prevented.
It turns out; the sewage system became overloaded with commonly flushed materials.
"What we had was a situation of excessive paper towels being flushed down the toilet, feminine hygiene products and flushable toilet wipes which we are learning are not really flushable. Do we need to replace our sewage pipes to accommodate some of the things that commonly flushed down the toilet today?" asks Superintendent Bernie Vidales of the Jefferson Elementary School District.
Though the school's aging sewer system backed up into the restrooms, no classrooms, halls or the cafeteria were affected. With repairs done, the school will be open on Wednesday.
-- 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 How Investment Banks Cash in on School Construction-- Priceonomics National: August 25, 2016 [ abstract] When Americans vote in the local school board elections every few years, they elect the individuals who oversee one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects: the construction and maintenance of America’s nearly 100,000 schools.
Any given school board member will be responsible for only a piece of that project. But, taken together, schools are the nation’s second largest public infrastructure investment after transportation. Roughly 55 million Americans (1 in 6) set foot in our public schools every day, according to the National Council on School Facilities, and they occupy an area equivalent to nearly 3,000 Empire State Buildings. There isn’t a public institution in the country that touches the lives of more Americans.
In other countries, provincial or national governments manage education systems, with varying levels of discretion for local officials. But in the United States, schools operate on the principle of local control, which means that the governing and management of public schools is done by locally-elected or appointed representatives such as school boards or school committees.
The United States is nearly unique in this respect, and when you think of schools as an infrastructure project, local control presents a unique problem: it’s inefficient and inequitable.
It’s inefficient because you’re asking every local school board in the country to borrow millions of dollars to construct or renovate school buildings. Inevitably, when a tiny school board works with financial firms to borrow money, they get fleeced. It’s inequitable because smaller school districts with less taxable wealth are hit with higher fees, which means that the poorest communities get the least out of their education dollars.
This is one of the unrecognized downsides of local control in America. We spend too much to get too little from school construction, paying billions to financial firms like investment banks and consultancies that could be spent on teacher salaries, technology for students, and specialized tutoring.
-- Paul Perry OKCPS district leaders want voters to pass $180 million to fix maintenance mishaps-- KFOR Oklahoma: August 22, 2016 [ abstract] OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma City Public School district leaders are racing to get a big bond on the November ballot.
As we've reported, a lot of OKCPS students have been going to school with broken air conditioning systems this year.
Now, district leaders said a bond package would make a world of difference.
â€Å"I've personally been in some of the classrooms that are extremely hot, talked to the teachers, talked to the students, try to get them water, fans, move them to different places,†said OKCPS Superintendent Aurora Lora.
Tuesday, Lora will ask the Oklahoma City Public Schools board to approve a $180 million bond package.
The money will primarily go to maintenance.
Lora said every single school in the district needs some kind of repair.
â€Å"Some money [would go] for plumbing, wiring, fixing leaky roofs. There will be some buildings that get additional safety features put on,†Lora said.
-- Abby Broyles Bellevue Public Schools bank on $76 million bond issue to finance work at every school in district-- Omaha World-Herald Nebraska: August 16, 2016 [ abstract] A piece of rebar stuck out of Bellevue East High School’s football field last year. Inside the high school, the chillers that cool it are nearly 30 years old.
And housed in a room off the cafeteria are the three boilers that heat the school. All are from the early 1960s.
“The good news is they lasted a long time,†said Greg Boettger, director of facilities and technology for Bellevue Public Schools. “Bad news, they aren’t very efficient.â€
Time has caught up with the Bellevue Public Schools.
Every elementary, middle and high school in Nebraska’s fifth-largest school district needs maintenance work, upgraded and new technology and enhanced security measures.
And for the first time in decades the district doesn’t have enough money to make it all happen. While school districts throughout the area have passed bond measures to pay for new schools and renovate old ones, Bellevue Public Schools have gone 42 years without one.
But now a mail-in election will ask voters to consider a $76 million bond measure to upgrade the schools. The measure would increase taxes $16.13 per month on a $100,000 home.
-- Emily Nitcher FSDB to receive millions in funding for school maintenance-- The St. Augustine Record Florida: August 15, 2016 [ abstract] The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind is receiving $9 million for campus improvements as part of the state’s decision to borrow $285 million for school construction and maintenance over the next several years.
In a decision made earlier this month, Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet approved Public Capital Outlay for the first time since the 2010-2011 budget year.
The additional funding is good news for FSDB which had its five-year master plan recently approved by the Department of Education for a renovation cycle.
Jeanne Prickett, FSDB’s president, said many of the buildings are already exceeding 30 percent of their replacement value and require imperative upgrades.
“If buildings get as high as 60 or 70 percent of their replacement value, it would cost that much money to get them up to speed and code. You might as well tear them down at that point,†Prickett said. “Our buildings right now are running around 35 percent. We have been trying to hold the line the best we can.â€
-- EMELIA HITCHNER Palm Beach County schools grapple with mold, leaks, safety woes-- Florida: August 12, 2016 [ abstract] In Palm Beach County schools, some teachers have been forced to move students to temporary classrooms because of mold or failing air conditioners.
Librarians have put makeshift tarps over books to protect them from intruding water. And workers have installed thin coverings over crumbling roofs as they try to deal with the extensive maintenance problems.
District officials are asking voters on Nov. 8 to approve a 1-cent sales tax â€" half of which would go toward upgrading schools. The other half would go to county and city governments.
According to a district assessment, 40 of its 196 schools are in unsatisfactory or poor condition. Seven are in such disrepair they need to be demolished and rebuilt. They are:
-- Scott Travis Bartlesville Teachers Return To Century-Old Building After Recent Repairs-- NewsOn6.com Oklahoma: August 11, 2016 [ abstract] BARTLESVILLE, Oklahoma - Teachers are moving in and students are registering for a new school year at Bartlesville's Central Middle School.
The 100-year-old building just got an upgrade thanks to a bond issue the city passed three years ago.
Tanya Williams is one of the many Central teachers getting ready for a new year in a new classroom - boxes and chairs are stacked everywhere, but she's confident.
"We'll be ready when our kids get here for sure. We're excited. We can't wait," she said.
Everyone we saw was excited to be back at Central.
Last year, they all moved to the old Madison Middle School so the renovations could get done.
Principal Ryan Huff said former students will be most surprised by the conversion of the basement, now the new first floor.
A labyrinth of locker rooms, gymnasiums storage and maintenance rooms were turned into usable classroom space for the music program.
-- RICK WELLS School closure vote fails as Gary wrestles with deficit-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: August 05, 2016 [ abstract] The Gary Community Schools' Williams Annex and its maintenance facility are still open after narrowly avoiding the chopping block at Thursday's special board meeting, but a $1 million budget deficit still looms that could delay the start of the school year.
The board voted 6-1 with one abstention Thursday against closing Williams Annex, the former Dunbar-Pulaski Middle School, at 920 E. 19th Ave. It housed almost 400 students in seventh and eighth grades last year.
The move to close the maintenance facility at 3840 Georgia St., was tabled for further discussion.
Board president Antuwan Clemons said the board normally decides to close schools in the fall prior to the next school year, but the budget crisis means that it's important to act quickly.
-- Christin Nance Lazerus Building California schools now big business, big money and big politics-- The Sacramento Bee California: August 01, 2016 [ abstract] Building and refurbishing the schools that house 6 million California kids has become very big business.
Over the last few decades, the state has issued about $45 billion in school bonds, mostly for K-12 schools, some for colleges, and repaying lenders costs the state nearly $3 billion a year. With interest, retiring the bonds will have cost about twice their face value, or some $90 billion.
Local school districts have issued many billions more in voter-approved bonds to match state grants, and property taxes have been hiked to pay for them.
The school construction tab is likely to increase even more because a $9 billion bond issue has been placed on the Nov. 8 ballot by a coalition of school groups, developers and the construction companies that profit from school contracts.
If it passes, the state’s tab for repayment would increase by another half-billion dollars a year, and Gov. Jerry Brown has been highly critical, saying the system for allocating bond money is fatally flawed.
Pointedly, the bond measure, Proposition 51, preserves an arcane formula that protects developers from having to fully pay for school construction serving their residential tracts as long as the state has bond money.
In a sense, therefore, it preserves a subsidy from taxpayers â€" or, taking the contrary view, avoids making housing prices even higher than they are now.
Another very questionable aspect of Proposition 51 is that bonds repaid over 35 years may be used for reroofing, air conditioning, playground equipment and other maintenance and operational projects that won’t last nearly that long.
-- Dan Walters Officials looking into why Murphysboro school auditorium roof collapsed-- The Southern Illinoisan Illinois: August 01, 2016 [ abstract] Monday morning's downpour is being eyed as a contributor to the collapse of the roof over the Murphysboro High School auditorium.
The roof, already weakened by the discovery of a dropped heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit, was likely further stressed by the rainfall, said the district's foreman, John Keller, on Monday morning.
No one was injured in the collapse.
â€Å"We've got people that's looking at it at this point,†Keller said. â€Å"About all I can say is we're just taking precautions in the area."
The insecure roof was discovered a short time ago by maintenance workers doing routine maintenance of the roof and HVAC, said Chris Grode, superintendent of the Murphsyboro Community Unit School District. The workers noticed a sink in the roof, which lead to the removal of the HVAC unit that had dropped three feet. That portion of the roof had been closed up with decking and tarp, according to recommendations from the district's insurer, Grode wrote on the district's Facebook page.
-- STEPHANIE ESTERS Work to abate bad odor at elementary school begins-- Plumas County News California: July 29, 2016 [ abstract] Visitors driving by C. Roy Carmichael this summer will see the efforts of contractors and engineers working to rectify a problem that has been in existence for many years at the site.
The odor that presented itself this past year at the elementary school was not new, but was definitely stronger than it had been in the past. With the goal of providing healthy, comfortable and welcoming learning environments for all students, Plumas Unified School District administrators set out to discover the cause and correct the issue as quickly as possible.
The first thing that the maintenance department and district staff did was to ensure that the school site was safe for students. They did this by consulting professional hygienists, Plumas County Environmental Health, local health care providers and a multitude of experts. All possible causes were looked at extensively.
The district immediately scoped the sewer lines and storm drains to determine their integrity and address any concerns that would be easily fixed. The district assessed the propane tank and propane lines to ensure they were not a contributing factor.
-- Leslie Edlund Former PPS Managers Confirm Rampant Problems In Maintaining School Buildings-- OPB.org Oregon: July 28, 2016 [ abstract] A recent independent investigation into Portland Public Schools’ handling of high lead levels in school drinking water forced Superintendent Carole Smith’s retirement. But it also revealed deeper problems: a school district where management practices were even more deficient than the aging schools kids attend every day.
It’s a problem all-too-familiar to the people responsible for making sure our schools are safe, every day.
Sharon Raymor spent four years at Portland Public Schools.
“I was originally hired as a project manager in facilities, then I got the senior maintenance manager position over the mechanical trades shop,†Raymor said, sitting on a bench in the South Park blocks in downtown Portland, not far from her current office with the City of Portland.
Raymor managed Portland Public Schools’ plumbing crew until she left in October. Seven months after she left, one of the people covering for her was suspended in the lead controversy. Long before that, Raymor worried she might be hung out to dry, if something went wrong.
-- Rob Manning Charter change would put Rochester school maintenance under city control-- fosters.com New Hampshire: July 26, 2016 [ abstract] ROCHESTER  A City Councilor is proposing a charter change which would put the buildings and grounds maintenance of the school district under the city's control.
Councilor Robert Gates, Ward 5, is suggesting Section 29 of the charter be amended so that "All school properties shall be maintained by the City of Rochester." The district currently has its own buildings and grounds maintenance department headed by Richard Bickford with its own equipment. Under Gates' charter change, school properties would be maintained by the Department of Public Works, and there would be the possibility of eliminating some positions and equipment, he said.
Gates said he suggested the change because he believes it would save the city and school district money and allow the district to focus solely on education. Having to think about whether a building needs a new roof or repainting distracts from that goal, according to Gates, who does not believe Rochester schools are performing well academically when compared to other schools.
Gates said he got the idea from Danvers, Mass., where he grew up. He said Danvers uses a similar system, along with Manchester. The change would not occur for awhile, Gates said, because the next city election is not until November 2017 and the City Council would need to hold a public hearing and vote to put the proposed charter change on the ballot before then.
-- Caitlin Andrews Mold, mildew samples don't meet standards in two county schools-- WSAZ3 West Virginia: July 26, 2016 [ abstract] ELKVIEW, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Crews are working around the clock to get Elkview Middle School and Bridge Elementary ready for the first day of school on August 8, following the June 23 floods.
With only 13 days left until students go back to school, many parents are concerned there isn't enough time to clean the schools well enough to ensure their children are learning in a healthy environment.
According to Kanawha County Schools maintenance Manager Terry Hollingsworth, Kanawha County Schools hired outside contractors trained in flood clean up and restoration.
Kanawha County Schools also hired an environmental contractor to take samples from the floor, walls, and air of the buildings and test them to "ensure that the levels of cleanliness and mold remediation are met."
"They look for the bound of particulates in the air so it could be mold, mildew, dust, dirt," Stanley Mills, with the Kanawha Charleston Health Department, said.
If those levels do not meet the Health Department's standards, the contractor must go back in and resanitize the building.
-- Katy Andersen New heating system delayed, over budget at Warwick junior high-- Providence Journal Rhode Island: July 24, 2016 [ abstract] WARWICK, R.I. â€" School Committee members expressed frustration last week when they learned that a new heating system for Warwick Veterans Memorial Junior High School is behind schedule and will be more expensive than first anticipated.
Just like the building, the heating system at the school is old â€" about 50 years old, said Chief Budget Officer Anthony Ferrucci.
Over time, small pinholes have formed in the pipes, causing hot steam to leak out. The maintenance staff has plugged holes, but this past fall the problem got worse. Each time a hole was plugged, two more would pop up, Ferrucci said.
“The fear was we would have a massive breakdown on the piping and lose the heating," he said.
The School Department had an agreement with a heating company, Trane, dating back to 2006, to install a heating system under "performance-based contracting." Rather than pay upfront, the School Department would continue to pay the same utility bill with the savings from burning less energy going to reimburse Trane.
The problems began to surface when Trane and the school department had not reached a contractual agreement by November, Ferrucci said. Because the School Department was hoping to replace the heating system at Vets by the 2016-17 school year, Ferrucci recommended that school officials request city bond money.
-- Carol Kozma Sales tax will help Palm Beach County schools-- Sun Sentinel Florida: July 22, 2016 [ abstract] Wednesday's board meeting provided the first glance of the Palm Beach County School District's proposed capital budget as well as a review of our many facilities requiring repair as a result of years of deferred maintenance from a decreasing capital budget. The long-term 11-year capital forecast presented to the School Board includes $1.34 billion that will be realized if the penny sales tax referendum passes in November.
In 2008, the Florida Legislature began cutting the capital budgets school districts utilize for construction, repairs and major expenditures for things such as technology and school buses. In all, the capital budget for district schools has been cut a devastating $865 million since 2008.
Now, it's estimated the district needs more than $1.4 billion to address much-needed building maintenance, important school security enhancements, classroom technology needs and an aging transportation fleet. Replacement of older school facilities and the anticipated demand for new schools brings the total need to more than $1.6 billion.
-- Robert Avossa 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 Leechburg Area must create plan for school repairs, superintendent says-- TRIB Live Pennsylvania: July 17, 2016 [ abstract] It's been 20 years since the Leechburg Area School District's last building renovation, and things are â€Å"starting to go,†Superintendent Tiffany Nix said.
The roof leaks and some air conditioners are working at only a fourth of their capacity, she said. There are crumbling sidewalks and exterior lights that don't work.
During a walkthrough, Nix said she noticed basement floors that are rising.
While maintenance workers do what they can, â€Å"There's a new one all the time,†she said.
While the school board is expected to vote Wednesday on spending about $24,000 to patch the entire roof of the school complex, Nix said the district needs a maintenance plan.
The district does not have such a plan, she said.
Nix said she wants to have a full assessment of the district done so a replacement schedule can be developed and worked into the budget.
Nix said the concern is if the district does not know the condition of certain items, they could begin failing â€Å"one by one by one.â€Â
A comprehensive plan would help the board develop a five-year budget and know how much money to set aside every year, she said.
-- BRIAN C. RITTMEYER School construction, maintenance keep Tri-City districts busy through summer-- Tri-City Herald Washington: July 17, 2016 [ abstract] Tri-City classrooms may be empty of students, but schools are still full of activity as fresh paint, new pavement or completely new facilities take shape around the area.
The community’s three largest districts are taking advantage of the quieter summer months to get in maintenance projects before fall classes return.
Here’s a rundown of what’s in the works around the Tri-Cities:
KENNEWICK
The Kennewick School District will open two new buildings when school starts this fall â€" Sage Crest Elementary School and the new home of Desert Hills Middle School.
Construction is largely complete at both buildings and new furniture arrived in mid-July, said Doug Carl, the district’s capital projects director. Teachers and other staff were expected to move their individual classroom materials later this month and in early August.
Sage Crest, south of Southridge High School, will be the district’s 15th elementary school. A ribbon-cutting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Aug. 25. Desert Hills staff and students will move from their current location near 10th Avenue to the new school in west Kennewick on Clodfelter Road.
-- TY BEAVER 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 Albuquerque Public Schools project funds held up over lawsuit-- KRQE News 13 New Mexico: July 11, 2016 [ abstract] The construction crews were hard at work Monday at Valley High School, working to build a new gym. Work was moving along at the start of the week, but it could soon be forced to take a long break.
Albuquerque Public Schools said in a summary presented to the school board that that project and dozens of others will have to soon be held up because of a pending lawsuit over how the district handled the February election to approve mill levy and bond funding.
“This is a huge issue for the school district,†said attorney and former APS board member Marty Esquivel. “All of the money that goes to the bricks and mortars of our schools, maintenance of our schools, millions and millions of dollars to keep our schools operating are in play here.â€
APS declined KRQE News 13’s request to discuss the lawsuit or its effects. However, in a document set to be presented to a board committee Monday evening, district staff says the pending lawsuit will increase costs for projects that will have to be stopped, will undermine student instruction, compromise school safety and hurt the local construction industry.
-- Alex Goldsmith School District 27J to complete dozens of $248 million bond funded projects by August-- The Denver Post Colorado: July 11, 2016 [ abstract] While students are off for the summer, construction and maintenance crews are swarming the grounds of just about every school and charter school in School District 27J to work on dozens of expansion and upgrade projects funded by the passing of a $248 million bond last fall.
“Our goal is to ensure that all schools in the district benefit from the bond monies through building upgrades, maintenance projects, and at some schools renovations and expansions,†said Tonja Castaneda, bond specialist with School District 27J. “Currently, since it’s summer and school buildings are empty, we have many school improvement projects going on throughout the district.â€
There are 18 schools and five charter schools for more than 16,000 students from Brighton, Commerce City, Thornton and parts of Aurora in the district. About 20 projects, including full school additions, playground upgrades, artificial turf fields at two high school stadiums, heating and cooling replacements, new windows and asbestos abatement at Brighton Heritage Academy and more are underway at more than a dozen schools.
-- MEGAN MITCHELL | St. Paul Public Schools embarks on five-year renovation plan-- Monitor Minnesota: July 11, 2016 [ abstract] Interactive classroom projectors, security cameras, a remodeled cafeteria and a new artificial turf field are a few of the improvements public schools in the Hamline Midway and Como neighborhoods will see in in the next few years.
Construction will begin this month for the Saint Paul Public School’s (SPPS) five-year facilities master plan. This is after two years of gathering data on 72 schools and facilities and 465 acres of land that belong to SPPS, in addition to collecting input from over 1,000 people who work and study there.
“Most of the work we’re doing this summer is maintenance, bread and butter stuff,†said Tom Parent, the Facilities Director at SPPS, with the exception of Johnson High School in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood.
The district has always had long-range maintenance plans, said Parent. But making improvements has been a technical expert focused process in the past. This is the first time that there has been a strategic five-year plan laid out for students and parents.
-- MARIA HERD 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.â€
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 â€" nearly half built between 1912 and 1960 â€" it is hardly the only one.
-- Bill Roberts Is Maryland building ‘Cadillacs or Buicks’ for its new public schools?-- MarylandReporter.com Maryland: July 07, 2016 [ abstract] When it comes to new public schools, "are we building Cadillacs or are we building Buicks?" was the question David Lever tried to answer at a conference put on last Thursday by the Maryland Association of Counties.
Lever is the departing executive director of the Interagency Committee on School Construction who has resigned in protest of actions by Gov. Larry Hogan and Comptroller Peter Franchot. Both men have been pushing for building more schools for less money, as well as better maintenance and air conditioning.
"I can say without a doubt that we are building Buicks," Lever told the county officials and school board members meeting at the new Rolling Knolls Elementary School in Annapolis. But "it is not your dad's Buick," Lever said, comparing a 1962 Buick with a 2016 Buick, with all the bells, whistles, electronics and technology upgrades not found 50 years ago.
The same is true of schools, where the square footage per student had increased dramatically. That's because more is being asked of a modern school building, he said.
-- Len Lazarick Summer maintenance underway at Thompson schools-- Reporter-Herald Colorado: July 07, 2016 [ abstract] Philip Padia is rolling a fresh coat of paint this month on the outside of Thompson Valley High School, including accenting the corners of the building with a gold "T" and a black "V."
It is unclear if the architect meant to incorporate the school initials into construction in 1976 or if it was added later during a roof revamp, but the shape of the letters was clear to chief operations officer Dan Maas when he looked at the building.
So, the district decided to highlight that quirk during a summer painting project.
Summer, when the flurry of student activity dies down in schools across the Thompson School District, is when maintenance kicks into high gear. The staff that keeps buildings running year round tackles larger projects during district downtime.
Matt Throop, facilities manager, said he has a $750,000 budget for capital projects this year, which will allow staff to tackle only a fraction of the millions of dollars of repairs that need completed throughout the district.
For 2.5 million square feet of facilities, that computes to 30 cents per square foot, according to Throop.
The top priority maintenance  not all needed maintenance but the highest ranked projects after this year's are complete  would cost $22.9 million, according to figures incorporated into a bond issue that will go before voters in November. This year's budgeted $750,000 is 3 percent of that top need.
-- Pamela Johnson Pasco school district's capital planning filled with good news and bad-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: July 06, 2016 [ abstract] Pasco County School Board members got some positive news about their construction and maintenance plans for the coming school year.
- The local tax roll is projected to increase 7.02 percent to $25.2 billion, a bigger jump than expected in a June estimate. The capital millage rate looks to generate $36.3 million.
- Impact fee revenue are on track to rise by $9.2 million.
- Collections from the local Penny for Pasco sales tax remain at their highest level, with projections of $26.7 million for the new fiscal year.
The problem is, even the improved income isn't enough, district officials said.
Over 10 years, they explained, the district expects only about half of the revenue needed to cover $1.04 billion in anticipated costs. And that figure doesn't include the construction of new schools that are likely to be needed in the booming Trinity-Odessa area, planning director Chris Williams said.
-- Jeffrey S. Solochek Construction on schedule for Natrona County high schools-- Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: June 26, 2016 [ abstract] When workers recently pulled back the window covers in the Natrona County High School auditorium they found stained glass that had likely been installed in the 1920s.
The discovery came near the end of renovations at the school, one of many projects nearing completion this summer in the Natrona County School District, including the new Pathways Innovation Center and Roosevelt High School, which will share a campus. The current phase of renovations at Natrona County High School, including a complete overhaul of the John F. Welsh Auditorium, will also be completed before the fall.
Construction at the main building of Kelly Walsh High School was finished mid-June.
All major construction projects in the district are on schedule, said Dennis Bay, executive director of business services. The total cost for June construction was over $5 million. As of early this month, Roosevelt and Pathways had cost about $41 million, according to district records.
The majority of funding for the roughly $200 million worth of construction and renovations on Kelly Walsh and Natrona County schools comes from the state, Bay said. Though Wyoming’s schools budget has faced cuts this year due to the downturn in the state’s economy, construction and major maintenance is funded separately. Current local projects were approved and funded years ago.
-- Heather Richards DCS maintenance crews get no time off for summer-- DecaturDaily.com Alabama: June 22, 2016 [ abstract] When students return to Brookhaven Middle School in August, they will find the principal's office in a different spot.
They also will see better lighting in the cafeteria, but they will not notice and probably won't care that insulation has been installed around pipes in the boiler room.
For the two months between the end and beginning of school, Decatur City Schools maintenance workers and contractors will work on 36 projects that cost from as little as $600 to as much as $10,000.
The district has a fleet of aging buildings, and summer is the only time when many of the repairs can be made, Decatur City Schools Project Manager Lee Edminson said.
â€Å"We try to do many of these projects when students are not in class,†he said.
Decatur City Schools has a 10-person maintenance crew that includes plumbers, electricians, carpenters, painters, HVAC technicians and a locksmith. They are responsible for 20 buildings and 1.67 million square feet of floor space.
Chief Financial Officer Melanie Maples said the majority of the projects are paid from the maintenance budget, which is local money. The district will spend about $150,000 this summer on materials for work orders.
â€Å"We try to handle all of them in-house,†Edminson said.
-- Deangelo McDaniel Dexter schools spending $275K after unexpected repairs, maintenance needs-- Mlive Michigan: June 22, 2016 [ abstract] DEXTER, MI -- Dexter Community Schools didn't plan on a sinkhole opening up beneath the parking lot at Creekside Intermediate School this school year.
The building and grounds department also didn't plan on the chiller at the high school going out and costing nearly $36,000 to repair.
The DCS board of education approved an additional appropriation of $275,000 on Monday, June 20, to the building and grounds department's 2015-16 budget to cover those extra expenses and routine maintenance needs that have arisen in recent months.
"We've had changes in directors over the years, and some of it is just trim the budget, trim the budget, trim the budget," Superintendent Chris Timmis said of delays in performing some routine maintenance. "Some of it is we put in new equipment with bonds 15, 20 years ago and, like a house, things start to go after a certain amount of time."
Sean Burton, director of building and grounds, gave the board an explanation during Monday's meeting of how the extra $275,000 will be spent. That amount is a 7.7 percent increase on the $3.32 million originally budgeted for building and grounds in 2015-16.
-- Lauren Slagter BG School Board approves 18-year facilities plan-- The Reflector Washington: June 21, 2016 [ abstract] BATTLE GROUND â€" During a June 12 regular meeting of the Battle Ground School Board of Directors, school board members voted unanimously to approve the long-range facilities plan that was put together and presented by the Facilities Improvement Team.
“I’m really proud of the work these folks did,†Superintendent Mark Hottowe said. “This group came together and bonded and represented the interests of the community. We selected folks from each of your (school board members) five districts and we asked Dave Halme to facilitate. This was really marked as a watershed moment for the district.â€
The purpose of the long-range facilities plan is to provide information and guidance to school board members on appropriate facilities for educational instruction. The plan also aligns with the district’s strategic vision and includes funding considerations, educational enhancements, maintenance, construction of new facilities, replacement and renovations of current facilities, and appropriate upgrades.
The long-range plan was developed over the past two years through the Facilities Improvement Team, a community-driven process with community volunteers working in collaboration with the school board members, district administration, staff and third-party consultants.
-- JOANNA YORKE Bug infestation pauses SBHS summer school-- Benito Link California: June 20, 2016 [ abstract] An infestation of tuxedo bugs on a portion of the San Benito High School campus forced the cancellation of some summer school classes midway through the morning session Monday and prompted school officials to cancel Tuesday's classes while the insects -- which live in weeds and do not bite or fly -- are exterminated.
Summer School Principal Elaine Klauer said the infestation was prompted by construction on the southwest side of campus, which apparently stirred up the insects. The small, crawling bugs were found in and around the 400's classrooms just south of Nash Road on the west side of campus. maintenance crews sprayed outside of classrooms Monday morning prior to the announcement that classes would be cancelled at 10 a.m. Students in the 300's classrooms on the east side of campus near Nash and San Benito streets, continued classes as scheduled.
-- Adam Breen Wichita BOE approves maintenance contract ahead of potential school shutdown-- KWCH12 Kansas: June 20, 2016 [ abstract] WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH)Schools could be less than two weeks away from shutting down, and the Wichita School Board is taking steps to be prepared.
Lawmakers will meet in Topeka this week for a special session to respond to a Supreme Court order to make the school funding system more equitable. If no agreement is reached schools could be forced to close at the end of June.
Monday night, the Wichita school board approved a $50,000 contract to make sure district buildings don't fall apart if a shutdown happens. An outside company will be responsible for keeping an eye on the district's more than 100 buildings.
"Actually, it was a very easy issue to pass, I think that's probably the easiest level that we will look at," said school board president Betty Arnold.
It's a small sense of security as school district employees across Kansas are unsure what will happen to them come July 1.
"It's scary. For one, a lot of people don't know if they're even going to receive a paycheck," said Ken Hinkle, Facilities Director for Wichita Public Schools.
-- Rachel Skytta Issaquah School District to work on host of new projects following bond passage-- Issaquah Reporter Washington: June 16, 2016 [ abstract] After the recent passage of the $533.5 million bond for school construction and maintenance, the Issaquah School District has a host of exciting new projects in its future.
The bond, approved on April 26 by a whopping 71 percent of voters (only 60 percent were needed), will pay for the creation of four new schools in the district â€" two new elementary schools, a sixth middle school and a fourth high school. Additionally, Discovery, Endeavour, Sunset, Cougar Ridge, Maple Hills and Clark elementary schools will be renovated and enlarged so that each school receives four to eight new classrooms. The 36-year-old Pine Lake Middle School will be entirely rebuilt with all the latest technological and environmental advances.
The plans have been in the works for quite awhile already, as school district employees and residents alike noticed the impact that a quickly growing population was having on local schools. In the past four years alone, the district gained 2,000 new students, and estimates show another 1,500 to 2,000 kids joining in the next five.
"We could foresee there were going to be growth issues," Issaquah School District Director of Capital Projects Steve Crawford said. "Community members were asking how we were going to accommodate it."
Issaquah and Skyline high schools already have around 2,200 students each, and if there is no new high school built, then these numbers could go up to 2,400 or 2,500 within a few years, Crawford said. He explained that ideally, a high school should have no more than 1,600 students.
Jumbo-sized schools have many drawbacks, such as a schedule with three to four different lunch periods and large class sizes.
-- Staff Writer County schools applying for $5 million in interest-free bonds to fix roofs-- The Cullman Times Alabama: June 15, 2016 [ abstract] With the system facing several capital needs due to aging facilities, the Cullman County Board of Education is pursuing approximately more than $5 million in interest-free funding to address some critical problems within the next few years.
The system has applied for $5.5 million in QZAB (Qualified Zone Academy Bonds) funds, which are made available through the Department of Education. The system has a laundry list of repairs, with most centering on leaky roofs and general maintenance for facilities that are reaching several decades in age.
The system previously received $1.3 million in QZAB funds last year.
“This could help alleviate a lot of capital needs in the next few years,†system finance director Ed Roberson said.
The funds would mostly be used to repair roofs, make necessary upgrades and maintenance (i.e. electrical, HVAC issues, replace old windows, etc.) across the system’s 28 schools. The system was actually forced to close Garden City Schools last year due to foundation issues at the 80-year-old school house. The money cannot be used for athletic facilities, meaning the money could not be used to repair Fairview High’s stadium, which was condemned for structural concerns. Repairs are on track to be completed this fall at Fairview.
-- Trent Moore 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.â€
-- Aaron Richardson Coalition calls for oversight on lucrative school contracts-- American Daily News Illinois: June 08, 2016 [ abstract] In a rare move, the leadership of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Operating Engineers, Principals Association and Teachers Union joined forces on Wednesday June 8, 2016 to rail against Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his hand-picked Board of Education on wasteful spending, campaign contributions and lucrative contracts. At a time when state and city resources are scarce, the three groups called for transparency, state and city oversight and accountability when it comes to privatization contracts with controversial companies.
While principals are threatened with 30 percent budget cuts, SodexoMAGIC Facilities Management Company funneled $250,000 in campaign cash to Rahm Emanuel in exchange for a contract award of $80 million to privatize CPS engineers and custodians in 33 schools. Aramark Corporation also received $282 million in lucrative contracts for custodial management in the remaining schools in the Board of Education’s expanding integrated facilities management pilot program.
Prior to SodexoMAGIC and Aramark, CPS Local 143 Engineers provided custodial oversight and reported directly to principals at no additional cost. SodexoMAGIC and Aramark custodians now work for those corporations instead of principals and their combined profits divert an estimated $50 million annually from classrooms.
On May 25th, the Board voted to privatize building engineers in almost 50 schools, giving more control over school maintenance to Aramark and SodexoMAGIC which have both been widely criticized by principals, staff, students and parents for two years. The Board plans to insert these same company’s in all CPS schools despite their lack of responsiveness to principals’ needs and “filthy†conditions pervasive in the schools they manage.
-- RAYHANANIAINN Long list of summer maintenance work now 'the norm' for QPS-- Herald-Whig Illinois: June 07, 2016 [ abstract] QUINCY -- A long list of summer maintenance projects is nothing new for the Quincy School District.
But this year's is longer than usual, and "believe it or not, this is going to be the norm for the next couple years," said Joel Murphy, the district's business manager.
Summer work typically kicks off with preparations before and cleanup after graduation, held last week. Crews now are focusing efforts on Quincy High School, where a $15.8 million construction project is slated to wrap up by July 29.
District staff already has gutted the kitchen and started work to convert four smaller classrooms into two large biology labs on the second floor of Building E. maintenance crews will remove old lockers to clear the way for new ones to be installed this summer, hang whiteboards in new classrooms, re-key every outside door at the high school, and paint throughout the building.
Every summer brings some classroom moves as teachers change grade levels or locations, but "not on this scale," Murphy said.
About 90 percent of the QHS faculty will be moved within the building to accommodate curriculum needs by grouping many teachers by subject area. All English classes, for example, will shift to the new classroom addition, which frees up space in other areas of the building.
Ninth-grade teachers will move from Quincy Junior High School to QHS, sixth-grade teachers will move from Baldwin to QJHS, and "there's also some internal moves within Baldwin as rooms are not being used for sixth grade," Murphy said.
-- Deborah Gertz Husar School officials see more favorable conditions for facilities improvements-- Bluff Country Newspaper Group Minnesota: June 07, 2016 [ abstract] Positive feedback on a survey to district residents along with changes made by the Legislature for school maintenance funds as well as taxes on agricultural land gave Chatfield school officials optimism as discussion unfolded during a facility improvement work session Thursday, May 26.
Preston Euerle of architectural firm R.A. Morton and Greg Crowe of Ehlers, Inc., a financial planning firm, were present at the session held by the Chatfield School Board.
Chatfield Superintendent Ed Harris introduced the board and welcomed a few members of the public in attendance, then opened the session by sharing an executive summary of results from a community survey the district conducted in late February and March. The survey was an effort to determine why the November 2015 high school facility improvement referendum failed and what the residents of the Chatfield school district most desire for the students who attend the schools â€" whether they want the administration and board to focus on academics or to make improvements on athletic facilities.
The summary’s overview related that there were 650 responses, or 35 percent of the patrons of the district sent their surveys back, and the survey was considered valid with 400 or more responses. It pointed out that the representation of the district’s patrons was wide â€" ranging from young families to seniors and people who live outside the city â€" and that the 35 percent response rate was considered “exceptional.â€
-- Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy Springfield schools to spend $12.6M on capital improvements-- Springfield News-Sun Ohio: June 02, 2016 [ abstract] Springfield City School District expects to spend between $2.5 million and $4 million each of the next five years on capital projects, including sealing and resurfacing school parking lots, athletics site upgrades and technology.
The $12.6 million capital plan was presented at a school board work session Wednesday.
The money to support the projects comes from the district’s permanent improvement levy that generates about $750,000 per year, millage built into the school’s building projects for maintenance, federal money allocated for school technology, and about $1.7 million expected to be committed by the board from the general fund.
“We have a lot of flexibility,†because of the district’s healthy financial situation, board member Jamie Callan said. “There are a lot of districts that would just love to be in the position we are in.â€
-- Katie Wedell PB school district needs $1.2B for critical repairs, report finds-- SunSentinel Florida: June 01, 2016 [ abstract] The Palm Beach County School District needs nearly $1.2 billion to make critical repairs put off due to recessionary budget cuts, according to a newly released review of 196 district buildings.
District facilities are about 20 years old on average and about half are in good condition. The report by the maintenance and Plant Operations Department found the vast majority require "major" capital improvements, including work on their roofs and windows, classroom lighting and fire alarm systems.
"As a result of the significant reductions in both staff and capital budget, the District has accumulated a lengthy list of deferred, basic needs maintenance projects," the report said.
Administrators on Wednesday presented school board members with the data, which was collected as the district pursues a one-cent sales tax increase set to go to voters in November. District officials say the funding is desperately needed to make repairs.
Of the 196 buildings, 51 percent are in good condition, 28 percent are in fair condition, 16 percent are in poor condition and 5 percent are in unsatisfactory condition, according to the report.
About 20 percent of the funding needed â€" or $229 million â€" would go toward air-conditioning repairs. Eighteen percent â€" or $214 million â€" would be used for improvements to roofs, gutters, windows and walls. Other major costs include work on building interiors and plumbing.
-- Brittany Shammas Chicago school board approves expanded private maintenance program-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: May 25, 2016 [ abstract] The head of the labor union representing Chicago Public Schools' building engineers called plans to privatize his group's work a "money pit scheme" as the district's board approved an expansion of a privately managed maintenance program.
The unanimous vote by the Chicago Board of Education doubles the size of an upkeep program managed under contract of up to $80 million won by SodexoMAGIC, a company partly controlled by former NBA superstar and Mayor Rahm Emanuel supporter Earvin "Magic" Johnson.
The district, citing its bleak financial condition, privatized many building maintenance duties in 2014 but quickly started receiving complaints about dirty schools.
"These are the same companies with complaints against them for dirty, filthy schools," William Iacullo, president of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 143, told the school board Wednesday. "But you guys are going to reward them with an expansion."
-- Juan Perez Jr. Storm punched fist-sized holes in roof of new middle school-- Lincoln Journal Star Nebraska: May 20, 2016 [ abstract] Hail punched fist-sized holes in about 80,000 square feet of new roofing on the still-under-construction Moore Middle School, the hardest-hit of Lincoln Public Schools' 70-some buildings in last week's storm.
The hail punched through the roofing and insulation and the rain followed it. Rain also poured through the yet-to-be installed windows, damaging drywall inside the school being built near 84th Street and Yankee Hill Road.
The 80,000 square feet of roofing represents about a third of the total roof space, and it will need to be replaced, LPS Facilities and maintenance Director Scott Wieskamp told Lincoln Board of Education members at a planning committee meeting Tuesday.
Construction workers temporarily patched the holes with tar to prevent further leaking, he said.
Moore -- in the direct path of the worst of the storm -- appears to be the hardest-hit of the LPS buildings, although insurance adjusters will be in town next week and will tour all LPS buildings to assess damage.
-- MARGARET REIST School worker in boiler explosion dies of his injuries-- philly.com Pennsylvania: May 19, 2016 [ abstract] A maintenance worker who was critically injured when a boiler exploded at a Philadelphia public school in January died Wednesday, union officials said.
Christopher Trakimas, 62, a facility mechanic, was bringing online a boiler that had been shut down for a year at Franklin S. Edmonds Elementary School when it blew up Jan. 13.
"Chris has been in the hospital for five months fighting to overcome the injuries he sustained," an official of his union, Ernie Bennett, posted on Facebook.
"He remained in a doctor-induced coma with third-degree burns on his lower body. While his burns were healing, his body could not sustain," said Bennett, assistant area leader for SEIU 32BJ, which represents Philadelphia School District blue-collar workers.
-- Robert Moran School district wants public's ideas for improving facilities-- Plumas Cuonty News California: May 16, 2016 [ abstract] It costs $100 million to build a new high school in California.
The state is currently not funding either new construction or modernization of existing facilities.
Those were among the startling revelations during a facilities planning workshop for the Plumas Unified School District governing board late last month.
"When you look at our buildings, how could they not qualify for modernization funds?" asked board member Bret Cook. "But they don't."
The workshop was part of a broader effort to develop a facilities master plan to address the district's backlog of maintenance needs.
The planning effort moves into each Plumas community with a public forum in the coming two weeks, starting May 18 in Chester.
"The community meetings are key," said board member Dwight Pierson. "We have to present compelling evidence that we need significant improvements to our facilities."
The forums will cover what a master plan is, how schools are funded, what it takes to build schools and what the planning process includes. Participants will also review possible site projects and prioritize them.
-- Delaine Fragnoli School board, Hamilton County Commission reach no accord on facility needs-- Times Free Press Tennessee: May 11, 2016 [ abstract] Little  if any  consensus was reached when the Hamilton County Commission and school board met Tuesday night to discuss the needs of the school system's facilities.
Talk of aging schools, condemned stadiums and overcrowding in the classrooms lasted for more than an hour, with factions of commissioners and school board members advocating for different concerns and agendas.
Justin Witt, director of maintenance and operations for the Hamilton County Department of Education, told all 18 school board members and commissioners in attendance about the problems plaguing the county's aging schools that add up to more than $206 million of deferred maintenance.
School board Chairman Jonathan Welch said the board began to look at this list last year, and thought it was good for the commission to also see the school-level breakdown of the numbers.
"The deferred maintenance and capital maintenance [numbers] are daunting, to say the least," he said.
Witt told those seated in the Department of Education's board room that the average age of schools in Hamilton County is 40 years, and there are many large projects needed to repair the aging facilities.
Moving forward, Witt said he hopes the board and the county commission, which controls the school district's purse strings, can identify several large projects to fund, such as new air conditioning units at the Center For Creative Arts and Orchard Knob Middle School.
"These are projects I would say really need to be looked at," Witt added.
-- Kendi Anderson Northridge seeks $40M tax issue to replace aging school-- Newark Advocate Ohio: May 05, 2016 [ abstract] The wooden floor creaks under Chris Briggs' feet as he walks through the second-floor hallway of Alexandria Primary School.
The classrooms and hallways throughout the building are stuffy, even on a cool day. There's no air conditioning.
Plumbers have declined to work on the building's pipes. They're too old. That leaves the district maintenance staff to deal with the aging pipes, which have leaked into a hallway and a classroom.
Those aren't the only problems, either. The list goes on. But that's what happens in a building that's 94 years old. An addition was added in 1950s, but it's still out of date.
"I don't think it's fair to our kids," said Briggs, the Northridge Local Schools superintendent, as he looked around the second floor. "They deserve better."
That's why the district is seeking to place a bond issue on November's ballot. Briggs said a new elementary school would sit on 13 acres of land adjacent to the middle school, high school and district offices. It would house all current primary and intermediate grades as well as the sixth graders, who would be moved down from the middle school.
The school board will vote in June to place a bond issue on the ballot. A final amount will be decided at the May board meeting, but Briggs said the district likely will settle on a 7.9-mill levy. It would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $276.51 per year and would bring in a total of $40 million. They expect the school construction to cost up to $28 million.
-- Maria DeVito Md. panel considers how to build a better school building-- HeraldMailMedia.com Maryland: April 28, 2016 [ abstract] ANNAPOLIS  Aging schools, population shifts and changing educational needs  not to mention changes in the economy  present new challenges as state and local governments try to keep up with construction and renovation needs.
A new state panel looking into the methods and costs of school construction met for the first time Thursday in Annapolis, and got an overview of current funding and construction requirements.
The 21st Century School Facilities Commission, which includes state officials and private-sector professionals, will spend the next seven months reviewing building specifications, construction practices, enrollment, maintenance and financing to make recommendations for future projects in the state's 24 public-school systems.
Key to the discussions will be how curricula and technology will change the way schools educate students, said state Sen. Andrew A. Serafini, R-Washington, and building facilities with the flexibility to handle it.
-- Tamela Baker Medford School Board discusses increase in state funding for deferred maintenance -- Owatonna.com Minnesota: April 25, 2016 [ abstract]
MEDFORD â€" Thanks to the approval of the Long Term Facilities maintenance law last year, Medford School district is receiving an increase in funding for priority facilities projects, effective for fiscal year 2017.
At the school board meeting on April 18, Medford School District Superintendent Rich Dahman called the increase in funding from the Long Term Facilities maintenance Revenue a “pretty good chuck of money†compared to what they have received in the past.
In the past, Medford received funding for health and safety projects and deferred maintenance projects. The new legislation combined the two funds and allocated more funding for the creation of the Long Term Facilities maintenance Revenue.
The Minnesota Legislature established the Long Term Facilities maintenance Revenue program to give school districts access to alternative facilities funding in hopes that school buildings and grounds can be responsibly maintained.
“I think it is a good idea. It allows us to be more forward thinking in our planning,†reported Dahman to the school board members.
-- ANNA SEGNER Chicago Public Schools expands program to clean up schools-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: April 14, 2016 [ abstract] Chicago Public Schools is responding to complaints about unclean buildings by doubling the size of a maintenance program run by a firm partly controlled by former NBA superstar Earvin "Magic" Johnson, a financial supporter of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The district said Thursday it eventually plans to expand the maintenance program across the city, which would impact hundreds of building engineers covered by a CPS labor contract that expires in June
The move comes two years after the district, citing its bleak financial condition, privatized many building maintenance duties. But complaints about dirty schools have piled up ever since custodial contract management contracts worth more than $300 million were awarded to two firms, Aramark and SodexoMAGIC.
"We've worked with many of you to address those concerns in real-time," top district administrator Jose Alfonso de Hoyos-Acosta wrote this week in a letter to school principals. "But it's clear that we must use a different approach to better meet the needs of the district."
-- Juan Perez Jr. Decaying school buildings have physical, psychological consequences-- EducationDive National: April 13, 2016 [ abstract] Crumbling infrastructure in American K-12 classrooms isn’t just a political football. It also presents physical and psychological dangers for students and teachers alike.
Poor school conditions have an impact on student performance and learning. In the United States, the average school building is more than 40 years old. And in some states, like Michigan, decaying school conditions like those in Detroit Public Schools have now resulted in litigation.
Both the district and former state-appointed emergency manager Darnell Earley are named in a lawsuit filed by the Detroit Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers, blaming them for unsafe learning conditions.
The suit came on the heels of a January visit by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan to four DPS buildings, which ultimately triggered a district-wide investigation of 97 different buildings. One or more violations were found at every single school building.
Some schools had broken classroom windows, mold, and other safety hazards â€" conditions that Duggan told the Detroit Free Press "break your heart."
Last month, a report co-authored by the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council found that the United States would need to spend an additional $46 billion annually on school building construction and maintenance in order to ensure safe and healthy facilities for students. Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Oregon and Nevada were identified as being especially in need of school building repairs.
-- Erin McIntyre Robertson County Schools approves facilities plan-- The Tennessean Tennessee: April 12, 2016 [ abstract] The Robertson County Board of Education has approved a facilities plan that calls for $90 million of construction projects, including a new middle school, over the next eight years
The facilities plan was approve during the Monday, April 4 school board meeting.
The plan was prepared after months of meetings with Jason Morris, architect of Kaatz, Binkley, Jones and Morris, according to Schools Director Mike Davis.
“We need to put forward a five-year facility plan to the County Commission so they will have some type of blue print to plan for the future projects for this district,†Davis said. “We have agreed to put these projects in an order we would like to see them funded and completed.â€
The facilities plan breaks the work into categories of roofing, HVAC maintenance, capital construction projects and technology. Each listing also showed the estimated cost of the work.
The first year of the plan proposes the renovation of Springfield Middle School auditorium and the Springfield High School sports facilities, each estimated in the plan to cost about $2.5 million.
A $300,000 science lab is slated for renovation at Springfield Middle School, according to Davis.
-- Cheri Reeves St. Paul school district reveals $484 million facilities improvement plan-- StarTribune Minnesota: April 12, 2016 [ abstract] The St. Paul School District would make over and add to many of its schools â€" strengthening their position as the “heart of the community†â€" under a long-awaited $484 million facilities plan presented to school board members on Tuesday.
The five-year package includes a previously announced proposal to build a new East Side middle school and spreads the wealth of new projects districtwide â€" provided the board gives the go-ahead to the funding needed to pull it off.
Tom Parent, the district’s facilities director, said the plan would increase property taxes about $30 per year for the median-valued $151,500 home beginning in 2018.
More than half the $484 million would go to deferred maintenance, including new boilers, roofs, plumbing and electrical improvements. The more dramatic elements â€" the new entryways and cafeterias, classroom additions, plus other features â€" are planned for 12 sites and could be in place for the start of the 2018-19 school year.
“We are talking major building renewals,†Parent said.
-- Anthony Lonetree City: Most school boilers safe but need repairs-- philly.com Pennsylvania: April 09, 2016 [ abstract] Most boilers in Philadelphia public schools are safe but need repairs, officials said Thursday, about three months after one exploded at an East Mount Airy elementary school, critically injuring a maintenance worker.
Authorities inspected all functioning boilers in city schools after the Jan. 13 explosion at F.S. Edmonds Elementary that hurt mechanic Christopher Trakimas.
Of the 542 boilers in Philadelphia School District buildings tested, 531 - 98 percent - passed inspection, a report released Thursday said.
However, 58 percent of the boilers still need minor repairs, the report said. Just 40 percent passed with no repairs required. In total, the inspections, conducted by Devine Brothers Inc., General Asphalt Paving Co., and Philadelphia Gas Works, generated 413 work orders, authorities said.
Eleven boilers were taken off-line temporarily so more significant repairs could be made. An additional 54 boilers in district buildings were not inspected because they were already out of service.
Boilers failed inspections at Cook-Wissahickon Elementary, A. Philip Randolph Career and Technical High, Julia Ward Howe Academics Plus Elementary, Solis-Cohen Elementary, Pratt Elementary, Washington High field house, Philip Sheridan Elementary, South Philadelphia High, Dunbar Promise Academy, and Roxborough High School.
-- Emily Babay Philly School district offers fix for lack of maintenance workers-- newsworks Pennsylvania: April 08, 2016 [ abstract] Prompted by a January boiler explosion in a Philadelphia school that injured a worker, City Council held a hearing on maintenance in city schools.
The explosion prompted an inspection of boilers in Philly schools; 98 percent passed, but 58 percent need minor repairs.
That's a challenge, said Robert Hunter, the school district's director of maintenance. His maintenance team is more than 40 percent smaller than it was in 2006 because they cannot find qualified tradesman.
But Hunter has a plan.
"Our goal is to establish an apprenticeship training program to try bring out youth in from the high schools to get into the trades early enough to go through and develop an apprenticeship where they would come out as a certified apprentice," he said.
"So we are looking at options that way to build a pipeline of workers to bolster those numbers up."
For now the district is using outside contractors to supplement its own workers.
-- TOM MACDONALD Decaying School Infrastructure Putting Student Health At Risk-- neaToday National: April 05, 2016 [ abstract] School facilities is second only to highways as the largest sector of public infrastructure spending, but it’s been more than 20 years since the federal government conducted a comprehensive review of the nation’s school buildings. The fill this void, the Center for Green Schools teamed up with 21st Century Fund and the National Council on School Facilities to comb through any and all relevant data to answer this question: Are we spending enough on school facilities to support student learning?
According to the just-released report, State of Our Schools: America’s Kâ€"12 Facilities, the answer is we’re falling short â€" to the tune of $46 billion. That’s the size of the funding gap needed to bring all U.S. public school facilities up to modern standards.
“The current system of facilities funding leaves school districts unprepared to provide adequate and equitable school facilities… In total, the nation is underspending by $46 billion â€" an annual shortfall of 32%,†the report states.
The importance of modernizing school infrastructure cannot be overstated. Too many buildings across the country have been allowed to deteriorate as budget cuts have forced districts to forgo maintenance to pay for programs. Millions of educators and students teach and learn surrounded by peeling paint, crumbing plaster, and poor ventilation and faulty heating and cooling systems.
-- TIM WALKER Problems with sewer line, school facilities show importance of infrastructure maintenance-- The Commercial Appeal Tennessee: April 05, 2016 [ abstract] The County Commission's Education Committee has asked Shelby County Schools officials to detail the findings of a five-year critical deferred maintenance plan, which found $476 million in needed repairs and upgrades. The report, according to committee Chairman David Reaves, shows that there is more deferred maintenance than the county could ever fund over five years.
The backdrop for heightened urgency over school maintenance was fed by commissioners' concerns about delays in repairs at Ross Road Elementary, where a wall fell inside a classroom in November, and at the Shelby County Schools Central Nutrition Center, where a roof collapsed in 2014.
Deferred maintenance of public infrastructure cannot be discussed with including spending priorities. Public officials have to make the tough decisions on how to spend limited financial resources.
It is a gamble that usually works out over the long term, but when the gamble does go south it can be dangerous and the immediate remedy can be a lot more expensive than what it would have cost to make the repairs sooner. It is kind of like what happens when a homeowner delays fixing a leaky roof or having the house treated for termites.
-- Editorial What's next for school construction with no state funding in Pa. budget-- Philadelphia Business Journal Pennsylvania: March 31, 2016 [ abstract] Pennsylvania's budget gridlock is over, but school districts are focusing on another piece of unwelcome news: After years of delayed reimbursements for state-approved construction and building maintenance, they'll go without any state funding for such projects.
About $306 million in construction reimbursements was nixed when Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a budget-related piece of legislation known as the fiscal code last week.
Schools desperate for their state aid were the single largest source of pressure on lawmakers and Wolf to end the nearly nine-month budget impasse.
-- Mary Wilson Schools feel heat as HVAC systems age-- Post-Bulletin Minnesota: March 30, 2016 [ abstract] On a cold winter day, the temperature at Red Wing's Burnside Elementary can drop into the 50s in some classrooms. The best way to fix the problem: Spend $1.844 million on a new HVAC system.
"When it's really cold in the winter, we lose heat in three of the rooms," said Karsten Anderson, superintendent of Red Wing Public Schools.
The problem at Burnside is just one of many for Red Wing Public Schools. In fact, it is one of many aging HVAC  heating, ventilation and air conditioning  systems across southeast Minnesota that are struggling to keep temperatures comfortable and humidity under control in area schools.
A big chunk of the deferred maintenance issue for the Pine Island School District's $39.75 million referendum in 2014 was to fix the HVAC at its fifth- through 12th-grade building. The St. Charles School District recently maxed its allowable levy to take care of the boiler and HVAC system at the district's high school and completing work on the air-quality systems for the elementary school.
While the replacement or refurbishment of those systems are paid for, there are plenty of district's looking to fund similar projects.
"A lot of schools in Minnesota are from the 1950s," Anderson said. "So they're approximately 60 years old. It's a national issue we're seeing locally."
Anderson has a list of HVAC needs in Red Wing. While Burnside, built in 1994, may not be especially old, the system at Sunnyside Elementary School, which was built in 1956, will need a new boiler and air-handling system along with other assorted items totaling $1.034 million. The 1971-built Twin Bluff Middle School needs nearly $1.8 million in work that includes the pool's HVAC system. And Red Wing High School, dating from 1995, requires just more than $1.2 million in HVAC work.
In total, the district is looking at $6.13 million in "mechanical" projects in its $22.615 million April 12 referendum. The vast majority of that mechanical work would be for HVAC updates.
-- Brian Todd School officials defend tax levy request-- The Western News Montana: March 29, 2016 [ abstract] When voters in the Libby school district go to the polls in May to select new trustees for the school board, they will also be asked to approve a buildings maintenance levy of $4.1 million.
The levy, superintendent Craig Barringer said, is not to increase the budget for regular facility maintenance and upkeep projects, but to cover the additional expenses of larger projects required because of the age of Libby’s school buildings.
“Major renovation requires us to contract out to have the work completed because of the expertise it takes to do a project,†he said. “Typical maintenance is done by our maintenance staff throughout the year, particularly the summer. Though our staff has a great set of skills, these types of jobs are usually small projects.â€
One of those major projects is the replacement of the roofs on the elementary, middle/high school and Central School. The price tags on those three projects alone exceeds $1.5 million.
“The issues of the roofs will always be a 15 to 20 year issue,†Barringer said. “And the longer we wait the more expensive it will be to replace them.â€
-- BOB HENLINE LA Unified declares 60 schools' water fountains lead-safe in first phase of district-wide cleanup-- 89.3 KPCC California: March 28, 2016 [ abstract] LAUSD's effort to eliminate lead contamination in tens of thousands of school water fountains is complete at 60 schools, while District officials say it will take another year-and-a-half to finish the process on all 986 L.A. Unified campuses.
Using the results of 2008 tests on the district's more than 40,000 fountains, crews are replacing fountains with lead in amounts above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's action level of 15 parts per million; other fountains are determined to be below that level.
L.A. Unified didn't have the resources to review the 2008 tests until the school board approved a $19.8 million bond last fall to finance the cleanup, said Roger Finstad, L.A. Unified's director of maintenance and operations.
Now officials are working their way through the lead testing results for all district schools, starting with pre-kindergarten and elementary schools, according to the district.
There is no safe level of lead; its effects on children are particularly harmful. It can damage their nervous systems, slowing growth and development. It is also linked to learning and behavior problems in youngsters, as well as difficulties with hearing and speech.
Crews are working first at the schools with the fewest fountains that need repair or replacement, Finstad said.
The lead elimination project will also allow the district to eventually end its decades-old practice of running every working water fountain for 30 seconds every morning to get any lead out, according to L.A. Unified officials.
-- Elizabeth Aguilera Report finds massive under-investment in nation’s school buildings-- Washington Post National: March 23, 2016 [ abstract] The nation is spending $46 billion less each year on school construction and maintenance than is necessary to ensure safe and healthy facilities, according to estimates in a new report.
The study, released by a group that advocates for environmentally-sound buildings, is meant to draw attention to the condition of buildings that on weekdays house some 56 million students and teachers â€" more than one-sixth of the U.S. population â€" but that nevertheless attract little attention in the national debate over education policy and reform.
“We are consistently and persistently underinvesting in our nation’s schools,†said Rachel Gutter of the D.C.-based Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, which co-authored the report. “Communities want to resolve these issues, but in many cases the funds simply aren’t there.â€
Detroit has made headlines this year for crumbling schools plagued by rats, roaches and mold. But while conditions in the Motor City are particularly deplorable, the average U.S. school is more than 40 years old, and thousands of school buildings nationwide are in need of upgrades, according to the federal government.
Poor communities in far-flung rural places and declining industrial city centers tend to be in a particularly bad situation: School construction budgets rely even more heavily on local dollars than operating budgets. And in many places spending has not recovered from cuts made during the recession, leaving school districts struggling to patch problems.
-- Emma Brown Morning Report: Not Sexy, Those School Repairs-- Voice of San Diego California: March 21, 2016 [ abstract] Repairing deteriorating roofs and parking lots isn’t nearly as fun as building flashy new sports facilities and buying computers and iPads.
But as VOSD’s Scott Lewis writes, Proposition Z was sold by San Diego Unified School District as a way to fix those aforementioned un-flashy things. The bond was pitched, and passed by voters in 2012, as a way to finally â€" finally â€" tackle years of deferred maintenance, major repairs and safety concerns like asbestos.
“But since then, the district has decided that it had more important uses for the money,†Lewis writes.
Prop Z money has paid for things like air conditioning in every classroom. It’s made sure kids have new computers, smart screens in classrooms and places to play sports. The district’s facilities chief and Scott Barnett, the former school bond trustee and a big backer of the bond, defend the district’s use of the money. In a written statement, Barnett explained that major repairs aren’t as easy to sell as other, more noticeable projects.
“There are never press conferences or ribbon-cuttings for new roofs or parking-lot repaving,†Barnett says.
-- Kinsee Morlan SCS board to review $476 million in maintenance needs-- The Commercial Appeal Tennessee: March 21, 2016 [ abstract] Shelby County Schools will have choices to make about whether certain facilities should remain open as budget discussions continue this spring.
A factor in that discussion, in addition to enrollment, will be deferred maintenance. On Tuesday, the school board will discuss a facilities study that puts the amount of deferred maintenance across all buildings in the school system at $476 million, according to documents on the school district's website.
The Shelby County Commission approved and funded the report in August 2014 and expressed concern at a committee meeting last week that the study was still pending. A draft of the report, which listed a preliminary figure closer to $478 million, had been discussed in January during the school board's facilities committee meeting.
Board member Billy Orgel, facilities committee chairman, said it's "no new story" that SCS buildings need work. But he said the number is not the whole story.
When calculated as a per-school cost, the number is less daunting, Orgel said. A total of $476 million spread out evenly by 182 schools is about $2.6 million per school.
"Based on the age of our facilities, it's not that much," he said. "What it's saying is every building needs something. But that's going to happen anyway unless it's brand new and under warranty."
-- Jennifer Pignolet 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 School District outlines 5-year maintenance plan-- Idaho Mountain Express Idaho: March 16, 2016 [ abstract] The Blaine County School District’s Buildings and Grounds Department will have a busy next few years if its current five-year maintenance plan is any indication.
Department Director Howard Royal presented the five-year plan to the school board at its regular meeting March 8. The plan is used to project capital improvement projects that will need to be addressed, and items on it can change as circumstances change.
“This document is in a constant state of flux as new items enter the scope,†Royal wrote in his report.
The five-year plan starts during the current school year and goes through the 2019-20 school year. In total, there is about $3.1 million worth of projects slated over the five-year period covering all of the district’s buildings and grounds.
-- Andy Kerstetter Upstate high school battles bat problem-- WYFF4.com South Carolina: March 10, 2016 [ abstract] Spartanburg School District 2 officials are hopeful a bat issue at Boiling Springs High School has been resolved.
School spokeswoman Rhonda Henderson said that bats were recently found in the gym of the school's freshman campus. She says maintenance crews have sealed small cracks along the gym walls and roof to eliminate potential entry points for bats.
Wildlife removal specialist Mike Harrell helped install a device that allows bats to exit the gym, but won't let them get back in.
Henderson says no students, teachers or visitors have reported any contact with bats at the school.
-- Staff Writer EDITORIAL: Clark County School District can’t overlook maintenance issues-- Las Vegas Review-journal Nevada: March 09, 2016 [ abstract] There was also a glaring omission in the speech: the district’s maintenance issue. The unfunded maintenance liability is a huge problem that continues to grow worse. After taking an $11.6 million haircut to help pay for the teachers’ new contract, the 2016 fiscal year maintenance budget stands at about $49 million, which works out to about $137,000 for each of the district’s 350-plus campuses and offices. When you start factoring in things such as roofing, plumbing, communications infrastructure, sidewalks and more, that amount isn’t going to go far.
With facility needs already at crisis level on some campuses, the issue is even more pronounced. Letting equipment and buildings fall further into disrepair is a huge disservice to taxpayers who put forth billions of dollars in public investment to build all those schools. Borrowing money on the capital side is the wrong way to handle the problem. As we’ve previously proposed, public school maintenance funds must be walled off, via statutory protection, if the district ever hopes to meet its massive maintenance needs.
Mr. Skorkowsky recently had his contract renewed, and to his credit, he declined any increase in pay or benefits, which is a good message to send to his charges. He recognizes that the system has great needs that outweigh all else. Many of Mr. Skorkowsky’s initiatives and proposals are well-intentioned and in fact represent steps forward. But maintenance must be considered, as well. The district urgently needs a viable plan.
-- Editorial School district looking at how to handle projected student growth-- Reporter-Herald Colorado: March 06, 2016 [ abstract] The Thompson School District anticipates 1,787 new students within the next decade  an amount that would require new schools and remodels of other buildings.
Based upon approved housing developments, district officials used a formula to predict the number of new students that would move into the district with more than 24,000 anticipated new homes. In the past decade, similar projections were accurate within 0.5 percent.
"These are students that will be looking for schools to attend," said Dan Maas, the district's chief operations officer.
"A lot of the growth is not happening near existing schools."
Using these figures, district staff and a master plan committee created Thompson Reinvented, a menu of options for the district to handle current needs and growth.
These include $72 million in maintenance projects and more than $200 million in construction of new schools as well as remodeling or adding onto existing schools, according to information that has been presented over multiple school board meetings.
The school board will begin sorting through the needs and options to determine what they would like to pursue and how to pay for it with a budget that is currently operating by dipping into reserves each year. That discussion will continue at a special meeting on Wednesday
-- Pamela Johnson Hempfield School District looks at $21M building maintenance funding plan-- Lancaster Online Pennsylvania: March 01, 2016 [ abstract] Hempfield School District needs to earmark in excess of $20 million in coming years to pay for gradual upgrades to its buildings, a district official says.
Part of the problem is something that all districts are facing  a state budget delay measured in months, not days. Another component, though, is a need to address aging infrastructure, and Dan Forry, Hempfield's chief operating officer, is expecting a big increase in capital reserve allocations.
At the Feb. 9 school board meeting, Forry said the board should add $1 million a year to existing capital reserves to build up money to pay $21 million on building maintenance over eight years.
-- JUSTIN STOLTZFUS Newark board OKs plan to sell off 12 former school buildings-- NJ.com New Jersey: February 24, 2016 [ abstract] The city's school district is planning to jettison 12 properties as part of its latest strategy to fix its ailing budget.
At a School Advisory Board meeting Tuesday night, Superintendent of Schools Chris Cerf said the buildings, including 10 schools, a former day care and an office facility, will be conveyed to the Newark Housing Authority. The NHA will then assess whether they can be re-purposed into housing or sold off to developers for other purposes.
The move should help free up $2 million to $4 million in annual insurance and maintenance costs, according to Cerf, putting a dent in an estimated budget deficit that, despite an increase of $27.5 million in state funding, stands at about $50 million for the 2016-17 school year.
"That's approximately 20 to 40 teachers, for example," he said. "As we solve our budget challenges we would rather get that money into the hands of schools."
-- Dan Ivers Illinois high school violates fire codes-- KMOV Illinois: February 23, 2016 [ abstract] HILLSBORO, ILL. (KMOV.com) - Hundreds of students at Hillsboro High School in Illinois are at risk of being trapped if a fire ever breaks out in the school.
News 4 learned that the school building is breaking fire codes. Nearly 500 students attend the high school.
â€Å"Are students at risk? No,†Superintendent David Powell said. â€Å"I'm glad you asked that because there are no conditions that exist here that are noted by the fire marshal that in any way increases the likelihood of a fire.â€Â
There are no increased chances, but there are issues dealing with students safely getting out of the 96-year-old building if there was a fire.
Powell says the Hillsboro School District has spent millions of dollars over the last eight years to repair and update the high school.
However the most expensive problems are still unsolved. Even though the school is fully compliant with upkeep and maintenance testing, Powell says there are three major fire safety issues.
â€Å"The fire escape has windows that are closer to the fire escape than what the code allows,†Powell said.
So if there is a fire, flames could shoot through the windows as students are using an exterior fire escape.
-- Spencer Michelson Huge North Shore school referendum got legislative help, splits community-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: February 22, 2016 [ abstract] In the waning days of the state's legislative session last spring, an innocuous bill about kids' teeth was headed toward a vote.
But things changed quickly. The wording about school-related dental exams was wiped out. Added in was a little-noticed bonanza for Highland Park-based North Shore School District 112, which was planning a school construction project that had already become contentious.
In an unusual but not unprecedented move, lawmakers allowed the district to amass more debt, sort of like raising the limit on a credit card. It's significant because the district could borrow more for the project, issuing bonds that taxpayers would have to approve and pay back.
The new borrowing leeway helped pave the way for a $198 million bond referendum in District 112  the largest bond issue for school construction in a decade in Illinois, state elections records show.
If voters approve, the 12-school district would renovate six schools, close others and build a middle school for 1,800 students that would become the third-largest middle school in Illinois, based on current enrollment data. All the district's fifth-graders would attend, in addition to the usual sixth- through 8th-grade middle schoolers.
The referendum has divided the community, sparking passionate support by proponents but distrust among critics about everything from the legislative maneuvering, the so-called "big-box" middle school and the state of the district's finances.
State records show the district for years was building up millions in surpluses, sitting on taxpayer money while holding off on some school renovations and maintenance projects. Now voters would be asked to approve a $198 million bond issue for construction and repairs, some of which could have been done earlier.
-- Diane Rado House education bill amends formula for school maintenance-- The Register-Herald.com West Virginia: February 20, 2016 [ abstract] CHARLESTON â€" The West Virginia Legislature House Committee on Education moved forward Friday on a bill purporting to make school building maintenance funding more equitable for county school districts across the state.
Committee Vice Chair Walter Duke, R-Berkeley, explained that State Code currently creates an allowance for county facility maintenance based on a percentage of staff salaries.
Counties where employees have more years of experience or more teachers with higher degrees currently get more funding than counties with inexperienced teachers or a high turnover in teachers.
Duke said it is more rational to base funding on square footage of buildings and student enrollment.
Amy Willard, executive director of finance for the Department of Education, explained the revised state aid formula creates a state average by dividing and averaging each county’s enrollment by the number of square feet of facilities with consideration to the cost of maintenance per square foot.
When moving to a facility-based formula, the allowance was constructed to be as close to the state’s existing maintenance expenditure as possible. This potential change would increase the statewide net cost a mere $62,000, she said.
-- Sarah Plummer Grayson County Schools use snow days to renovate school buildings-- WDBJ7 Virginia: February 17, 2016 [ abstract] GRAYSON COUNTY, Va. -
While students may have been home for a snow day, workers at one school system are taking advantage of the empty buildings.
The hallways may not have had students running to class, but there was still plenty of activity in Grayson County High School on Wednesday.
maintenance worker Rick Sage said, "Even though there's a snow day, it don't mean nobody's here. We work everyday."
Superintendent Kelly Wilmore said, "The snow days just allowed us to get some groups of people together and start painting and start making things look a whole lot better here because renovations here have been lacking for the last many years."
During the snow days, they've done a lot of work touching up the buildings.
Wilmore explained, "We've painted the foyer in our gym, 2 bathrooms [at the gym], downstairs we've painted most of the big hallway underneath the gym, we've painted the girl's locker room, completely remodeled the girls locker room, and we've already done the bottom floor of the high school."
-- Eamon O'Meara Rains wreak havoc on Los Angeles school roofs-- American School & University California: February 08, 2016 [ abstract] Rainstorms last week in Southern California have put a big strain on maintenance workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The Los Angeles Times reports that after rains from El Niño descended on the area, workers in the nation's second-largest district were inundated with rain-related service requests.
As of Friday, the district had a backlog of 1,167 unresolved rain-related issues.
Most of the reported problems are attributed to leaks from aging roofs in a number of the school system's 13,000 buildings. maintenance officials say workers can address only 40 to 50 service requests, leading to a significant backlog.
-- Mike Kennedy Repair Bill for Decaying Detroit Schools Could Top $50 Million-- Education Week Michigan: February 08, 2016 [ abstract] The outgoing emergency manager of the Detroit public schools estimates it would cost more than $50 million to address the immediate maintenance issues in the district's aging buildings.
In the meantime, the district has begun using money budgeted for other departments to fix the most urgent building problems. The district announced Monday that $300,000 will be redirected to handle existing work orders, property maintenance, and safety violations uncovered by the city during recent inspections.
"The district remains committed to making the necessary repairs to its buildings in order to provide our students and staff with a clean, safe environment in which to learn and work," Darnell Earley, the district's emergency manager, said in a statement.
Earley's statement did not indicate what departments the funds were diverted from. The district has faced withering criticism in recent weeks because of the poor condition of many of its schools.
Under orders from Mayor Mike Duggan, city workers have inspected about half of Detroit's nearly 100 schools, uncovering issues with mold, rodents, and broken glass.
-- Corey Mitchell Palm Beach County School Board considers sales tax-- Sun Sentinel Florida: February 03, 2016 [ abstract] A proposal for a higher sales tax has Palm Beach County School Board members trying to solve a tricky math problem.
The county has asked the school district to join a one-cent sales tax proposal, where it would receive 40 percent of the revenues from that tax, or about $912 million a year. That money would be used to fix aging facilities and upgrade technology. The remaining 60 percent would be split among the county, cities and cultural organizations.
But the school district has been considering its own half cent sales tax, which would net about $250 million more a year to address needs.
Some School Board members worry about the lost revenues, while others say it's a politically risky move to go solo. Voters may get overwhelmed by two separate tax proposals, as well as a possible third being floated by Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue, and reject them all.
The School Board discussed the options at a meeting Wednesday and hopes to make a final decision on Feb. 17. Board members have asked Superintendent Robert Avossa to negotiate with the county.
The district has been dealing with a bleak capital budget in recent years due to state cuts. Its $359 million capital budget, which pays for maintenance, computers and school buses, is $82.7 million less than is required to meet basic needs, district officials have said. The district has been using reserves to balance the budget but those will be depleted after this year, officials said
-- Scott Travis Detroit schools report efforts to address maintenance issues-- ClickOnDetroit Michigan: February 01, 2016 [ abstract] DETROIT - Detroit's public school district says it's actively working to address building maintenance issues including those that have been cited in recent city inspections.
The Detroit Public Schools district says Monday it's creating a new page on its website where a weekly update on repairs related to violations found during inspections will be posted at the end of each week. The district says it's also including information on its internal work order system.
The district says repairs already have been made to water-damaged ceiling tiles, vandalized windows that were broken and peeling paint at some schools. State-appointed emergency manager Darnell Earley says in a statement the district is "working in partnership" with the city.
-- Associated Press Hughes concerned about maintenance safety at city schools-- The Philadelphia Tribune Pennsylvania: January 30, 2016 [ abstract] State Sen. Vincent Hughes called for inspections of more than 200 public school buildings at a news conference at Alain Locke Elementary School on Friday, days after the school was closed early because of a heater malfunction.
“This is not what our children deserve,†said Hughes, the Democratic chair of the state Senate Appropriations Committee.
Hughes demanded state assistance, saying it was incumbent upon lawmakers in Harrisburg to handle their obligation to properly fund building maintenance, and spoke fervently about the need to pass a state budget plan that distributes public education funds more fairly.
“If our children weren’t Black and brown, we wouldn’t be seeing this problem right now,†Hughes said, lightly pounding his fist on the podium in the school lobby, decorated with banners and signs about educational excellence.
He echoed concerns by other public education advocates who say Philadelphia schools have been short-changed for several years, resulting in overall decreased funding that has forced spending cutbacks for building maintenance.
Hughes has been at the center of the now seven-month state budget impasse that has affected an array of state services. Schools were temporarily funded in a stop-gap funding measure earlier this month, but local officials say Philadelphia schools have been underfunded by the state for the past five years.
-- Wilford Shamlin III School buildings reveal secrets-- The Chaffee County Times Colorado: January 28, 2016 [ abstract] Buena Vista school district maintenance crew member Pat Bassett has been with the district a long time. In his 21 years he’s seen faces come and go, from new teachers to administrators, superintendents and school board members to students, Bassett said he’s seen a lot of students pass through the halls of both the middle and high schools.
“I used to know every face at both schools,†Bassett said, walking down the hallway of McGinnis Middle school. “Janitors, teachers, principals … everyone.â€
While Bassett said the faces aren’t as familiar as they used to be, the infrastructure is basically exactly the same as when Bassett and fellow maintenance crew member Dave Craver were hired 5 months apart in the late 1990s.
In that time, upkeep of the nearly 52-year-old high school and the 44-year-old middle school have mostly fallen on the district’s maintenance staff, which is not an easy task considering the amount of work that has to be done at both facilities to keep the schools safely functioning.
“The reason those buildings have lasted as long as they have is due to the great custodial and maintenance staff of the school district,†former Buena Vista High School principal and school district superintendent Dennis Giese said.
Bassett noted some of the most critical infrastructures in need of repair on a recent no-school day and listed the litany of tasks maintenance crew members have to tackle on any given day to keep the schools running.
-- Mason Miller 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 City inspections of Detroit schools find rodents, mold-- Detroit Free Press Michigan: January 25, 2016 [ abstract] City of Detroit inspections of 11 public schools  conducted as part of a district-wide review in response to mass teacher sick-outs  revealed widespread code violations, including multiple instances of rodents, mold, damaged roofs and broken glass.
City inspectors found 152 violations, an average of nearly 14 for each school. School officials will have about a month to make repairs.
Cody-Detroit Institute of Technology College Prep High School had the most property maintenance code violations of those inspected with 30. Citations included insect/rodent on the premises, a water-damaged ceiling, a broken sink in a boys' bathroom and mold/mildew in two classrooms.
Benjamin Carson High School had 17 violations, including missing and stained ceiling tiles in several rooms, broken light switches, a broken elevator and a storage room susceptible to water penetration.
Mayor Mike Duggan, who called for the inspections Jan. 13 after he saw conditions at four schools, said the city will take "prompt legal action to enforce compliance" if repairs aren't made on time.
"I don't want there to be any confusion," Duggan said in a statement. "A claim of a shortage of funds is not a defense to violations of building or health codes for any building owner. We're not going to allow our children, DPS employees, or the public to continue to be subjected to substandard conditions."
-- Joe Guillen School officials hope money requests aren’t muddied by court decisions, Legislature-- The Olympian Washington: January 23, 2016 [ abstract] Perhaps you’ve seen the bright yellow “Yes: Schools†campaign signs, banners and buttons throughout Thurston County.
Educators and supporters in Thurston County’s eight public school districts are working together to send a clear and consistent message that they need voter support in the Feb. 9 special election.
“Not only (does) it save money, but at the same time, it brings us together,†Raj Manhas, superintendent of North Thurston Public Schools, said of the campaign collaboration. “Kids are kids. It doesn’t matter where they live. We’re all here to support kids.â€
And with nearly $646 million in local funding at stake in Thurston County, school district leaders hope their message won’t be lost amid all the discussion and headlines about how state lawmakers are working on a plan to fully fund school districts because of the McCleary court decision.
“Some will ask, so why do we need levies anymore?†said John Bash, superintendent of the Tumwater School District, which has the renewal of a nearly $65 million maintenance and operations levy on the ballot. “And the simple answer is that the state has not fully funded education.â€
In fact, the state budget director said Thursday that lawmakers will not finish the work required to fix the way Washington pays for public schools during this legislative session.
“It’s very confusing for voters, I think,†said Dick Cvitanich, superintendent of the Olympia School District, which has a 20-year, $160.7 million construction bond measure on the ballot.
Every Thurston County school district is asking voters to approve four-year maintenance and operations levies that pay for ongoing expenses, and two districts â€" Olympia and Yelm â€" also have construction bond measures on the ballot. Yelm’s bond request is similar to the $53.9 million measure that received more than half “yes†votes about a year ago, but fell short of 60 percent approval rate needed.
What’s the difference between a levy and a bond? Both are property taxes, but in general terms, levies cover expenses for learning while bonds pay for construction. Local levies pay for paraeducator salaries, curriculum and special education, as well as operational costs such as transportation, custodial services and maintenance.
-- LISA PEMBERTON Moffat County School District eyes maintenance issues-- Craig Daily Press Colorado: January 21, 2016 [ abstract] As Moffat County School District officials consider the next budget, one set of issues they’ll be examining involves some aging equipment throughout the district.
#Mike Taylor, the district’s facilities director, noted a number of maintenance concerns at a recent school board work session, ranging from school heating systems to classroom locks. Later, in his office, he elaborated on some of those concerns, including one involving an elevator at Moffat County High School.
#“I had a tech in there working for five days and he was having a lot of trouble trying to get the parts and fix this thing,†Taylor said. “The discussion with him kind of throws it into a different caliber.â€
#Taylor said people have gotten stuck in the elevator, though never between floors. He mentioned a custodian who was unable to get out of the elevator for about 30 minutes last December. The technician who came out to repair the elevator after that incident, Taylor explained, needed to create some new hardware to enable the doors to open more easily.
#Taylor noted the age of the elevator.
#“It’s obsolete,†he said. “It’s 37 years old. You just can’t get parts for it, and you (often) can’t find technicians to work on this old stuff.â€
#The elevator is primarily used for maintenance staff, Taylor said, but he noted that students and others also use it occasionally â€" especially when they are physically unable to use the stairs.
-- Michael Neary School Maintenance Workers Demand Safety Improvements After Worker Burned In Boiler Explosion-- CBS Philly Pennsylvania: January 15, 2016 [ abstract] Members of the union representing Philadelphia School District maintenance workers held a protest outside school district headquarters Friday, demanding safety improvements, after a worker was severely burned in a boiler explosion at an elementary school this week.
About 60 union members carried signs that read, “Philly schools are danger zones†and “Protect children, protect workersâ€. The bright orange ribbons they wore showed support for the 61-year-old mechanic recovering from third degree burns after Wednesday’s explosion at F.S. Edmonds Elementary in Mount Airy. They say the school district has ignored years of grievances about unsafe conditions. Assistant District Leader Ernie Bennett says it’s time for the district to address the problems.
“Tell us what your plan is, because we’ve been coming to the table with our suggestions, and they’ve been falling on deaf ears. What does it take? What does it take?â€
-- Marcy Norton How to build a school in three weeks-- Los Angeles Times California: January 08, 2016 [ abstract] The front of Northridge Middle School was quiet Thursday morning â€" the asphalt was still wet with rain, and there was no one in front of the main auditorium or school entrance, a beige building with green accents.
The south end of campus was a different story.
About 75 maintenance and operations workers hustled across an area that used to be open asphalt space. In an informal uniform of jeans, black sweatshirts and highlighter-yellow vests, they were making a new school in the backyard of an old one. It was a six-month job, and they had three weeks.
"It’s kind of a model of people working together for a purpose and for emergencies in other parts of the country," said Scott Schmerelson, the L.A. Unified School District board member for the area.
Re-creating a school is a better word than “making,†perhaps. A massive gas leak near their home school has caused about 1,100 students to be relocated from Porter Ranch Community School to Northridge Middle, eight miles from their home school. And between 730 and 750 students from Castlebay Lane Elementary in Porter Ranch are expected to move to Sunny Brae Elementary in Winnetka.
There are 35 new brown portable buildings, which the district calls bungalows â€" 32 classrooms for kindergarten through fifth-graders from Porter Ranch, plus two bathrooms and an office bungalow. It has its own entrance and drop-off area.
Robert Doyon is the school district’s construction superintendent for the relocation project. He has been at Northridge or Sunny Brae from 5 a.m. until about 7:30 p.m. every day since Dec. 18, except Christmas.
-- Sonali Kohli California needs to invest in its school facilities-- San Francisco Chronicle California: January 06, 2016 [ abstract] Research shows that children perform better in safe, modern learning environments. However, a recent study published by UC Berkeley's Center for Cities and Schools rang the alarm that school districts are struggling to keep up with basic facility maintenance. The report states that the majority of districts are underspending on maintenance, which could lead to decaying school buildings. The report also found an alarming trend that many districts are disproportionately spending operating budget resources on building maintenance  taking dollars away from academic programming.
As the current and former California state superintendents of public instruction, we remain concerned with the persistent achievement gap  the disparity in academic performance between groups of students caused in part by availability of resources  that can create reverberating consequences for a child's life. It is our responsibility to advocate for policies that help ensure every child has access to a high-quality learning environment. That is why we are both supporting the Kindergarten Through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2016.
CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS
Valentina Morales (left), Mariah Andrews (center) and Yaretzi Prado play during a preschool operating out of an old bus at the Aspire Monarch Academy school in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015. Oakland preschool on wheels seeks to bridge access gap A multiple car crash on 1-80 West near the Powell Street exit, involving a school bus left 15 people reportedly injured in Berkeley, California, on Monday, Aug. 10, 2015. School districts can reduce suspensions to increase achievement Students fill out a chart of the periodic table during Mrs. Toledo's chemistry class at Fremont High School in Oakland, California on Thursday, November 5, 2015. California must stop offering low-income students fake classes
This initiative will invest $9 billion in school facilities by replenishing the fund that provides matching state grants to districts that have already raised local dollars. The money will go directly where it is needed: helping districts complete capital renewal projects, upgrading decaying classrooms, and providing technological upgrades, including better Internet access and well-equipped career education centers. The measure will also finance new buildings and schools to keep up with growth where needed.
-- Tom Torlakson and Jack O’Connell Winter break provides time for repairs, cleaning at schools-- Democrat Gazette Arkansas: January 02, 2016 [ abstract] A pause between semesters gave area school custodian and maintenance crews enough time to make repairs and do some heavy duty cleaning.
The rain that started shortly after Christmas leaked through the roof at Bayyari Elementary School in east Springdale, leaving a puddle of water at the front of the building. The water left behind a white stain on the terrazzo floor.
"We've got to go ahead and scrub it until it doesn't show," said Leonel Gomez, a custodian for Springdale School District who used a machine to scrub the white stain out of the floor Wednesday.
Gomez planned to apply a new layer of wax after he finished scrubbing.
Empty schools allowed a staff of 207 custodians to wax floors and to clean carpets, said Jeremy White, Springdale School District director of maintenance.
"Any time we get a break, we get to do all the halls and high foot-traffic areas," he said.
Another 65 maintenance workers devoted time during the holiday break to heating and air-conditioning units, electrical units and plumbing, White said.
In Fayetteville, the list of tasks for the break included cleaning hard floors and carpets, building and installing cabinets and desks for the transportation department, cleaning up grounds outside schools and staining cabinets and painting at Owl Creek School, said David Tate, director of school plant services.
-- Brenda Bernet Capital plan calls for $33 million in five years-- Wicked Local North Andover Massachusetts: December 17, 2015 [ abstract] North Andover may invest more than $33 million maintaining and building infrastructure over the next five years.
Town Manager Andrew Maylor presented his 2017-2021 capital improvement plan Monday night, focusing largely on building maintenance, roadway improvements and the Facilities Master Plan as well as controlling debt.
“As we’ve really had our focus on over the last couple of years, we develop long-range plans for significant aspects of our operations and our capital needs,†Maylor said. “We fund those, and we continue to fund them on an annual basis.â€
Broken down, the plan calls for almost $25 million for general fund projects, about $7 million for Water Enterprise Fund projects, $1.3 million for Sewer Enterprise Fund projects and $300 for the Stevens Estate.Buildings and roads
The biggest price tag is $10 million for further work on the Facilities Master Plan, which has included moving municipal offices into the old fire station as well as the school offices into the old police station on Main Street and is meant to reduce town rental costs and utilize town properties otherwise not in use.
Over the next five years, the Facilities Master Plan calls for renovating the Division of Public Works building, renovating classrooms and expanding the Senior Center.
-- Bryan McGonigle St. Paul school board endorses $30M facilities plan-- twincities.com Minnesota: December 16, 2015 [ abstract] The St. Paul school board Tuesday evening resolved to double its building maintenance budget, raising spending by roughly $30 million per year.
Board members said they should spend each year an amount equal to 2.8 percent of the $2.1 billion replacement value of the district's 72 buildings. Historically, they've spent only about 1.45 percent, facilities director Tom Parent said.
The target, which would go into effect in 2017-18, emerged from 18 months of work on a new facilities master plan. Yet some board members got cold feet Tuesday about putting a huge amount of money into that plan.
"I want everything for our kids, but I'm not ready to sign onto anything that says we are going to be really inordinately burdening taxpayers," board member John Brodrick said.
Jean O'Connell had concerns about the language of the resolution, which was written with a sense of finality but actually is nonbinding.
General counsel Nancy Cameron confirmed future boards could rescind the resolution and will have to vote to authorize budgets for the capital projects anyway.
"If the board thought this was not going to cost money, then I don't know where you guys have been," Superintendent Valeria Silva said.
If they weren't willing to raise taxes, she added, "we shouldn't even have started looking at what we wanted to do."
-- Josh Verges Holbrook schools establish School Maintenance Advisory Board-- Wicked Local Holbrook Massachusetts: December 15, 2015 [ abstract] By a unanimous vote, the Holbrook School Committee established the Holbrook School maintenance Advisory Board at its Dec. 3 meeting.
This special subcommittee's purpose is â€Å"... to hear the Holbrook Public Schools maintenance Polices, Plans, and Implementation program thereof from the Director of School maintenance, to offer advice and counsel, regarding the same, and to when called upon to do so by the School Committee Chair to attend school committee meetings, and to invite the members of the HSMAB to attend such other meetings in the Town when the School Committee Chair believes the HSMAB would be of assistance in advocating the maintenance policies of the Holbrook Public Schools."
"maintenance is one of the main duties of a school committee and this committee takes that charge very seriously,†said Vice Chair Elizabeth Tolson.
"We have a trained specialist in maintenance in our School maintenance Director Michael Bolger, and it is important that he shares both the maintenance vision and needs with a representative sample of the community as well as receiving their advice and counsel," said Chairperson Arthur George.
-- Staff Writer Students stepping up to repair their school-- Local8Now Tennessee: December 14, 2015 [ abstract] The doors have opened back up after Porter Elementary School was vandalized on Friday, but teachers, students, and parents are holding their heads up high -- Some even raising money for replacements and repairs.
"It's a scary situation when anyone comes in the building who does not need to be there," said Jared Smith, Principal at Porter Elementary School.
It's a new day at Porter Elementary School.
"Our maintenance and custodial crew came in and did and exceptional job cleaning this school up," said Rob Britt, Director of Blount County Schools.
Just last week, the Blount County School was vandalized -- everything from TVs and computers destroyed to ice cream bars stolen.
"Their intentions were not to harm anyone," said Smith. "It was to come in and create havoc and destroy property."
It was a devastating day, especially because families have deep ties to Porter. Some students are fifth generation.
"They were understandably upset," said Smith. "This is home to them."
Fixing the damage won't be covered by insurance.
-- Staff Reporter State set to match school construction bond dollars-- KTVZ.COM Oregon: December 10, 2015 [ abstract] SALEM, Ore. -
The State Board of Education approved temporary rules Thursday governing the new Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching program, which will provide matching grants to support improvements to school facilities.
Communities that pass general obligation bonds to improve their local school buildings will be eligible to receive matching grants of up to $8 million.
The Oregon Legislature authorized the sale of state-backed general obligation bonds for the program, which will provide about $123 million to help stretch local dollars and address urgent school facility needs across the state.
In Oregon, communities generally address school facility needs by passing local, voter-approved bonds. In many communities, getting the votes needed to pass these bonds has been a challenge, and statewide, there is currently an estimated $7.6 billion in deferred school maintenance costs.
“Our students need and deserve schools that are safe, healthy, and promote learning,†said state Deputy Schools Superintendent Salam Noor. “This grant program can help communities address critical maintenance needs, upgrade aging buildings, and improve learning conditions for our students.
"Through leveraging both state and local resources, we can maximize our impact and remove barriers to student success by improving our schools.â€
-- Staff Writer West Milford school officials addressing long-existing building problems-- NorthJersey.com New Jersey: December 10, 2015 [ abstract] Interim School Superintendent Anthony Riscica, speaking at a Township of West Milford Council meeting on Dec. 2, said that for over a year now school officials have been concentrating on maintenance of the inside as well as outside of school district buildings.
Within that time, he said, roofs on two schools were already replaced. Business Administrator Barbara Francisco knows what needs to be done and she is looking to see that things are being maintained, he said. Riscica said that continuation of the ongoing patchwork as done in the past can no longer continue.
"We can’t shop around for the best price like homeowners can," explained the school superintendent. "We have to pay in accord with the prevailing wage scale and meet state requirements. It is expensive but the work needs to be done."
This past Tuesday (Dec. 8) voters had the opportunity to vote on a referendum to remove and replace the roofs on West Milford High School and Macopin Middle School at a cost not exceeding $7,990,000. If voters passed the referendum bonds or notes to pay for the cost will fund the project.
-- ANN GENADER DESPITE LONG LIST OF MAINTENANCE NEEDS, HISD WANTS MAINTENANCE MONEY TO FILL BOND HOLE-- abc13 Texas: December 09, 2015 [ abstract] HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The HISD board is expected to vote Thursday on an extra $212 million in taxpayer cash because of cost increases in the massive 2012 bond budget, with $200 million of that coming from a pot of money originally earmarked for school maintenance.
Houston Independent School District administrators are poised to tap into that maintenance money despite having nearly 16,000 open work orders for maintenance district-wide, many more than a year old, records obtained by Ted Oberg Investigates show.
In addition, HISD officials said they have no idea what the total price tag deferred maintenance items for the district. That is part of a study being conducted by consultants, officials said.
Most of the maintenance requests are not life-threatening, including, for example, leaks that need fixing and additional playground padding needed at Patterson Elementary School. Security lights aren't working in neither the student parking lot nor the teacher parking area at Lamar High School. And based on the work orders, there appear to be more ants, roaches and mice than students at Austin High School.
No school has more things that need fixing than the Rusk School in the East End, with 260 open work orders, records show.
It's nothing dangerous, but Ted Oberg Investigates found broken air conditioners at Rusk, as well as stuck doors, ants, holes in the walls, scattered rooms with no heat, no paint, roaches, rodents, worms and 18 separate roof leaks.
-- Ted Oberg WY Lawmakers concerned about how to pay for school construction-- Billings Gazette Wyoming: December 07, 2015 [ abstract] CASPER, Wyo. â€" Lawmakers told Gov. Matt Mead on Monday that their top concern with the state’s budget is how to obtain money for construction and maintenance of schools at a time when revenue for projects is drying up.
In Wyoming, school construction and major maintenance is provided by money that coal mining companies pay when they lease land to dig, called coal lease bonuses. But demand for coal has declined because of tougher regulations for coal-fired power plants and the fuel’s higher price compared with natural gas.
On Monday, the Joint Appropriations Committee began what will be a two-week review of Gov. Matt Mead’s budget recommendations, agency by agency, for the state’s two-year budget cycle that begins July 1.
The panel will consider the recommendations when drafting the budget bill. The Legislature will adopt a budget during the session that begins Feb. 8.
For the past 13 years, the state spent $3.2 billion building 74 new schools and modernizing an additional 35.
-- Laura Hancock Lake Highlands parents want RISD bond funds to expand packed schools-- Dallas News Texas: December 06, 2015 [ abstract] As Richardson ISD gathers feedback to refine a $417 million list of projects for a bond election, some parents in budding Lake Highlands are pressing it to do more about enrollment growth in lower grade levels.
Many of those parents live near popular White Rock Elementary School, where enrollment peaked at 878 students this fall. They say they want more classrooms or a new school.
“My concern is less about what’s in the bond and more about what’s not in the bond,†said White Rock Valley neighborhood president Richard Duge at a public meeting Tuesday.
An early proposal for the bond funds includes school maintenance and expansions at two high schools but nothing to increase capacity at elementaries or junior highs in Lake Highlands. The district recently enlarged many of those campuses.
District officials said they’re open to the idea of putting more classrooms in Lake Highlands but are waiting for the demographer’s report in January to decide whether those measures should be included in the 2016 bond. The school board plans to call the election in February.
Tony Harkleroad, deputy superintendent of finance, said part of the district’s strategy is to revisit eligibility requirements at the Arapaho Classical and Math/Science/Technology magnet schools to see whether they can take more students from Lake Highlands. Both schools are less than 10 miles from the area.
-- JULIETA CHIQUILLO Lafayette School Board to ask voters for 16-mill property tax increase for school construction and programs-- The Advocate Louisiana: December 02, 2015 [ abstract] The Lafayette Parish School Board voted unanimously Wednesday to ask voters to increase school property taxes by 16 mills for school construction and maintenance and for educational programs.
The 16 mills will be placed on the ballot as two separate propositions. The first: 11.5 mills for 30 years to fund up to $380 million in school construction and other projects through the sale of general obligation bonds.
The second proposition includes a 2.5-mill, 10-year property tax to generate about $5.2 million annually for a maintenance and school improvement fund and a 10-year, 2-mill property tax to generate nearly $4.2 million annually for initiatives such as school resource officers, early childhood education, career and technical education and technology upgrades.
A list of projects that would be funded by the 11.5 mills has been proposed but will be finalized in the coming weeks, board members have said.
The propositions are a result of community involvement in the master facilities plan developed in 2010 and recently updated by planners, said board member Justin Centanni. The tax proposal is also a reflection of lessons learned from the last tax proposal, which was defeated in 2011, he said. People who voted against that property tax, which would have funded about $560 million in projects, said it was too big and too expensive, Centanni said.
-- MARSHA SILLS Keplar and McPheeter's Bend: Will county's two smallest schools close or remain open?-- Rogersville Review Tennessee: December 01, 2015 [ abstract] ROGERSVILLE â€" The fates of two of Hawkins County’s smallest schools â€" one of which has been recognized for four years for having one of the highest rates of academic achievement in the state â€" are now under the microscope as officials study the desire on one hand to keep the schools and their long histories of community pride open, but on the other, the financial dilemma of how to come up with an estimated $1.2 to $1.5 million for necessary renovations on those campuses.
The Building and Grounds Committee of the Hawkins Co. Board of Education met last Thursday evening and was presented by the maintenance Department and Central Office personnel with a laundry list of extensive renovations and repairs at both Keplar School and McPheeter’s Bend Elementary which include:
KEPLAR â€" A new roof; floor in the dining room and kitchen; bathroom renovations; a wastewater treatment facility; water lines and sewer pipe; parking lot paving; and a more secure front entry.
McPHEETER’S BEND â€" A new kitchen and cafeteria; water and sewer pipes; roof on the gymnasium; dining room flooring and serving line; parking lot paving; bleachers; and a more secure front entry.
Total estimates for Keplar, which was constructed in 1950 and serves about 82 students, are more than $800,000, and more than $400,000 at McPheeter’s Bend, which dates to 1961 and serves about 100 students.
At the meeting, Director of Schools Steve Starnes said that students at the two schools are provided with all of the academic tools and resources that children in the larger schools have, but that providing that education comes with a much larger price tag.
-- TOMMY CAMPBEL St. Paul schools take up long-term maintenance, capital plan-- TwinCities.com Minnesota: December 01, 2015 [ abstract] One of the first major tasks before the new St. Paul school board next year will be approving a maintenance and capital plan for the next five years after decades of underinvestment.
St. Paul Public Schools will spend about $700 million on all funds this school year. Of that, about $30 million will go to school district buildings.
Facilities director Tom Parent thinks the district should be spending roughly $50 million more each year just to maintain facilities they have.
Parent admits that's unrealistic, but he said the recently completed 18-month facilities master planning process "reaffirmed that there is a growing gap in where we need to be and where we are."
Board member John Brodrick said he has questions about the district's ability to pay for the identified needs, but he wants St. Paul to try to keep up with the private, charter and suburban public school districts. In previous meetings, he has called special attention to the poor condition of St. Paul's athletic facilities.
"We need to have facilities for our kids that are comparable to the kind of facilities they see when they go other places," he said Tuesday as the board met to discuss facilities needs.
-- Josh Verges Winter maintenance preparations a concern at former New Milford school-- newstimes.com Connecticut: December 01, 2015 [ abstract] NEW MILFORD â€" As concerns have been raised about proper winter maintenance of the Pettibone School building, the issue has quickly elevated to one of the priorities for the newly elected mayor.
Mayor David Gronbach, who took office on Tuesday, said he plans to have the building sufficiently heated, although winterizing funds haven’t been allotted in the town budget.
“Pettibone was one of the first things I talked about today,†Gronbach said Tuesday. “We will keep the building heated at a temperature where there won’t be any damage. One of my first acts will be to find a use for Pettibone and get it occupied as soon as possible.â€
Public Works Director Mike Zarba had said on Monday that “there is no money allocated to the town budget for winterizing services†for the building.
-- Susan Tuz Faribault School Board discusses Strategic Facilities Plan-- Faribault Daily News Minnesota: November 30, 2015 [ abstract] Each year, the Faribault School District releases a new Strategic Facilities Plan, but with the upcoming addition of the new Long Term Facility maintenance funding, the plan will look a little different from years prior.
Director of Buildings and Grounds Kevin Hildebrandt, Director of Finance and Operations Colleen Mertesdorf and Superintendent Todd Sesker have complied information about the district for the fiscal year 2015-16 Strategic Facilities Plan which was presented to the school board at a work session meeting on Monday.
The purpose of the Strategic Facilities Plan is to gather information about the district and its building and land in one document as well as to list budget information, building layouts and maps.
On Monday night, Hildebrandt presented the plan to the board, walking the board members through it and the data listed within.
The plan itself includes information on the mission and vision of the district and a facilities overview. The plan also includes information about plans for making the buildings more sustainable, identifying each building’s handicap accessibility and Capital Planning and budget.
While presenting to the board, Hildebrandt spoke about areas that could be improved for accessibility for the handicapped, current sustainability options and deferred maintenance on the buildings.
-- BRITTNEY NESET Report: California’s ailing K-12 facilities need funding fix-- Berkeley News California: November 30, 2015 [ abstract] With forecasts of a super wet California winter, findings released today by UC Berkeley’s Center for Cities and Schools may set off alarms: More than half of the state’s K-12 public school districts fail to meet minimum industry standards for annual spending on maintenance and operations, or on capital improvements like new roofs.
Center researchers took a look at 93 percent of the conventional K-12 districts in the state between 2008 and 2012, the most recent year for which data is available. They found 57 percent of the 879 districts examined fail to meet benchmarks in capital improvement spending, and 62 percent failed to reach the standards for basic maintenance and operation in that period.
Approximately 2.2 million of California’s 6 million K-12 students attend these struggling schools.
“This trend signals costly long-term consequences for the state as accumulated facility needs risk becoming a health and safety crisis,†according to the analysis, which notes that more than two-thirds of the state’s public school buildings are more than 25 years old.
-- Kathleen Maclay Study: State should increase, overhaul school construction bonds-- EdSource California: November 30, 2015 [ abstract] The state’s system of school construction and upkeep is inadequate and inequitable, with districts serving low-income students more often underfunding construction, then overspending on patching up facilities that needed major renovations, a new research study has found.
“California must bolster â€" not recede from â€" 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.â€
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 With limited space, teams look to use school fields-- HavasuNews.com Arizona: November 28, 2015 [ abstract] Practice field space seems to keep getting tighter for the city’s various local sports leagues and one local soccer coach believes he has a solution to relieve the current demand.
Brett Miller is hoping to work with his fellow Parks and Recreation Advisory Board members to draft a proposal to expand a user agreement between the Lake Havasu City and Lake Havasu Unified School District for use of the schools’ fields.
His efforts come on the heels of a $150,000 assessment study which revealed the city is in dire need of soccer fields to meet the needs of the 750-plus players within the community.
While city staff and outside consultants review potential multi-million dollar sports fields projects to expand the city’s recreation options for the future, Miller and others want them to consider the community’s more immediate needs.
“I want to make sure these options are aware to staff and the consultant,†Miller said.
The city has an intergovernmental agreement with the schools for use of the fields. The city provides water to the school facilities up to 24 million cubic feet per year and both entities agree to establish a joint facilities asset pool, which contains both city and school fields.
Considering the agreement in place, Miller said the addition of lights and weekly maintenance to the fields would support team practices at night. His proposal would leave the fields to the schools during the day.
-- CHRISTINA CALLOWAY EDUCATION: Campuses aim to school El Niño-- The Press Enterprise California: November 19, 2015 [ abstract] They’re gearing up for Godzilla, the monster of all storms.
Inland schools are repairing roofs, stocking up on sandbags and preparing to deploy emergency crews in anticipation of heavy El Niño rains, which could strike this winter with record ferocity.
The work started over the summer. While kids were on vacation, workers patched leaky roofs, unclogged storm drains, trimmed trees and created safety plans.
Many districts are using the resources on hand for the efforts, while others are moving money around to pay for additional maintenance.
“Our main goal is to be able to keep our schools open,†said Anthony Pipkins, maintenance and operations director for the Hemet Unified School District. “We’re making sure our campuses are safe and that any possible flooding doesn’t interfere with what’s going on in the classroom.â€
Crews fixed damaged roofs and installed additional storm drains following powerful flash floods in late July and early August, he said.
-- STEPHEN WALL Report: Some CMS schools score low on building health inspections-- WSOCTV.com North Carolina: November 18, 2015 [ abstract] Some Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools are in dire need of upgrades and better maintenance, reports found.
Channel 9 dug through building health inspection reports and found that several public schools scored â€Å"C†on their inspections, some for years in a row.
The Mecklenburg County Health Department conducts the inspections once a year. Scores from 70 to 79.5 are considered a â€Å"C.â€Â
Mike Murdock's daughter goes to Olympic High School, which received 70 points on its most recent inspection. The score is the worst among CMS schools.
He said there are a lot of good things going on at the school and the learning that happens within the school's walls is what's most important.
However, he recognized that the condition of the facilities is important too.
â€Å"It is a distraction from the overall goal when you are paying attention to things that are not related to the teacher engaging with the students,†he said.
Each school is inspected once a year to make sure it's up to health and safety standards.
-- Angela Hong 45.31-mill property tax OK'd for New Orleans public schools-- The Times-picayune Louisiana: November 17, 2015 [ abstract] New Orleans property owners will pay the same tax rate for public schools next year as now. The Orleans Parish School Board opted to keep the millage steady at 45.31 mills Tuesday (Nov. 17).
But the coffers will fill up farther due to property values going up and new properties joining the tax rolls. The primary millage, 40.34, is estimated to bring in $141.8 million, a $7.4 million increase from 2015.
With a small piece of the total proceeds, property owners are seeding the city's first-ever school building maintenance fund. Stan Smith, chief financial officer for Orleans Parish public schools, estimated the 1.4 mills dedicated to that purpose would gross a little less than $5 million.
Starting July 1, that money will be used for emergency repairs. Officials from the city's two school systems are close to hammering out the policies for which repairs count, Smith said. For the last decade, the state Recovery School District has overseen most of the city's schools.
The city collects taxes on behalf of the School Board and charges a small fee. The School Board then distributes the money to both its own schools and the state charters.
-- Danielle Dreilinger County School Board Focusing On Over $200 Million In Needed School Repairs-- The Chattanoogan Tennessee: November 12, 2015 [ abstract] County school officials said there remains a need for new county school buildings, but there also should be a focus on over $200 million in needed repairs at current schools.
Board member Greg Martin suggested that the schools take a list of major repair needs to the County Commission that might be funded through bonds.
Supt. Rick Smith said the staff will draw up such a list of deferred maintenance, but he said there remains a need to build schools to keep up with enrollment increases. He said, "We grew 400 students this year. That's a new school. We will probably grow another 400 students next year."
-- Staff Writer Committee May Consider A Tax To Pay For School Construction-- Wyoming Public Radio Wyoming: November 03, 2015 [ abstract] As state lawmakers mull the latest revenue projections it appears that in a few years the state will have a lot less money for education, especially new school construction.
It’s largely because revenue from coal lease bonus sales is down and that’s what pays for school construction. But a court ruling mandates that the state pay for school construction and maintenance so Wyoming will need to find another way to pay for it.
The legislature’s Joint Revenue Committee is working on solutions and House Committee Chairman Mike Madden said one idea is a type of statewide property tax increase called a mill.
“One possibility would be a statewide school construction mill levy, I don’t know if that would be popular or not, but I think it would be more palatable if we have the right kind of financial information so that we can put a sunset on it and say as soon as this happens we may not need this mill anymore.â€
-- BOB BECK Portland school officials study capital improvements-- Portland Press Herald Maine: October 20, 2015 [ abstract] After years of tight budgets, Portland School Board officials are starting to evaluate tens of millions of dollars’ worth of capital improvements, overhauling the district’s multi-year capital improvement plan to come up with a new list of priorities.
“You can’t afford what you need to do, no matter what,†said former chief operations officer Peter Eglinton, who briefed the school board Tuesday on the history of the capital improvement plans in the last decade.
One school had its roof patched in 23 places last year, an example of the deferred maintenance faced by the district, facilities director Doug Sherwood told the board.
The district submitted its first multi-year capital improvement plan, with more than $45 million in proposed projects, to the city manager in 2011. Since then, several major projects have moved forward or been completed.
-- NOEL K. GALLAGHER Palm Beach County schools deal with shrinking money for repairs-- Sun Sentinel Florida: October 16, 2015 [ abstract] Palm Beach County schools have suffered from leaking roofs, broken air conditioners, plumbing problems, mold and a shrinking pot of money to deal with these problems.
Last year, the school district's maintenance department received about 12,000 reports of air-conditioning issues, 1,300 reports of roofing problems, more than 12,000 plumbing issues and 8,000 calls on electrical problems, records from the last school year show.
While most problems were fixed quickly, many resurfaced multiple times. Preventive maintenance and nonemergency work, such as painting, have been almost nonexistent, officials said.
"For many of these things, we're constantly putting Band-Aids on them," School Board Chairman Chuck Shaw said. "We're getting to the point where Band-Aids are not going to hold up."
The school district is considering asking the public to vote for a property or sales tax increase, but Superintendent Robert Avossa has first ordered two independent reviews of district finances and the conditions of its 185 schools.
"maintenance is doing a great job, but you can only do repairs for so long," said district Treasurer Leanne Evans, who oversees the capital budget. "Eventually you have to replace your air conditioner or your roof, so we're going to have a third party look at it. We're doing the bare basics just to be safe."
-- Scott Travis Washington County Public Schools face $50.7M maintenance backlog-- Herald-Mail Media Maryland: October 08, 2015 [ abstract] Washington County Public Schools now has about $50.7 million in deferred maintenance priorities, with approximately $39.3 million of that at school facilities, according to a school system report for fiscal 2016-2017.
With the closing of Winter Street and Conococheague elementary schools after this school year, the deferred maintenance tied to those schools will be removed from the list, but other deferred maintenance will be added, said Mark Mills, director of facilities maintenance and operations.
The deferred maintenance for Winter Street, in Hagerstown's West End, is $2.6 million, and for Conococheague, west of Hagerstown, it is $1.8 million, the Comprehensive maintenance Plan said.
The new Jonathan Hager Elementary School is scheduled to open for the next school year.
Mills said the amount of deferred maintenance has gone up and down with the economy.
The board has approved "a lot of fund balance to address the deferred maintenance in the past 10 years," Mills told the Washington County Board of Education during a business meeting on Tuesday.
-- Julie E. Greene Push is on at OPS for more
long-term planning on maintenance, construction-- omaha.com Nebraska: October 04, 2015 [ abstract] How much life is left in that boiler? What will it cost to replace worn and frayed carpeting in 20 elementary schools?
The answers to these types of questions could help Omaha Public Schools put together more proactive plans for future maintenance and school construction.
Fresh off the passage of a $421 million bond measure to repair and rebuild some of the district’s middle-aged schools, OPS wants to move toward putting together a long-term capital plan that will catalog, schedule and budget future repairs and maintenance.
The district recently issued two requests for proposal, soliciting companies to evaluate and conduct in-person inspections of school roofs and all OPS schools and buildings. The findings will help OPS prioritize its building needs and decide which work must be done now and what can be put off for a few years, buildings and grounds director Mark Warneke said at a board meeting on Sept. 21.
-- Erin Duffy School board forms advisory committee on indoor environment-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: September 30, 2015 [ abstract] In the wake of growing concerns about mold in multiple Howard County schools, Board of Education officials are set to launch a new advisory committee next week that will focus on the environment inside school buildings  though some parents say they don't think the group's mission goes far enough.
The Indoor Environmental Quality Advisory Committee will hold its first meeting on Oct. 6 from 4 to 6 p.m.
Its purpose, according to a Sept. 17 presentation to the board by Gina Massella, administrative director for high schools, and Anissa Dennis, administrative director for middle schools, is to ensure a â€Å"quality environment for students, teachers and all staff, and anyone who uses our facilities.â€Â
The committee will use the Environmental Protection Agency's Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools as a model for the policy it builds.
â€Å"As a government agency, [EPA] is in compliance with all federal, state and local laws,†Dennis said. The Tools for Schools framework, she added, is â€Å"quite extensive.â€Â
Dennis said the framework goes beyond mold and covers heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; moisture control; pest management and cleaning and maintenance, among other things.
-- Amanda Yeager Cost for overhauling city’s schools could top $1b, Walsh says-- The Boston Globe Massachusetts: September 29, 2015 [ abstract] Mayor Martin J. Walsh pledged Tuesday to bring the city’s deteriorating public schools into the 21st century, but he warned that the effort won’t be cheap.
“You’re probably talking over a billion dollars,†Walsh said at an event at the McKay K-8 School in East Boston. “That’s just a rough estimate.â€
Walsh said 65 percent of Boston school buildings were constructed before World War II, and fewer than half have been renovated.
The event Tuesday marked the formal launch of a 10-year master plan for Boston public schools facilities that Walsh announced in his State of the City address in January.
The School Department and the city are set to work with consultant Symmes, Maini & McKee Associates to develop recommendations by the end of 2016.
“It’s going to be our first comprehensive school capital plan in 20 years,†Walsh said. “It’s going to be going beyond reactive maintenance. It’s going to give us proactive strategies and [a] framework for success.â€
Walsh acknowledged that it would be necessary to close some schools to “unlock more resources for every student. Access and equity is at the forefront of our concerns.â€
Walsh said nothing is decided, but he expects some schools will merge under the plan.
-- Jeremy C. Fox 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 yearâ€"463â€"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 Equity, parity at heart of Albemarle schools’ CIP-- Charlottesville Tomorrow Virginia: September 12, 2015 [ abstract] The Albemarle County School Board has unanimously endorsed a facilities budget that, if fully funded, could see as much as $124.9 million in building improvements over the next five years.
The spending plan â€" which represents the division’s projected infrastructure needs â€" now will be considered against local government needs to form the Capital Improvement Plan for the next budget cycle.
Revised each year, the CIP is shared jointly between the school division and county government, and serves as a planning document. It estimates costs in one-year increments over a decade. The capital budget for just the 2016-17 school year totals about $19.2 million.
Following seven yearly, continuous projects such as building maintenance, school bus replacements and security improvements, the School Board’s top-ranked construction project is about $5 million in upgrades at Red Hill Elementary School, which, division spokesman Phil Giaramita said at a School Board meeting Thursday, is in need of addressing infrastructure and curricular shortcomings.
“There really are concerns about the equity issue that the students at Red Hill don’t have the same learning opportunities as kids in the other schools,†Giaramita said.
School Board member Steve Koleszar agreed.
“The equity and parity issue at Red Hill, I’m not willing to see that pushed down [the list],†Koleszar said.
-- Tim Shea 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 'Back to School' Sparks $330M K-12 Repair Bill Across U.S., Study Says-- Education Week National: September 03, 2015 [ abstract] Welcome to the first two weeks of school, when an estimated $330 million will be spent fixing a myriad of problems that arise in K-12 facilities, according to a company that tracks such maintenance.
More than half of the "school's in session" repair billâ€â€nearly $170 millionâ€â€will be spent to fix air conditioning, according to SchoolDude, the company that conducted the study.
Other pesky, and costly, problems schools address in the opening weeks include fixing leaks, repairing doors and floors, and removing pests. After air conditioning, the most frequently reported problem involves locks and keys, with more than 166,000 incidents. (See the table below.)
To arrive at the national figures, an analyst extrapolated data from reported repairs in the more than 4,100 public schools that use SchoolDude's maintenance management platform. The estimate of how much schools spend in each category comes from reports of hourly labor costs, money spent on hiring contractors, and the price of parts.
The average public school devotes 15 percent of its repair budget to planned maintenance, according to Jed DeGroote, community engagement manager of SchoolDude. "The best in class do more than 30 percent," he said. These numbers reflect the state of affiars after budgets for maintenance in school facilities have been cut for more than 15 years, he said.
-- Michele Molnar 34 Springfield schools getting renovations-- WWLP.com Massachusetts: August 24, 2015 [ abstract] Schools across Springfield are getting some much needed work done.
The city and state have allocated $30-million to update 34 schools across Springfield. They’re updating heating and ventilation and upgrading older windows.
Springfield Superintendent Daniel Warwick told 22News a lot of maintenance was put off for years. Warwick said, “It catches up to you and you have to make major adjustments to the schools. The mayor’s been willing to do that with city funding and we’ve been very aggressive with the Mass. State Building Authority, putting in for accelerated repair projects, as well as new schools.â€
-- Tashanea Whitlow Maintenance woes plague schools-- Calaveras Enterprise California: August 21, 2015 [ abstract] With a budget that’s still tenuous and enrollment at their schools still in decline, Calaveras Unified School District trustees Tuesday heard they need more than $5 million to catch up on maintenance issues plaguing their campuses.
Joe Cruz, the district’s maintenance and operations supervisor, presented trustees with a report that details what’s needed at each of the district’s schools that dot the northern half of the county. All told, he said that Calaveras Unified has over $5.2 million worth of deferred maintenance projects.
Cruz began by describing the difference between routine maintenance â€" the replacement of lightbulbs, broken doorknobs and the like â€" and what’s referred to as deferred maintenance projects in school district parlance. Those deferred projects can include flooring and roof replacement, heating and air conditioning unit replacement and painting schools inside and out. The California Legislature and governor in 2008 stopped sending school districts any funds specifically earmarked for deferred maintenance.
Cruz said he directed his staff of six to note issues they saw on school grounds. Cruz visited each school and spoke with administrators to make sure everything was included.
-- Mike Taylor School district lays out $150 million tentative 10-year plan for capital projects-- The St. Augustine Record Florida: August 21, 2015 [ abstract] The St. Johns County School District released a tentative list of capital projects totaling $150 million to potentially be funded over the next 10 years.
Tim Forson, deputy superintendent of operations, called it a “high-needs list,†although not necessarily a complete list.
“What we know today is not what we might know five years from now or even three years from now,†he said.
The projects outlined include $106 million for three new K-8 academies, one elementary school and two school expansions.
Forson said many of the items on the list will be necessary regardless of whether a Â1/2-cent sales tax increase is approved by voters on Nov. 3.
“What it means is either some of these would be delayed or some of these would displace other projects,†he said. “Some may not happen at all.â€
Demands of high growth over several years have resulted in cases of deferred maintenance and site improvements at older schools. About $14 million in maintenance projects for existing facilities were included in the list.
-- JAKE MARTIN WCPS needs county help to fund capital projects-- HearldMailMedia.com Maryland: August 18, 2015 [ abstract] Washington County Public Schools officials said Tuesday that they plan to ask the county commissioners for financial support for large school projectssuch as replacing aging roofs and heating and air-conditioning systems.
The county's current 10-year capital improvement plan shows zero dollars for systemic or "capital maintenance" projects for the school system, not only for this fiscal year but through at least the next five fiscal years.
Debra Murray, the county's chief financial officer, said in a telephone interview Tuesday that she doubts the county will have money this fiscal year for such projects.
The zeroes for future years are because county officials don't yet know what funds will be available or what issues might arise, Murray said.
If money is available, and the commissioners want to shift it to systemic school projects, that will be done, she said.
-- Julie E. Greene Okolona school maintenance draws complaints-- WTVA Mississippi: August 10, 2015 [ abstract] OKOLONA, Miss. (WTVA) -- The first day of school is suppose to be welcoming for parents and students, but for some, it was anything but pleasant in the Okolona School District.
"This should not be the tone that we're setting for our kids for the first day of school," said concerned citizen Hattie Thomas.
Thomas worked in the district for nearly 20 years, and she's not happy.
She visited the high school on Monday to drop her family off for the first day of school and said what she saw is "unacceptable."
"Kids should not have been presented with a building that does not seem to be ready for the opening of school," Thomas added.
She said ceiling tiles were missing, wires were dangling in the air and the floors weren't waxed. She also said other parents told her there were problems at the elementary school.
"We're going backwards, not forward. What's happening to us," Thomas asked.
And she didn't let her complaints go unnoticed.
She marched into Monday's school board meeting and complained about what she called deplorable conditions.
But district leaders see it a different way.
-- Tyler Hill State funding changes stand to benefit Park Rapids School District-- Park Rapids Enterprise Minnesota: August 08, 2015 [ abstract] The Park Rapids School Board approved a long-term facility maintenance plan which based on changes at the legislature should bring additional dollars into the district. School district business manager Carol Hutchinson reported to the board Monday legislation this past session changed, eliminating health and safety and deferred maintenance funding, and creating a new Long Term Facilities maintenance Revenue. The change makes facility funding more equitable across the state, Hutchinson said. LTMF revenue is an amount based on age of the buildings and pupil units.
-- Kevin Cederstrom School district enrolls goats to help maintain school grounds-- Mercer Island Reporter Washington: July 30, 2015 [ abstract] It’s not uncommon for the Mercer Island School District to enlist seasonal help for its summer projects. But this year, the district got creative in dealing with a tedious, pervasive issue that presented difficulties for regular maintenance workers.
MISD purchased three four-month-old Nubian goats, affectionately named Larry, Curly and Moe, to chomp their way through blackberry bushes and other brush in various greenbelt areas that need clearing throughout school grounds.
The goats begin work everyday at 7 a.m. and clear as much brush as their voracious appetites will allow. They officially began “work†in the high school’s stadium last week, grazing around the fenced scoreboard area. maintenance and operations director Tony Kuhn said he uses a grain bucket to lead them into the overgrown areas.
“It’s amazing to watch them go through this,†he said. “I don’t know how else to describe it; they’re like locusts. They’ll seek out blackberries first and from there, they’ll take their favorite food and go through the whole area. Then they come back and work on the ivy.â€
Kuhn said using the goats was intended to serve more as a green effort than a cost-saving move, though he mentioned purchasing goats, instead of renting, proved to be a friendlier financial option. Kuhn estimated a total investment of $500, including creating a shelter out of reclaimed wood from the teardown of the North Mercer gym.
-- JOE LIVARCHIK Wasuma Elementary home to first dome-style school building in California-- The Fresno Bee California: July 20, 2015 [ abstract] The New Orleans Saints play in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the St. Louis Rams play in the Edward Jones Dome, and the Wasuma Elementary Wildcats will soon play ball under a dome, too.
Wasuma Elementary, located in Ahwahnee, plans to open a gymnasium for students this fall that developers say is the first dome-shaped public school building in California.
“I don’t want people to think they’re stepping into the Save Mart Center â€" it’s still an elementary school built for an audience of about 300 small children,†Bass Lake School District Superintendent Glenn Reid said. “But it does look pretty cool when you step inside.â€
“Cool†wasn’t what Reid was going for, though. After the district passed a bond in 2006, there were several facility issues that took priority over providing Wasuma Elementary with a gym. Up until now, the cafeteria has doubled as its gym and events venue â€" forcing staff to host separate assemblies because the student body couldn’t fit into one room. The funding had dwindled, but Wasuma needed the space, so Bass Lake officials “got creative.â€
The dome-shaped building cost the district around $2 million â€" about half of what it would’ve cost to build a traditional gym, Reid said.
The building was constructed using the techniques of the Monolithic Dome Institute in Texas, which boasts significant energy savings and less construction and maintenance costs than traditional buildings.
-- MACKENZIE MAYS Superintendent Avossa: County school infrastructure “almost a crisisâ€-- PalmBeachPost.com Florida: July 17, 2015 [ abstract] Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Robert Avossa has plenty to worry about as he finishes up his first month on the job.
But the thing that he says keeps him up at night? The county school system’s decaying infrastructure.
“I would argue that it’s almost a crisis,†he told The Post’s Editorial Board Thursday.
It’s no secret that the county’s public schools are suffering from breakdowns, decay and poor maintenance.
The problem, school administrators say, is a perennial shortfall in the school district’s budget for construction and maintenance.
The shortfall has been prompted in part by large debt payments for past construction projects and a change in state law that reduced the amount of property taxes that the school system can collect to fund construction and maintenance.
-- Andrew Marra Manhattan Beach school board approves long-range plan for its facilities-- Daily Breeze California: July 16, 2015 [ abstract] A long-range master plan calling for $319 million in immediate and long-term improvements at Manhattan Beach school campuses was approved this week by the school board, but district officials reminded parents that for now the document is only a blueprint.
Manhattan Beach Unified is far from breaking ground on many of the large-scale projects detailed in the master plan, and more community meetings are planned to gather comments from the public.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s just the beginning,†said board member Ellen Rosenberg. “This is something that will be happening over many, many years.â€
The 430-page document calls for the removal of all portable classroom buildings, the reconfiguration of several school sites, and tackling of immediate deferred maintenance needs, with the most significant upgrades at Manhattan Beach Middle School.
Improvements at each of the eight school sites range from water, sewer and power projects to new roofs and ceiling tiles, rearranging buildings and overall modernization. Additions to the middle school include a third soccer field, a 28,000-square-foot multipurpose facility and a larger pool â€" possibly Olympic-size â€" to replace Begg Pool.
As part of the master planning process, consultants from EMG and DLR Group were asked to assess the current conditions of the schools, determine the cost of improvements, assess the functionality of each site, identify priority projects and develop a final plan that can be easily updated and revised.
“This document combines a needs assessment with the development of a vision for what we want our facilities to look like,†Assistant Superintendent Dawnalyn Murakawa-Leopard said. “We now have a good understanding of the current condition of our facilities, what we can expect in terms of maintenance needs and the remaining life spans of existing buildings.â€
-- Carley Dryden ‘What’s next?’ school facilities chief asks-- codyenterprise.com Wyoming: July 08, 2015 [ abstract] While little more than half of Wyoming school facilities are in good to excellent condition, the remaining are in fair to poor condition.
With that good-news, bad-news assessment, the director of the Wyoming Department of Education says state school facilities face an as yet undetermined direction.
“During this process of learning more about where we’re going, we’ve discovered that we’re coming to a crossroad,†Bill Panos said.
After taking a deep breath, he began his comments at the Legislature’s Select Committee on School Facilities meeting July 1 at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody.
Panos’ remarks came after the education panel spent the morning talking about school budgets, funding building projects and looking at graphs to assess the “hard and soft landing†for the future of state schools.
“We’re not going to be done with capital projects, and capacity issues and efficiency issues, but we’re getting caught up to the backlog,†he said. “The simple question with a really complicated answer is ‘What’s next and what is the right next for Wyoming?’â€
$3 billion catch-up
One direction the state’s school facilities department may take is laid out in a 28-page draft plan by 21st Century School Fund consulting firm.
Led by Mary Filardo, the Washington, D.C., firm spent the past four months looking at Wyoming school funding, budgets, capital investment for building projects, major and routine maintenance and asset preservation.
-- JANICE DOWNEY Schools adding building security as part of summer maintenance-- TheTimesHerald Michigan: July 03, 2015 [ abstract] Schools are beefing up building security and updating lock-down procedures while students are away for the summer.
Local districts are making the changes as part of routine and ongoing summer maintenance projects.
The security measures are not in response to any specific event. They stem from parents, local law enforcement and school officials all identifying student safety as the No. 1 priority, school officials said.
Added security measures at Port Huron schools involve changes to building entryways so that all visitors will be rerouted through the main offices, said Kate Peternel, the district’s executive director of business services.
Other changes at local districts such as Brown City are the addition of surveillance cameras in school buildings and parking lots.
At the county level, a safety planning committee representing area schools is in the evaluation stages of a unified plan that includes stress debriefing training and mass casualty exercises, said Jeff Friedland, director of St. Clair County Homeland Security Emergency Management.
-- Syeda Ferguson No summer break for school maintenance crews-- StarNewsOnline.com North Carolina: June 29, 2015 [ abstract] SOUTHEASTERN N.C. -- The halls have emptied and the classrooms remain mainly dormant for schools in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties as students and teachers settle into their first few weeks of summer vacation.
But for school maintenance staff, work is just getting into full swing.
At Wrightsboro Elementary, crews started ripping up tile flooring and replacing it June 16 -- the day after teachers left, said Chris Peterson, director of maintenance in New Hanover County Schools.
While summer can last about 3 months for students, Peterson said there is really only about 8 weeks from the time teachers are gone to complete major projects that might either be too loud or disruptive to students while school is in session.
This summer Peterson said the list of repairs is long like usual. But for bigger projects, such as the one at Wrightsboro Elementary, the school district contracts work out.
He said by contracting big projects out, his staff is able to be more productive and complete projects in a timely manner.
-- Hannah DelaCourt Without state funding, school maintenance questions arise-- KTOO Public Media Alaska: June 22, 2015 [ abstract] The Juneau Assembly offered lukewarm support Monday to prep a fall ballot question asking local voters to authorize debt for school maintenance.
The $1.3 million ask is a lot less than school officials were considering in April, when they wanted $21 million for major renovations of the Marie Drake Building.
The Marie Drake project went on hold indefinitely, after the Alaska Legislature this year imposed a 5-year freeze on the state program that had covered up to 70 percent of the debt local governments took out to pay for school capital projects.
“That changes, I think, the landscape for floating school bonds for fixing up schools or renovating schools,†Juneau School District Superintendent Mark Miller told the Assembly.
Not only for big projects, but also for major maintenance that leftover bond money had historically covered. Tighter state restrictions on repurposing that money means major school maintenance falls entirely to Juneau taxpayers.
-- Jeremy Hsieh School practices differ on public access to athletic facilities-- The Gazette Iowa: June 21, 2015 [ abstract] CEDAR RAPIDS â€" For the past four years, Jenny Waddilove used the track at West High School in Iowa City for her running workouts.
“My kids have always come along with me,†said Waddilove, whose children attend Borlaug Elementary School. “As they get older, they’re now running along with me. It’s just kind of a way to spend time with the family.â€
That changed last month, Waddilove said, when she went to the school’s track and football field and found a locked gate.
The school last summer completed a new turf field there and decided to secure the facility, athletic director Scott Kibby explained.
But Waddilove’s story is not unique. School playgrounds in Corridor districts generally are open to the public outside of school hours, as are some tracks and athletic fields. Many of those facilities are funded by taxpayer dollars, and residents who live near some schools frequently use the tracks for casual exercise.
But for some schools, the money they put into new fields â€" combined with the special maintenance needs of those facilities â€" means it’s not worth it to risk possible damage by allowing in the general public.
-- Andrew Phillips Cash-strapped Michigan school system uses 1980s home computer to control heating for entire district-- RawStory.com Michigan: June 15, 2015 [ abstract] Officials in one Michigan school system are hoping that a 30-year-old home computer that controls heating and air conditioning for all 19 of their schools will finally be upgraded if residents decide to pass a $175 million bond proposal.
Grand Rapids Public Schools maintenance Supervisor Tim Hopkins told WOOD-TV that the district used the money from an energy bond in the 1980s to purchase a Commodore Amiga, which has been tasked with controlling the heat and air conditioners ever since. The computer it replaced was “about the size of a refrigerator,†he said.
“The system controls the start/stop of boilers, the start/stop of fans, pumps, [it] monitors space temperatures, and so on,†the maintenance supervisor noted.
Hopkins explained that the computer operated on a 1200-baud modem, and it sometimes interfered with the walkie-talkies used by his maintenance workers.
“Because they share the same frequency as our maintenance communications radios and operations maintenance radios â€" it depends on what we’re doing â€" yes, they do interfere,†he pointed out, adding that “we have to clear the radio and get everyone off of it for up to 15 minutes†when that happens.
The district said that it has not been able to afford the $1.5 to 2 million cost of a new system. But the computer is system is on the list if a $175 million bond proposal passes in November.
-- David Edwards Closed CPS Schools Costing $3 Million Per Year, Report Says-- DNAinfo Illinois: June 04, 2015 [ abstract] CHICAGO  A Reuters news service look at the 49 schools closed in Chicago in a cost-cutting move in 2013 finds that most are still empty and costing the city more than $3 million a year for utilities, security and other maintenance.
Some 38 schools are still empty. Sales are pending at two unnamed schools and requests for proposals have gone out for three others. CPS says it avoided $430 million in capital costs on the closed buildings by shutting them.
At the time of the closings, CPS said the closures would save some $40 million annually.
CPS spokesman Bill McCaffrey tells Reuters' reporter Mary Wisniewski: "We knew this would take some time and we wanted the community to express their wishes."
Earlier this year, parents of former students at Overton Elementary School, at 221 E. 49th St. in Bronzeville, protested a reported sale of the building. The U.S. Education Department said in March it was investigating whether the students' civil rights were violated when the school was shut and the children moved to another school.
At the time CPS reportedly was seeking bids to turn the school into a rec center, housing, a technology hub or other use.
-- Staff Writer Cedar Rapids schools: proactive maintenance needed for aging buildings-- KCRG.com Iowa: May 26, 2015 [ abstract] CEDAR RAPIDS â€" With the average age of its school buildings around 60 years old, the Cedar Rapids Community School District’s grounds and buildings manager said the key to keeping maintenance costs low at older buildings like Arthur and Garfield elementaries â€" both of which celebrated centennial anniversaries this year â€" is to stay proactive when it comes to maintenance.
“That really determines what needs to be done to these old pieces of equipment,†Rob Kleinsmith explained.
He said scheduled upkeep of Arthur’s air circulation and boiler systems â€" not waiting for them to break down â€" helps keep the district’s $20-million-per-year maintenance needs manageable. The school is also due for about $40,000 worth of new floor tile and external masonry work this summer.
Kleinsmith admits it’s a lot of upkeep, but it’s cheaper than the alternative.
“We would never be able to build a [new] building like we have now,†Kleinsmith said. “We wouldn’t be able to afford it.â€
Part of what makes Arthur unique is its annex, which stands apart from the main building, according to Principal Angi Hoyer.
-- Brady Smith Minnesota schools hoping money for maintenance survives education bill veto-- Duluth News Tribune Minnesota: May 25, 2015 [ abstract] Minnesota school leaders hope part of the education bill vetoed by Gov. Mark Dayton, giving them dedicated money for building maintenance, won't be a casualty of a $17 billion budget fight.
It's been a top priority for years of suburban and rural school districts where limited resources often force administrators to pick students' needs over routine maintenance. They hope it will be included when lawmakers reconvene in St. Paul to draft another $17 billion education funding bill.
The proposed new funding starts with $32 million in the next two-year budget, but expanding what's called the long-term facilities maintenance program will eventually cost Minnesotans $100 million or more. Local property taxpayers will also have to chip in.
"Republicans and Democrats know this is the right thing to do for their school districts," state Sen. Kevin Dahle, DFL-Northfield, said as the legislative session neared its tumultuous end. He sponsored the bill to end a $300 per pupil funding disparity between metro districts and the rest of the state.
Now, just 25 school districts in the state's alternative facilities program can increase local property taxes for school maintenance without voter approval. Entrance into the program is based on the overall age and size of a district's buildings.
That means districts like Forest Lake have been shut out of the program while their neighbors in Stillwater and White Bear Lake are allowed in.
-- Christopher Magan School district hitting ‘peak of construction’-- Ames Tribune Iowa: May 22, 2015 [ abstract] With seven major construction projects underway, as well as regular maintenance tasks planned for the summer, the landscape of the Ames School District’s facilities will look very different once students and teachers start classes again in the fall.
So far, the district is hitting all of the timelines for the projects that were laid out in a master facilities plan five years ago, according to Superintendent Tim Taylor.
“When we put that plan together and we began to take a look at what it was going to be like, we knew that this summer was going to be the absolute peak of the construction period for this district,†Taylor said recently.
The biggest changes are unfolding at the district’s five elementary schools, which are in the midst of a four-year overhaul. Ames voters passed the $55 million bond referendum in April 2012, voting to build three new elementary schools and renovate and expand two others.
The new Edwards Elementary on Miller Avenue opened in fall 2014. A brand new Meeker Elementary and a renovated Mitchell Elementary will open this fall.
Taylor believes the overall cost will be very close to budget. Edwards came in approximately $1 million under budget, but Meeker is going to be about $1 million over, he said.
Mitchell may be slightly over cost, too, but Fellows and Sawyer both came in under what the contractors’ budget was, according to Taylor.
The district has contingency funds of between $500,000 and $800,000 for the projects.
“It could be slightly over, but if we don’t use all the contingency, it could be spot on,†Taylor said.
-- Melissa Erickson Budget committee mulls 'unexpected' costs to repair roofs-- Herald-Citizen Tennessee: May 18, 2015 [ abstract] PUTNAM COUNTY â€" Commissioners on the budget committee have said it caught them off guard.
“Has this only happened once or has it been getting progressively worse? And if so, why have we waited so long and let this get so bad?†asked Donny Buttram, District 11 county commissioner, about an apparent “dire†need to repair three school building roofs at an estimated $1.8 million this upcoming fiscal year.
The budget committee began talks to draft the 2015-16 fiscal year budget several weeks ago, which kicked off with a review of budget requests â€" including a Putnam County School System request for $1.8 million to fix the roofs of Cornerstone Middle School, White Plains Academy and the central office building. And ever since the request was introduced several weeks ago to commissioners, who at the time also learned it is the county’s responsibility to maintain school building roofs, they have often questioned an apparent lack of a plan on both the county and commission’s part to prepare for such an expense.
Last week, the director of schools and several school board members met with the committee to discuss the general school budget, where discussion about the roofs was broached once again.
Reportedly, the county maintenance department “patches up†roofs as needed but lacks the necessary expertise to fully repair them. And since roof maintenance is the county’s responsibility and not the school system’s â€" thanks to a resolution passed by the county commission in the 1980s â€" the maintenance process typically involves schools reporting to the county their maintenance requests and roof conditions.
-- Brittany Stovall 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 RRPS school board raises some fees for public to rent facilities-- Albuquerque Journal New Mexico: May 16, 2015 [ abstract] Community members wanting to rent Rio Rancho school district buildings and sports fields will have to dig a little deeper into their pockets.
On Monday, the school board approved a new fee schedule for renting its facilities, with a few increases. The district reviews the fees annually to make sure they are sufficient enough to pay for maintenance, utilities and other costs associated with the continuous usage.
As part of the changes that go into effect next fiscal year, or July 1, it will now cost more to rent the concert hall at V. Sue Cleveland High for more than eight hours. Right now, an entire day costs $750 but the district will start charging an additional $150 an hour when the rental goes over eight hours. Those using the hall for under eight hours will pay $150 an hour, a $25 increase over the current fee.
Nighttime use of the baseball and softball fields also will increase, from $250 to $300 a session.
Marilyn Lake-DellAngelo, special assistant to the superintendent, told the board that the lights “can be pretty expensive,†so the increase is needed.
Finally, all renters will have to pay more for security and custodial personnel, which the district requires for all public performances, games and events. Previously the fee was based on the hourly wage of the custodians and security members working that day and could vary from $20 to $34 an hour. Lake-DellAngelo said this could be confusing to renters and also prevented them from knowing upfront how much they would be paying. She said the district decided to charge a flat rate of $28 an hour.
“Sometimes we will be recouping more than we spend,†she said. “Sometimes we will be recouping less than we spend.â€
-- Elaine D. Briseño Large part of Willmar Schools’ bond request is deferred maintenance-- West Central Tribune Minnesota: May 14, 2015 [ abstract] WILLMAR â€" 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.â€
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 Montana schools on their own after Legislature turns down repairs-- Missoulian Montana: May 05, 2015 [ abstract] BILLINGS - School districts that were counting on state grants to fix ailing buildings, leaky roofs or sewage systems are on their own after a key school infrastructure program withered in the Legislature.
The Quality Schools grants would have been used to repair a leaky roof in Park City, fix a sewage system in Miles City that backs up into school bathrooms during heavy rain and perhaps finish a yearslong effort to replace the heating and cooling system at Billings Senior High.
“It’s a huge disappointment,†said School District 2 Superintendent Terry Bouck.
But even in years when the program has been funded, the support has been but a finger in the dike to the state’s $360 million school maintenance backlog, education groups say.
They hope lawmakers’ inaction is a death knell to an ineffectual program that will force officials to find better ways to address aging schools.
“The entire program has been a debacle from the very beginning,†said Dave Puyear, executive director for the Montana Rural Education Association.
Quality Schools has its origins in a 2005 Montana Supreme Court ruling that found the state wasn’t upholding its constitutional obligation to provide a basic system of quality public education.
The ruling prompted legislators to commission an inventory of school buildings around the state. The final report, completed in 2008, tallied $360 million in deferred maintenance.
-- DEREK BROUWER Billings Gazette Schools consider new maintenance plan-- The Daily Herald Tennessee: May 03, 2015 [ abstract] Maury County Public Schools need to shift direction on addressing facility and maintenance issues, Assistant Director of Operations Stan Breeden said.
Breeden, who joined the system in January 2014, has been developing a plan for improving maintenance concerns across the district.
He presented a tentative plan during the Maury County School Board’s Zoning and Facilities Committee meeting last week at Horace O. Porter School in Columbia.
The plan includes enacting preventive maintenance schedules, looking at when to replace buildings and eying areas of growth for future needs â€" not just making repairs, Breeden said.
“We understand that it’s an important responsibility to provide the very best physical environment for our students,†he said.
The assistant operations director said the system needs a more-centralized approach. In the past, the respective school principal largely was in charge of the building’s needs, Breeden said.
He proposed an increased reliance on the cloud-based maintenance program called “School Dude,†which about 7,000 districts use. The platform allows principals to submit repair requests into a system that creates an online work order, Breeden said.
MCPS already use School Dude, but Breeden plans to further utilize the program to its full potential, he said.
HVAC issues are a major concern across the district, Breeden said.
-- Tim Hodge Chicago Public Schools proposes bare-bones capital budget-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: May 02, 2015 [ abstract] Citing its bleak finances, Chicago Public Schools on Friday unveiled a $160 million capital budget that officials said will largely cover only projects that are already underway and "the most pressing repairs and maintenance issues" at schools.
The district used the announcement to repeat calls for state lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner to help address a $1.1 billion school district deficit that is largely driven by ballooning pension costs that are now coming due.
"I hate to keep repeating myself, but that's the harsh reality: We definitely need Springfield to step up and do its part in light of a projected $1.1 billion budget deficit," said Jesse Ruiz, the district's interim CEO and vice president of the Chicago Board of Education.
"It is a bleak picture. That's the reality of the situation," Ruiz said in a conference call with reporters. "I hope all the citizens of Illinois acknowledge this, that we need to step up as Illinoisans and particularly as Chicagoans."
CPS officials said the proposed capital budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 is covered with $113 million in district funding and $47 million from the city of Chicago, federal funding and other sources.
Those include money from tax increment financing districts that will be used for new athletic fields and play lots.
The district said the proposed capital budget has no provisions for relieving overcrowding at some schools, an issue that is often the subject of public complaints at the school board's monthly meetings.
-- Juan Perez Jr. and Heather Gillers Rock Hill schools seek bond to repair roofs, upgrade restrooms-- The Herald South Carolina: April 29, 2015 [ abstract] Like an old home, Sullivan Middle School in Rock Hill is long overdue for upgrades, its occupants say.
Many of the windows have a cloudy film that’s impossible to clean. The windows seals have cracked and the film is trapped between two panes of glass.
While kitchen appliances used for instruction have been replaced, the layout is not as functional as administrators want. The roof needs work.
Some of the bathrooms date back to when the building opened in 1959 as Rock Hill High School. Repairing them is costly and difficult, say maintenance workers.
This could change after Tuesday if Rock Hill voters approve borrowing $110 million over five years to make a variety of improvements to district schools. The school board says it can borrow the money through a bond issue without increasing taxes. That’s because some current debt will be paid off as the new debt is added.
As planned, every district school would benefit from the projects.
About $13.3 million or 12 percent of the money would go to building repairs or improvements. Sullivan Middle School would have large sections of its roof replaced and its bathrooms upgraded. Thirteen other schools are slated for roof improvements and 11 would get bathroom upgrades.
“Parents send their kids here and we are trusted to take care of them,†said Sullivan Middle principal Shane Goodwin. “The least we can is to have a first-class facility.â€
-- Don Worthington Winthrop school officials tout efficiency upgrades-- centralmaine.com Maine: April 28, 2015 [ abstract] WINTHROP â€" Three years after residents approved a plan to borrow more than $1 million for efficiency upgrades at the three town schools, officials say their buildings are ready to begin saving money.
“All three of our buildings are in as good a shape as one could hope,†said Superintendent Gary Rosenthal.
Voters in 2011 approved a $1.35 million bond package for upgrades at Winthrop Grade School, Middle School and High School. Most of the work was earmarked for the 40-year-old middle school, which received new boilers, improved lighting and new windows, and the even older grade school, which got a new roof with improved insulation and ventilation. Major upgrades at the high school, which was built in 2003, was limited to more energy efficient lighting.
Rosenthal said oil and electricity numbers fluctuate depending on variables such as the price of oil and the severity of the winter, but he expects the improvements will cut heating oil costs by about 30 percent and electricity costs by 20 percent.
Rosenthal said the upgrades are part of the strategic maintenance plan for each school developed over the past couple of years. Until a couple of years ago, the schools had not undergone much in the way of planned maintenance, which meant officials had to react to more unplanned, emergency maintenance.
“The next budget year will be the first where the whole budget is tied into the plan,†Rosenthal said.
-- CRAIG CROSBY Gov cites public confusion in not signing school bond bill-- Washington Times Alaska: April 26, 2015 [ abstract] JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A bill that would pause the state’s obligation to reimburse school construction debt payments will become law without Gov. Bill Walker’s signature.
In a letter to legislative leaders, Walker said confusion surrounding the House’s failure to adopt the effective date clause and a retroactivity provision in the bill contributed to his decision not to sign the bill. He said that while the bill is legally sound and he supports efforts to reduce the state’s budget, he would have preferred that this was done in a way more understandable for Alaskans.
Walker said the Department of Law advised him that a provision making the bill retroactive to Jan. 1 is still intact when the law takes effect. A Walker spokeswoman said by email that the law takes effect July 23.
SB 64, from the Senate Finance Committee, would pause bond debt reimbursement payments for school construction or major maintenance projects approved by voters between Jan. 1, 2015, and June 30, 2020. The reimbursement rate would be reduced after that.
Legislative attorney Kate Glover, in a memo to Senate Finance co-chair Anna MacKinnon earlier this month, said that if a municipality has a contract in place before the law takes retroactive effect, the change in law may impair that contractual relationship by changing the amount the municipality is responsible for repaying. However, she said state bond debt reimbursement requires an appropriation, and with passage of the bill, municipalities are on notice that the law will soon change.
-- BECKY BOHRER - Associated Press 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 â€" praised by charter school operators â€" 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.â€
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 Unified sets plan for more than 350 maintenance projects-- The Journal Times Wisconsin: April 12, 2015 [ abstract] It’s now possible to see what maintenance projects the Racine Unified School District plans to do over the next 10 years.
The to-do list includes more than 350 maintenance projects throughout most of the district’s buildings, along with a planned completion date for some of the projects. The list may change as new needs arise.
“The purpose of the plan is not to lock the district in and say this is what we’re going to do; the purpose of the plan is to say that as we save up money these are the things we could be doing with that money,†said Unified Chief Operations Officer Dave Hazen at a school board meeting last month.
The plan
The new plan adopted by the school board last month is a revised version of the five-year maintenance list put together last year.
The amount of deferred and upcoming maintenance needs on the previous list was one of the most pressing reasons why the district sought $128 million in additional local tax revenue over 15 years through a maintenance and technology referendum, which district voters approved in November.
The new list identifies nearly $117 million in facilities upkeep over the next 10 years. That amount doesn’t include work finished last summer.
Projects listed in the 10-year plan generally include maintenance like replacing interior finishes, wiring, plumbing, HVAC systems, roofs and other tasks.
-- AARON KNAPP Aging school facilities on committee’s radar-- Herald-Progress Virginia: April 08, 2015 [ abstract] Now that the county and Hanover Public Schools’ financial situations are starting to look up and some schools have received much-needed makeovers, county and school officials are starting to discuss how to address the division’s older facilities’ needs that may extend beyond repairs and smaller-scale maintenance projects.
David Myers, assistant superintendent of business and operations, initiated that discussion April 1 at a joint education committee meeting. Myers provided members of the committee, which includes some school board members, supervisors, and county staff, with documents that show information about each school facility’s maintenance history, age, number of trailers, and other facts.
“We have done a wonderful job of getting our schools in good condition, and we think our five-year plan is going to continue that,†Myers said.
“But, certainly as we look down the road, and you look at this summary, we have eight schools over 50 years old and, at some point, we’ll have to figure out what that means,†Myers added.
He told committee members this was more of a “long-range†reminder for them, because at some point, later down the road, division staff will have to determine a solution for the older school buildings.
Angela Kelly-Wiecek, Chickahominy District supervisor, said she agreed with the division’s decision not to perform a few full-school renovations, which were planned in the schools’ capital improvements budget before the hard hits of the recession, and instead focus on maintenance projects at each facility. Kelly-Wiecek pointed out that those big projects kept getting pushed back farther and farther before they were completely taken off the schools’ spending plan, and she asked when would be a good time to start talking about how to address aging buildings’ needs.
“At what point do we really start having that conversation?†she asked.
-- PAIGE BAXTER Members of U.S. Congress tour Minnesota school with "truly horrific conditions"-- Grand Forks Herald Minnesota: April 08, 2015 [ abstract] Three members of the U.S. Congress toured the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School on Wednesday on the Leech Lake reservation, getting a first-hand look at conditions that have made the school a decrepit symbol of how America is underfunding its Indian education system.
U.S. Reps. Rick Nolan, D-Minn., John Kline, R-Minn., and Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind., took advantage of the congressional spring recess to tour the school and meet with local officials.
Each had their own reason for being there: Nolan represents the Leech Lake band as part of the Eighth Congressional District. Kline chairs the House committee on education and workforce issues, while Rokita chairs the House subcommittee on early childhood, elementary and secondary school education.
However, the three of them were united across party lines in condemning the situation at the school and calling for action.
"The conditions, I found to be actually worse than what I had been led to believe," Kline said. "Truly horrific conditions. We need to figure out how it is that you're able to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on maintenance for a building that was never supposed to be a school building, but you can't replace the building."
They aren't the first from the federal government to see the problem. U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn visited the school in August, after U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., told Jewell about the school.
Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig is one of 63 schools listed in poor condition out of 183 on the nationwide Bureau of Indian Affairs list that receives federal funding as of 2014.
-- Zach Kayser In our opinion: Salt Lake County's budget proposal would break cycle of deferred maintenance-- Deseret News Utah: April 07, 2015 [ abstract] Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams has done something in his proposed budget that deserves praise as a meaningful nod toward fiscal responsibility. His $1.1 billion plan includes a substantial amount allocated to reduce a bulging deficit of “deferred maintenance†costs. It will be the first time in years the county has aimed to catch up in a meaningful way on work needed to keep its infrastructure in sound shape.
The county’s deferred maintenance tab has exceeded $45 million annually since 2012. The mayor has proposed putting $40 million toward the backlog this year, which would be a prudent investment. Too often, government entities choose to postpone upkeep on buildings and other property in order to balance budgets or avoid raising taxes. And by so doing, they risk entering a cycle of depreciation and deterioration that only grows each year that maintenance is deferred.
Across the country, government entities are struggling with the impact of deferred maintenance, none more than public school systems. A 2013 study showed the nation faces an aggregate deferred maintenance gap of $271 billion in upkeep of school facilities. At some point, the cash flow benefits of deferring maintenance are more than offset by the mounting costs of wear and tear. Like the homeowner who puts off fixing a sagging roof, the savings are lost to the cost of repair when the roof finally collapses.
-- Deseret News Editorial Senator suggests delaying school maintenance is a political move-- The Topeka Capital-Journal Kansas: April 06, 2015 [ abstract] The head of the Senate’s budget committee is questioning the motives of Auburn-Washburn administrators after they decided to postpone some of the district’s maintenance projects, citing cuts to state aid.
Sen. Ty Masterson, R-Andover, said Auburn-Washburn Unified School District 437 has enough money so it doesn’t need to delay its schedule because of budget cuts â€" “unless they wanted to do it, politically.â€
Superintendent Brenda Dietrich, however, says Masterson isn’t taking into account her district’s other financial obligations.
“We don’t make decisions based on politics,†Dietrich said. “We make decisions based on the best interests of our students and the responsible operation of the district.â€
Last month, lawmakers slashed about $50 million in state aid for costs such as maintenance, technology and classroom expenses. Because the change came late in the fiscal year, however, scores of school districts had already received and spent dollars the new cut meant they shouldn’t receive.
-- Celia Llopis-Jepsen Mayor’s capital plan delays some school projects-- Washington Post District of Columbia: April 02, 2015 [ abstract] Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) on Thursday announced a $1.3 billion, six-year capital budget that pushes back more than a dozen proposed school renovations and adds $30 million to the budget for the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, making it the most expensive high school project to date.
The price tag for the city’s selective arts magnet school rose from $139 million a year ago to $178 million. Government officials attributed the extra cost to the challenges of building a world-class performing arts space while respecting the historic character of the 19th-century Georgetown school building.
But many have questioned the added costs and amenities for one school when many buildings still need refurbished bathrooms. Mary Filardo, executive director of the 21st Century Schools Fund, called the cost “outrageous†and a reflection of “astoundingly poor planning.â€
The city has made enormous investments in upgrading school facilities after decades of deferred maintenance. More than $4 billion has been spent on upgrades since 2000, according to a tally by the 21st Century Schools Fund, which monitors construction spending.
-- Michael Alison Chandler Review calls for change in management of Anchorage school facilities-- Alaska Dispatch News Alaska: March 31, 2015 [ abstract] A newly released review of the Anchorage School District's facilities operations highlights numerous deficiencies in how the district estimates the costs of capital projects, how it secures funding for those projects and how it manages them.
The review, made public Tuesday, offers 28 recommendations on how the district could improve, including filling critical job vacancies on a timely basis, noting that the top facilities position went unfilled for three years.
ASD administrators and the Council of the Great City Schools presented the review at a special School Board meeting Tuesday afternoon -- a week before the April 7 municipal election, when voters will decide the fate of a $59.3 million school bond to pay for capital projects at eight schools.
Mike Abbott, ASD's chief operating officer, said Monday that the special meeting was called because the school district did not want to create the perception that it held back the review's findings until closer to the vote. Under typical protocol, the administration would have presented the findings at the next School Board meeting, scheduled for the day before the election, Abbott said.
In its 14-page facilities review, the council said the school district did some things well. It praised ASD for the competent, hardworking and dedicated employees within the Facilities and the maintenance and Operations departments, as well as its six-year facilities plan. It noted that ASD had a robust preventive maintenance program as well as a strategic plan that called for high operational efficiency.
But the council also found items it didn't like. For one, the review said the school district's Facilities Department went three years without a director. During that span, the department lacked an executive to champion capital projects and maintenance programs, the review said
-- Tegan Hanlon Rock Island County voters to decide on the schools facilities tax-- Dispatch Argus Illinois: March 28, 2015 [ abstract] Rock Island County voters will decide April 7 whether to approve a one percent increase in the sales tax to support school building projects.
The revenue from the proposed tax would be used exclusively for school facility needs and would be divided among the county's school districts based on their enrollment.
Proponents say the tax, if approved, is expected to generate about $11.5 million for county school districts annually. All of the districts have traditionally supported the measure and contend the added revenue will support their facilities, including improving physical security measures and maintenance/renovation efforts.
"Safety and security is probably the top of the list," Mike Thoms, a supporter, said recently. "You can prop a door open at schools and nobody would know a door is open at some of them.The number of entrances there are at schools is just a great amount so it's hard to police them all."
-- Anthony Watt Making a list: School facilities taskforce making the rounds-- thetimesnews.com North Carolina: March 26, 2015 [ abstract] ELON â€" School resource officer Chad Laws is in schools a lot, but Thursday morning he was at Western Alamance Middle School looking for broken lights, cracked asphalt and peeling paint.
“There are some real concerns in some of the buildings,†Laws said. “A lot of things could be remedied easily with a little bit of maintenance.â€
Laws was touring Western with Todd Thorpe, assistant superintendent with the Alamance-Burlington School System, as a member of the Joint Facilities Taskforce. The county Board of Commissioners and the Alamance-Burlington Board of Education formed the task force this year to figure out what repairs the district’s 36 schools need and how the county could pay for it all. The 16-person taskforce has members from both boards, staff from the county and ABSS, and volunteers the boards appointed from the community.
Laws toured about eight schools. A lot of what he found at Western were maintenance issues, like lights not working and walls that have not been painted for decades.
There were also some long-standing issues, like temporary interior walls that have probably been up at Western since the 1980s or longer, Thorpe said. The school was built in the 1970s on an open-floorplan, a national trend that went the way of the eight-track tape.
Like a lot of fixes, the walls work, but they have their shortcomings. Classroom doors do not close easily, Holland said.
-- Isaac Groves St. Regis school maintenance engineer making a difference-- Mineral Independent Montana: March 26, 2015 [ abstract] ST. REGIS â€" As the students and staff at the St. Regis High School go about their daily tasks like taking tests, giving tests, studying for ACTs and SATs, worrying about who to take to prom and all the other things that happen on a daily basis at this school, it might be easy to take for granted the work of one man who arrives at the building before they even get to the bus stop or their parking spot.
But for John Pienciak, the work he does isn’t meant to be noticed or necessarily appreciated (although it is by many). It’s just his job and what that job entails is making sure things work at the high school in St. Regis. From making the sure the gym floor sparkles for the next home game to making sure light fixtures provide a safely lit facility, Pienciak goes about his rounds doing what is necessary beginning in the wee hours of the morning.
Pienciak, who hails from New Jersey originally and who has called Montana home for the last eight years, said for him, his position as maintenance supervisor for St. Regis High School affords him the opportunity to put his skills to use for a worthy cause.
“I maintain the whole building inside and outside,†Pienciak said. “I do painting, cleaning…whatever it takes. I fix the boilers, fix the tractor.â€
Pienciak gets to the school at 6:30 a.m. every morning. He said he starts by getting projects out of the way that might otherwise cause commotion that could disrupt normal school operations and then it’s business as usual performing whatever tasks are required that day. But he doesn’t just stop at fixing the building and making sure things run smoothly. He also makes time to help students when they have something that needs fixing.
-- Colin Murphey Owego Apalachin to see $5.7 million of funding from FEMA-- WBNG New York: March 24, 2015 [ abstract] FEMA has officially committed $5.7 million in funding to Owego Apalachin Central School District for construction after the school was severely damaged during Tropical Storm Lee.
Senators Charles Schumer (D) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D) announced Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will give $5,774,749.20 for construction of Owego Apalachin's administration building.
FEMA announced in December 2014 that it would be awarding funding for the relocation of both the administration building and maintenance storage facilities that were damaged in the 2011 storm.
However, there were several delays from FEMA from getting the funding out the door, until Tuesday.
Through the senators urging, Owego Apalachin will receive the $5.7 million, which is just 75 percent of the $7.69 million total project cost.
-- Amy Khuu The struggle for reimbursement: Bills would suspend state funds for school construction-- newsminer.com Alaska: March 24, 2015 [ abstract] For four decades, the state has reimbursed local governments for a majority of the cost of school construction and major maintenance projects. The reimbursement of those voter-approved school bonds has never really been guaranteed, however. It’s just been the official policy to do so when the money is available.
And the money has been available.
So, voters in local school districts â€" Fairbanks among them â€" have grown accustomed to the state reimbursement during the many years of the program.
Now, with the state facing a budget shortfall that is expected to run in the billions of dollars annually for several years, that bond program is in jeopardy.
Two bills â€" Senate Bill 64 and its House Bill 138 â€" would suspend the program for five years and then bring it back at a reduced reimbursement rate. The program now reimburses local governments up to 70 percent of a school construction project funded through locally approved bonds. That rate would drop to 50 percent when the program returns after five years under the two bills.
It’s difficult to argue in this extraordinarily difficult fiscal time, brought on by declining oil production and a plummet in the price of that oil, that this program should be spared. Lots of program are going to be reduced or eliminated.
What can be argued, though, is the scope of the projects affected by suspending the bond reimbursement is unfairly broad.
-- Editorial Bats colonizing Sealy ISD schools: School board hires company to remove them-- Sealy News Texas: March 23, 2015 [ abstract] Several bat colonies have take up residence in Sealy Independent School District schools and other facilities and the board of trustees is taking action to evict the nocturnal winged invaders.
Mexican free-tail bats have been seen flying in the hallways, the cafeteria, and at least once in a classroom at Sealy Junior High. maintenance Coordinator Keenan Woehst led school board members on a tour of the bat colony locations prior to the March 11 board meeting.
“They’ve been seen in the junior high cafeteria and roosting in two electrical mechanical rooms. We also have them at our high school and at the bus barn. There is no sign of them at the elementary school at this point,†Woehst said.
Board members squeezed in to the electrical room and saw first hand evidence of the bat infestation.
“We have pellets on the floor, and the air filters are fouled. You can smell the odor. We’ve found dead ones on the ground,†Woehst said.
The trustees later reconvened to the boardroom and heard details of two bat exclusion bids from two companies Woehst had contacted. The board took rapid action, with a motion by Ryan Reichardt and a second by Joe Mike Young to hire service from owner Tim Hanks of Commercial Bat Control of San Antonio. Hanks had previously inspected the campus bat colonies.
-- LANCE HAGOOD Franchot tours Howard High, touts school maintenance efforts-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: March 19, 2015 [ abstract] Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot visited Howard High School Thursday, touring the results of the school's renovation projects and touting the importance of maintaining aging school facilities.
"This whole concept of school maintenance is going to get a brand new life on the Board of Public Works because Governor Hogan, to his credit, has been incredibly supportive from the first moment of the first Board of Public Works meeting," Franchot said. "It's critical to the state that as we build new schools, we commit to do a better job."
Howard High School, opened is 1952, is the county's oldest school building and has undergone 11 renovation projects over the years.
"Anything we would do as a homeowner, we do for our schools," said Bruce Gist, executive director of facilities, planning, and management, regarding the school system's philosophy on preventive maintenance projects.
During his tour, Franchot commended Howard officials for their track record of maintaining school facilities.
He also noted an expected reintroduction of the statewide school maintenance study, last done in 2009 by an interagency school construction committee. The committee grades school facilities on whether these buildings are adequate for the educational programs offered.
The study is expected to be reintroduced this year.
-- Blair Ames Big money needed for big repairs in schools-- GoDanRiver.com Virginia: March 15, 2015 [ abstract] The Danville School Board is asking Danville City Council for $2.6 million in the upcoming budget to make repairs to school buildings this year. The request includes new roofs at two of Danville’s newest schools:
» $875,000 to replace the shingled roof at Schoolfield Elementary with a metal roof. The current roof leaks, according to the request, and leaks have damaged computers and carpets.
» $10,000 for gutters and downspouts at Schoolfield Elementary â€" something the school has not had before â€" and $25,000 to repair and recoat the exterior.
» Westwood Middle also is scheduled for a roof replacement, and longer-lasting metal roofs are also requested to replace existing shingles at a cost of $1.35 million.
According to the request, there has been damage to ceiling tiles and instructional materials during inclement weather and “On-going roof maintenance cannot keep up with the new leaks.â€
-- DENICE THIBODEAU School construction projects taking shape-- Powell Tribune Wyoming: March 12, 2015 [ abstract] Old building, new purpose; Students, staff settling into renovated Support Services Building
After sitting vacant and dark in recent years, part of the old Powell High School building has a new look and new purpose.
The remaining one-story section of the old PHS â€" now known as the Support Services Building â€" underwent significant renovations. Support staff and operations have stayed in the building, and students have returned to its hallways and classrooms.
“There’s a lot more that goes on in the building than people tend to think,†said Alex Spitz, an administrative assistant who works in the building’s main office. “It gives all of the Support Services (maintenance, technology, print shop, warehouse, credit union) departments a home, provides lots of space for any kind of staff development, plus three teachers have brand-new classrooms, which is a great improvement from the deteriorating Home Ec Cottage.â€
The Pre-Kindergarten Transition Program, in-school suspension program and classrooms for students with special needs moved from the cottage to the Support Services Building.
Todd Wilder, coordinator of the school district’s support services, said he is glad the district was allowed to keep the 25,414-square-foot section of the former high school and use it for support services and learning.
The Wyoming School Facilities Commission had directed Park County School District No. 1 to reduce its facilities’ overall square footage, based on its student population. Powell leaders put forward a plan to eventually sell the old Home Economics Cottage, while keeping and renovating more space in the old high school to accommodate the programs that had been housed in the cottage. The state agreed and provided funding for the project.
“I think we’re real fortunate that we were able to get the School Facilities Commission to allow us to do this â€" they could have just said, ‘Tear it down and just keep the maintenance (part of the building),’†Wilder said.
By keeping more of the old high school, the district was able to create a one-of-a-kind facility, he said.
-- Tessa Schweigert Prince George’s seeks input on $2 billion school priority plan-- Gazette.net Maryland: March 11, 2015 [ abstract] A new process for evaluating and rating school system facilities is under development to help Prince George’s Public Schools prioritize over $2 billion worth of deferred maintenance.
“It does seem overwhelming, but if you can break it down into manageable pieces, it can be done, if there is a will, and if the public has a will,†said Sarah Woodhead, PGCPS director of capital programs, during the first of three public hearings, held Tuesday at Charles H. Flowers High School in Springdale.
A final public meeting is scheduled March 19 at Northwestern High School in Hyattsville.
Jay Brinson, project executive for Washington, D.C.,-based project management firm Brailsford and Dunlavey, said a final master plan prioritization report is expected to be completed by the end of May, with drafts released to the school system in late April.
Woodhead said the school system typically has a capital improvements budget of $130 million per year.
“If you look at the number, $130 million sounds like a lot, but if you’re trying to take care of $2 billion in deferred maintenance, overcrowding issues, plus modernizing to meet current standards, we do have a shortfall,†Whitehead said.
Whitehead said the $2 billion backlog is due to maintenance needs over the past 40 years that were put off, and have now added up.
-- Jamie Anfenson-Comeau County schools to begin charging for community use-- Cecil Whig Maryland: March 10, 2015 [ abstract] ELKTON â€" Cecil County Public Schools is preparing to roll out a fee schedule for any outside user groups looking to use school buildings or their fields this summer.
The impact on numerous youth recreation leagues will be substantial, especially for out-of-county organizations, which will be required to pay double the price of in-county organizations. The new policy will begin Aug. 1.
Currently, if a group can prove it has insurance, then it can use school space for free during the week when custodians are in buildings. On the weekend, a minimal cost exists to cover extra custodial shifts. Small caveats to the current fee schedule are a $75 fee for auditorium use and nominal costs for nighttime stadium light usage.
Perry Willis, CCPS executive director for support services, said the goal of the fee schedule is to help offset the energy, upkeep and manpower costs that the school system has borne over the years. He has previously noted the school system has an ever-growing list of deferred maintenance projects, which is partly exacerbated by after-hours use by the community.
Willis reported that his office studied 14 other counties to determine their policies and found that all charged something for community use, ranging from $1 per hour for a portable classroom to $494 for a high school gymnasium. Most counties also charge an energy or utility fee for usage.
-- Jacob Owens Apache Junction district to close elementary school-- The Arizona Republic Arizona: March 04, 2015 [ abstract] Facing a $2.7 million shortfall beginning next year, the Apache Junction school board voted Tuesday night to close one of its four elementary schools and approved a four-day school week for the entire district.
Superstition Mountain Elementary School will close at the end of this school year. The district held a meeting with parents about the potential closure last month, and more than 300 people attended Tuesday night's meeting.
The closure of the elementary school, which serves 592 students, is expected to eliminate some administrative positions and reduce maintenance costs. District spokeswoman Dana Hawman said last month that closing the school could save $400,000 annually.
Superstition Mountain will be the third school to close in the Apache Junction district since 2010. Superstition Mountain Elementary will close at the end of this school year.
Moving to a four-day work week is expected to reduce teacher turnover and save money on new teacher training programs.
-- Staff Writer Wyoming Facilities Director Builds More than Schools-- SchoolConstructionNews.com Wyoming: March 03, 2015 [ abstract] The Wyoming State Legislature established the School Facilities Department (SFD) in 2002 to oversee construction of K-12 schools throughout the state. Since then, Wyoming has built more than 75 new schools and spent an estimated $3.5 billion on the construction, renovation and maintenance of its educational facilities. However, when Bill Panos became director of the SFD in November 2013, most of the challenges he faced had less to do with building schools and more to do with building trust.
Frequent changes in leadership, unclear policies and a perceived lack of flexibility had strained the agency’s relationship with stakeholders. “Getting schools built wasn’t the issue,†Panos explained. “Unfortunately, the department had become an enigma of sorts, mainly due to diminishing trust and confidence among our school district clients and state legislators.â€
Panos immediately set out to rebuild those relationships by visiting every school district in the state and meeting with school superintendents, legislators and board members.
“Wyoming is a face-to-face state. It’s important to get on the road and get in front of people. That’s the most effective way to create relationships,†Panos said.
In addition, Panos restructured the SFD’s project management team to engender more collaboration with school district staff. This new structure has helped project managers gain additional insight into what their districts need. “My hope is that school district staff start to view our project managers as their project partners,†Panos added.
-- Anthony Hughes North Stonington boards debate options for aging school facilities-- Mystic River Press Connecticut: February 27, 2015 [ abstract] N. STONINGTON â€" The town’s aging school buildings have problems that need to be either repaired, renovated or entirely rebuilt. Prioritizing those items was debated Feb. 26, at a joint special meeting of the boards of Selectmen, Finance and Education.
Rather than approach a school modernization as one big project, board members looked at pieces of the plan proposed last summer but rejected by voters, judging upgrades in safety, maintenance/energy and educational improvements.
In terms of safety, members believe moving the offices of the elementary school to the front foyer area to be of prime importance, followed closely by safety improvements to the Route 2 tunnel and the abatement of PCBs and asbestos in the middle/high school. Air quality tests in the school were conducted earlier this winter and the results are expected to be released soon.
“They have to do the sampling in the middle of winter, when the building is sealed because of the cold,†said Peter Nero, superintendent of schools. “That’s why it couldn’t be done before the kids came back to school, or in the fall.â€
Abandoning the use of the elementary school’s multi-purpose room as a gymnasium was also a concern.
Addressing the need for new science, biology and chemistry labs was recognized as the most important educational improvement. Dealing with multiple lunch times at the middle/high school and relocating the music classroom and band from the gymnatorium were viewed as less important.
-- MICHAEL SOUZA Education group wants new investments in school buildings-- abc6 News Rhode Island: February 26, 2015 [ abstract] PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - An education advocacy organization says investing in school buildings will create construction jobs and stimulate the economy.
The Rhode Island Campaign for Achievement Now released a report on how repairing school buildings can repair the economy.
The state has a moratorium on school building construction. Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed has called for investing in school infrastructure and lifting the moratorium.
The report says schools have deferred $600 million in facilities maintenance since 2011 and it would cost $1.8 billion to bring all existing district schools into good condition, not including new construction costs.
The organization says lifting the moratorium and improving facilities financing policies will help put Rhode Islanders back to work and ensure that students have high-quality learning environments.
-- Associated Press Schools across county need HVAC fixes-- The Montgomery Herald West Virginia: February 25, 2015 [ abstract] The general indoor air quality review of all Fayette County schools by the state Office of School Facilities outlines the district’s desperate need for funds to upgrade HVAC systems in nearly all schools.
Michael Pickens, executive director of the West Virginia Department of Education Office of School Facilities, wrote, “It will take a substantial capital investment to bring all of the mechanical systems up to current standards and improve indoor environmental conditions. In addition to the IAQ (indoor air quality) concerns, due to the age and exceeding life cycle of the equipment, some of the mechanical systems have the potential to experience a failure that would result in the building being without heating and cooling.â€
Gatewood Elementary and Ansted Middle schools have already experienced boiler issues and are being heated with temporary electric units in each classroom.
Pickens said space heaters “are less than desirable and require the county to expend funds that only provide a temporary fix. Those funds would be better utilized toward permanent solutions,†and planning these upgrades should be a priority for Fayette.
Ansted has received funding for a replacement boiler from the School Building Authority, and the installation is expected to go out for bid soon, said David Keffer, director of operations.
Planning a countywide HVAC upgrade would be cost-prohibitive as the district only has an annual facility repair and upgrade budget of $1.2 million. As an example of cost, the Ansted boiler replacement is expected to cost more than $700,000. In December the School Building Authority allocated $630,000 toward the project.
School system Treasurer Paula Fridley explained the district has an overall maintenance budget of $7.2 million, but that includes all operational funds like custodial salaries ($2.2 million), utilities ($1.8 million), energy management loan payments ($800,000), and cleaning supplies ($400,000).
-- Sarah Plummer CHCCS Board Approves 10-Year Plan for School Repair and Maintenance-- chapelboro.com North Carolina: February 06, 2015 [ abstract] Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools seeks funds from Orange County every year to pay for costly repairs and maintenance. At Thursday’s school board meeting, school officials talked about making difficult choices with finite funds from the county.
“We know we’re pushing back critical needs further and further. You guys remember we had the heat issue at Estes Hills,†said Assistant Superintendent Todd LoFrese. “We pushed off replacing the boiler 10 years in our plan, and it came back and bit us and we had problems last year at Estes.â€
At the meeting, the board approved a capital investment plan that lists major projects, estimated at $15.9 million over the next five years. These costs align with the county’s projected funds for the school district. But the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district may not recieve all the money it wants.
“We’ve had a terrible, terrible last six or seven years,†said School Facilities Director William Mullin. “You’ll remember over the last decade we’ve added three schools, mobile classrooms and additions. We grow and our capital plan is being badly, badly hurt.â€
Orange County Commissioners will divide 2015-16 funds between Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in the summer.
-- Jagmeet Mac Pontiac School District floats $35 million millage for ‘critical’ building repairs-- Oakland Press California: February 06, 2015 [ abstract] Voters in the Pontiac School District will decide May 5 whether to approve a five-year, 2.87-mill sinking fund tax levy to upgrade the 4,342-student district’s aging buildings.
The district’s 11 buildings are an average of 56 years old and all have immediate repair needs, said Oakland Schools Superintendent Vickie Markavitch.
“You are at risk right now of not being able to keep enough buildings open to house all of your students,†Markavitch said at Monday’s Board of Education meeting. “This is just critical to keep Pontiac viable.â€
Schools in Pontiac need repairs in the areas of heat and energy control, emergency lighting and exterior lighting, fire alarms and security systems, securing entries and exits and roofing, Markavitch said.
The Board of Education voted 5-0 Monday to place the millage proposal on the May ballot, with two trustees absent. If approved, the millage is expected to generate a total of $35 million.
“The passage of the sinking fund will allow general fund dollars to go strictly to education, instead of having to be used on the repair of our buildings in order to keep them warm and safe for our students,†said Board of Education President Karen Cain.
maintenance problems in recent years have included a heat outage at Pontiac High School and severe water damage at the Whitman Human Resource Center during last year’s harsh winter.
-- Dustin Blitchok Richmond school leaders expect school facilities legislation to be withdrawn-- Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia: January 31, 2015 [ abstract] Richmond leaders want to hold off on proposed state legislation that would have created an added layer of bureaucracy to the task of fixing the city’s dilapidated schools.
City Council President Michelle R. Mosby said Saturday that she will ask Del. Delores L. McQuinn, D-Richmond, and Sen. John Watkins, R-Powhatan, to withdraw bills they filed on behalf of the city in an attempt to better monitor school maintenance issues.
“We’re going to pull those papers back,†she said.
Instead of using state action, she said, the hope was that an existing School Board task force could accomplish the same work in a shorter time.
“We’re really hoping the task force they have is going to work,†she said. “We’ll check back in at the end of the year and hopefully everything will be very clear.â€
Mosby and McQuinn had been scheduled to address the School Board during its meeting Monday, but now they won’t.
-- ZACHARY REID Chicago Public Schools to sell 9 properties for nearly $2 million-- Crains Chicago Business Illinois: January 30, 2015 [ abstract] (AP)  Chicago Public Schools officials say they're selling nine unused properties for approximately $1.9 million.
The properties include everything from vacant land to parking lots to buildings that it no longer needs and hasn't used for years, the district said yesterday.
Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett said the sale comes at a time when the district is facing "difficult financial challenges." She says the payment is significant and will eliminate nearly $70,000 a year in maintenance costs.
None of the sales involved schools that were closed two years ago.
-- Associated Press As school districts seek construction funds, Hogan stresses preventive maintenance-- Washington Post Maryland: January 28, 2015 [ abstract] Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) walked into his first Board of Public Works meeting Wednesday ready to scold those who, he thought, weren’t spending state money responsibly.
The new governor started the meeting on time â€" something that rarely happened with his predecessor, former governor Martin O’Malley (D) â€" and reprimanded the Department of Human Resources for classifying the hiring of a public relations firm as an “emergency†expense. He also made clear to public school officials that they needed to maintain existing buildings properly rather than beg for more and more new construction.
“Look, we’re sitting in a building right now that was built in 1772,†Hogan said during the meeting, which took place in an ornately decorated reception room in the Maryland State House. “It seems to be working pretty well for us, and it’s very well maintained. We’re not building a new State House every 15 or 20 years.â€
The governor’s freewheeling approach prompted much praise from Comptroller Peter Franchot (D), a fiscal conservative from Montgomery County who previously had been a lone voice of caution on the three-member board that approves most major state purchases.
When Hogan suggested requiring school systems to keep money for maintenance in a locked reserve fund, Franchot declared: “I’ve died and gone to heaven.â€
-- Jenna Johnson 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 Schools on military bases struggle with maintenance-- LA Times California: January 16, 2015 [ abstract] Water leaks stain the ceiling of Irving L. Branch Elementary School. Electrical wiring is exposed, and students are careful to avoid cracks in the playground's asphalt.
"We need new stuff," sixth-grader Damian Rattler said recently while sitting in a chair held together with duct tape.
The 700-student campus is one of 10 California military base schools that the Pentagon has ranked as being in the top third of those most in need of repair nationwide.
In recent years, Congress allocated a total of $945 million to address critical problems with capacity and conditions at public schools on military installations. To access the money, however, school districts or their states must provide 20% in matching funds.
California  which has more schools on the repair list than any other state  is the only one that has not raised the necessary money, Department of Defense spokesman Mark Wright said.
Although the Department of Defense didn't request 2015 funds, Congress allocated an additional $175 million for the Public Schools on Military Installations Program in December.
Only two California school districts, Sierra Sands Unified and San Diego Unified, have said they could meet the matching requirement. Although the money allocated won't expire, it can diminish, Wright said.
-- Brittny Mejia State Inspection Finds Progress in Fixing Unsanitary Conditions at Inglewood Schools-- NBC Los Angeles California: January 16, 2015 [ abstract] Substantial progress has been made in addressing unsanitary and substandard conditions in Inglewood secondary schools, California Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said Friday after inspecting two campuses.
"We're seeing major and significant progress," Torlakson said.
The problems had been brought to light last November in reports by media partners KPCC and NBC4. Torlakson said before then, he had been unaware of the extent of maintenance deficiencies that included pest infestations, mold, and unrepaired damage and deterioration of school buildings, all documented in KPCC photos. Teachers complained of cockroaches and, in some cases, rats.
As part of the "action plan" put into effect, some 85 percent of the identified issues have no been fixed, Torlakson said. His inspections took him to Inglewood and Morningside high schools.
-- Patrick Healy 400 students moved out of unsafe Fayette school-- The Charleston Gazette West Virginia: January 13, 2015 [ abstract] About 400 seventh and eighth graders were told not to come to class Tuesday or Wednesday after a structural report released Monday found major problems at a building of one of Fayette County’s largest schools.
Superintendent Serena Starcher said she hopes to get the students â€" roughly half of the enrollment at Collins Middle School in Oak Hill â€" back in classes by Thursday, with seventh graders being sent to Fayetteville High School and eight graders going to Oak Hill High School.
But it may take longer to work out student transportation and other problems, and she doesn’t want to rush the process.
“We want to minimize concerns for them,†Starcher said. “We want to have this transition be as smooth as possible.â€
She said the students will absolutely stay at the high schools for the rest of the semester. She said it’d take about three years to build a new structure on the Collins Middle campus to house them.
She didn’t know offhand the nature of the safety and structural issues, saying she’d send the Gazette a copy of the report Tuesday.
The school closed its band building before classes started in the fall, after maintenance personnel informed a school official that there appeared to be problems.
In mid-December, the district’s director of facilities went to the Collins Middle campus to inspect a leak in a bathroom, and happened to walk into the gymnasium nearby. He told Starcher he thought it had structural problems, and Starcher got Charleston-based ZMM Architects & Engineers to inspect the gym.
“They called me instantly,†Starcher said of the inspectors, “and said that building is unsafe.â€
She said she’s generally aware of lingering issues needing to be addressed in various school buildings, but she didn’t know the extent of the problem at Collins Middle until that time. State Department of Education spokeswoman Liza Cordeiro said Fayette has had problems over the years with its facilities. The district has also experienced ongoing arguments over closing and consolidating schools.
-- Ryan Quinn Judges rule school finance inadequate in Kansas-- The Topeka Capital-Journal Kansas: December 30, 2014 [ abstract] A three-judge panel ruled Tuesday that Kansas public school funding is not adequate, in an opinion that faults the Legislature for linking funding to local sources.
In a ruling more than 100 pages long, the Shawnee County District Court stood by its 2013 ruling that school funding is unconstitutionally low, but declined to order the state to inject a specific amount of money.
However, the judges provided potential funding scenarios that the plaintiff’s lawyer said could cost the state an additional $548 million to $771 million a year.
The judges found that the state’s present public education financing system â€" in both its structure and implementation â€" is not “reasonably calculated†to have all students meeting desired educational outcomes. They were also critical of lawmakers for shifting the funding burden from the state to the local level.
“We find that as the financing system now stands, one cannot classify the school financing structure as reliably constitutionally sound because the legislature has tied its constitutional duty to the unenforceable precept, yet parochial illusion, of local control and local funding choices as one linchpin for the assurance of constitutionally adequate funding,†the judges ruled.
Though judges Franklin Theis, Robert Fleming and Jack Burr avoided mandating a funding level, they did point to a year when they said Kansas school funding appears to have been constitutional.
In 2009, when the state’s base aid to schools climbed above $4,400 per student and the state was funding its other kinds of school aid â€" such as aid for building maintenance â€" at their full statutory levels, Kansas schools “had the apparent necessary fiscal capacity†to achieve the desired student outcomes.
Since then, however, “financial pillars†were eroded â€" base aid fell and the state didn’t make its other aid payments in full â€" which “turned, and still turns, the K-12 system on itself harming its students.â€
The judges also put forward a range of funding scenarios that would be constitutional.
-- Jonathan Shorman and Celia Llopis-Jepsen Prince George’s bill would create tax for school construction-- Maryland Community News Online Maryland: December 30, 2014 [ abstract] Prince George’s shoppers may soon be asked to help foot the bill to reduce the school system’s $2 billion school maintenance backlog.
“If Prince George’s County is going to excel, if we are going to give our students a 21st century education in safe, modern buildings, then we need to get our schools in shape,†said General Assembly Del. Jay Walker (D-Dist. 26) of Fort Washington, co-sponsor of the bill.
Prince George’s 413-15, sponsored by Walker and Del. Alonzo Washington (D-Dist. 22) of Hyattsville, would allow the county to create a 1 percent sales tax, with the funds to go to school renovation and construction.
The bill would require approval from the County Council and referendum approval by voters in the 2016 November General Election.
Walker said the bill, if approved, would generate at least $60 million yearly in revenue for major renovation and construction projects.
The sales tax in Prince George’s County and other counties in Maryland is currently 6 percent.
“I’ve been to every school in my district, and I’ve seen there’s a great need for new schools, and school renovations,†Washington said. “This is an investment we need to make, because our students deserve better facilities than they currently have.â€
Walker stressed that funds from the tax would only go to school construction and major renovations.
-- Jamie Anfenson-Comeau School funding disparity in Minnesota getting attention-- Spring Grove Herald Minnesota: December 23, 2014 [ abstract] The increasing gap between the “haves†and “have-nots†has been a national, even global, concern over the past several years. Minnesota school administrators, particularly those in Greater Minnesota, have started to raise concern about a similar gap in one particular area â€" deferred maintenance funding for schools.
It isn’t quite a 1 percent vs. 99 percent economic gap that has become a rallying cry across the globe, but there is significant inequity between the largest 7 percent of school districts and the rest of the districts in Minnesota regarding deferred maintenance. Funding for deferred maintenance of buildings and other facilities is needed for such things as replacing old, drafty windows, repairing leaky roofs, installing security cameras, repairing sidewalks and taking care of other needs.
The Minnesota Rural Education Association points out that the 25 largest districts in the state, which have half the student population, are able to spend $2.79 per square foot on deferred maintenance while the other 314 districts, with the other half of Minnesota’s students, only spend an average of 58 cents per square foot.
Kingsland Superintendent John McDonald brought this disparity up to his school board during a recent meeting. He also told a community group that the district has invited State Sen. Jeremy Miller and Rep. Greg Davids to discuss the issue in individual meetings this winter and school administrators from throughout southeastern Minnesota will bring the subject up at an annual legislative forum between area legislators and school officials in February.
The MREA contends that rural districts face a fallout in facilities because student safety, technology, space for early learners and deferred maintenance needs go unmet in too many rural districts. This means that either facility life expectancy is reduced or general education dollars are siphoned away from programs and staff to deal with facility needs.
When one of the 25 largest districts has a roof leak or other problem with a building, it can raise tax dollars without voter approval for school facilities through the alternative facilities program. The rest of the districts in the state have to dip into the general fund for sudden repairs or win voter approval of a tax request to pay for costly infrastructure repairs.
-- David Phillips NJ LEGISLATURE MUST ACT TO REPLENISH SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION FUND-- Education Law Center New Jersey: December 22, 2014 [ abstract] In testimony before the Joint Committee on the Public Schools, Education Law Center Executive Director David Sciarra called on the State Legislature to prepare for authorizing an increase in funding for New Jersey’s school construction program.
“It’s now clear that the funds for school construction projects in urban districts are nearly exhausted and there are no funds left for projects in the rest of the state," Mr. Sciarra said. "State lawmakers must start work now on legislation to replenish the school construction fund to support urgently needed projects across the Garden State."
The NJ school construction program was put in place to comply with a 1998 order of the State Supreme Court in the landmark Abbott v. Burke education equity litigation. Under a law enacted in 2000, the State finances 100% of all school construction projects in 31 urban or "SDA districts," including emergent repairs and capital maintenance on school buildings. The State also provides 40% or more of the share of projects in all other districts â€" known as "Regular Operating Districts" or "ROD districts" â€" in the form of grants to match locally raised funds.
NJ Schools Development Authority (SDA) Director Charles McKenna told the Joint Committee that all funding for grants for the state share of projects in ROD districts has been allocated and there is no funding for new projects. The SDA has made conflicting public statements about the funding for urban SDA districts, at first stating that there were no funds left, then reversing itself. The SDA most recently said that $400 million remains available for SDA district projects.
-- Sharon Krengel School Facilities Commission considers long-term funding-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: December 19, 2014 [ abstract] CHEYENNE - Wyoming may be heading for a larger discussion of school financing.
Members of the Wyoming School Facilities Commission heard updates at their meeting Wednesday on two studies looking at long term-funding for the department and its projects.
One study, being done with the University of Wyoming, is looking at the funding expected to come into the School Facilities Department and the department's predicted expenses through about 2022, according to study information.
"We had approached the University of Wyoming about the idea of developing an algorithm to model for us, to help predict a little better where we'll be over the next few biennia," School Facilities Director William Panos said.
Looking ahead, the group from UW has found a gap between the predicted expenses of the department and the revenue generated by the current funding sources, Center for Energy Economics and Public Policy Director Robert Godby said.
"The long and the short of the analysis was the gap that we estimated between the revenues and the costs going through to 2022 would be $676 million," he said. "About 51 percent of that is through the 2018 biennium, so we're not looking at the current fiscal biennium, (in) which we actually forecast a surplus."
The gap starts to develop as the money brought into the department decreases while school district building work continues, he said.
"Unfortunately, the revenue to this agency, which worked for a long time, is fundamentally on coal lease bonuses," he said.
After those bonuses end in 2017, the funding coming into the department is currently capped at $26 million, Godby said.
The report does predict that the general expenses for the department will drop in a few years as fewer major building projects are needed, he said. But, according to the report, the funding levels needed during that maintenance period will still be around $187 million to $200 million.
-- Aerin Curtis Civil engineers give Nevada infrastructure C-minus - School Buildings Receive Lowest Grade-- The Fresno Bee Nevada: December 17, 2014 [ abstract] LAS VEGAS  Civil engineers gave Nevada's infrastructure a C-minus grade in its latest report card, saying maintenance funding isn't keeping pace with the needs of aging school buildings, dams and roads.
The 2014 report card from the Nevada section of the American Society of Civil Engineers is a downgrade from the group's last rating in 2007, when the state received a C grade. The report card is not released annually.
"With Nevada's economy growing again, we've also been presented with new opportunities to diversify our economy, and therefore we must make the investment in infrastructure to match these opportunities," Chuck Joseph, a civil engineer who led the report card committee, said in a statement.
Nevada's school facilities got the lowest grade of any subsection in the report card, with a D. Report authors said the lack of regular maintenance at schools leads to more emergency repairs, which inflate costs four-fold.
-- Michelle Rindels - Associated Press District's dilemma: what to fix, how to pay for it?-- Portland Tribune Oregon: December 11, 2014 [ abstract] Two studies released this fall indicated that Lakeridge Junior High and Bryant Elementary School would need to be razed within 10 years because the soil underneath them is unstable, and that Oak Creek Elementary would require major repairs that could cost as much as $7 million.
But a committee formed by the Lake Oswego School District to study maintenance needs now says those measures might not be necessary â€" at least not yet.
Preliminary observations by the Facilities Advisory Committee indicate that it may be possible to delay replacing Lakeridge Junior High and Bryant Elementary for 20 years by anchoring their foundations to stable soil, and that “with a little bit of money (possibly 5 percent of the cost of a new roof), it could be possible to significantly extend the life of the (24-year-old) roof†and deal with water damage at Oak Creek.
That comes as good news for parents and school board members, who have been struggling to figure out how to pay for the effects of delayed maintenance at the district’s nine elementary schools and two junior highs.
-- Jillian Daley Voters approve tax extension to maintain New Orleans schools-- The Lens Louisiana: December 06, 2014 [ abstract] New Orleans voters on Saturday approved a $150 million dollar property tax over 10 years to fund maintenance of New Orleans public schools.
The vote means that a property tax set to expire in 2021 will remain in place through 2025. The tax was instituted to repay bonds for school construction and improvements. Now, as those bonds are paid off, the money will shift to a dedicated facilities fund.
The owner of a $200,000 home pays about $62 in that tax.
Though proponents and opponents of the tax generally agreed that the money is necessary to maintain the $1.8 billion federal investment in public school buildings after Hurricane Katrina, they did not agree on the timing of it or how the money will be disbursed.
What was not immediately clear from the text of the proposition, and a chief complaint of opponents, is how the money will be split between the Orleans Parish School District and the Recovery School District.
The two will divvy up the anticipated $15 million each year according to their enrollment. The RSD educates about 70 percent of New Orleans public school students.
The flow of money is guided by Act 543, sponsored by New Orleans state Rep. Walt Leger and signed into law by Gov. Bobby Jindal this summer. Though clearly written with New Orleans in mind, the law is meant to apply statewide â€" so it doesn’t mention the Orleans Parish School Board by name.
It requires both the RSD and the home school district â€" the parish school board in this case â€" to establish parallel facilities offices. Money will be allocated to each district based on enrollment. Funding will be further divvied up by enrollment per campus, with funds required to stay with the campus.
-- Marta Jewson Ledyard emphasizes state aid for school renovations-- The Day Connecticut: December 02, 2014 [ abstract] Ledyard - As the town approaches a Jan. 20 referendum on the $64.3 million school building project, Superintendent Cathy Patterson reminded residents at Monday's night's last presentation on the project that the work will actually cost the town $24 million because of state reimbursement.
The project, which calls for the demolition of Ledyard Center School and extensive renovation of Gallup Hill School and Ledyard Middle School, would qualify the school district for a 62.5 percent reimbursement.
The project, which is slated to begin in the spring of 2016 and last until the summer 2019, would address maintenance issues in the aging school buildings. The newly-renovated Gallup Hill School, which would take on extra students, could be renamed.
Patterson has been referring to the school as "Consolidated East Elementary School."
"I'll leave that up to someone else," said the superintendent, who anticipates strong feelings about a name change.
The construction project would also move the sixth grade into Ledyard Middle School, which would keep Ledyard in line with state curriculum that considers sixth grade "middle school." It would also give students in that grade access to more electives, career planning guidance and the middle school engineering curriculum the district plans to introduce next school year.
-- Kelly Catalfamo Wausau School Board hones building plans for April vote-- Wausaudailyherald.com Michigan: December 01, 2014 [ abstract] WAUSAU â€" 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 Charles County school board wrangles over funding renovations-- Southern Maryland Newspapers Online Maryland: November 27, 2014 [ abstract] Republican Gov.-elect Larry Hogan is honing his budget but has not exposed his financial priorities, leading to uneasiness among interest groups and Maryland jurisdictions â€" none more so than the Charles County Board of Education members, who were left scratching their heads Monday upon realizing state money for school construction could be slashed in the future.
At the Monday work session scheduled to discuss an auditor’s report indicating Charles County Public Schools requires a $600 million infusion to renovate some of its aging buildings, board members attempted to solidify their opinions on whether new schools should be built or additions for existing facilities should be explored.
School board member Jennifer S. Abell, one of two returning to the seven-member board, called for an exact order that the board would follow to fix schools, taking into account the report conducted by contractor GWWO Inc./Architects, which the county commissioners funded at a cost of $250,000.
The GWWO report, which identifies key maintenance issues in each school and offers an order in which to repair them, had been made available to the public in the form of three forums in late September and early October.
Board members, five of whom will depart in December, seemed to agree that overexpansion of schools, particularly at the elementary level, was a poor idea for the county, but offered ew suggestions other than agreeing with the plan to move forward with feasibility studies â€" essentially cost estimates â€" for Maurice J. McDonough High School, Benjamin Stoddert Middle School, T.C. Martin Elementary School and Eva Turner Elementary School.
Feasibility studies, funded locally, cost more than $250,000 apiece, reaching $400,000 for a high school.
-- Jeremy Bauer-Wolf As EPISD considers closing schools, other districts offer lessons-- El Paso Times Texas: November 23, 2014 [ abstract] Alamo Elementary School's hallways are cold and quiet, the windows boarded up and the chain-link fence padlocked  it's a fate several schools in the El Paso Independent School District might face.
The district, like others around the country, is considering downsizing because of plummeting student enrollment and the high costs of keeping up old buildings. Public anxiety is already churning as more than a dozen schools are on EPISD's list for possible closure or consolidation.
The fate of the few schools EPISD has closed in recent years and the experiences of districts across the country offer a glimpse of what could happen if El Paso decides to shut several schools in the coming years.
Closing schools saves money on future maintenance and utilities, but hidden costs often mean profits are smaller than districts expected, according to national studies on the issue. Selling vacant schools has also proved difficult for many districts across the country, whose old, immense buildings aren't easily converted into something else, the studies found.
-- Lindsey Anderson Guilford County Schools move forward with nine school construction projects-- Fox8 WGHP North Carolina: November 21, 2014 [ abstract] GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. â€" Thursday night the Guilford County Board of Education approved the increased estimated budget for nine school projects.
The nine school projects include renovations, expansions and complete replacements based on the number of deferred maintenance repairs.
Northwood Elementary School tops the list with an estimated cost of $487,500. The Guilford County Health Department said the kitchen in school cafeteria is undersized and must be changed to better serve the school.
Dudley and Northwest High School are second and third on the list due to the traffic concerns the existing layout creates.
Bluford STEM Academy Constriction Director Sam Masters said the priority order could change at any time.
Construction bids for the projects will start in March 2015.
Masters said if the actual cost is more than the budget a project could be left out or the school board would have to ask commissioners for more money.
“All the money’s covered and we have about $5 to $5.5 million left after that but that’s not a lot of cushion when you’re talking about $84 million worth of construction costs,†Masters said. “They would start with the top priority and work our way down and then maybe one project at the end doesn’t get done if we’re over budget.â€
-- JASMINE SPENCER LAUSD eyeing more bonds as funds for school repairs dwindle-- 89.3 KPCC California: November 17, 2014 [ abstract] Los Angeles Unified School District officials estimate another $40 billion is needed to replace roofs, upgrade plumbing and repair hundreds of aging campuses – but first they'll need the voters' blessing.
On Tuesday, the school board is scheduled to consider a $22.4 million request to address antiquated heating and cooling systems, failing walls, deteriorated pavement and broken fire alarm systems.
The request covers projects at seven schools, barely making a dent in the district's estimate of need for 13,500 buildings.
A request to sell more bonds is all but sure to find its way onto future ballots, said Roger Finstad, director of maintenance and operations for L.A. Unified.
"It's inevitable," he said. "We want our students and staff to be in buildings and on grounds that are in good condition, where the roofs don't leak and the air conditioning works."
The campaign for more funds – expected within the next decade – may face opposition from voters feeling burned by controversial and over-budget projects.
"I'm not voting for any bonds," said Monica Whalen, a parent and teacher at Franklin High School in Highland Park, a school approaching its centennial.
"They wasted the funds on the iPads. They didn't repair the problems the schools are facing," she said.
The district set aside $1.3 billion in school construction and modernization bond funds to supply every student and teacher with a tablet, education software and to upgrade campus Wi-Fi.
-- Staff Writer Limited funds, old buildings get in the way of school safety-- insurancenewsnet.com North Carolina: November 16, 2014 [ abstract] When checking the boiler room at Florence Elementary School in June, fire inspectors found sprinklers coated with paint, which would block water flow to a blaze.
At Sternberger Elementary last May, they found blocked emergency exit windows in a dozen classrooms.
At dozens of other schools over the past year, they found inoperable exit lights and emergency exits blocked by debris.
In all, fire inspectors have found more than 4,000 code violations in the system's school buildings since October 2013, according to records analyzed by the News & Record. More than three-quarters of the violations have been corrected.
School officials said they try to deal with such safety violations quickly. But, they also said limited funding, aging buildings and state mandates make it difficult to keep up.
While school systems like Charlotte-Mecklenburg are adding programmable electronic locks on doors, Guilford upgraded one school last year that still was using skeleton keys.
Guilford County Schools spends about $2 million annually on maintenance, including fixes to fire-code violations. It would cost about $20 million to address the system's entire list of safety and security needs.
-- Marquita Brown, News & Record $45 million in bond cuts proposed for Fort Worth schools-- Star-Telegram Texas: November 15, 2014 [ abstract] FORT WORTH â€" To offset rising construction costs, Fort Worth school district officials are considering cutting $45 million from the $490 million bond package approved by voters last year.
A proposal by Interim Superintendent Pat Linares, which is expected to be unveiled to a citizens’ bond oversight committee Monday night, includes building fewer pre-kindergarten and regular classroom additions and deferring maintenance at school facilities and buildings. Linares is also recommending that the district not spend money immediately for new auditorium seating.
“We began to hear that the escalation costs for our bond program were rising at such a significant level that we would not be able to complete all of our projects if we didn’t take a step back,†Linares said.
The district is seeking up to $45 million in cuts because almost every project in the 2013 referendum was based on a square-footage cost far below the market, said Vicki Burris, the district’s chief officer for capital projects administration. The bond was passed on a price projection of $180 per square foot, but construction contractors are saying the work cannot be accomplished for less than $216 per square foot.
“We have to take a proactive stance,†Linares said.
-- YAMIL BERARD New LAUSD chief Ramon Cortines prioritizes school maintenance-- Los Angeles Daily News California: November 15, 2014 [ abstract] After years of cutting back on repairs and upgrades on buildings to save money, Los Angeles Unified faces a half-a-billion-dollar price tag for critical maintenance and a backlog of 48,000 requests for repairs from school-based staff.
Superintendent Ramon Cortines presented the cost for repairs to school board members, warning “the district is facing a major cliff.†During a recent interview, Cortines said LAUSD needs a 15-year plan for performing routine maintenance â€" before they become costly repairs.
“The board is going to have to make some hard decisions,†he said. “And I’m going to have to make some hard recommendations on how we spend our money.â€
LAUSD has cut funding for maintenance and repairs by half in the last six years. In 2008-09, LAUSD’s routine repair and general maintenance budget stood at $209.7 million of the district’s all-purpose general fund spending account. This year, the budget for those repairs was just $101 million.
-- Thomas Himes Solar energy may shine savings on school district-- LewisBoro Ledger New York: November 13, 2014 [ abstract] The sun is a welcome sight, even more so for the Katonah-Lewisboro school district if a proposal is approved to add solar panels to its buildings.
At its meeting on Thursday, Nov. 6, the school board heard a proposal to install solar panels on the John Jay campus buildings and Increase Miller Elementary School â€" a deal that could supply 20% of the district’s electricity and produce a small savings for the district while putting it on a path of responsible clean energy.
Paul Christensen, district director of operations and maintenance, said the story of the power purchase agreement (PPA) with solar energy provider SolarCity began in 2009, when the district took advantage of a grant to install small photovoltaic cells on the John Jay middle and high school rooftops.
Since then the district’s Sustainability Committee has looked at a variety of options for expanding solar energy resources, including services offered by other utility companies, cooperatives, private contractors, roof-based versus ground-based solar systems, alternative green energy sources such as wind power, and how to navigate New York State Education Department (NYSED) regulations.
“We actually spoke with Carl Thurnau [NYSED director of facilities], and he expressed not only his support but his encouragement for schools to take advantage of the existing incentive environment,†Mr. Christensen said.
The Sustainability Committee’s research eventually led it to Ian Diamond, now a senior manager of commercial project development at SolarCity, whom the district had worked with to install the solar panels in 2009.
-- Reece Alvarez EDITORIAL: Voters want accountability from schools-- Las Vegas Review-Journal Nevada: November 09, 2014 [ abstract] Here’s some sobering perspective on Tuesday’s overwhelming defeat of Question 3, The Education Initiative: Even if voters had approved the business margins tax and injected hundreds of millions of new tax dollars into Nevada’s underperforming K-12 system, it would have done nothing â€" nothing! â€" to address the state’s school construction, renovation and technology needs.
The small type of Question 3 prohibited the use of margins tax revenue on capital expenditures, such as new schools.
On Wednesday, the Clark County School Board was informed that the country’s fifth-largest public school system needs about $7.4 billion for new schools and building and technology upgrades in the decade ahead. Several schools are in such bad shape they need to be torn down and replaced. So even if Question 3, representing the largest tax increase in state history, had passed â€" it lost by 42 percentage points â€" taxpayers would have been asked for even more money for schools.
As it is, spending more on public education is a tough sell to the voting public. Question 3’s loss marked the second straight election an education-related tax increase was blown out at the ballot box. In 2012, Clark County voters soundly rejected a property tax increase to fund about $700 million in school renovations and construction.
So how does the Clark County School District go about selling an all-but-certain ballot question in 2016 to bond about $4 billion in construction and improvements? It’s obvious that voters don’t trust education leaders to spend tax money wisely, and really, why should they? The administration and the School Board have done little to earn that trust over the past several years, and state laws certainly haven’t helped.
As reported Thursday by the Review-Journal’s Trevon Milliard, the School Board was told the system had cut $5 million and 47 positions from its maintenance budget to avoid cuts to classrooms. But that’s not entirely true. Over the past three years, either voluntarily or through arbitration decisions, the school district has awarded compensation increases to teachers at a cost of about $100 million. And this fall, the system decided to use its remaining capital funds renovating and improving existing schools instead of building new ones â€" its most urgent need â€" to relieve crowded elementary schools.
-- Editorial Boulder Valley voters pass $576.5M school construction tax increase -- Daily Camera Colorado: November 04, 2014 [ abstract] Voters handily passed the Boulder Valley School District's $576.5 million capital construction bond issue, the largest K-12 bond in Colorado history.
Issue 3A passed 58 percent to 42 percent, with 69,587 votes counted in Boulder, Broomfield and Gilpin counties, as of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. About 70 percent of the expected ballots had been counted in Boulder County.
The property tax increase will allow the district to repair and upgrade all of its 55 schools, including rebuilding three elementary schools. The 31,000-student school district also will build a new school in fast-growing Erie and add a centralized kitchen and new transportation center.
"I am extremely grateful to the voters of this district for doing the right thing for kids," said Boulder Valley school board President Laurie Albright. "Every kid is going to benefit from this."
Proponents said state cuts to education funding led the district to defer maintenance, leaving schools in dire need of repairs.
More than half the money in the $576.5 million bond issue will be spent on basic building maintenance and improvements, including new roofs, HVAC systems, interior and exterior doors, electrical wiring, windows, carpet and paint. Bathroom upgrades and renovations to special education spaces also made the list at many schools.
-- Amy Bounds Director calls Sullivan school conditions a 'moral outrage'
-- TimesNews Tennessee: November 03, 2014 [ abstract] BLOUNTVILLE  Things are looking more and more like Indian Springs Elementary's first- and second-grade pod will reopen Wednesday following cleanup of mold from a roof leak.
However, Sullivan County Board of Education members said the issue highlights a dire need for maintenance money and funding for other likely suggestions  including possible new school construction  that are expected to be recommendations from a facilities study underway by Ohio-based consultant DeJong-Richter.
Director of Schools Jubal Yennie said at least two separate air-quality tests have shown no issues at the school. The 1971 pod was closed to students Oct. 23, with the whole school closed the following day.
-- Rick Wagner EPISD report suggests schools may close, be consolidated, upgraded-- El Paso Times Texas: October 29, 2014 [ abstract] Dozens of El Paso Independent School District schools are on the list for possible closure and consolidation while district officials consider what to do with aging buildings and declining enrollment.
A draft report by Jacobs Engineering Group offers a variety of suggestions, including closing schools, consolidating campuses into kindergarten through eighth-grade schools and redrawing school boundaries.
"These are all options on the table," EPISD spokeswoman Melissa Martinez said. "Nothing is a plan."
Officials will present the options to the public at 6 p.m. Monday at Bowie High School, 801 San Marcial. Community input will be taken into account before Jacobs presents recommendations to the EPISD Board of Managers, likely at the board's Dec. 16 meeting.
The board of managers could decide to implement a number of options, a few or none of them, Martinez said.
District officials said any decisions could take years to execute because they are part of EPISD's yearslong master plan and require funding.
"This is not going to happen overnight," Martinez said.
The EPISD is projected to lose more than 5,000 students by the 2019-2020 school year. Currently, 61,151 students are enrolled.
By 2019-20, about a dozen schools are expected to have only half as many students as they could house, while another dozen are expected to exceed capacity, according to Jacobs.
More than a dozen schools, primarily elementaries, are mentioned as possible sites that could be closed to save money on maintenance costs and address falling enrollment.
The elementary schools mentioned are Roberts, Putnam, Vilas, Lamar, Beall, Alta Vista, Zavala, Bonham, Cielo Vista, Burnet, Travis, Schuster, Dowell and Fanin. Also mentioned were Charles Middle, and Andress or Irvin high schools.
-- Lindsey Anderson Dollars for schools -- Rawlins Daily Times Wyoming: October 27, 2014 [ abstract] SARATOGA â€" In many states, governors and legislators struggle to fund school construction projects. Often, large portions of these projects are paid for through property taxes or local improvement bonds.
Wyoming takes a different approach.
The Cowboy State is the only state that pays 100 percent of school construction and major maintenance projects. The state has the ability to provide funding through a number of sources including the Permanent Mineral Trust Fund.
The Wyoming School Facilities Department (SFD) is the agency responsible for getting the dollars to where they are needed.
The SFD and its commission provide non-matching grants to local school districts for approved capital projects. Project funding is determined by combining scores from a facility condition assessment, educational functionality and capacity of student enrollment to create a prioritized needs index list.
Anthony Hughes, SFD spokesperson, said the list is broken up into two primary categories â€" capacity and condition.
Capacity issues most often address meeting the state mandate of a 16-to-1 teacher to student ratio, while condition prioritizes facilities based on more than 50 separate factors such as heating and cooling, electrical issues and the structural and educational condition of classrooms.
“Once the buildings are scored they are ranked by need,†Hughes said. “Condition is condition. Typically there is not a great deal of fluctuation once the schools â€" whether they have condition or capacity issues â€" are put into the (SFD) department’s budget. When this happens we start the planning process to determine what is the most cost effective way to fix the issues.â€
Since 2002, when the state formed the SFD, Wyoming has invested more than $3 billion in school facility construction and maintenance.
During the 2014 legislative session, nearly $231 million was appropriated for the biennium budget of new and previously funded school capital construction projects. Other funds were also appropriated to SFD for component projects, major maintenance and unanticipated expenses.
The SFD will submit a supplemental budget request of slightly more than $21 million at the legislature’s upcoming general session in January.
Both Carbon County School District 1 and 2 have several projects on the condition list. Both districts have recently benefited from SFD funding.
The highest item on the list for CCSD1 is the Bairoil School at 31, but that school no longer functions. “We were leasing it until the end of June, so that’s why it’s still on the list,†CCSD1 Business Office Manager Dave Horner explained.
The next is Little Snake River Valley School at 71. Horner said CCSD1 doesn’t have any high-priority facilities because SFD had recently remedied Rawlins High School, Middle School and Sinclair Elementary School.
“Those projects would have been on the top,†Horner said, “But now we’ve dropped to the bottom and we’re working back up again.â€
Horner added that every time the district makes improvements to a facility, it might drop down the list further.
-- David Louis & Han Cheung School leaders want buildings torn down-- Chillicothe Gazette Ohio: October 27, 2014 [ abstract] CHILLICOTHE â€" After a rash of break-ins at the former Smith Middle and Hopewell Elementary schools, Chillicothe City School District officials seem more eager than ever to have the vacant structures torn down.
Superintendent Jon Saxton and the board of education have repeatedly said the buildings are not part of the district’s facilities master plan going forward, but now they’re actively seeking funding from the Ohio School Facilities Commission to expedite the demolition process.
That comes after a two-week span in which more than a dozen people are suspected to have broken into the buildings and stolen copper pipes and wiring, Saxton said.
Arrests have been made in several incidents, whereas others are still under investigation, he said, adding that two people were taken into custody Monday while allegedly trying to break into Hopewell.
Utilities to the buildings have been shut off several years, but they’re still equipped with security cameras, and maintenance workers frequently have to make sure they’re secured. The structures are now viewed by district leaders as a drain on resources that would be better spent educating students.
In the past, there’s been some hand-wringing over the future of the Smith building because of the sentimental place it holds in the collective memory of so many Chillicothe graduates. Saxton, who attended Smith, has chosen his words carefully, but he went on record Monday saying the time has come to demolish the building.
“As long as they’re there, they’re going to be a problem,†he said, adding that neighbors are growing more concerned by the break-ins.
The district is aiming to significantly reduce its facilities’ footprint to the point where all of its buildings are on three campuses â€" the high school and middle school and likely two elementary campuses.
-- David Berman Schools closed, parents livid after cancer-causing asbestos found -- Los Angeles Times California: October 08, 2014 [ abstract] Three Huntington Beach schools will be closed for the rest of the week after recent tests for asbestos showed traces of the cancer-causing fiber on one of the campuses, officials announced..
Hope View, Lake View and Oak View schools will be closed through at least Friday after an expert told concerned parents and Ocean View School District officials at a public meeting late Tuesday that an asbestos fiber was found at Hope View.
â€Å"I believe that that fiber was released from the attic space during maintenance or installation activities above the ceiling,†said Cary Rubin, an asbestos expert who has been testing district schools since a modernization project was launched this summer.
The three closed schools all tested positive for asbestos during inspections in August, according to reports posted on the district website. Tests in September were negative. But a third round of inspections this past weekend revealed a fiber at Hope View.
Dozens of parents who gathered for the meeting Tuesday night expressed anger with school district officials over the handling of the issue.
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Huntington Beach students exposed to asbestos? All schools to be testedL.A. NowHuntington Beach students exposed to asbestos? All schools to be testedSee all relatedÃÂ
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â€Å"For the rest of my life, every time this little girl coughs, every time she gets a cold, ‘Is it now? Is this it?' Shame on all of you,†parent Carol Bader told the school board.
Some even called for the assistant superintendent who oversaw the district's modernization projects to resign.
â€Å"You put our kids in danger, we're going to live in terror for the next 15 to 20 years,†parent Brett Bouchet said.
Officials have pledged to test all classrooms at Huntington Beach's 11 schools after concerns were raised that construction work may have exposed students to the dangerous material.
-- Joseph Serna, Hannah Fry More than 100,000 LA school repairs backlogged; fire safety at risk in some schools-- 89.3KPCC California: September 18, 2014 [ abstract] From burned out light bulbs and cracked concrete to compromised fire safety systems and exposed electrical wiring, Los Angeles Unified schools are waiting on 116,000 maintenance and safety problems reported since January, records show, and officials said they don't have the staff or money to fix them all. An analysis of 165,400 repair requests filed with the school district this year showed less than a third have been addressed."We are very short staffed," said Roger Finstad, head of maintenance and operations at L.A. Unified. "We're operating at less than half the funding we had just about six years ago." L.A. Unified set aside about $100 million for repairs this year, but Finstad said it would cost about $400 million every year to get all the work done.
-- Annie Gilbertson and Claire Withycombe Nearly 70 city charter schools covered by suit seeking facility funds-- NY Chalkbeat New York: September 16, 2014 [ abstract] A new school funding lawsuit filed upstate could be a boon for nearly 70 charter schools in the five boroughs.
The lawsuit, filed Monday by four families from Buffalo and one family from Rochester, claims that the state shortchanges students in charter schools by not providing money for space. And while the complaint focuses on funding disparities in upstate cities, their claims would also apply to dozens of New York City charter schools that still aren’t guaranteed facilities funding.
The legal attack represents the latest front in a lengthy battle over charter school facilities funding, which has its roots in the 1998 law that first allowed charter schools to open in New York. Charter schools do receive some state funding, but they weren’t given access to the state’s building aid program, which subsidizes district school construction projects. When schools opened in private facilities, they had to set aside a chunk of their operating budgetâ€"meant for teachers and school suppliesâ€"toward expenses like rent, security, maintenance, and renovations.
In New York City, those costs can add up. Brooklyn Prospect Charter School Executive Director Daniel Rubenstein told Chalkbeat earlier this year that he had to set aside a little less than 20 percent of his $13 million budget to replace fire alarms, upgrade bathrooms and install a new science lab in addition to paying rent and other facilities expenses.
Most of the nearly 200 charter schools that opened under Mayor Michael Bloomberg received free space in city-owned buildings. But 68 charter schools, serving 25,000 students, operate in private buildings and spend, according to one tally, an extra $2,300 for every student on facilities.
-- Geoff Decker 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 Facility maintenance report calls for $600 million-- Maryland Community News Online Maryland: August 27, 2014 [ abstract] Six hundred million.
That’s the dollar amount one contractor recommends Charles County Public Schools spend on renovations for its school buildings during a 10-year period.
But in the past 10 years, the school system has funneled $60 million of its own funds into school improvements. For some, the disparity of the two numbers highlights what they say is the squishiness of a new study of the county’s public schools and the long road school and county officials have ahead to restore some of the school system’s more aged facilities.
The county commissioners, on the prompting of state official David Lever, who specializes in public school construction matters and reports to the Board of Public Works, launched the study with an outside contractor, Baltimore-based GWWO Inc./Architects, in late fall 2013.
The $250,000 report, on the dime of the commissioners, would provide the board of education, school and county officials and the public with a look at the state of the county school buildings â€" a comprehensive roadmap at the successes and failings of the infrastructure of each building, as well as the optimal price tag for the improvements that would bring the schools up to the school system’s standards. The study serves only as a suggestion for school officials.
Dubbed as a draft of a 10-year System-Wide Capital Improvement Plan, the report offered recommendations to mitigate overcrowding in schools, particularly at the elementary level. The company estimated 10 schools would be 121 percent above capacity by 2022 if no action is taken.
-- Jeremy Bauer-Wolf 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€Å"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€Å"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€Â
Smithfield Supt. Robert O'Brien calls it â€Å"the perfect storm† the confluence of tough economic times with a halt to new construction.
â€Å"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 â€" 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.â€
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.â€
-- JULISSA TREVIÑO Richmond Mayor Responds to Public School's Repair Report-- ABC 8 News Virginia: August 18, 2014 [ abstract] Just 15 days before students head back to class, Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones is responding to a new report that finds the city's public schools need at least $35 million in repairs.
School leaders say major maintenance projects like replacing HVAC systems and crumbling buildings can't wait any longer.
"I've got grandmothers calling me begging that their grandchild doesn't get put in a basement because they have asthma and we have mold issues," says School Board member, Kim Gray.
"We have sewage issues, we have HVAC and boiler issues that we have to address right now," says Gray.
But Mayor Dwight Jones says -- while repairs are needed -- performance, enrollment, graduation and dropout rates also need to be part of the discussion when it comes to improving education.
"I agree that we need proper facilities to educate our children, and every maintenance request we have received from richmond public schools has been fully funded," says Mayor Jones.
"It's imperative that we undertake the due diligence to ensure that the money we do have and the money that we will seek is invested wisely," says Jones.
Earlier this month, the school board got a presentation about what needs to be fixed after administrators spent months inspecting every school and building.
-- WRIC Staff Old schools get new lease on life-- Wyoming Business Report Wyoming: August 07, 2014 [ abstract] In the last 10 years, Wyoming has spent almost $1 billion building 70 new schools throughout the state. Almost every town has had a school updated or rebuilt in the last decade, but the new schools have left behind plenty of empty buildings.
After a school has been vacated, Wyoming School Facilities Department Public Information Officer Anthony Hughes said “the commission has statutory authority to approve or disapprove the demolition or disposition of any K-12 educational facility. However, these decisions are commonly reached through a collaborative process with district, community and legislative stakeholders.â€
With wide input, many of those buildings are being brought back to life. From churches and community centers to town halls and recreation centers, former school district buildings have been repurposed for new uses.
In Douglas, old schools have been reworked into a community college, the local Boys and Girls Club, and a maintenance department for the district.
Now that Eastern Wyoming College is building a new campus in Douglas, the current location will revert back to Converse County School District No. 1 property.
“It’s owned by EWC as long as they use it for classrooms,†said Dan Espeland, superintendent of Converse County School District No. 1. “When it’s vacated, the board is open for other uses. My board is open to proposals at this time.â€
Similarly in Medicine Bow, the Medicine Bow K-12 School has been vacated and given to the town of Medicine Bow through an exchange. Today, the building stands empty, but Medicine Bow Councilman Shane Blakeman said the community is hopeful they can recruit a business to utilize the building’s space and boost the town’s economy.
“It’s a big building and we’d really like to see it get used,†Blakeman said. “If we could get a corporation to come here it would be astronomical for our community.â€
-- Kim Phagan-Hansel Nearly all area school construction awarded to local companies-- Billings Gazette Montana: July 29, 2014 [ abstract] This summer is a sprint for area schools to complete millions in building upgrades and repairs during the next few weeks.
And those projects are also keeping Billings-area contractors busy, as School District 2 officials have made a point of having the work done by local firms.
Of the nearly 80 bids awarded this summer, all but one have gone to a local contractor, SD2 bond manager Lew Anderson told the school board recently.
“Our target, when we were out talking to people about this bond, we promised them we would try to get 80 percent local participation,†he said, referring to the $122 million measure approved by voters last year.
“We want to deliver on our promise. That’s really important to us,†Anderson said.
More than $36 million of the bond money is earmarked for deferred maintenance. Around $8 million should be spent this summer, in addition to the major renovations underway at Broadwater and McKinley schools.
Projects include basic but sometimes extensive upgrades to keep students and staff “safe, warm and dry,†from new gym flooring at Highland to window and roofing upgrades at Castle Rock Middle School.
The district budgeted roughly $1 million in upgrades this summer for each of Meadowlark, Miles and Central Heights schools. Will James Middle School is getting a $950,000 partial reroof (Empire Roofing) and $330,000 in new windows (Fisher Construction). The district is also finishing up the last batch of projects from a pair of federal bonds approved by voters in 2012, which target primarily energy efficiency upgrades.
By law, the contracts are awarded to the company that offers the lowest responsible bid. But with more projects that the district can do at once, Anderson said he’s been able to shuffle around the timing of some bids so local companies are able to participate.
-- DEREK BROUWER Costs of new schools coming due-- Valley Morning Star Texas: July 26, 2014 [ abstract] HARLINGEN â€" The Harlingen school district is repaying three construction bonds for a variety of projects, ranging from new schools to a performing arts center and new Ag Farm to an aquatics center.
Two of those bond packages, one issued in 1999 and the other in 2010, required tax increases totaling 17.8 cents, Julio Cavazos, assistant superintendent for business services, said.
The district, he said, also purchased $13.9 million in Qualified School Construction Bonds in 2013. These bonds were sold to finance the construction of the Harlingen School for Health Professions. The QSCB is a federal program and did not require a tax increase, and the bonds are repaid from the district’s maintenance and operations fund.
In 1999, the Harlingen district sold $80,270,000 million worth of bonds, Cavazos said. Voters approved the bond package, and the accompanying tax increase of 8.5 cents per $100 of property valuation.
The state Instructional Facilities Allotment grant is paying 47 percent of this debt, which amounts to $2,421,169, with the district paying $2,730,255 per year on these bonds. The outstanding balance is $54,990,000 on bonds that will mature in 2029.
The money from those bonds was used to build Vela Middle School and Rodriguez Elementary School, as well as renovations to the district’s central administration building and the home field side of Boggus Stadium.
These bonds also paid for classroom space that was added to several campuses, and two mini-stadiums built at Harlingen High School and Harlingen High School South.
“The (junior varsity) team plays there,†Cavazos said. “They all have a track.â€
School district spokesman Shane Strubhart said the money was also used to build a field house at each mini-stadium for a weight room and shower facilities.
The $98.6 million bond issue of 2010 required another vote. Taxpayers voted approve the bond sale that would raise their taxes another 9.3 cents per $100 in property value. The district currently owes $87,285,000 on these bonds. An annual payment of $6,385,000 is made to pay these bonds.
The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act pays $1,000,090 on these bonds, bringing the payment down to $5,295,000. The Instructional Facilities Allotment grant pays $2,488, 650, and the district pays $2,806,350
-- TRAVIS M. WHITEHEAD Summer fix-ups for aging facilities add up for Modesto schools-- The Modesto Bee California: July 24, 2014 [ abstract] Truckloads of black asphalt poured stripe after stripe over the aging blacktop of Tuolumne Elementary School. New Principal Heather Contreras looked beyond the brilliant black to the parched field behind, a gold shag carpet of dry grass.
“They’ve told me it will be green by the time school starts. As soon as the paving’s done, the water goes on,†Contreras said Thursday, her voice a mix of hope and excitement. That gives the parched pasture just over two weeks to change its color palette before kids return Aug. 11.
Outdoor renovation of the 64-year-old campus included steps and wheelchair ramps to manage a 5-foot drop in grade between the school and its playground, and freshly poured concrete walkways angled to accommodate up to a 3-foot shift between classroom wings.
The paving trucks will move on this week to La Loma Junior High. Playground striping will be the finishing touch for John Muir Elementary. Work is still going on at Beard Elementary, where road construction has held up progress, said John Liukkonen, district director of maintenance and construction. “Beard’s got me nervous,†he said.
This has been a fix-up summer for Modesto City Schools, with dozens of projects long delayed by the recession going on all at once.
-- Nan Austin 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 budgetâ€"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.â€
There’s one representative here from the School Facilities Departmentâ€"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?â€
The current Rawlins High School was built in the 1950sâ€"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 shamblesâ€"in demolitionâ€"waiting for Cheyenne to get off their butt.â€
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. processâ€"over taking this much moneyâ€"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 againâ€"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.â€
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.â€
Panos says the situation in Rawlins isn’t unique. Construction demand in the state is high. It’s late in the seasonâ€"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 estimateâ€"they’re over by anything from 20-30 percent.â€
-- Aaron Schrank Group discusses state of city school facilities-- Richmond Times Dispatch Virginia: July 09, 2014 [ abstract] It was a day when the harsh realities of Richmond’s decrepit collection of school buildings were tempered by the effusive pleasantries of the people trying to get help fixing them.
For nearly two hours Tuesday, several dozen members of the city’s volunteer School Facilities Task Force checked in with the two School Board members who created the committee and the school employees responsible for building maintenance.
“It’s a really exciting time in Richmond,†said School Board member Kimberly Gray, of the 2nd District. “I’ve been on the School Board for six years, and there have been times when I’ve been really disheartened. … Things are improving rapidly. You might not notice it from the outside, but they are.â€
School Board Vice Chairwoman Kristen N. Larson, of the 4th District, said she was “really appreciative of the time you all spent†in the month since the committee formed.
Representatives of the four work groups on the task force reported their progress on topics ranging from creating a baseline of existing school conditions to surveying community members about what they want in schools to finding nontraditional funding sources.
They also heard a primer on historic tax credits, a means of financing that is rarely used in public schools.
All along, Tommy Kranz, the chief operations officer of the school system, doled out the reality checks.
“The facilities we have in Richmond Public Schools are not very good,†said Kranz, who has been in town for about two months after working for school systems and on school projects in Tennessee, Florida and Louisiana.
-- ZACHARY REID WV New executive director named for School Building Authority-- Charleston Daily Mail West Virginia: June 30, 2014 [ abstract] CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- David Sneed, an educational planner for Project and Construction Services Inc., will replace Mark Manchin Tuesday as the West Virginia School Building Authority’s next executive director.Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced the appointment Monday, saying he is confident Sneed’s experience will help him serve in his new role.Sneed, who has more than 35 years of experience in the public and private sector in West Virginia, served as the authority’s chief of architectural services from 1990 until 2012, as well as Kanawha County’s director of school planning.Sneed, a graduate of West Virginia State University and the recipient of the Council of Educational Facility Planner’s award for outstanding education planning, was integral in creating guidelines and procedures that are still used by the authority and architectures across West Virginia.Sneed said he is excited to return to the authority and work with the governor and Legislature, though he most looks forward to developing new projects with the state’s 55 superintendents.The School Building Authority works with county boards of education and superintendents to facilitate and provide state funds for school construction and maintenance. At its last quarterly meeting in April, the authority awarded more than $43 million for renovations, additions and new construction in Brooke, Doddridge, Gilmer, Mingo, Monongalia, Ohio and Wayne counties.
-- Samuel Speciale Gary school buildings need millions of dollars in repairs-- NWItimes.com Indiana: June 29, 2014 [ abstract] The Gary Community School Corp. needs a minimum of $6.5 million to repair and renovate some of the school buildings that will be open this fall.
The schools that will be open in Gary are Banneker, Bailly, Beveridge, Glen Park Academy, Jefferson, Marquette, McCullough and Williams elementary schools, along with West Side, Wirt-Emerson and the Gary Area Career Center. The school board voted Thursday to make Dunbar-Pulaski the city-wide middle school. The vast majority of those buildings need renovation.
Gary schools Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt said the money for repairs will come from the general fund. School leaders hope closing five school buildings and teacher and staff retirements will free up money for capital projects and building improvements. Repairs for Bailly are expected to come from insurance to restore the storm-ravaged building.
Gary school Facilities Director Charles Prewitt said several of the buildings need roof repairs, painting, new ceiling tile and boiler repairs. The district has not even been able to keep up with lawn maintenance, and a crew from the Lake County work release program has helped out this summer with lawn work, he said.
Prewitt said five people cut grass, including a couple of temporary people, one plumber, three electricians, one sheet metal worker, one painter, two glazers, four carpenters and two pipefitters. As a result of vandalism at school buildings, Prewitt said glass windows have been replaced with 40-inch plexiglass. He said it prevents windows from being broken into but offers little in energy efficiency.
"We are behind on maintenance," Prewitt said.
-- Carmen McCollum Harford school officials concerned over lack of capital funding-- Baltimore Sun Connecticut: June 28, 2014 [ abstract] Harford County Public Schools officials are working with their counterparts across the state to find "alternative" and "creative" methods to raise money for badly-needed capital repairs that, in some cases, could get local school systems in trouble with regulators if maintenance continues to be put off because of a lack of funding.
Prominently cited in the school officials' concerns is maintenance and repair of stormwater management systems at the county's 50-plus school sites.
"This deferred funding that we've had in the last several years is starting to catch up to us," Joe Licata, HCPS chief of administration, said.
Licata and Superintendent Barbara Canavan are part of a statewide task force, made up of representatives of various school districts, that is working to find ways to get more state and local dollars flowing to capital projects, which Licata called a "revenue problem."
-- DAVID ANDERSON Annual school building inspections to be cut under new legislation-- Watertown Daily Times New York: June 22, 2014 [ abstract] WATERTOWN â€" A bill to eliminate a requirement for annual visual inspections of school buildings passed the state Senate on Tuesday.
The measure was approved by the Assembly on June 12 and awaits Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s signature to go into law.
Under existing law, public school buildings must undergo an annual visual inspection. In addition, as part of a five-year Capital Facilities Plan, school districts also must submit a five-year building condition survey, which evaluates the need for maintenance, repair, rehabilitation and reconstruction of facilities.
“This legislation is just one example of a duplicative, wasteful mandate that costs our school districts â€" and our taxpayers â€" money,†Sen. Patricia A. Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, said.
The building condition survey is completed by licensed professionals, and building components are evaluated for condition, useful life remaining and cost to replace. This information is used to create a comprehensive facilities capital plan in which capital items are prioritized based on health and safety. The old law required that the annual inspection be conducted by a school facilities director and a code enforcement official to monitor school buildings to see if the district was on track with its goals and priorities.
Jack J. Boak, outgoing superintendent of the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Education Services, said most schools associated with BOCES hire health and safety coordinator John Warneck to conduct the visual inspection for $2,000. A spokeswoman from Sen. Ritchie’s office said around the state the inspections can cost up to $12,000.
State Education Department spokesman Jonathan Burman said the department requested the elimination of the annual inspection because the same information is being tracked repeatedly. Mr. Burman said looking at all information collectively demonstrated that the inspection was redundant and did not significantly contribute to the department’s goal of maintaining safe and healthy facilities when compared with other information available.
-- KATHERINE CLARK Michael A. Solomon: R.I. must not delay building new schools-- Providence Journal Rhode Island: June 12, 2014 [ abstract] One significant way the State of Rhode Island supports public education is through its school housing aid program, which reimburses school districts a percentage of the costs for construction and rehabilitation of school buildings. Unfortunately, the state placed this crucial program on hold in 2011. The House of Representatives is set to vote today for a budget that would continue the moratorium for another year, potentially hindering cities’ and towns’ ability to provide adequate learning environments for children in our state.
Providence educates approximately 24,000 students, kindergarten through Grade 12. We have 38 schools, in varying condition and age. Most of our schools are historic structures, between 50 and 100 years old, and many are suffering from years of deferred maintenance. Peeling paint, mold and water damage, roof leaks, and fire system upgrades are issues commonly found in our schools, while more serious structural issues also are found in a number of buildings. Some schools, such as Harry Kizarian Elementary, Roger Williams Middle, and Mount Pleasant High, are in desperate need of immediate repairs to make them warm, safe and dry.
The state’s program provides Providence with an 80 percent reimbursement of school construction costs, and would let Providence make a significant investment in its school facilities. The City Council approved a resolution in April calling on Providence School Supt. Susan Lusi to initiate a request for proposals to complete a comprehensive facilities master plan that would evaluate student enrollment projections, school facilities’ condition, educational programming and projected costs. This plan is the first step in developing a school construction proposal to be submitted to the state next year.
Providence â€" along with other school districts in Rhode Island â€" needs this kind of long-term, multi-phased capital improvement plan, and financial support from the state to implement it, in order to provide a stable foundation of efficient, effective and secure school buildings in the immediate future, and for the next 50 years.
Economic development studies, including one recently issued by the Providence Economic Development Task Force, regularly cite the need for an educated, skilled workforce to make Rhode Island competitive regionally and nationally. We are fortunate to have excellent institutions of higher learning here, and in Providence we are working on new collaborations among colleges and universities and our high schools.
-- MICHAEL A. SOLOMON From DC to Denver: School gardens growing next generation of leaders-- Elevation DC Media National: June 10, 2014 [ abstract] “What happens in D.C. is really exciting and, in a number of ways, different,†says DC Greens executive director Lauren Shweder Biel, whose organization connects local communities to healthy food. As part of that mission, DC Greens supports and sustains school gardens within DCPS. These gardens function as an outdoor classroom, offering unique learning opportunities that provide lessons in problem solving, teamwork, nutrition, agriculture, seasonality, and locality â€" and, best of all, they are places where kids can dig in the dirt, play with worms, and just be themselves.
“We have a supportive city council,†says Biel. The Healthy Schools Act, passed in 2010 and funded by a soda tax, created a grant-making process to support school gardens by providing $10,000 to $15,000 in grant money to schools looking to start or sustain a garden.
The grant not only allows schools to hire folks to care for the gardens, it insists on it â€" with up to 80 percent of funds allowed to go toward maintenance staffing. “It takes much more than putting in infrastructure,†says Biel. And that’s where DC Greens comes in.
The organization doesn’t plant gardens in schools. Rather, it provides resources and support to the teachers and staff who do. “We try to make sure everybody is resourced up,†Biel explains. DC Greens created a professional network of garden-based educators and hosts free workshops for teachers. Participating educators receive free seedlings and instructional materials for use in their classrooms.
There are roughly 200 charter and public schools in DCPS; 93, reports Biel, house school gardens. Gardens are built using a variety of funds â€" grants from the Healthy Schools Act are augmented with other small donations from, say, the Whole Kids Foundation, Home Depot, or extra PTA money…or a farmer’s market at the school. But we’ll get into that in a bit. First, we have to journey to Denver, where the whole thing got started…
-- JAMIE SIEBRASE 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 â€" Condition, Various Schools, statewide â€" 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 â€" Program Support, Various Schools, statewide â€" 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 â€" Equity, Various Schools, statewide â€" 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 â€" Capacity, Various Schools, statewide â€" 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 Parents in Bedford County rally to keep school open-- WDBJ7.com Virginia: May 25, 2014 [ abstract] A dozen parents in Bedford County spent part of their holiday weekend coming up with a strategy to save their school.
A note went out to parents at Body Camp Elementary last Thursday letting them know that school the school could close.
It caught parents off guard, and before a decision is made, they're going to make sure they are heard.
"It's not going to be a question of: Do we close schools or do we not, but which schools are going to be closed," said Jason Johnson.
Johnson is on the Bedford County School Board, he knows those words are hard to hear.
Penny Berger's son goes to Body Camp, which has seen dipping enrollment and other maintenance issues.
"None of us want that to happen, but apparently, it's going to happen, and we just, I don't want it to be Body Camp," Berger said.
Parents at Body Camp are particularly upset about the way they were told the school may close. A state-mandated efficiency review in the county listed closing the school as a second option behind Moneta Elementary and Bedford Primary School.
The letter that went home to parents before the last day of the school year left these parents with no way to organize a response.
"We were very angry, and we felt that it was done very sneaky, underhanded, and it caught us off guard," Berger said.
The School Board will ultimately decide what will happen at its meeting on June 5. Today's rally was the parents' chance to begin formulating a strategy to keep their school open.
Board members say they're listening.
-- David Kaplan Aging Fayette schools challenge maintenance budget-- The Register-Herald.com West Virginia: May 24, 2014 [ abstract] The abundant cracks and leaks in some of Fayette County’s aging school facilities fell victim to spring’s heavy rains this month, and Ron Cantley, Fayette Board of Education’s operations director, said that patch jobs and short-term fixes aren’t going to do the job in the long run.
Leaky roofs, old coal boilers, failing windows and old furnishings are among a few of the many issues plaguing several aging school facilities in Fayette County.With the average Fayette school age topping a half-century old, the list of large maintenance projects only continues to grow, and the budget just can’t keep up, Cantley said. Most recently, Collins Middle School’s gym flooded. The estimated cost to repair the roof is $870,000, which would eat up more than 70 percent of the county’s entire yearly maintenance budget of $1.2 million, Cantley said.
-- Brandi Underwood Florida lawmakers agree to pour $100 million into maintenance and construction for public schools-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: April 29, 2014 [ abstract] TALLAHASSEE  Florida lawmakers reached a deal on K-12 education funding Monday that will pump more than $100 million into maintenance and construction for traditional public schools statewide.
District leaders celebrated the news. Most school systems have not received money from the Public Education Capital Outlay trust fund since 2011.
"We're ecstatic," Pasco County assistant superintendent Ray Gadd said. "We could use every penny."
Charter schools, however, were delivered a stinging blow. Despite growing enrollment statewide, they were given a little more than half of the $91 million they received last year.
"We have more students, but the pie is smaller," said Larry Williams, a lobbyist for the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools.
The budget has yet to be finalized, but the PECO plan is unlikely to meet resistance. Gov. Rick Scott has said he also wants to see the dollars shared among districts and charter schools.
PECO has become one of the Legislature's perennial battles.
-- Kathleen McGrory LA schools' maintenance budget trails other large districts-- Southern California Public Radio California: April 29, 2014 [ abstract] Los Angeles Unified spends the least on maintenance and operations of California's largest school district, according to new analysis by a district committee. The committee, which oversees bond money used for major repairs, argues the district should increase maintenance spending to avoid more costly work from deterioration created by compounding problems.
"If you don't maintain it, it falls apart and then it comes back to us as a big repair," said Scott Folsom, a committee member. "We didn't fix the pipes so now we are replacing all the plumbing."
According the committee's new report the district dedicated 8.6 percent of its total expenditures on maintenance and operations last year, covering work such as electrical and plumbing repairs in addition to cleaning and on-going maintenance such as replacing filters and light bulbs. In dollars, it adds up to $99 million for repairs.
The biggest spender among large California districts was Fresno Unified, which used more than 11 percent of its budget on maintenance. L.A. Unified spent less than 9 percent.
Since the recession, L.A. Unified's budget for maintenance and operations has been slashed by 65 percent. Officials argued dwindling funds had to be diverted to teacher salaries and other more immediate needs.
In the interim, Folsom said administrators have tried to cover more repairs with bond funds â€â€the same pool of money being used for the district's $1.3 billion iPad project and to build and modernize schools.
Teachers and parents across the district rallied for increasing maintenance speding after a teacher created a Facebook group called "Repairs not iPads."
Since KPCC first reported on the fledgling group, it's membership ballooned to over 5,000 members, many posting pictures of decaying schools and even a political cartoon ridiculing Superintendent John Deasy's financial priorities.
Deasy has proposed increasing the maintenance and operations budget by a relatively small $1.5 million next school year, pushing the budget up to $100.5 million. District officials estimate it will take closer to $400 million every year. Deasy has also recommended increasing the custodial budget by $1.5 million.
By comparison, he wants to increase the district's iPad and technology budget by $9.8 million next year.
-- Annie Gilbertson As its facilities get older, District 204 weighs the price of repairs-- NapervilleSun Illinois: April 25, 2014 [ abstract] Indian Prairie School District 204 Board members initially appeared a bit shell-shocked after finding out it could cost the district $176 million over the next two decades for needed school maintenance work.
Board members are wrestling with the cost of fixing district facilities against the cost of reducing class sizes, providing air conditioning, and other issues facing the district.
District 204, which experienced a building boom in the 1990s, now is looking at the cost of general facility repairs or replacements at the schools that are turning around 20 years old.
To help the district determine the urgency of the repairs, the district hired consultant EMG Inc. to perform a facility assessment of the district’s 33 schools and administration building.
Jay Strang, assistant superintendent for business, said setting aside money for maintenance has not been a priority in recent years.
“We have deferred maintenance over the last four to five years to deal with the difficult economic times, and we are running into a situation where some of our bigger systems â€" our roofing systems, our HVAC systems â€" need some attention and that will be a priority,†Strang said.
In March, the staff from EMG visited all the schools to look at all of the buildings’ assets, including the roof, heating and air systems, ceilings, carpeting, boilers, sidewalks and parking lots. The district maintains more than 4 million square feet in its buildings that sit on 662.2 acres of property.
Each item was given a priority rank on a scale of one to five, with one being critical to student safety that must be addressed immediately and five being part of general replacement or repair that can be deferred up to 20 years based on the estimated life of the item.
This week, the School Board was given the first report on all the district buildings to give board members an idea of how detailed the EMG report gets. The report gave an outline of $3.2 million in maintenance work that can be expected in the next 20 years at Longwood Elementary School in Naperville alone. Among the projects the district can expect are replacing the roof and repaving the parking lot.
School Board member Michael Raczak said the $3.2 million price tag just for Longwood, one of the district’s smaller schools, has him questioning how to pay for repairs across the entire district.
“Even now, I wonder if all of our roofs give out, because many of buildings were built at the same time,†he said.
-- Suzanne Baker New Orleans school building repair fund bill clears House committee; $1.8 billion investment underway-- www.nola.com Louisiana: April 17, 2014 [ abstract] A bill to maintain New Orleans' newly built and renovated public school buildings cleared the Louisiana House Education Committee Wednesday with no opposition.
The city's two school systems are collaborating on HB 941, which was sponsored by Rep. Walt Leger III, D-New Orleans. The Recovery School District took over most of the public schools from the Orleans Parish School Board after Hurricane Katrina.
Leger called it "a school facilities preservation program."
The Orleans Parish School Board never had a dedicated funding stream for facility maintenance; when the storm hit, most of the buildings were in a deplorable state. Now the city is in the middle of an unprecedented school rebuilding plan paid for by $1.8 billion, mostly from FEMA. State and local officials pledge that by 2017, every child will be in a new or renovated school. But the FEMA funds don't cover maintenance, leading to concern that the new buildings could crumble over decades just like the old ones did.
Leger said it was important to protect them. "Not making that kind of investment in maintenance eventually costs us more dollars in the long run," he said.
-- Danielle Dreilinger 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 Grant High parents press for campus improvements-- The Sacramento Bee California: April 08, 2014 [ abstract] Frustrated with aging facilities at 82-year-old Grant Union High School, Del Paso Heights community members on Monday asked school and political leaders to install campus HVAC units and consider other improvements such as filling the swimming pool.
“The heartbeat of our community starts here,†said City Councilman Allen Warren, who convened the discussion at Robertson Community Center to address neighborhood concerns. “…We can’t have a healthy community until we have a healthy high school.â€
Grant parents and students have complained for years about the lack of heat and air conditioning in classrooms, as well as a broken pool and other maintenance issues. On Monday, parents also voiced concerns about a recent case of tuberculosis at the school and asked how the district could help students transition from continuation programs back to traditional high school.
Local residents at the meeting seemed evenly divided between those demanding to know why it has taken so long to complete improvements and those who wanted to give the school district’s new administration more time to turn things around.
District officials last week unveiled a timeline for installing 71 new heating and air conditioning systems at Grant before school begins in August, at a cost of $4.2 million from deferred maintenance funds. The district also plans to update its other campuses.
Steven Martinez, in his first year as Twin Rivers Unified School District superintendent, said he didn’t blame parents for doubting that the district would complete the work after years of broken promises from previous administrations. “We are going to get these HVAC units,†he said.
-- Diana Lambert LEAs struggle to fulfill new facilities mandates-- Cabinet Report California: April 07, 2014 [ abstract] (Calif.) With the upkeep of school buildings traditionally a key focus of state financing, districts across California are struggling under the new funding formula not only with finding money for needed repairs but also with meeting a maintenance standard that is not clearly defined.
In the past, the state provided some funding specifically earmarked for facility maintenance and repair. Under Gov. Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula that money has been absorbed into one big pool to be distributed among districts, which are finding it increasingly difficult to cover everything required by the state â€" including keeping facilities “in good repair.â€
Districts face a deadline at the end of June for adopting their Local Control Accountability Plans â€"reports to the public detailing how they will use the funds to meet a list of eight state priorities in the LCFF, including the needs of educationally disadvantaged students and maintaining adequate facilities â€" a directive that may sound simple enough to follow but may need to be further refined by state regulators or the Legislature.
“The question is ‘How is good repair defined? What is good repair for the purposes of meeting LCAP’s requirements?’,†said Ian Padilla, legislative analyst for CASH â€" the Coalition for Adequate School Housing. “Long story short there really isn’t any kind of a statewide or a local standard for that; it’s really a local decision at this point.â€
However, said Padilla, CASH and California school facilities officials can reference as a starting point a state tool known as the Facilities Inspection Tool, or FIT. The index was created as part of the settlement of a 2000 class action suit â€" commonly known as Williams â€" that required schools, among other things, to provide students access to to safe and decent facilities.
FIT, said Padilla, offers “very basic†standards for acceptable school building conditions â€" such as clean, functioning restrooms, pest abatement, working fire alarms and heating and air circulation systems.
But the intent of the Legislature, Padilla believes, is that under the LCFF districts would do more than the bare minimum when it comes to providing a good learning environment for their students.
“Once piece in particular here is to include not just cleanliness and the basic levels of maintenance but also educational adequacy,†he said. “In addition to the very basic FIT assessments, districts should be looking to build capacity to make sure that school facilities are part of the education process â€" you know, teaching and learning.â€
-- Kimberly Beltran School officials discuss facilities maintenance as part of new spending plans-- EdSource California: April 03, 2014 [ abstract] As school districts across California work to craft their school spending and accountability plans, one area that has received little notice is a requirement that school facilities are maintained in “good repair.â€
The Center for Cities and Schools at UC Berkeley hosted a webinar today to address how districts should meet the healthy school facilities’ goal in the new Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAP), which are mandated under the state’s new funding formula. More than 100 people across the state, including district administrators, registered for the discussion. The Center for Cities and Schools is a research and technical assistance center that promotes high-quality education as a means to support urban development.
Jeff Vincent, the center’s deputy director, said a building in “good repair†is defined as a facility that is maintained in “a manner that assures that it is clean, safe, and functional.†But Vincent, along with the other webinar presenters, stressed that “good repair†is merely a minimum standard and urged school district leaders to go “above and beyond†that level when drafting their plans.
Bill Savidge, assistant executive officer of the State Allocation Board in the Office of Public School Construction, said during the webinar that districts would use the state’s Facility Inspection Tool (FIT) to evaluate whether their buildings meet the “good repair†standard. The inspection tool, which was adopted by the State Allocation Board in 2007, is a ranking and scoring system that evaluates the cleanliness, safety, and function of school buildings.
The evaluation system is, in part, a result of the so-called Williams Settlement, the resolution of a class-action lawsuit filed against the state in 2000 that alleged that public school students were denied equal access to instructional materials, safe and decent schools, and qualified teachers. Savidge emphasized, however, that although Facility Inspection Tool is thorough, it does not address the critical modernization needs of California’s schools.
-- Karla Scoon Reid/EdSource correspondent City school officials try to catch up on 40 years of neglect-- Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia: March 31, 2014 [ abstract] By the time the new Huguenot High School opens early next year, Richmond will have its fourth new school in two years, and a fifth could be on the way.
But in a city that neglected school construction and maintenance needs for decades, the building spree is more of a blip than a boom.
And with enrollment on the rise again after years of decline, the call for more classroom space is getting louder.
“We have 40 other schools that could be rebuilt, too,†said School Board member Kimberly Gray, 2nd District. “This is a good start, but it needs to lead to more.
“A facility gap leads to an achievement gap. Our children deserve better than we’re giving.â€
While there’s no immediate plan for more construction beyond a proposed elementary school on the North Side â€" an idea being pushed by Mayor Dwight C. Jones, not school officials â€" city school leaders are pushing forward on a new facilities task force.
The group is supposed to work this spring and summer to cull information from three facilities reports done in the past decade, make current assessments and combine that information with enrollment projections to determine what schools the city needs and where they should be.
“We need to look at what we have,†said School Board Vice Chairwoman Kristen N. Larson, 4th District. “Some of these buildings are not worth saving.â€
-- ZACHARY REID Richmond Times-Dispatch City, schools to combine maintenance in Peabody-- The Salem News Massachusetts: March 31, 2014 [ abstract] PEABODY â€" The School Committee has given Mayor Ted Bettencourt a green light to move ahead with hiring a city facilities manager to oversee all school and city buildings and develop a strategic plan for their upkeep.
Bettencourt, who chairs the committee, said the city has millions of dollars invested in the city’s schools, public safety facilities and other municipal buildings, and many of them are aging.
“Right now, we deal with issues when they come to the point of emergency,†Bettencourt said, which means it “often costs more to fix.†He wants to implement a citywide maintenance program to extend the life of those buildings and avoid costly emergency repairs.
With one person managing a capital plan and maintenance program for 10 city schools, five fire stations, three public libraries, the police station, City Hall and other municipal buildings, the city can save millions of dollars over the years, he said.
“I think this is really going to benefit our school buildings to make sure the maintenance that’s needed gets done,†said School Committeeman Tom Rossignoll, speaking at a meeting Tuesday night.
Bettencourt said about $1 million in state funding for the new middle school hinges on hiring a facilities manager who would implement a comprehensive maintenance plan at the school.
-- John Castelluccio School construction funding in line for boost-- HT Politics Florida: March 26, 2014 [ abstract] When Bill Galvano began classes at Manatee Community College in 1984, the campus library was practically new.
Now 30 years later, time and technology have outdated the library at what is now the State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, which serves some 11,000 students. School officials say even finding enough electric outlets for equipment is an issue in the 37-year-old facility.
As chairman of Senate budget subcommittee that oversees education spending, Galvano, R-Bradenton, is in a position to help his former school. Senate and House budget bills advancing in the Legislature now contain between $7.3 million and $10.6 million for modernizing the SCF library.
The project represents a problem across Florida as universities, colleges and public schools struggle with aging facilities and growing student populations.
At the University of Florida, President Bernard Machen said one of the school’s budget priorities is finding an additional $15 million for a multi-year project to revamp an aging chemistry building. “Students and scientists still work in the original chemistry building on campus, completed 70-plus years ago and now woefully behind the times,†Machen said in a letter to UF alumni earlier this month.
He also cited a projected $60 million in “critical maintenance†needs for more than 100 campus buildings that are more than a half-century old.
Rural counties â€" with limited tax bases â€" are looking to the Legislature to refurbish aging middle and high schools. Galvano is backing $7.8 million â€" which is in both the Senate and House budgets â€" to continue the construction of a new Moore Haven Junior Senior High School in Glades County.
“That to me is so vital,†Galvano said. “On their best day their millage (tax) rate is not going to let them accomplish what they need to do.â€
School construction and maintenance of educational facilities are part of what the Legislature calls the Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) budget. And in recent years, PECO funding has dwindled to a trickle, from more than $1 billion before the recession to about $300 million for the current year.
-- Lloyd Dunkelberger School Renovations Depend on Prop 1-- Alaska Public Media Alaska: March 26, 2014 [ abstract] Proposition 1 is an education bond that would give the Anchorage School District more than 57 million dollars for building maintenance and improvements.
The Anchorage School District is requesting more than $57 million in bonds make improvements to it’s buildings.
The largest project, nearly $23 million, will renovate Airport Heights Elementary School and build an edition onto the school. Airport Heights was built in 1954 and has not had a major renovation, according to District officials. They say it needs more space for special ed and intensive needs students. The school lacks a multipurpose room. It also does not have dedicated art, health and music rooms. Those subjects are currently taught in relocatables outside the main school building.
Officials say there is not enough room to pickup and drop off kids and the parking is inadequate. Those problems will be resolved by the renovations and the addition, officials say.
The remainder of the bond money would go toward improvements at schools throughout the district.
-- Daysha Eaton, KSKA - Anchorage Lucia Mar works on plan for improvements at aging schools-- The Tribune California: March 21, 2014 [ abstract] As students played handball and raced across the playground at Fairgrove Elementary School on Friday afternoon, Principal Lara Storm paused to point out the blacktop’s smooth surface.
In her 10 years as a teacher and principal at the Grover Beach school, Storm only recalls a few major maintenance projects, the largest being an upgrade of a set of student bathrooms several years back.
Last year, the playground was repaved.
But Fairgrove Elementary, like many of the Lucia Mar Unified School District’s schools, is more than 50 years old and showing its age.
A walk around campus reveals peeling paint, rough asphalt, numerous portable classrooms, not enough parking and only one set of staff restrooms.
“Many of our schools were built in the late 1950s and early 1960s and are in desperate need of repair and improvements to support the education required in the 21st century,†said Jeff Dixon, executive director of the district’s facilities planning, maintenance and operations.
Students should be able to access Wi-Fi, for example. They should have different types of learning spaces, such as media labs, science labs, or space for “project-based learning,†where they can easily collaborate in groups.
-- CYNTHIA LAMBERT Lawmakers face loss of school building money-- WRAL.com Wyoming: March 20, 2014 [ abstract] CHEYENNE, WYO.  The Wyoming Legislature this month approved nearly $231 million in new K-12 school construction for the next fiscal year, but the building bonanza may be coming to an end because the state's main funding source for school building projects is expected to dry up.
Since 1998, the state has tapped the hundreds of millions of dollars it has received in coal lease bonus money to fund billions of dollars of school construction projects.
"We've ridden a pretty amazing wave," Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, said.
But the federal government's move to toughen federal carbon pollution standards and other regulations on coal is sapping future investment in coal mining.
As a result, Wyoming is seeing fewer coal lease auctions go through, and state budget projections forecast coal lease bonus money virtually nonexistent in a few years.
"Money is really going to be tight with school capital construction," Sen. Eli Bebout, R-Riverton and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said.
This summer, lawmakers will be looking at how best to address school construction and maintenance in the long term. The state has about 375 schools.
"How do we do the best job possible of taking care for those resources so that they do last us the expected lifespan? And along with that, how do you put a plan in place so that when schools are ready you can get them replaced?" Landen, who chairs the Select Committee on School Facilities, said.
However, one member of the state School Facilities Commission, which sets school building standards across the state, said lawmakers aren't doing enough to address the problem.
-- BOB MOEN, Associated Press 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 Senate considers ways to fund school repair needs-- Northfield News Minnesota: March 11, 2014 [ abstract] Sen. Kevin Dahle (DFL-Northfield) presented legislation this week that focuses financing on needed school facilities.
The legislation is the result of recommendations provided by a working group that during the interim to focus on reforming the financing of E-12 education facilities to create “adequate, equitable and sustainable financing of public school facilities throughout the state.â€
“We are hoping to find a plan that gives every district the ability to keep up with repairs and space issues,†said Sen. Dahle. “The ability to keep up with financial demands varies from district to district. The goal of this legislation is to provide safe and adequate classrooms, no matter what school district they are in.â€
Sen. Dahle’s legislation which has received early bipartisan support begins the process of the recommended an eight-proposal, three-year phase-in plan provided by the working group.
In the first step, $50 million would be used for districts not included in the Alternative Facilities bonding program. Currently, only 24 school districts qualify. The funding would be used for deferred maintenance, security and accessibility improvements, or to make fire, safety or other repairs.
-- Kara Hildreth Prince George’s leaders push for additional state funds for schools-- Gazettle.net Maryland: March 07, 2014 [ abstract] Prince George’s school officials have urged state leaders to approve legislation that would provide additional money each year for school construction, helping to more quickly address the $2.3 billion backlog of school maintenance needs in the county.
“At the rate that we’re going right now, it will never be reduced to a manageable rate. There is so much facility need in our county, and our district, like other districts, has not been able to keep up. This gives us the best opportunity to accelerate the replacement, renovation, modernization of our facilities,†county schools CEO Kevin Maxwell told the House Appropriations Committee on March 6.
Maxwell, County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) and others testified on behalf of House Bill 1323, which would provide up to $20 million annually in additional state funding to counties with student populations of more than 100,000 and maintaining a AAA credit rating. Currently, only Prince George’s, Montgomery and Baltimore counties have populations meeting the requirement.
The funds could be used toward school construction projects or the costs of debt service on construction bonds.
The funds would come from state gambling proceeds, and every state dollar would have to be matched by two dollars of county funding.
Last year, a similar proposal, with dollar-for-dollar city-state funding, was passed for Baltimore City Public Schools.
Several committee members asked why the “big three†counties should be singled out.
-- Jamie Anfenson-Comeau Minnesota Legislature: Task force presents ideas to even schools facilities funding-- TwinCities.com Minnesota: March 05, 2014 [ abstract] When a roof springs a leak in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district, it typically gets fixed within 24 hours.
"And I don't mean a bucket under a ceiling tile to catch the drips," said Heather Nosan, a project manager for the district.
To fund the repair and replace the roof when needed, the district taps money raised through an alternative facilities levy.
Only 25 districts are part of the alternative facilities program that allows them to raise tax dollars without voter approval for school facilities. The rest have to dip into the general fund for sudden repairs or win voter approval of a tax request to pay for more costly infrastructure repairs.
Nosan was one of 22 members of the School Facilities Financing Working Group that spent the past six months outlining ways to fix that disparity. The task force summarized its proposals Tuesday at a joint meeting of the state House and Senate education finance committees.
"We can't have a system of financing where some districts have an advantage over others," said Robert Indihar, superintendent of Moose Lake schools and co-chair of the task force.
Next week, a bill incorporating some of the task force's recommendations is expected to go before the Senate Finance Committee. It includes putting $50 million in the 2015-16 budget for school facilities financing.
That's a start, but task force members told lawmakers Wednesday that it could take an estimated $300 million in new funding annually to make the way Minnesota pays for school facilities "adequate, equitable and sustainable."
School advocates say the current system is unbalanced, with only larger districts with aging buildings eligible for a reliable stream of revenue to address building maintenance. Districts in the alternative facilities funding program get about $298 per student more annually than districts not in the program, about $750,000 more annually for the average-sized district.
-- Christopher Magan $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 â€" Improving and Maintaining Facilities and Infrastructure â€" 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 â€" Program Support â€" 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 â€" Equity â€" 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 LAUSD’s math problem adds up to 50,000 unfinished repairs: Opinion-- Los Angeles Daily News California: February 21, 2014 [ abstract] Thursday’s school-board committee meeting about tardy repairs at Los Angeles Unified campuses produced a new number for reporters and activists to commit to memory for future use: 50,000.
That’s the shocking number of requests for repairs that are waiting to be addressed. Here’s guessing it will become political boilerplate, like the numbers $663,000 (the Centinela schools chief’s compensation last year), $40 million (the cost to ratepayers of the L.A. Department of Water and Power’s shadowy nonprofits) and $68 billion (the projected cost of the California bullet-train project).
LAUSD’s facilities committee heard from district maintenance and operations director Roger Finstad at a time when teachers and others are complaining about the $1 billion being committed to iPad tablet computers while â€" as photos on a Facebook page called “Repairs, Not iPads†seem to illustrate â€" broken bathroom fixtures and water fountains, unsafe electrical wiring and insect and rodent infestations are unremedied.
At the meeting, Finstad assured listeners that L.A. school facilities are safe. But school-board member Monica Ratliff pressed the question to which we demanded clear answers in an editorial here Thursday: After persuading voters to pass five bond measures since 1997 to raise $20.6 billion for repairs, renovations and upgrades, why is the district so far behind on upkeep and how will it catch up?
-- Los Angeles News Group editorial board EXPIRED SCHOOL FACILITIES PLANS PROMPT NEW ELC LAWSUIT-- Education Law Center New Jersey: February 12, 2014 [ abstract] The ongoing failure of the NJ Department of Education (DOE) to put in place up-to-date, district-wide school facilities plans for the state's poorest school districts has prompted a lawsuit seeking compliance with the law, Education Law Center announced today.
ELC filed the case after the DOE ignored a formal request in November 2013 to take immediate steps to require the 31 "SDA districts" to revise and submit their facilities plans – called "Long Range Facilities Plans" (LRFP) – for DOE review and approval.
Under orders issued by the NJ Supreme Court in the landmark Abbott v. Burke case, the state school facilities and construction law, and the DOE's own regulations, the Department must make certain that district's LRFPs are updated at least every five years to reflect changing conditions.
All SDA districts' LRFPs were last approved by the DOE nearly seven years ago, some even before that, and many were prepared by the districts nine years ago.
"The district's LRFPs are seriously out of date, rendering them useless for assessing facilities conditions and needs and for making decisions about whether to repair, renovate, replace or close school buildings," said Elizabeth Athos, ELC Senior Attorney. "The Supreme Court made clear that up-to-date plans are essential for the State to make sound decisions about school construction."
Updated LRFPs, with current enrollment data, building capacities and utilization, and health and safety conditions are the linchpin for making decisions related to the repair, construction, renovation and closing of existing public schools, and for the DOE to assess statewide needs and establish educational priority rankings for all school facilities projects in SDA districts. The SDA, the state's construction agency, is required to use the DOE statewide assessments and project priority rankings to establish a "statewide strategic plan" for use in setting timetables for school construction projects.
The ELC lawsuit asks for an order for the DOE to: 1) require SDA districts to promptly submit their revised plans and review and approve the LRFPs within 90 days of submission; 2) issue a new statewide needs assessment based on the updated plans; and 3) establish a new statewide priority ranking for school facilities projects – emergent, capital maintenance, and major renovations and new schools – in SDA districts.
-- Sharon Krengel Law Puts Neighbors’ Hopes for Grimke On Hold-- Urban Turf District of Columbia: February 10, 2014 [ abstract] A group of U Street residents angling to have the former Grimke School reimagined for daytime use got bad news last week: Federal law may require the city to offer the property up to charter schools before entertaining other redevelopment offers.
Jeffrey Willis, who’s coordinating the neighbors’ effort, wrote in an email on Friday that DC’s Office of the Attorney General directed the city to send out a request for offers exclusively to charters before opening the process up to anyone else. According to Willis, the neighborhood group had previously been told that this requirement was already satisfied. He added that Councilman Jim Graham, who attended previous group meetings to voice his support for the neighbors, has asked for a legal review of the Attorney General’s decision.
The neighbors explicitly oppose redeveloping the old school into a new one. “School budget and management constraints would be insufficient to provide a high quality renovation and subsequent maintenance of this site,†the neighbors’ statement of goals reads. “The immediate two block radius is already saturated with schools.â€
-- Lark Turner Gov's Budget Highlights Maintenance And Construction Woes Of Public Schools-- WFSU Florida: February 07, 2014 [ abstract] For the first time in years, Florida's public, K-12 schools are slated to get state money for construction and maintenance. But school officials say while they're grateful for what's been proposed, they're not ready to start counting those dollars just yet.
Governor Rick Scott's proposed budget allocates $80 million for new roofs, air conditioners and other overdue maintenance projects at the state's more than 3,500 public schools. It may sound like a lot of money, but Halandale Beach Democratic Representative Joe Gibbons says it won't go very far.
"Just looking at Broward County alone, they need like $40 million just for roofs by themselves and I don't expect that you would have that responsibility, but I want to know how we come up with the figure of $80 million," he told the state Office of Policy and Budget Director during a hearing on the Governor's proposed education funding.
Florida School Board Association Chairman Wayne Blanton says the state's 67 school districts need four to five times as much as the governor is suggesting.
â€Å"If we could get a consistent amount of dollars in the range of $360-$400 million a year, that would allow us not only to keep our schools up, but start replacing some of those older schools, which quite frankly, cost more than a newer school," Blanton said.
Florida's Public Education Capital Outlay, or PECO, Fund is the pot of money used to finance construction and maintenance at state-owned schools, colleges and universities. The fund pulls in money from taxes on services such as landline telephones. But since many people have abandoned their house phones in favor of cell phone service only, resources for PECO have dried up. So much so that what few dollars PECO has had left in recent years have gone to charter schools. The reason: many of those charter schools, while a part of school districtsâ€â€don't get the same local maintenance funds districts raise through property or sales taxes.
This year, Governor Rick Scott is proposing to spend $90 million PECO dollars on charter schools – several million more than public schools would get. But some lawmakers see a problem with that too. There are 3,500 public schools, and around 400 charter schools. Even if the figures were the same, the charters would each get a much larger share. But some school districts, like Leon, have already given up on PECO.
-- LYNN HATTER NM schools report: Carlsbad facilities rank poor in maintenanc-- Current-Argus News New Mexico: February 02, 2014 [ abstract] A recently released report by the New Mexico Public School Facility Authority said Carlsbad school facilities are in immediate need of improvement and a risk to safety.
The 2013 Facility maintenance Assessment Report said Carlsbad and 32 other districts in the state have aging and inadequate structures in which to educate students.
It is a familiar litany for district administrators and school board members who are now relying on this Tuesday's special bond election as a way to improve the situation.
Close to 20,000 voters are registered to vote in the upcoming election which would provide the Carlsbad Municipal School District with $60 million to build four new schools.
It is a project that administrators and school board members have been trying to get under way for a couple of years, citing aging schools and inadequate infrastructure to house the growing student population.
According to the report, state public school facilities are only estimated to have a 40 to 50 year life cycle. And Carlsbad is home to several buildings in that range and beyond.
"All of our elementary schools are 58 or older," said Gary Perkowski, superintendent of Carlsbad Municipal Schools.
The FMAR gave Carlsbad a "poor" rating, meaning it falls below the state average of 60 percent when it comes to maintenance effectiveness.
"The reason ours lasted so long was the good maintenance people we have in the district," praised Perkowski.
-- Jessica Onsurez Minnesota school buildings task force says $300 million more needed-- Grand Forks Herald Minnesota: January 31, 2014 [ abstract] It will take $300 million more a year in state aid to give all of Minnesota’s school districts the resources they need to maintain their school buildings.
That’s the recommendation a task force created last year to study how to fund school facilities will send to state lawmakers in February. The new money would be phased in over several years, come primarily from state coffers and should have minimal impact on local property taxes.
The proposal comes after the DFL-led Legislature pumped $485 million of new money into the latest education budget for things like full-day kindergarten and expanded preschool scholarships. Lawmakers also gave school boards more control over local property tax levies.
School advocates say the task force’s recommended changes would correct the state’s flawed system for funding school facilities that gives some districts advantages over others.
“We realize the system we have right now is broken,†said Robert Indihar, Moose Lake schools superintendent and co-chair of the task force. “Our goal is to simplify the system and make it adequate, equitable and sustainable.â€
Only 25 districts are part of the state’s alternative facilities funding program that allows them to raise local taxes for infrastructure without voter approval. Other districts are forced to win voter approval for building and maintenance projects.
Under the task force’s recommendation, all districts would have access to local funds to address maintenance needs included in 10-year plans approved by the Minnesota Department of Education. State dollars would equalize the cost of those projects to help communities with a smaller tax base.
-- St. Paul Pioneer Press 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 Everett schools seek $259M for new schools, remodels-- HeraldNet.com Washington: January 27, 2014 [ abstract] EVERETT â€" A new high school. A new elementary school. And $41 million in improvements at North Middle School. These are three of the biggest construction projects included in the Everett School District’s $259 million bond issue, which voters will decide on Feb. 11.
The school district says there are good reasons these were selected for funding though the 20-year bonds.
Two of the district’s high schools â€" Jackson and Cascade â€" are above capacity. Projected growth and a drive for smaller class sizes for the district’s youngest students are behind the need for a new elementary school. And North Middle School, which opened in 1981 and has more than three decades of wear and tear, is in need of a major renovation, district officials say.
Mail-in ballots, which were sent to registered voters in the Everett district last week, actually have two money issues listed: the capital-improvement bond measure and a measure for the regular renewal of the district’s maintenance and operations levy.
If both the bond and levy measures are approved, property owners would pay $6.55 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. The owner of a $250,000 home would pay $1,637 per year in taxes for schools. Of that, a little more than half â€" $3.54 per $1,000 in valuation â€" would go toward the regular levy’s renewal and $3.01 per $1,000 in valuation would cover the capital-improvement bonds.
Everett school officials say the levy provides 23 percent of the school district’s $203 million operating budget and needs to be continued to cover staff salaries, textbooks and classroom programs.
-- Sharon Salyer Bill could offer alternate funding method for Maryland public schools-- Carroll County Times Maryland: January 23, 2014 [ abstract] Pushing for a 13th high school and boxed in by a lack of cash and restrictive state law, a bipartisan group of Anne Arundel County lawmakers is backing legislation that could help private companies build schools in Maryland.
Del. Cathy Vitale, R-Severna Park introduced a bill on Wednesday that would exclude lease payments made by local school districts from the state "maintenance of effort" law.
The law requires local governments, if they are to qualify for increased state aid, to spend as much per pupil each year as they did the year before. Lease payments are included in the calculation.
Vitale said she has heard that at least one private company is interested in building a new high school in Anne Arundel County and leasing it back to the school system, transferring the property to the system at the end of the lease.
But to make such a deal the school system would likely need financial assistance from county or state government, its two primary sources of funding.
Anne Arundel is one of many jurisdictions pleading for more state school construction cash this year. Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed capital budget for fiscal 2015 includes less than half of what Anne Arundel school officials requested.
As the law stands now, with lease payments included in maintenance-of-effort calculations, county assistance in paying for a leasing deal would mean an increase in the maintenance-of-effort level or cuts to staff or school supplies.
Vitale said her bill would remove that hurdle, and offer a way to deal with burgeoning enrollment at county high schools.
"At this point, that's the only way we're going to get a 13th high school," she said.
-- ALEX JACKSON 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 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 The Editor's Desk: Engineers take state to school on infrastructure-- OnlineAthens Georgia: January 16, 2014 [ abstract] As the Georgia General Assembly convened this week, the Georgia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers issued a report grading the state at “C†in terms of its infrastructure.
To arrive at their final assessment, Georgia ASCE members evaluated 14 components of infrastructure â€" aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water, energy, parks, ports, rail, roads, school facilities, solid waste, stormwater, transit and wastewater.
According to the ASCE website, the infrastructure components were graded on the basis of capacity, condition, funding, future need, operation and maintenance, public safety and resilience.
The state graded out particularly poorly on dams and transit, earning a “D-†on both. Georgia earned only a “D+†on stormwater and parks, got a “C-†on bridges and roads, a “C+†on drinking water, school facilities, solid waste and ports, a “C†on wastewater â€" and here the news gets better â€" a “B†on rail and energy, and a “B+†on aviation.
The ASCE’s overall evaluation is unchanged since 2009, but in fairness, the state is doing better than the nation, which rated a “D+†overall in the engineering group’s 2013 report card.
-- JIM THOMPSON M&O levies are critical for schools-- The News Tribune Washington: January 14, 2014 [ abstract] School measures come in different flavors. Some pay for school construction, some pay for technology, some pay for what’s called “maintenance and operation.â€
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 â€" 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 â€" which come from property taxes â€" 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 â€" 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 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.â€
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 To pay for upgrades, schools hoping to come up with a wiser way-- TwinCities.com Minnesota: January 05, 2014 [ abstract] A crumbling track, antiquated heating and cooling systems, outdated classrooms -- those are some of the problems that could be fixed in the Forest Lake school district if voters approve a $176 million tax request in May.
After more than a year of studying building needs, the school board voted in early December to put a capital bond request before voters. If approved, the money would be used to remodel a junior high and the high school, improve building security and make myriad repairs.
"We have not had the money to keep up with maintenance as well as we should have," said Linda Madsen, superintendent. "It has built up over the years and we have to make some decisions."
Forest Lake's tax request comes after school districts had record-setting success on the November ballot, with all but a few requests for operating and capital funds winning approval. But officials in Forest Lake, where voters said no in 2010 to a request for $24 million in capital funds, know such success is far from certain.
Testimony from Forest Lake leaders helped drive Minnesota lawmakers to create a committee last spring that has spent the past six months studying how to make funding for school facilities more equitable. The group of legislators and education advocates will make a recommendation to the Legislature in February.
Now, just 25 Minnesota districts have authority to raise taxes for facilities without voter approval. Those districts are eligible for what is called "alternative funding" for facilities because they have a certain mix of student enrollment, building square-footage and facility age.
Other districts mostly are dependent on voter-approved taxes to improve technology, maintain schools or build new ones.
-- Christopher Magan Florida should better fund school construction and maintenance, leaders say-- Tampa Bay Times Florida: December 30, 2013 [ abstract] Over six years, local funding for Florida school construction and maintenance needs has fallen by $1.5 billion, from a high of $3.46 billion in 2007 to a projected $2.005 billion for the coming year.
One big difference is the amount that school districts could tax property owners for such projects. In 2007, the maximum rate was $2.00 per $1,000 of taxable value. A year later, the Legislature dropped the cap to 1.75 mills, and the following year it lowered the cap again to 1.5 mills. At the same time, property values steeply declined, and state funding for capital projects also shrank, with most of that money going to charter schools.
State education leaders are calling for a reversal, as growth returns in some areas and ignored repairs are taking their toll on several districts.
The Florida Association of District School Superintendents, for one, has made one of its legislative priorities the provision of "adequate funding for the growing need for maintenance and repair of district operated public schools." The Pasco school district has separately urged its legislative delegation, which includes the House speaker and Senate education chairman, to restore districts' maximum capital tax rate to 2.0 mills.
-- Jeffrey S. Solochek School district begins phase 1B of construction projects-- Los Angeles Wave California: December 27, 2013 [ abstract] The Lynwood Unified School District has kicked off its second round of Measure K construction projects at several school sites, where work will include approximately $2 million in essential asphalt and roofing repairs, gym improvements and fencing installation and upgrades.
Identified campuses will receive improvements under Phase 1B of the district’s $10 million construction plan, which includes the first group of construction projects funded under a $93 million Measure K facilities bond approved by Lynwood Unified voters in November 2012.
“I’m thrilled that we’re continuing to move forward with important projects that will result in safer and more comfortable learning environments for our students,†school board President Briseida Gonzalez said. “These are essential upgrades that will ensure that we are properly maintaining our schools so that they can last for years to come.â€
Both Lindbergh and Will Rogers elementary schools will receive new asphalt and slurry to fix uneven and cracked asphalt that could become a hazard for pedestrians. Those projects, which began in late November and are expected to be completed by mid-January, will also include the restriping of all asphalt and installation of proper drainage.
Six schools â€" Lincoln Elementary, Will Rogers Elementary, Wilson Elementary, Hosler Middle, Lynwood High and Vista High â€" will soon see the commencement of portable classroom building roof projects to prevent leaks and provide the proper maintenance of facilities. Those projects are estimated to begin next week and be completed by mid-January.
-- Staff Writer 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 SBA to address state school project needs in Monday meeting-- WVmetronews.com West Virginia: December 08, 2013 [ abstract] Members of the state School Building Authority will meet Monday in the hopes of addressing some school project needs from around the state.
“We are going to be looking at a number of counties and multi-county vocational centers,†said SBA Executive Director Mark Manchin.
The SBA will be considering Major Improvement Program (MIP) projects in 24 West Virginia counties. MIP projects are defined as a construction/maintenance project with a cost greater than $50,000 but not exceeding $500,000.
Manchin said these are not large-scale projects such as the construction of a new school, but rather smaller ones.
“HVACs, additions, renovations, things of that nature,†he said.
To be considered for the distribution of these funds for projects, each county board of education or administrative council of an area vocational center had to develop 10-year school MIP and submit to the SBA. For this quarterly meeting, the SBA has close to $9 million it can distribute.
“We anticipate addressing real needs in several counties around the state and multi-county vocational centers which are providing a tremendous benefit to the educational process here in West Virginia,†said Manchin.
-- Travis Brinks Common views as task force weighs up school facilities-- West Central Tribune Minnesota: December 05, 2013 [ abstract] A task force studying Willmar Public Schools facilities has found some common views as members discuss ways to deal with the district’s crowded and aging buildings.
For one thing, no one on the task force thinks that nothing should be done. Everyone on the task force has talked about the need for improved physical education, athletics and fine arts facilities.
The group will meet again Dec. 16 to develop a final recommendation, which will be delivered to the Willmar School Board in January.
Another common view is that the district needs to address some deferred maintenance needs at all of its buildings. Those needs include roofs, windows, parking lots, plumbing, electrical, and heating and ventilation systems.
Most task force members also believe there is a need for new construction of some sort, but ideas vary on what type of building. New construction would likely result in some reconfiguration of the grades in the school district.
The School Board appointed the task force to study maintenance needs and enrollment projections along with the needs of 21st century learning.
The board was spurred on by growing enrollment in its elementary schools. Both Kennedy and Roosevelt elementary schools are among the largest in the state. Each has more than 900 students in grades K-5.
The district reconfigured grades and closed two small aging elementary schools in 2009. The closed buildings have since been sold.
At the time, projections indicated that the district’s enrollment may fall another 200 students before leveling off at 3,900 to 4,000 students. Instead, enrollment has increased about 200 students in the last few years.
The task force has come up with several plans which will be discussed at the next meeting.
-- Linda Vanderwerf School district facility plan emphasizes existing schools-- The Herald Sun North Carolina: November 29, 2013 [ abstract] DURHAM â€" The school district’s new $396.7 million long-range facility plan focuses less on the building of new schools while placing greater emphasis on renovating existing ones.
The plan, approved by the school board last week, will be used to guide construction of possibly two new elementary schools and renovations to dozens of existing schools over the next decade.
“There are some new schools mentioned, but we’ve done a lot of that in the past and it’s time to really focus on the existing infrastructure,†Hugh Osteen, the school district’s chief operations officer, told school board members.
The school district last updated the plan in 2010, when it carried a $325 million price tag, which is about $71 million lower than the 2013 version of the plan.
“We have pent-up capital needs at our schools related to deferred maintenance we’ve had since 2008,†said School board Chairwoman Heidi Carter. “That will drive up the cost of facilities planning.â€
Under the new plan, the lion’s share of the money -- $184.3 million -- would be spent on elementary schools. High schools would get $144 million and middle schools $51 million.
The plan also calls for spending $16.5 million on facilities that house administrative functions such as the Fuller Building downtown.
Much of the needed renovation and repair work for schools and administrative facilities includes new roofs and heating and cooling units.
Like in the past, school officials must sell the community on a bond referendum to pay for the improvements.
Durham last approved a bond referendum for schools in 2007, when voters signed off on $193.4 million for schools.
Voters also approved $105.3 million in school bonds in 2003 and $51.8 million in 2001.
-- Gregory Childress Schools may join push for sales tax increase-- Sun Sentinel Florida: November 26, 2013 [ abstract] Raising the sales tax could be an easier sell to voters if school improvements  along with park and road upgrades  are among the spending plans, according to a new Palm Beach County proposal.
County officials are considering a potential 1/2-cent-per-dollar sales tax increase to raise about $100 million a year. That would help pay for a backlog of overdue facilities maintenance and other infrastructure improvements.
Now, in hopes of building voters' support for a sales tax increase, county officials and school district representatives are in talks about teaming up to make the sales tax hike push. After sharing with the county and cities, the school district's cut of the increased sales tax revenue could be about $40 million a year.
"We have had some conversations," said Mike Burke, the district's chief operating officer. "It's something we are considering."
County and school officials contend that budget cuts during the economic downturn added to a growing backlog of public facilities upkeep needs that require a funding boost to get fixed.
But business leaders have raised questions about whether now is the right time to be raising the sales tax.
"There's a cautious wind out there," said Dennis Grady, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches. "We would like to grow the economy. … Let's not do anything to impede that."
-- Andy Reid Lee County School Board explores new tax-- news-press.com Florida: November 19, 2013 [ abstract] Rapid student growth and lack of space and money have the Lee County School District considering something historically unpopular: a hike in the sales tax.
For months, district officials have lamented the lack of building, maintenance and technology dollars that have come from the state to make up the capital budget. Bringing the sales tax up from 6 percent is looking more viable as an option.
“This may be the time for a half-cent sales tax,†said board Chairwoman Mary Fischer. “It requires no new debt and we are able to pay for a lot through tourism. Twenty-three percent of the money from sales tax comes from tourism, so it wouldn’t be a total burden on the local taxpayer.â€
Discretionary sales surtax rates vary by county. Rates range from 0.5 cents to 1.5 cents on top of the 6 percent, according to the state Department of Revenue. Neither Lee nor Collier have a sales surtax.
Lee County has seen a decrease in capital dollars. All state funding for capital goes to charter schools, and earlier this year, Lee County commissioners cut impact fees by 80 percent. The district’s $219.1 million capital fund goes to maintenance, technology and construction and makes up 17 percent of the district’s $1.3 billion budget.
-- Ashley A. Smith 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 Potential for 'school' penny tax still facing long odds-- WRDW-TV South Carolina: October 22, 2013 [ abstract] Aiken County School Board members are drawing up the plans for a possible penny sales tax. On Tuesday night, board members voted unanimously to schedule a meeting with local state representatives and senators to get the ball rolling.
Many of the district's schools were built in the 1950's or earlier. Some are overcrowded. Others require thousands of dollars in maintenance and patchwork each year.
"We're competing with Richmond County and Columbia County for jobs and for personnel. They've already got a one-cent tax, and they've got a building program that's been going on for something like 15 years," says board member Tad Barber.
Currently, Barber says the district has only about $17 million each year for new construction projects and maintenance. After the failure of a $236 million bond referendum 2010, Barber says a one-cent sales tax is a more attractive alternative.
Barber speculates that the penny tax could improve or replace most schools in the district in only about 15 years.
However, board members are left with one big obstacle before they can allow voters to choose whether or not they want the tax.
By state law, a county can have only one penny tax. Aiken County Council already has one. Board members hope local lawmakers will help push for a change when a new legislative session begins in January.
-- Chad Mills Lynchburg school board votes to approve capital improvement plan-- newsadvance.com Virginia: October 15, 2013 [ abstract] Lynchburg City School Board voted Tuesday to approve a plan calling for the renovation of three elementary schools â€" along with other infrastructure projects including the replacement of Heritage High School.
The division’s long-term capital improvement plan spells out building and maintenance goals through the 2018-2019 school year.
Under the plan, the upcoming fiscal year would include major expenditures for division infrastructure â€" a combined total of more than $95.3 million.
Most would fund the replacement of Heritage High School, slated to cost almost $83.3 million, according to the plan. The division expects to spend about $8 million on renovations for Sandusky Elementary School, with most of the rest divided up between various maintenance projects across the division.
One potential hurdle for the school division could be getting money from city leaders for the Sandusky Elementary School renovation â€" plus renovations at Linkhorne Elementary and Paul Munro Elementary in the years ahead. School leaders have said the buildings have a variety of challenges and don’t meet needs for 21st Century education.
Lynchburg’s City Manager Kimball Payne told a joint meeting of the school board and Lynchburg City Council he hadn’t included the elementary school renovations in a funding plan aimed at securing money for the Heritage High School project and other city building goals. Payne has said his funding plan could be accomplished without raising taxes.
-- Jessie Pounds Brevard schools get OK to spend impact fees on debt-- Florida Today Florida: October 08, 2013 [ abstract] The Brevard School District has received the go-ahead to use $8.3 million in impact fees collected by the county to help pay off debt from various school construction projects.
Brevard County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved the plan to allocate educational facilities impact fees collected from July 1, 2011, to April 30, 2013. Previously, the plan had been unanimously approved by the Brevard School Board and by Educational Facilities Impact Fee Advisory Committees within four areas of the county.
Dane Theodore, the Brevard School District’s director of planning and project management, said he would provide the county a comprehensive accounting of how much money was used to pay debt on each project involved.
The continued collection of school impact fees on residential construction projects became an issue on the County Commission after the Brevard School Board voted to close four schools in the last two years.
At a joint meeting last month of the Brevard County Commission and the Brevard School Board, members agreed to commission a studyon school impact fees.
School district officials said, if they didn’t get the $8.3 million in fees to make debt payments for this school year and next year, they would have had to cut some maintenance projects from the budget to free up money to pay the debt.
-- Dave Berman State Sen. Doherty says deplorable conditions at Trenton High are used as ‘props'-- The Trentonian New Jersey: October 07, 2013 [ abstract] Keep the mold on the walls and crumbling ceiling on the floor.
That’s what one politician alleges to be occurring at Trenton Central High School, a building that has been documented to contain mold, leaks and a rodent infestation, and has recently been in the middle of a hotly contested debate between the state and the Trenton School District about who will fix the 80-year-old school.
“I would say some cynical politicians from time to time may allow buildings to be used as props as opposed to actually doing the proper maintenance â€" allow an area to be a little spotty, a little maintained less than it should be â€" just so they could bring the press in and show them,†state Sen. Michael Doherty (R-Warren/Hunterdon/Somerset) said Monday. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s occurred somewhere in the history of mankind, maybe even in Trenton. Obviously, because that’s what they want to show.â€
Doherty’s comments came four days after gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono toured the school’s deplorable conditions, scolding Gov. Chris Christie for failing to make repairs and declining an invitation to tour the school firsthand.
The senator contends Trenton receives $227 million in state aid, more than most other districts in the state.
“Instead of blaming others, they should ask themselves maybe we should have done a better job,†Doherty said, adding the building and grounds department, the board of education and the superintendent should do more to make sure the building is properly maintained. “It’s certainly not for lack of resources. They’re getting a lot more than virtually any town in New Jersey, but we don’t see those problems in other towns.â€
A vocal advocate for a new high school, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer/Hunterdon), called Doherty’s comments “irresponsible†and an “insult†to Trenton’s maintenance staff.
-- David Foster Facilities uprades could cost district $55 million-- WinonaDailyNews.com Minnesota: October 04, 2013 [ abstract] The Winona Area Public Schools board could spend anywhere from just below $5 million up to $55 million on building upgrades.
Superintendent Scott Hannon briefed the board Thursday on preliminary long-range facilities planning data and options for deferred maintenance upgrades at the district's 10 schools.
Along with a $4.7 million bare-bones approach, Hannon outlined $34 million and $55 million middle ground and comprehensive deferred maintenance options.
One of the school board's strategic initiatives for 2013-2014 was to research an appropriate physical footprint for the district's enrollment. That work will be part of the Long-Range Facilities Planning Committee, but the group is also looking at improving operating costs, maintenance costs and the educational environment of the district's facilities.
"The bottom line is what are we doing for the students," Hannon said. "A significant amount of deferred maintenance needs to be done on our buildings."
Hannon outlined three possible tiers of upgrades. The first-tier would only look at high-priority energy efficiency and maintenance items, and could be funded using energy savings bonding.
â€Å"It's a Band-Aid,†Hannon said. â€Å"It would allow the district to kick the can down the road about five years or so.â€Â
-- Nathan Hansen 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.â€
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 Greenon to close one school-- Springfield News-Sun Ohio: September 29, 2013 [ abstract] The Greenon Local School District will consolidate its K-12 programs into three buildings when Hustead Elementary School closes at the end of the current school year.
District leaders and staff will begin talking with the community about how best to do that at a public forum scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8, in the cafeteria of Indian Valley Middle School.
“We recognize that consolidation … will mean many changes for Greenon’s students, staff and families,†said Superintendent Dan Bennett.
Bennett said consolidation is needed “to get our expenses under control†in the face of declining enrollment, rising building maintenance costs and district voters’ defeat of bond issues in May and November that would have raised money to modernize the schools.
“We believe there will be significant cost savings … and operational efficiencies†that can be put back into the academic program, he said.
This year, both Hustead and Enon Elementary schools teach grades K-4, Indian Valley Middle School houses grades 5-8, and Greenon High School teaches grades 9-12.
In the realignment, the district plans to move grades 7-12 into the high school, using a separate wing for grades 7 and 8, then distribute grades K-6 into the two remaining schools.
Although lower grades will be in Enon Elementary and older students in the current Indian Valley Middle School, where the grades will be divided is still up in the air.
Bennett said the high school operation is “still in its planning stages†as well.
-- Tom Stafford Newport schools land $1 million energy grant-- pennlive.com Pennsylvania: September 28, 2013 [ abstract] Newport School District has received a $1 million grant from the state’s Alternative and Clean Energy Program (ACE) for proposed elementary school renovations.
The $9.26 million renovation would include replacing the current HVAC system with geothermal wells, which qualified the district for the ACE grant.
The elementary school was built in 1969, with additions in 1989. A feasibility study by EI Associates architectural firm in February 2008 said the HVAC system had “exceeded the service life†on the 1969 section of the building and was “approaching the end of service life†in the newer section of the building.
In April the board approved the geothermal energy field option for the school’s HVAC system at an estimated cost of $3.924 million. That was the highest-cost option among three outlined by EI Associates, however, it came with 20-year projected energy savings of $148,092.
Superintendent Norm Shea said at the time of the board’s decision that the geothermal HVAC system will pay for itself in energy savings within 6.4 years. He added that the option approved by the board “has a lot less moving parts†than the other options and therefore will take less maintenance.
In addition to installing a geothermal system, the elementary renovation will include an electrical upgrade, roof replacement, building envelope improvements, gym floor replacement and security system installation.
-- KARA NEWHOUSE Board of Education OKs master plan for school buildings-- Chicago Sun-Times Illinois: September 25, 2013 [ abstract] Months after voting to close a record number of schools, Chicago’s Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to approve its first “blueprint for facilities investments over the next decade.â€
Going into the vote, several board members still had substantive questions about the final document and its purpose.
Mandated by the state to help the district deal with capital planning, the Educational Facilities Master Plan accounts for building conditions and needs and lays out district investing priorities such as libraries in all schools and alleviating overcrowding. Released in draft form in May, it accounts for a total of $3.5 billion in needed school repairs districtwide, according Todd Babbitz, chief of transformation at CPS. But contrary to its name, the blueprint does not lay out any kind of spending plan for the next 10 years, a fact not lost on board member HenryBienen.
“I’m a little puzzled because at the end of the Facilities Master Plan, a number of items are listed, maintenance and repair, air conditioning, etc.,†Bienen said. “They have a price tag. And we all know that the cumulative price tag is much bigger than our resources. So this may be a plan in some sense but it is not a project plan. . . . It doesn’t tell me what the priorities are inside all these items, much less where they would go. . . . A plan would be, ‘We’re going to spend X amount of money on these items.’ â€
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis was the first of many to ask the board to consider taking more time before voting. She said the plan is still vague, should be easier for ordinary people to use and doesn’t yet spell out a clear process for how the district might enact the listed projects.
“It’s kind of hard to find your school, if you don’t know the new made-up communities, that I would highly highly highly ask that you not utilize because it makes research very difficult,†she said. “It would really behoove you to wait just a little bit. Ask for another extension. I’m sure Springfield will give it to you just to get this right. Even though it’s a living document, let’s not have the first one be at a minimum pass level.â€
-- LAUREN FITZPATRICK Bleacher safety at sports events being questioned-- WKYC-TV Ohio: September 24, 2013 [ abstract] Two recent school bleacher accidents in Ohio are causing concern about bleacher safety.
In those cases, near Columbus and Cincinnati, people were hurt when a railing gave way at a football game.
Ohio does not have a state law on inspecting bleachers -- the state only stipulates that schools need to keep their buildings and grounds safe.
But the Ohio administrative code does say that bleachers should be inspected once a year.
Many schools aren't aware, and no one is keeping track of whether those inspections are done.
Local schools WKYC checked with do inspect once a year, either with bleacher companies or maintenance staff.
Euclid Superintendent Keith Bell says, "It is challenging with budgets but safety is always our number one priority."
New code standards require bleachers to have a six inch gap between steps.
Many of the older bleachers we found have about 16 inches between steps.
"80 to 85 percent of all schools in America are not in full compliance with today's law" said Ray Todd, owner of RT ATHCO.
-- Kim Wheeler MCISD moves forward with high school, junior high renovations-- Progress Times Texas: September 19, 2013 [ abstract] Mission CISD trustees agreed to move forward with improvements to both Mission High and Mission Junior High schools at a meeting last week.
Mission Consolidated Independent School District will issue requests for qualifications for renovations at the two schools.
Mission High School
The high school’s construction budget is $18.2 million. Renovations for the campus have been delayed for almost five years, said Rick Rivera, executive director of facilities/maintenance/construction, and prices have risen in that time.
The chiller system alone would be $8.8 million, Rivera explained at the September MCISD facilities committee meeting during discussions with ERO architects and the superintendent over the project.
“When we initially started discussion of the (MHS) Phase III project, a chiller system was approximately $6 million and in time the approximate cost is now $8.8 million,†Rivera said. “We want to advertise for RFQs for an independent assessment of the MHS phase III project, to see if there are other options that we can use instead of the complete chiller system.â€
Superintendent Ricardo Lopez said there are issues with having one chiller system for an entire campus. If it breaks down, the whole school would lose cool air or levels of cooling would be off depending where the chiller is placed, he said.
Committee member Julian Gonzalez said he would never advocate having one system for a campus, so he supports the decision from Lopez and Rivera.
According to Rivera, administration suggested bringing in a second expert for an independent and professional assessment of the Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) for this project.
-- Andrielle Figueroa Kingston High School tour aims to persuade district voters to OK $137.5 million renovation project-- Daily Freeman New York: September 15, 2013 [ abstract] School officials and the district’s architectural consultant on Saturday led a 75-minute tour of Kingston High School and the adjoining Myron J. Michael building to show deteriorating conditions that have led them to request voter approval of a $137.5 million renovation plan Dec. 10.
The tour highlighted a combination of aging infrastructure and inefficient environmental systems in building areas where students don’t typically go, but which account for the most costly maintenance bills financed by Kingston school district taxpayers.
“Compared to a modern (heating) system, the district is paying many more dollars in utility costs every year than it needs to,†said district architect Armand Quadrini. “Our maintenance staff is having many more service calls and (taking) time away from their regular day-to-day duties to maintain the system.â€
The steam heating system has also ruined auditorium floors, he said.
In areas where students travel from class to class, there are falling ceiling tiles, carpets held down by duct tape, and window sills whose supports are crumbling supports. Students at their desks in some locations are exposed to the elements from drafty windows.
“Actually, when it rains, it rains in the room,†school Principal Adrian Manuel said. “I’ve been in this room and watched the rain trickle down and the teacher has to cover everything. This is the outside-inside room, because the outside likes to come inside all the time.â€
Another room featured an improvised drainage system, where water is collected from a leak and sent into a hose that leads through a window opening next to an air conditioner.
-- William J. Kemble District 25 leans toward south site for new school-- The Ranger Wyoming: September 11, 2013 [ abstract] Fremont County School District 25 is making progress in securing real estate for a new elementary school and has started brainstorming future uses for the old Lincoln Elementary School property in east Riverton.
Superintendent Terry Snyder told the Riverton school board Tuesday that, "at this point we are making an offer on one of two properties and assistant superintendent Mike Collins and I will meet with the landowners (Wednesday) to talk about where they think they are. They have some concerns."
Snyder said he will sit down with the landowners and try to come to a resolution and have a contract ready to present to the sellers. If the contract is agreed to, it also will have to be approved by the Wyoming School Facilities Commission.
"Hopefully we can get something done with that in the near future, which then allows us the green light," Snyder said.
Easement
He also said Collins has discovered that an easement exists on property being considered for a new elementary school. The land begins where Monroe Avenue ends and extends west.
"That was, to me, good planning on the city's part on the need for a street through that part of the development. Whatever costs to put that through to Major (Avenue) will be to our expense. (Collins's) hunch was right," Snyder said.
Snyder also reported that the school district is considering the feasibility of building a district maintenance facility on the property where Lincoln Elementary School once stood.
"It is our intent to keep that property at this time," Snyder said. "We don't have a plan for it. We've discussed a couple of different options that it might be used for."
The maintenance facility option would require work with the SFC to proceed.
"We could get all of our equipment in and replace our old building," Snyder said.
-- Craig Blumenshine 20,000 Gallons Of Water Taken From Tank At California Elementary School-- Opposing Views California: September 08, 2013 [ abstract] A school was forced to closed for a day after 20,000 gallons of water was stolen from an onsite tank in Bridgeville, Calif. It was the second theft of water in the area in the last few weeks.
Think Progress reports that according to the Humboldt County sheriff's office, the culprit used a school garden hose to drain the water tank and carried it off in a truck. The school had to close for a day as the tank was refilled.
Bridgeville Superintendent and Principal Beth Anderson said a maintenance worker arrived at the K-8 campus and realized there was no running water. She said when he checked the onsite 20,000-gallon tank which stores water for the school -- which serves 43 students -- he discovered it was completely drained, according to the Times-Standard.
â€ÂWe've not had to deal with cases like this before, but with the warm dry weather conditions we've been having, we expect to see more this year,†Humboldt County Sheriff's Office Lt. Steve Knight said. â€Å"It's disturbing that someone would put their own water needs before children.â€Â
-- Andy Kossak School officals question funding requests-- Wyoming Tribune Eagle Wyoming: September 04, 2013 [ abstract] Members of the local school board disagree with each other and school district officials about how to maintain the district's non-school buildings.
Laramie County School District 1 trustees are trying to decide how to pay for renovations and maintenance work for support buildings like the administration building and the transportation facility.
â€Å"This is the second time we've muddled through this stygian swamp, and I think we need to ask ourselves where we're going with it,†trustee Nate Breen said.
Some trustees said the money should come from the state through capital construction funding.
â€Å"Even though (the state) hasn't addressed them in the past, eventually they're going to have to if we leave them there and they get in such bad shape,†trustee Tim Bolin said.
But other trustees and district officials said the funds should come from money set aside for maintenance work.
â€Å"It would be nice if state capital construction dollars paid for it, (but) my fear is the state would say, ‘Why do you think we give you square footage dollars for (the) transportation (building) if not to make improvements on (the) transportation (building)?'†trustees Chairman Brian Farmer said.
â€Å"Absent the catastrophic event, that's how they expect you to take care of it.â€Â
At a recent meeting, trustees almost voted against continuing with a maintenance and remodeling project at the transportation facility that will cost the district about $69,000. The project had already been approved once, and an architect was involved, officials said.
â€Å"You would pay the architect for services rendered and not use it,†assistant superintendent of support operations Dave Bartlett said. â€Å"So we'd be out the $69,000.â€Â
Trustees ultimately voted 4-2 to approve the project.
Trustees Hank Bailey and Bolin voted against it. Both said at the meeting that the money could be better used for school work.
â€Å"A school is a different proposition than a transportation facility, to me, personally,†Bailey said.Bolin agreed.
-- Aerin Curtis NY1 Exclusive: Principals, Teachers Weigh In On Trailers Used As Classrooms-- NY1.com New York: August 28, 2013 [ abstract] In part 3 of her special series on the deteriorating conditions in trailers used as classrooms in the city, NY1's Lindsey Christ now looks at what principals and teachers say about those trailers, which were supposed to be pulled from service years ago. She filed the following report.
Principals don't usually openly criticize the Department of Education, but school facility reports make it very clear what many think of the aging trailers still being used as classrooms.
According to the report for the trailers at P.S. 276 in Brooklyn, "The Principal had the following comments: 1) The flooring is in need of repair. 2) The roof leaks. 3) Toilet Rooms are in need of repair. 4) Plumbing is in need of repair. 5) Some A/C units are not working. 6) Ramps are in need of repair. 7) Handrails are loose. 8) Awnings are in need of repair."
There was a similar list in the report on P.S. 214, also in Brooklyn.
"The temperature is difficult to control; it's either too hot or too cold. All the toilets are deficient in some way. The floors are rotted in some classrooms. The courtyard floods during heavy rain," the report says.
At P.S. 255, a special education school in Queens, the principal wrote that the trailers are "falling apart faster than they can be fixed. And the constant maintenance is very disruptive to students with special needs."
At P.S. 219 in Brooklyn, the principal was blunt: "Due to the deteriorated conditions of the Transportable the Principal requires the unit be removed."
-- Lindsey Christ 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 Auburn to issue report card on four elementary buildings-- Telegram Towns Massachusetts: August 18, 2013 [ abstract] One group of concerned local residents went back to school early this year.
Members of the Existing Buildings Subcommittee of the School Building Master Plan Team took a lengthy, detailed tour of all four elementary schools last week as they prepared to make a report and recommendations for the future of the Julia Bancroft, Bryn Mawr, Mary D. Stone and Pakachoag schools.
Maryellen Brunelle, superintendent of schools, said that once a planned new middle school is built on West Street, the current middle school building on Swanson Road could be used â€Å"to accommodate Grades three to five, but we need to look at Grades K to two.â€Â
There has been discussion about closing two of the town's four elementary schools and keeping two open for students in kindergarten through second grade. What has not been decided is which schools will remain open and what will be done with any closed schools.
â€Å"All four schools are structurally sound. The issue is the safety of students, faculty and staff,†said subcommittee member Joseph F. Fahey, director of facilities and maintenance.
Ms. Brunelle said all school buildings â€Å"are in better shape than they have ever been, thanks to Mr. Fahey's leadership, but the question is: Which two schools should come off-line?â€Â
She said that thanks to outstanding local school maintenance, the town received 1.45 additional percentage points for the middle school project from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which means â€Å"approximately $275,000 in additional reimbursement.â€Â
-- Ellie Oleson Report nails down Burbank school costs-- The Burbank Leader California: August 16, 2013 [ abstract] It will take up to $6.4 million per year to properly maintain Burbank schools, according to a recent report, a figure far beyond the reach of the current budget.
But Burbank Unified officials say that shortfall can be at least partially made up by funds from Measure S, the $110-million bond passed by voters in March. The school board began its discussion about how much should be set aside at its meeting Thursday.
“We’ve never assumed our facilities would be maintained in perpetuity with deferred maintenance dollars,†Board member Larry Applebaum said. “The bond is a capital investment in our facilities.â€
Applebaum said he and former board member Debbie Kukta sought a plan to deal with the growing issue shortly after he joined the school board in 2005, but none was forthcoming.
Two years later, when Roberta Reynolds was elected to the board, she said the district had $10 million in deferred maintenance funds, “But we had absolutely no plan.â€
That plan now appears to be in the form of a months-long project taken on by Craig Bell, the district’s director of facilities. Bell sorted through old architect’s records to determine when the schools were built, as well as how long ago playgrounds and air conditioners were installed.
After tallying everything from the square footage of asphalt to the number of theater curtains and the reach of fences, Bell and his team calculated the cost of maintaining those items.
“This was a monumental task,†Bell said at the meeting.
Bell also calculated the cost of maintaining 150 security cameras scheduled to be installed across the district. At an initial cost at $360,000, those cameras may need replacement by 2025.
-- Kelly Corrigan Mold, lead could delay Cheltenham school openings-- philly.com Pennsylvania: August 08, 2013 [ abstract] The Cheltenham Township School District is dealing with mold in the middle school and lead paint in an elementary school that could delay the start of the academic year.
Summer maintenance crews discovered "a significant presence of mold" at Cedarbrook Middle School in July, Superintendent Natalie Thomas wrote to staff.
They placed vacuum systems and dehumidifiers in several classrooms and hallways to eradicate it, but the mold kept reappearing due to "excessive damp weather and humidity," according to district documents.
Around the same time, crews began repairing a water leak in the basement of Myers Elementary School. When workers tore back drywall, they found peeling paint on the original foundation. About a third of the paint tested positive for lead.
At a special meeting Tuesday night, the school board approved a $47,000 mold-removal contract with Langan Engineering & Environmental Service of Philadelphia, and a $35,300 lead-paint removal contract with Anthony Biddle Contractors of Ambler.
An independent environmental auditor will have to certify air-quality levels at both campuses before students and staff will be allowed to return, Thomas said.
The district believes Myers will be cleaned up in time for the first day of school on Sept. 3. But for Cedarbrook, it's too early to tell, and officials are exploring alternative starting dates or locations.
Cedarbrook faced a similar scenario in 2003, when the school year started a week late due to mold cleanup. Since then, the district has spent nearly $750,000 on mold control.
Schools are subject to strict air-quality standards for mold, which can cause allergies and trigger asthma attacks, and lead, which can cause brain damage, stunted growth and anemia, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
-- Jessica Parks Closed buildings remain open question for officials-- Readingeagle.com Pennsylvania: July 30, 2013 [ abstract] Wilson School District officials are still trying to decide what to do about two elementary schools that have been sitting vacant for more than a year.
Residents were invited to discuss the West Wyomissing and Lincoln Park elementary schools at a special meeting Monday. Options were to demolish, renovate, sell or continue to maintain them.
Dr. Rudy Ruth, superintendent, told those who turned out, "When a building sits - just like our bodies, when we sit and are inactive - bad things happen."
The school board voted to close the schools in 2012 and add classrooms to Green Valley, Shiloh Hills and Spring Ridge elementary schools. Since then, the district has spent about $48,000 to maintain the two buildings.
At a school board meeting last month, board member Jay Nigrini, facilities committee chairman, said the committee was looking into demolishing the buildings.
Should they be demolished, the district would provide basic maintenance for the grounds for community recreational use, Ruth said.
It would cost about $389,000 to demolish both, according to Ruth. Estimated renovation costs are more than $2 million for Lincoln Park and more than $4 million for West Wyomissing.
"There was a reason we closed the buildings," Ruth said. "They needed an awful lot of work."
Lincoln Park was built in 1948 and hasn't been renovated since 1957. West Wyomissing was built in 1936 and renovated in 1961.
The district could sell the properties, Ruth said, but hasn't received serious offers.
-- Beth Anne Heesen School district drains Measure M account-- Champion Newspapers California: July 26, 2013 [ abstract] With the depletion of the Measure M school construction and modernization bond this summer, it’s not likely the Chino Valley school district will see any major construction projects in the near future.
District officials said only about $50,000 will remain of the $150 million bond once several projects are completed and paid for this summer. The bond was approved by voters in 2002.
Construction project actions taken by the school board this spring are:
Accepted as complete June 13, the Chino Hills High Aquatics Center, at a final cost of $5.7 million. The project includes a 25 yard by 35 meter swimming pool, a shower/locker building, restrooms, mechanical room, coach’s office, storage, snack bar, ticket booth, shade structure, concrete benches for up to 300 people, lighting, sound system, and perimeter security fencing. Funds for the project came from Measure M. The original contract was approximately $5.3 million, but construction changes increased the price. Among the costliest changes were $155,000 to install a dedicated water line from Pomona Rincon Road to the center’s pool to solve water pressure problems, and $147,558 to install concrete bleachers instead of metal ones because they would last longer and require less maintenance, according to school district officials.
Accepted as complete June 13, modernization at Magnolia Junior High in Chino, at a final cost of $1.5 million. The project includes relocation and expansion of the school library, relocation of computer labs, enclosure of an outdoor area to make a teacher lunch room, transformation of the former library into a teacher work room, improvements to restrooms, and new paint, ceiling tile, flooring, wall coverings, cabinets, heating and air conditioning units, fire alarms, lighting and roofing.
-- Staff Writer School’s garden provides for hungry-- Sentinel New Jersey: July 24, 2013 [ abstract] More than just young minds are being nurtured at the Martin Luther King Elementary School (MLK) in Edison.
Behind the school lies a garden that, under the care of now-retired MLK secondgrade teacher Louise Lippe, who started the garden 10 years ago, teaches children how to grow vegetables that help feed the hungry in the community.
With the help of student volunteers and fellow educator Frank Roettinger, along with a grandmother named Alka Patel, a bountiful harvest of cabbages, beans and tomatoes were picked from the ground July 16 and prepared for delivery to the Hands of Hope Food Pantry and soup kitchen located in St. James Episcopal Church, 1236 Woodbridge Ave. in Edison.
“They have 150 families which they help out, so this is a very worthwhile project,†Lippe said.
Because there is no funding for the project, Lippe said she is very grateful for the strong cooperation and support it receives from the Board of Education, which pays for the water and maintenance of the sprinkler system, and the school’s principal, Diane Wilton, who supports the endeavor with fertilizer and Territorial Seed Co.’s seeds. Lippe also credits the school’s grounds crew staff members who till the garden in the fall and spring, and the custodians who mow and weed-whack the exterior to make everything look nice.
Donations from local businesses also help keep the garden growing. Home Depot provides $100 worth of plants each spring, and Patel’s Cash and Carry of Iselin provided a huge box of potatoes to plant, which will grow more potatoes. Bartel’s Garden Center in Clark provides free seeds and advice, and the Bonnie Plant Farm donated cabbages.
In an effort to utilize ground space productively,
Lippe tried an experiment this year â€" planting cabbages on top of potatoes, since potatoes grow under the ground and cabbages grow above the ground.
-- AMY ROSEN School Construction Bill Stalled, All but Dead-- The Pilot North Carolina: July 23, 2013 [ abstract] For now, a bill that could have put the Moore County Commissioners in charge of school construction and maintenance has stalled and might not come to fruition.
A similar bill involving only Wake County is moving forward but is not expected to have other counties attached to it.
“It is a stand-alone bill only for Wake County,†said state Rep. Jamie Boles, a Southern Pines Republican who represents most of Moore County.
Boles says that doesn’t mean someone won’t attempt to add another county. But the “word in the House†is that no other counties can be added.
“That is the understanding,†Boles said.
An earlier bill, Senate Bill 236, passed by the Senate included Wake and eight other counties. After getting the OK from Moore County commissioners, Boles added Moore to that bill. That legislation remains in the House Rules Committee.
Independently elected boards of education are currently responsible for school construction. The last-minute inclusion of Moore County in the earlier legislation drew sharp criticism from school leaders. Since then, the chairmen of the county commissioners and school board have met and resolved what they said was a misunderstanding.
School board Chairman Ed Dennison said that while he is pleased Moore County is not part of this latest legislation, there is still reason for concern.
“My concern is that once something like this passes, it makes it easy to add other counties later,†he said.
-- David Sinclair BELLEVILLE: School board approves upgrades for Owen, McBride-- Heritage Newspapers Michigan: July 12, 2013 [ abstract] Although Owen Intermediate and McBride Middle schools will not see teachers and students walking hallways this summer, the schools will be busy with the sights and sounds of new construction.
A $159,000 project will be completed by the time school re-opens to students in the fall and will feature several remodeled classrooms with new flooring, ceilings, lighting and mechanical upgrades such as power wiring and improved air balance.
The Board of Education recently approved the project.
It will be funded from the school district's sinking fund budget, a millage approved by voters in 2008 to pay for ongoing maintenance of school buildings.
Interested contractors walked the sites in April to review the facilities and clarify the scope of work involved. After bids were submitted, phone interviews with each of the bidders were conducted by Plante Moran staff to confirm the scope of work and the prices in each bid.
Antler Construction, Fuller Mechanical and Osier and Sons Electric were selected as the successful contractors for both schools.
Trustee Sherry Frazier, looking at the details of each bid, asked why Antler Construction was endorsed with just one page of construction detail, whereas local contractor Davenport Brothers was not selected, despite plenty of details.
-- Jerry LaVaute In wake of JCHS roof collapse, Knox County Schools says buildings are inspected regularly-- WATE.com Tennessee: July 09, 2013 [ abstract] In the wake of the roof collapse at Jefferson County High School Sunday, 6 News learned more about inspections at Knox County schools.
A spokesperson for the Knox County school district said all schools are inspected at least every six weeks by maintenance and custodial personnel.
The district said inspections overlook things like safety, electric and cleanliness.
Sharon McMillan has worked for Carter Elementary for more than 25 years and used to work in the old building.
"Aging buildings do need to be checked," McMillan said.
McMillan said the old building had problems including mold and non-working heating systems but said the Knox County School district was diligent in checking the problems and resolving them as soon as possible.
"They tried to accommodate for the aging building and when a tile would come up, they would come and fix the tile. As far as mold, anytime there was an issue it was taken care of," McMillan said.
Jefferson County High School officials said the school is inspected once a year by a fire marshal and a monthly check is conducted by maintenance workers.
JCHS officials said they had no way of knowing that the roof was in danger of collapsing because it was a structural issue.
"If that building had been inspected very carefully, there would be signs there," Knox County Plan Examiner Ron Mauer said.
-- SAMANTHA MANNING Renovations underway in N.H. schools-- Eagle-Tribune New Hampshire: July 03, 2013 [ abstract] Students have long departed for the summer, but area schools are still bustling with activity.
Planned maintenance and school renovations are underway across the county.
“We have our usual summer maintenance list,†said Jane Simard, business administrator for the Derry School District. “But there are no major projects on tap for this summer.â€
Within a week of school ending, a walkway paving project at West Running Brook School in Derry was completed. Simard said Derry schools customarily will do painting, carpet replacement and electrical work every summer.
While Derry is in relatively good shape, other districts wish they could do more.
In Londonderry, voters rejected a $4.5 million district-wide renovation and construction bond at Town Meeting in March.
“We’ve had to put many of our projects on hold,†Londonderry business administrator Peter Curro said. “It’s frustrating, but no is no.â€
Curro said district officials had hoped to do major repairs to the roof at Londonderry Middle School and paving at Matthew Thornton School this summer. Instead, they will settle for replacing the gym floor at North School and doing a minor roofing project at the high school.
Those projects and other smaller renovations will cost about $500,000, Curro said.
That’s the same amount they will be spending in the Timberlane School District. Facilities manager Jim Hughes said replacing modular classrooms at Timberlane Regional High School is the most extensive project he will tackle this year.
-- Alex Lippa 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 â€" four of which were determined to be so hazardous they “warrant immediate corrective action.â€
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.â€
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 EXCLUSIVE: 90% of schools have at least one building code violation: city-- New York Daily News New York: June 02, 2013 [ abstract] Education officials fail to make the grade when it comes to keeping public schools free of building code violations and environmental problems, according to city data.
More than 90% of city schools have at least one outstanding building code violation, an analysis of school inspection records by the school cleaners union shows.
Loose wires, stuck doors and inadequate ventilation are just some of the problems at 1,100 school buildings with at least one open violation as of May 23.
RELATED: EVALUATE TEACHERS, IMPROVE SCHOOLS
Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ President Hector Figueroa said conditions in many of the school buildings could be harmful to students and staffers.
“At the least, these violations are a distraction and a source of discomfort,†said Figueroa. “And in many cases, they could actually present a health hazard.â€
The Intermediate School 195 building in Harlem had 124 open violations, the highest count of any school building in the city.
RELATED: CITY TO DISCUSS DEZONING PLAN IN HARLEM
The W. 133rd St. structure houses four schools. It has dozens of violations for problems with elevators, lighting and building maintenance.
When city inspectors visited in March 2012, IS 195 Principal Rashaunda Shaw said there was also a “problem with rodent and insect infestation†in the building.
The city operates about 1,200 public school buildings and as of Wednesday, those structures had 9,693 open building and environmental violations. Fifty-seven schools had two dozen open violations or more.
-- Ben Chapman Broward struggling to fix aging schools-- Sun Sentinel Florida: May 28, 2013 [ abstract] With no major boost to capital funding approved by the state Legislature this year, the Broward County school district is running out of options to fund long-term fixes for its deteriorating schools.
On Tuesday, School Board members reviewed the district's five-year facility plan and acknowledged there was simply not enough capital money in the budget to meet all technology, transportation and maintenance needs. The capital budget pays for technology, transportation and construction costs and is separate from the operating budget, which pays for classroom expenses.
"The way we have to do it right now is priority based. The ones that are the very worst get addressed first, and that's an unfortunate way to have to run the district," said School Board Chair Laurie Rich Levinson.
The Legislature raised per-pupil funding and approved raises for teachers, pumping an additional $93 million into the district. But they failed to restore the district's millage rate that allowed them to levy $2 per $1,000 of assessed property value for capital projects. That was slashed to $1.50 after 2008.
"They considered it a tax increase and wouldn't do it," said district lobbyist Georgia Slack. "[Lawmakers] basically said go to the people, let the people decide."
That could mean the public could be asked to foot the bill.
"At some point we have to begin to address it," said board member Rosalind Osgood. "We have to have some serious conversations with ourselves, with the community."
District officials, however, haven't made any final decisions over a bond issue.
Meanwhile, budget officials said they don't expect a capital deficit next year because they plan to use the bulk of the district's reserve money. However, as much of the already limited budget is allocated to paying off school construction projects built prior to 2008, it leaves the district little room for major renovation projects.
And the needs they can meet are minimal.
-- Karen Yi Asbestos Contributes to Overall Failing Grades of New Jersey School District According to Architect Reports-- Mesothelioma.com New Jersey: May 21, 2013 [ abstract] Hamilton, New Jersey - A damning report rocked a community in New Jersey this week after the results revealed that virtually every school in the school district is facing considerable – and oftentimes, dangerous – problems. The architectural firm of Fraytak Veisz Hopkins Duthie explored each school in the Hamilton, New Jersey area and found that nearly half of the schools were contaminated with the lethal toxin asbestos and other schools failed to meet federal accessibility standards.
However, the litany of issues now facing the Hamilton school district is far more comprehensive than just asbestos and accessibility concerns. Out of the twenty four schools, the architectural firm granted three Hamilton schools grades of â€Å"A.â€Â
Unfortunately for school administrators and school board members, the failing conditions of the buildings did not come as a shock. In 2010, the school district was forced to cut $16 million from its overall budget in order to meet new regulations issued by the state. Reducing routine maintenance of school facilities was one of the tough budgetary decisions school district officials had to make.
According to Jeff Hewitson, school board president, this â€Å"rob Peter to pay Paul†mentality left the school district in disarray.
Among the faults found by the architectural firms include spacing issues, not enough bathroom facilities to meet the students and faculty needs, not enough emergency exits and electrical system problems. The ages of the school buildings range from over one hundred years old to facilities considered â€Å"newer,†clocking in at just under a half of a century. Even the schools that received passing grades – B's and C's – have a number of structural concerns.
-- Kristen Griffin Senate backs Wake commissioners takeover of school construction-- News Observer North Carolina: May 15, 2013 [ abstract] Wake County commissioners on Wednesday neared their goal of taking possession of more than $1.8 billion in Wake school property, as the state Senate passed a bill that would strip the school board of its authority to own and build schools.
Initially a statewide bill, the measure, approved by a Republican majority with no Democrats voting yes, applies to just nine of the state’s 100 counties â€" including Wake â€" prompting charges of political payback. The Republican majority on the Wake Board of Commissioners, which has had a tense relationship with the Wake school board, controlled by Democrats, first asked for the legislation.
The bill, which now goes to the state House, allows boards of commissioners in the nine counties to take over all facets of school construction, including deciding where schools will be built and how they will be built. Commissioners would own the buildings and be in charge of maintenance and renovations, all traditionally responsibilities of school boards.
In the counties that take advantage of Senate Bill 236, the legislation would leave school boards as essentially tenants with only the ability to advise commissioners on school construction.
-- T. Keung Hui In Midst of Mass Closings, Chicago Still Lacks Long-Term Schools Plan-- The Chicago Bureau Illinois: May 07, 2013 [ abstract] At a small church with boarded windows in Far South Side Chicago, Jackie Leavy is scrambling for a microphone. She rushes from one side of the wood-floored sanctuary to the other, trying to set up a makeshift sound system between checking that every student, parent, teacher and activist has signed in and grabbed a flyer as they trickle into the room. By the time the room is full, she gives up and heads for the stage.
“We couldn’t get a mic, but we’re in a Methodist church,†Leavy bellows across the hall over the quieting bustle of the audience. “So we’re just going to have to use our big Methodist voices.â€
It’s the second Saturday of the month, meaning that it’s time for the Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force to hold an open forum on the state of the city’s public school facilities. This month’s meeting is at the Fernwood United Methodist Church on 101st street, about 14 miles south of City Hall.
But that doesn’t stop representatives of schools from neighborhoods like Andersonville, O’Hare, Austin and Humboldt Park from coming and sharing stories of crisis. All the while Leavy, a pro-bono adviser to the task force, keeps looking for a microphone to make sure all the indignant voices are heard.
The meetings are always well-attended, but today is different. Because today is the first meeting since the city’s March 20 announcement that it would close 53 elementary schools and one high school in predominantly low-income areas.
In the three weeks since the announcement, parents and advocacy groups across the city have launched widespread protests based on the move’s potential to displace much of the city’s at-risk youth. The city, in response, has maintained that the move is a necessary measure to improve the physically-outdated, and in some cases altogether dilapidated, condition of schools.
“Consolidating schools is the best way to make sure all of our city’s students get the resources they need to succeed in the classroom,†said Mayor Rahm Emanuel in a statement following the announcement.
CPS released a supplemental capital spending plan last Saturday in an attempt to chart out the additional funding that would be allocated to the “welcoming schools,†or schools that would be receiving displaced students.
But when it comes to getting hard data over which schools are most in need of maintenance and renovation, 2013 has seen a constant struggle between the school system and observers like the CEFTF.
-- Alex Nitkin Chicago Public Schools raises questions with $162 million capital budget-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: May 03, 2013 [ abstract] Chicago Public Schools released a proposed $162 million capital budget for its 2014 fiscal year Wednesday that officials said will focus only on the "most urgent needs and educational facilities," in light of a projected $1 billion budget deficit.
The capital projects, which will include new playgrounds as well as maintenance items like roof repairs and chimney work, will be paid for through bonds, said district spokeswoman Kelley Quinn.
Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, expressed concern about the district spending money and issuing more bonds without a clear plan on how to solve its massive budget deficit.
"It is hard to understand where the Chicago Public Schools will find the resources for this additional capital borrowing," Msall said. "Although their needs continue to grow, they have not identified any sustainable revenue source to pay the long-term costs of the expansions to their capital program."
Msall warned that more bonds are "likely to cause additional concern for the bond-rating agencies, for the public and for taxpayers who want to know how in the midst of a $1 billion announced budget deficit the district can continue to expand borrowing."
-- Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah Why Construction Referenda Could Lead To Inequalities In School Facilities-- State Impact Indiana: May 03, 2013 [ abstract] As a rule of thumb, for every ten cents a school corporation asks for when proposing a tax levy increase, it knocks a percentage point off the number of voters supporting the referendum.
“In a close election, that could make the difference,†says Purdue agricultural economist Larry DeBoer. “Though most of these elections haven’t been that close.â€
Before 2008, Indiana school corporations could levy up to $2 million without asking for taxpayer approval. But changes to how schools are funded have sent an increasing number of districts to the ballot box in the last five years. Only 16 of the 40 districts that have pursued major construction projects have succeeded.
That has DeBoer and others who study school finance curious about the future of facilities maintenance in Indiana schools.
“Will it be the case that some school corporations find that they can pass the referendum and therefore they can keep their facilities up to date and have new buildings and better facilities,†he says, “while other school corporations perhaps cannot?â€
Water Coming From Below, Water Coming From Above
On a rainy Wednesday, Tuttle Middle School Principal Jay Strickland cracks open a window in his office to show off the brickwork on the 52-year-old building.
“You can see where they’ve tried to caulk,†he says. “For the longest time I used to have a towel under this window, because yeah, water would just seep out.â€
It’s not just the principal’s office, but the whole school. Water comes in through the windows, through the roof, even up through the floor. Last year workers had to jackhammer through the tiles in the main corridor to fix a leak.
“We called it Lake Tuttle for awhile,†says Strickland.
But Tuttle students and teachers won’t have to live with rotting ceiling tiles and drip buckets much longer: In 2015, Crawfordsville will open a new middle school, paid for with a $35 million construction referendum that passed last spring.
Crawfordsville Superintendent Kathy Steele says timing was everything.
“Our high school is 20 years old, so our high school is going off the tax rate at this point and time,†she says.
If the district could sell the increase as tax neutral, voters would be more likely to approve a new school. The strategy worked: The referendum passed with nearly 80 percent of the vote.
-- Elle Moxley School construction agency faulted for project oversight, incomplete records and missing reports-- Maryland Reporter Maryland: April 28, 2013 [ abstract] The Interagency Committee on School Construction (IAC), which oversees the state’s $336 million annual school construction budget, had problems overseeing construction projects, recovering state funds, and reporting on maintenance inspections, auditors found in a report released Friday.
Auditors identified four weaknesses in the IAC’s operations, highlighting concerns that the milllions of dollars going into school construction called for better management and administration. The Interagency Committee is under the Board of Public Works, chaired by the governor.
The audit found the committee’s records disorganized and, at times, lacking altogether, making it difficult to track projects and contract costs.
Some recommendations accepted, others rejected
In its report, the Office of Legislative Audits recommended the committee implement a better record-review system and called for the IAC to “maintain written minutes detailing the matters considered and the actions taken by the IAC during its meetings as required by the Opening Meetings Act.â€
The IAC accepted those suggestions in its response to the audit.
However, when auditors suggested that the IAC did a poor job monitoring construction projects â€" part of the agency’s core mission â€" the IAC respectfully disagreed.
-- Becca Heller Orange schools in search of $3 billion -- Orlando Sentinel Florida: April 25, 2013 [ abstract] When Orange County's half-penny sales tax for school construction runs out in 2015, there will be $3 billion of work left to do, the School Board was told Thursday.
That total includes $725 million in construction projects that were promised to voters in 2002 but were not completed. It also includes $246 million in replacements or improvements at buildings not on the original list. Other funds would go to new school construction, technology infrastructure, maintenance and school construction that's already in the pipeline.
Those conclusions were part of an $800,000 comprehensive assessment of the district's 211 school facilities. The assessment took eight months and was the first such measure since 2004.
The final version of the report, which will include details on the condition of every district building, is expected to be a key tool if the School Board moves ahead with plans to ask voters in 2014 to renew the tax, as they are likely to do.
"We think we can make a pretty strong case for the general public," said Board Superintendent Barbara Jenkins.
The district is expected to complete about 92 of the original 136 schools on the list before the sales tax program sunsets, leaving dozens of schools unfinished.
-- Lauren Roth Rangel Works to Rebuild America's Schools-- Congressman Charles Rangel Website National: April 18, 2013 [ abstract] Today, Congressman Charles B. Rangel introduced H.R. 1629 - Rebuilding America's Schools Act (RAS), which would increase aid for school construction and renovation across the country.
"Almost half of America's public school buildings were built to educate the baby boomers and are in dire need of repair. The longer we wait to fix our aging schools, the more it will cost our taxpayers to modernize them," said Rangel, who introduced the same bill in 2011.
A State of our Schools Report from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) estimates that schools are currently facing $271 billion in deferred maintenance just to bring the buildings up to working order – approximately $5,450 per student. Additionally, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave America's schools a â€Å"D†on its 2013 Infrastructure Report Card.
This Act will make permanent the Qualified School Construction Bond (QSCB) and Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) programs, which are two established, cost effective tax credit bond programs that provide federal financing for the construction, renovation, and repair of America's public schools. The QSCB program was established in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; the QZAB program was first authorized in 1997. The QZAB program was extended to 2013, when Rangel's bill was included in the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.
-- Staff Writer After the School Closings, the Real Estate Mess-- theAtlanticCities.com National: April 08, 2013 [ abstract] Across the United States, cities are "right-sizing" their school districts, closing and combining schools to combat crunched budgets and dwindling student populations. In January, New York announced that it would shutter 17 schools; Philadelphia will close 23 of its 242 schools. Detroit, Chicago, and Washington D.C. also unveiled controversial plans to shrink the number of schools they operate. And that's just this year.
One of the thorniest issues (in what is a veritable forest of mess) is what to do with those school buildings once they're empty. Often, the facilities are in poor shape, with promised renovations put off quasi-indefinitely. Many are located in depressed neighborhoods. And there are only so many developers with the know-how and resources to convert classrooms into condos or a community center.
Then, there are often complex laws that limit who may or may not take over city-owned property. Some cities ban charter schools from moving into empty traditional schools (officials know that moving a new school into an old school can foment frustration with the district); others require time-consuming input from the community. Laws like these can tie school districts' hands and slow re-development.
Washington, D.C., for example, has one of the hottest real estate markets in the country right now, the kind that prompts iconic newspapers like the Washington Post to put their historic downtown office building up for sale. Yet many closed public school campuses, such as the former Shaw Junior High School in one of D.C.'s up-and-coming neighborhoods, have sat empty since the last round of school closures in 2008.
This is thanks in part to a federal law that requires
the District of Columbia to provide charter schools first dibs on empty school buildings. But few fledgling charter schools can afford the sort of renovations needed at the former Shaw school, and instead D.C. Public Schools has opted for continued mothball status.
It's not unusual for closed schools to sit empty for years at a time. A 2011 Pew Charitable Trusts report estimated that there were 200 vacant public school campuses in six cities  Philadelphia, Detroit, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.  alone.
These empty buildings can be a drag on neighborhoods, acting as magnets for blight and crime. And rather than offering cash-strapped cities any sort of windfall, school districts end up paying for maintenance and security anyway. If a water pipe explodes or a group of kids decide to cover the school's doors in graffiti, it's the district that foots the bill.
-- Amanda Erickson Maintenance backlogs create school safety risks, fiscal bind -- thenorthwestern.com Wisconsin: April 06, 2013 [ abstract] A boiler failure shut down Oakwood Elementary, a 60-year-old school in Oshkosh, and forced 100 kids to squeeze into another building for weeks in 2009. Gaping holes in the Pulaski Middle School roof are causing leaks in classrooms during rainstorms, risking damage to electrical components and the structure. The building is more than 50 years old. Numerous problems at the 100-year-old Washington Elementary School in Sheboygan prompted school leaders in March to recommend closing the doors because the building has deteriorated beyond repair. Such stories have become common across Wisconsin as the condition of schools deteriorates.
-- Adam Rodewald 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 dollarsâ€"based on a funding formula that factors in the total number of school levies and the number of public school students in the stateâ€"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 moneyâ€"estimated in fhe first year as $34,000 per charter schoolâ€"is essential to helping the nontraditional schools survive and leveling the playing field with traditional public schools. Unlike traditional schools, charters don’t have the authority to ask local voters to approve bond levies to offset expenses, build new schools or pay for remodels. But Republicans and Democrats who opposed the bill criticized sending money to charters when traditional schools are in just as much need.
Sen. Shawn Keough said charter schools were designed as a testing ground for new education techniques that could be applied to the state’s K-12 system. She argued it’s time for lawmakers to look at integrating those methods across schools instead of passing measures that reinforce two separate systems, each battling for state dollars.
-- Staff Writer Editorial: Bill to give commissioners control of school construction bad for Davie County -- Winston Salem Journal North Carolina: March 20, 2013 [ abstract] If history is any indication  and it usually is  then a legislative bill that would give county commissioners control of school properties, including renovation and construction, would not be in the best interest of public education in Davie County.
School administrators and the school board are the experts when it comes to designing and equipping schools to meet the changing educational needs of students  not county commissioners. Giving that responsibility to commissioners could mean more austere cuts to school funding.
Davie County's school system is already one of the poorest-funded in the state, and last year commissioners attempted to force a $2.2 million budget cut on the school system  23 percent  before a group of concerned mothers, the DC Moms, fought back and helped stop the cuts. The commissioners also have dragged their feet on the issue of replacing the county's 56-year-old high school. They will be asked by school administrators on April 1 to place a bond referendum on November's ballot to finance a new $53 million high school.
â€Å"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€Å"There's a huge body of research on the linkage between school design and maintenance to student learning and behavior.â€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€Å"put the financial responsibility and accountability†for school construction and maintenance in one place  the board of county commissioners.
-- Journal Editorial Board Birmingham school board approves school closings, layoffs-- AL.com Alabama: March 12, 2013 [ abstract] The Birmingham Board of Education approved the closing of seven schools, the grade reconfiguration of three others and dozens of layoffs in a cost-cutting plan that will save the district close to $6 million.
Along with those school closings come 71 layoffs of school employees, also approved by the board tonight, with Wyne dissenting. It includes the elimination of 14 teacher assistants; 13 custodians; 15 teachers; five principals; 15 assistant principals; seven counselors; and two librarians.
The board also approved 19 layoffs at central office: three program specialists, four clerical workers, one bookkeeper, five custodians, one data entry clerk, two directors/assistant directors and three maintenance employees. Board member Virginia Volker cast the dissenting vote, and Emanuel Ford abstained.
All together, the cost-cutting plan is expected to save the district $5.8 million.
This is the second phase of the financial plan; the first was approved last summer and saved the district $8 million. The cuts are necessary to meet a state requirement that all districts keep at least one month's worth of operating expenses in a reserve account. For Birmingham, that's about $17 million. Both phases of the plan, coupled with other cost-saving measures and a prior fund balance of $2 million, will bring the district to a $19.5 million reserve fund.
"There are no good choices in this, we've just got to make the best of some poor choices," Richardson said.
Michael Todd, Birmingham representative for the Alabama Education Association, said after the meeting he was disappointed with the board.
"No. 1, the schools that were changed should receive the same amount of community voice as the other schools," he said. "We're concerned that students might choose to leave the system because of this."
-- Marie Leech New Hanover board opposes county ownership of public school buildings-- Star News Online North Carolina: February 11, 2013 [ abstract]
A potential change in who owns public school buildings in Wake County could affect boards across the state, and school board members in New Hanover County voted last week to discourage that from happening here.
The board voted unanimously at its Feb. 5 meeting to pass a resolution opposing laws that would let local county commissioners take over ownership of public school buildings from local school boards. The law, which is listed as Wake County's top legislative goal for the 2013 session, could be expanded to affect school building ownership in all 100 counties. While members of the New Hanover school board don't support the resolution, Woody White, chairman of the county commissioners, said his board is neutral on the issue for now.
According to state law, county commissioners fund school construction, while school boards own and maintain school buildings and plan new construction. State laws also encourage county commissioners and school board members to hold joint budget meetings annually. If new laws are passed, county commissioners would be responsible for construction, ownership and maintenance of school buildings.
In New Hanover County, county commissioners and school board members are working together on a multimillion bond referendum to fund new and renovated schools. The school board has been looking at a $284 million, 25-project list, but the final price tag would be determined by both the school board and the county commissioners.
-- Pressley Baird It's Time to Separate Facilities From Operations-- Education Week National: February 08, 2013 [ abstract] The way we build, manage and maintain public school buildings is inefficient and exacerbates some of the biggest challenge in public education. With the recent growth of the public charter school sector, the rise of tech-infused learning models, and the migration of student populations across options and geographies, it's time for us to rethink the relationship between learning programs and public facilities. It's time to decouple the delivery and the ownership of school buildings.
School districts are usually granted two special powers by their state constitution: the right to grant diplomas and the right to levy taxes. Most districts run an annual operating levy that (which in most states) augments state funding. Districts periodically propose a tax to build and remodel schools.
There are some old problems with this way of provisioning facilities:
1. The tax base (specifically aggregate value of property per capita) is much lower in high poverty communities; hence beautiful schools for the rich, and run down schools for the poor.
2. Most districts can only raise money in big chunks repaid over 30 years. In between districts don't have a reliable way to pay for regular maintenance. As a result, districts let schools get really run down and then do major remodels when they can raise money (state matching incentives can exacerbate this perverse behavior).
3. Because few districts can pass a separate levy for technology (and other 3-5 year assets), districts buy lots of technology and pay for it with 30 year bonds.
4. A medium sized district with 20,000 kids probably has a real estate portfolio worth several billion dollars, but there is often no one charged with actively managing the portfolio and balance sheet.
There are some new problems with the way we provision schools:
-- Tom Vander Ark D.C. Council members fear schools near tipping point as students flee system-- Washington Post District of Columbia: January 23, 2013 [ abstract] The District’s traditional public school system is in danger of shrinking significantly unless officials make changes that persuade parents to stop fleeing to public charter schools, D.C. Council members said Wednesday.
“I believe we are within a year or two of hitting an irreversible tipping point,†said David Catania (I-At Large), who chairs the council’s Education Committee, during a hearing on Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s plan to close 15 under-enrolled city schools.
“If we don’t become very serious about marketing and competing†with charter schools, Catania said, “traditional public schools, as we know them, will become a thing of the past.â€
Charter schools have grown quickly in the District during the past 15 years and now enroll more than 40 percent of the city’s public school students, leaving the traditional school system with half-empty buildings in many neighborhoods â€" and something of an existential crisis.
“On the one hand, we all support high-performing charters, and we support choice for our families,†Henderson said. “But at the same time, we want [the school system] to be robust and to provide everything under the sun.â€
Henderson says that closing some small schools will allow her to redirect resources from administration and maintenance to teaching and learning, creating the kind of academic offerings â€" such as art and music programs, modern libraries and elementary-school foreign language classes â€" that will attract families.
But on Wednesday, the chancellor offered few details about how she intends to redirect savings to strengthen schools. Such specifics won’t be available until school budgets are determined for the 2013-14 school year, she said.
Schools officials said they expect the closings to save $8.5 million annually, a little more than 1 percent of the system’s total $800 million budget. But critics of the chancellor’s plan question whether the system will save even that much, particularly given the costs of mothballing school buildings, including moving and storing furniture and materials.
Some council members and activists fear that closing traditional public schools will push students into charters, leading to further enrollment losses and future closures. Previous closures have not resulted in demonstrably stronger schools, increased enrollment or leaps in student achievement, they say.
-- Emma Brown Chancellor Kaya Henderson names 15 D.C. schools on closure list-- Washington Post District of Columbia: January 17, 2013 [ abstract] Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced Thursday that she has decided to shutter 15 D.C. schools for low enrollment, five fewer than she initially proposed for closure in a plan put forth last year.
Among the schools to remain open are Garrison Elementary and Francis-Stevens Education Campus, two Northwest Washington schools where parents had mounted vigorous campaigns against closure. Some students from the selective School Without Walls will move into the Francis-Stevens building.
Smothers Elementary in Northeast also will stay open, as will Southeast’s Johnson Middle School and Malcolm X Elementary. The latter will be operated in partnership with a “high-performing charter school†that Henderson declined to name.
Still, more than one in 10 schools across the city will close in the next two years, the latest sign of a school system battling budget pressures and competition from fast-growing public charter schools.
Henderson argues that closing half-empty schools will allow her to use resources more efficiently, redirecting them from administration and maintenance to teaching and learning.
“Ultimately we’re paying too much and offering too little,†Henderson told reporters Thursday morning. “There are too many schools, and too many small schools, to allow our students to get the full benefit of the resources that we have.â€
Thirteen of the schools will close at the end of this school year, with the remaining two â€" Sharpe Health and Mamie D. Lee, both schools for students with disabilities â€" to close in 2014.
For the first time, Henderson offered an estimate of the money to be saved through consolidations: $19.5 million. About $11 million of that will be needed for transition costs, Henderson said, resulting in a net savings of $8.5 million.
The last round of 23 school closures in 2008 cost millions more than initially reported, according to an audit released in August. Henderson said the school system is more confident in its savings estimates now, after learning from the mistakes of 2008.
The savings will be plowed back into schools to improve programming, including into libraries and arts and foreign language offerings, Henderson said, adding that the public will get a more detailed view when school-by-school budgets are released in the coming months.
She said that about 140 staff positions may be lost, but given normal attrition through resignations and retirements, “we actually feel like the loss will be minimal.†She said she doesn’t expect any teacher evaluated “effective†to be out of a job.
-- Emma Brown 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 Report says D.C. school closures unlikely to save much money in 2013-14 school year-- Washington Post District of Columbia: January 15, 2013 [ abstract] D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s proposal to close 20 underenrolled schools appears unlikely to produce substantial savings next year, according to a report scheduled for release Tuesday by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization.
The report is based on an analysis by education finance lawyer and longtime D.C. schools budget watchdog Mary Levy, who estimates that the proposed closings would save about $10.4 million in staffing costs in the 2013-14 school year.
Those savings, according to Levy’s analysis, would be nearly erased by the cost of the closures themselves â€" an estimated $10.2 million to pay for inventory, relocation and storage.
The analysis does not attempt to forecast potential savings beyond 2013-14. Such savings would depend on unknown factors, including whether the school system maintains or leases vacant buildings or releases them from its inventory, the institute said.
The report urges school officials to clarify in concrete terms how the closings will strengthen schools that remain open.
“If there are to be savings, how are you going to reinvest them?†said Soumya Bhat of the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute. “And how does this link to your overall effort to improve quality across the system?â€
Henderson has argued that closing half-empty buildings will allow her to operate the D.C. Public Schools more efficiently, redirecting resources from maintenance and administration to classroom teaching. But she has declined to offer a dollar figure for the savings the school system expects.
The chancellor has said she expects to release her final list of school closures this week.
-- Emma Brown Construction firms counting on school bonds for more work-- Sacramento Business Journal California: January 11, 2013 [ abstract] For Sacramento’s slowly recovering construction industry, November was a very good month.
Voters in the 2012 general election approved $832 million in new construction bonds for San Juan Unified, Sacramento City Unified and Folsom Cordova Unified school districts combined. The new funding mostly will pay for renovation and maintenance projects, including efficiency retrofits, new heating and cooling systems, and technology upgrades.
Construction firms hope the bonds will bring a windfall to the local building industry â€" although they’re not sure how big that windfall will be.
Unemployment in the capital’s construction industry was 19.5 percent in November, according to California’s ...
-- Christopher Arns 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 Judge Says State Too Slow on Emergency School Repairs-- The Alternative Press New Jersey: December 27, 2012 [ abstract] City education advocates are hoping that a recent ruling by an administrative law judge may force the state to speed the progress in making emergency repairs to Paterson’s schools.
In a December 14 ruling, the judge said the state Department of Education had failed to fulfill its obligation to provide a thorough and efficient education to students in the New Jersey’s poorest school districts by allowing substantial delays in completing the repairs.
The ruling by Administrative Law Judge Ellen Bass pointed out that the state has not started work on most of the 70 emergency repair projects that were approved by education officials in the spring of 2002. The state approved those 70 from a list of more than 700 projects submitted by PPaterson and other urban districts.
“Since by definition an emergency project is one that is ‘so potentially injurious or hazardous that it causes an imminent peril to the health and safety of student and staff’ such a painfully slow process, on its face, defies logic,’’ said Bass in her ruling.
Paterson has one project on the list of 70 â€" repairs on the heat-ventilation-air conditioning (HVAC) system at New Roberto Clemente School. Paterson Public Schools originally had asked the state to fund 17 emergency projects. But the New Jersey Department of Education determined that most of them constituted routine repairs or should be included in the district’s regular capital maintenance budget.
City school officials said last week they would not be able to provide information on whether any of the 17 emergency projects had been done until after administrators returned to work from the holiday recess. That list included the boilers at the Eastside and Kennedy high school complexes and the HVAC at Rosa Parks, School 6 and Kilpatrick, Weir and Dale Avenue schools.
-- Joe Malinconico 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 Pasadena Unified to investigate handling of $350-million bond fund-- LA Times California: December 07, 2012 [ abstract] The Pasadena Unified School District launched an investigation Thursday into the handling of its $350-million school construction bond, a day after suspending a top official and several work contracts.
On Wednesday the district placed Chief Facilities Officer David Azcárraga on leave, suspended its contract with a consultant overseeing work under the 2008 bond measure, Measure TT, and terminated four other consulting contracts.
District spokesman Adam Wolfson told the Pasadena Sun that the investigation would be conducted by Vicenti, Lloyd and Stutzman, a Glendora-based accounting firm that specializes in probing public agencies for fraud.
Officials declined to comment about the nature of the investigation.
Azcárraga, hired by the Pasadena school district in January 2011, was placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday pending the outcome of the investigation, said Wolfson. Azcárraga's annual salary is $155,000, said Wolfson.
Before coming to Pasadena, Azcárraga was chief facilities officer for the Compton Unified School District and had worked for the West Contra Costa County and city of Vallejo school districts, according to a 2011 Pasadena schools hiring announcement. He had also overseen maintenance of military bases in the San Francisco Bay area for the U.S. Navy.
-- Staff Writer 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 â€" new schools or renovations and maintenance to older schools.
-- Bill Dries DCPS closing 20 schools, including Spingarn-- Greater Greater Washington District of Columbia: November 13, 2012 [ abstract] Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced today that DC Public Schools will close 20 of its schools in a long-anticipated move based, she said, primarily on right-sizing DCPS's capacity with its enrollment and educating more kids in modernized campuses.
The only high school slated to close is also the high school most in the transportation news: Spingarn High School, on Benning Road. DDOT has been planning a streetcar maintenance facility on the Spingarn grounds, and hoped to provide technical training in streetcar technology for Spingarn students.
Henderson said that this idea isn't gone; DCPS is looking into creating a "transportation career and technical education center" at Spingarn, but this plan is still in the early stages.
Matt Johnson made some maps of the proposed closures for neighborhood elementary, middle and high schools. There are also some schools that serve students with disabilities or other specialized groups which are not on these maps as they do not draw from neighborhood boundaries.
Henderson said that DCPS hopes to keep all of the school buildings for the future. The Office of Planning estimates that the number of school-age children in DC, which has been declining for many years, will start rising again in 2015. Therefore, DCPS will likely begin needing more of these schools once more, but not for at least some years.
DCPS has plans for some of the buildings, such as expanding School Without Walls into the Francis-Stevens Education Campus, which is slated for closure. There are some preliminary ideas for some others, like a suggestion for a community arts center in what's now Garrison Elementary. For many, DCPS plans to work with the local community to identify the best use of the building, possibly including housing charter schools in the buildings.
Earlier this year, a report from IFF, a community development and consulting organization, recommended closing many schools with lower rates of student proficiency and moving kids to schools with higher proficiency. This report came under a lot of criticism for allegely oversimplifying and misreading the statistics.
At today's press conference, Henderson made no reference to the IFF report, and when asked said she had seen the data, but it wasn't the basis for her decisions. Instead, she talked about the Census and about data from the Office of Planning, and claimed that she made decisions to close schools simply to align the supply of space with the student demand.
-- David Alpert and Ken Archer NYS Court of Appeals rules that city school authorities violated environmental law on Mott Haven Campus -- NEW YORK DAILY NEWS New York: October 29, 2012 [ abstract] Mott Haven parents, teachers and community members have chalked up a victory from the state's highest court in their battle with the city over a school built on toxic land.
The New York Court of Appeals ruled that the city Department of Education and the School Construction Authority violated environmental law in the construction of the Mott Haven Campus.
The court ruled last week that the SCA violated the state Environmental Quality Review Act by allowing construction of the schools complex on a contaminated site without providing a long-term maintenance plan to the community first.
The final decision comes after a contentious 5-year legal battle between Mott Haven residents and the city.
"It's a huge victory for the teachers and public school children," said Dawn Philip, staff attorney with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.
"It means that they now have a right to comment on a site management plan...to ensure that they're not going to be exposed to toxins in the long term."
A representative for the city Law Department maintained that the Mott Haven Campus remediation plan "included significant public comment and was approved by the state."
"Those who brought this lawsuit never disputed the remediation effort, or the validity of the city's long-term measures to ensure that this site is protected from future contamination," Senior Counsel Janet Zaleon said in a statement.
But, she added, the city will now make sure it includes long-term monitoring measures in its plans.
Jane Maisel, of the Bronx Committee of Toxic Free Schools, said the ruling will promote accountability for city agencies.
"Considering that the SCA's job is to build schools, we feel it is especially crucial that they comply with these protective regulations," she wrote in an email.
The $250 million campus, which includes four schools serving 2,000 students, was built on a former railroad yard with contaminated soil and groundwater.
-- Corinne Lestch Between 8 and 10 Birmingham city schools could be closed next summer, official says-- AL.com Alabama: October 16, 2012 [ abstract] The state will recommend to the Birmingham Board of Education in the next couple of months closing between eight and 10 schools next summer, and some newly renovated schools may be on the list.
Former state Superintendent Ed Richardson, who is leading a state financial intervention team in Birmingham, said an additional $9 million to $12 million needs to be cut from the district's budget. Cuts will be made in various areas, such as personnel, energy contracts, transportation and maintenance and - although he admits it's unpleasant - through the closing of schools.
"It's going to be tough. It's always an unpopular thing to close a school," Richardson said. "And we're going to end up closing some that have had recent renovations or additions and that definitely won't be pleasant."
-- Marie Leech Commissioners battle over school funding, facilities study -- Carrol County Times Maryland: October 13, 2012 [ abstract]
The decision to close a school should not be driving the board of commissioners’ decision whether to minimally fund the school system, according to the president of the Carroll County Board of Commissioners.
The Carroll County Board of Education is performing a Comprehensive Facility Utilization Study at the urging of the board of commissioners to find cost savings within the school system. There is a strong feeling on the school board that if it doesn’t close a school, it will be funded by the board of commissioners at maintenance of Effort, according to Commissioner Doug Howard, R-District 5. maintenance of Effort is a law requiring counties to provide schools with funding per pupil no less than the prior year.
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The board of commissioners had a spur-of-the-moment 90-minute discussion at the very end of its Thursday afternoon meeting. The heated discussion left commissioners hurling accusations at one another and making their case to close or keep schools open. The battle was primarily between Howard, who does not support closing schools, and Commissioner Richard Rothschild, R-District 4, who supports closing schools.
Howard, the board’s liaison to the school board, argued that the facilities study and how much the board of commissioners chooses to fund the school system’s operating and capital budgets should be completely different discussions. The school board should not be feeling pressured to pick a school to close because they are worried about the county giving them less money, Howard said.
The discussions on taking cost-saving actions and making decisions about the schools operating budget should not be divorced from one another, according to Commissioner Dave Roush, R-District 3.
“There’s a cost associated with every seat whether it’s full or empty,†Roush said. “To the extent that there are an excessive number of empty seats means their costs are being wasted and we’re being asked to fund them.
“I think we have a right to be concerned about the efficiency and effectiveness of the way the money we give them is being spent.â€
There is confusion on the school board, Howard said, over what the goal is for the board of commissioners regarding cost-saving measures for the school system. Howard expressed concern that the board of commissioners is sending the wrong message, since it remains split on whether schools should be closed.
-- Christian Alexandersen 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€Å"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 State Matching Grant program helps 691 districts repair and improve facilities
-- Illinois State Board of Education Illinois: October 10, 2012 [ abstract] The Illinois State Board of Education announced it has awarded more than $39.2 million under the School maintenance Grant Program to help 691 districts and vocational centers make necessary repairs and improvements on existing facilities. The dollar-for-dollar program provides up to $50,000 in matching funds for the maintenance and upkeep of buildings or structures used for educational purposes.
“This grant program offers much needed support in this tough economy to make necessary improvements to our school campuses,†said State Board of Education Chairman Gery J. Chico. “We know that much more needs to be done but this helps districts get to projects that have long been on their to-do lists and might still be without these funds.â€
The School maintenance Grant Program, supported under the state’s School Construction Funds, can go toward an array of improvement activities, including re-sealing a parking lot, removing asbestos, replacing playground equipment, repairing bleachers and more. The grants, awarded for the first time since 2001, were distributed to districts through the summer and the start of this school year.
All school districts, cooperative high schools and Type 40 area vocational centers were eligible to apply for a grant. Under the terms of the program, Chicago Public Schools receives 20 percent of the allocation or about $6.5 million.
Under law, the School Construction Funds was created as a special fund in the State Treasury, which receives bond proceeds from the state’s sale of General Obligation Bonds for the purpose of financing school maintenance and construction.
To see a list of grant awardees, visit http://www.isbe.net/sbss/smp_grants.htm
-- Staff Writer A tough choice: Should city district close a school? -- Herald and News Oregon: September 29, 2012 [ abstract]
A tough question will soon be answered: Will an elementary school be closed in Klamath Falls? Having to make a school closing decision is one of the most heart-wrenching assignments any school board can have.
It has become a common issue in our tough financial times; many districts in the state and nation are struggling with the same challenge. The two schools under consideration are Pelican and Fairview.
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The question really boils down to a financial one: The district would save between $200,000 and $300,000 annually by closing an elementary school. This does not count the millions of dollars in maintenance and upkeep savings that closing a school makes possible. DLR, an architectural firm hired last year to do a district facility study, estimated about $4.6 million in such costs for Fairview in the next 10 years and about $3.07 million at Pelican. Is this savings worth the cost of losing a neighborhood school? That is the big question.
Are there other issues to consider in closing a school? Yes. One is class sizes, another is educational programming, a third is neighborhood supports, a fourth is local convenience, and a fifth is planning for the future of education in the district.
Equalizing class size
Districts with larger elementary schools with more sections of each grade are able to even out class sizes more equally.
Simply put, the more sections you have at a building the more similar you can make class sizes. One- or two-section buildings naturally have great upswings and downswings in class sizes grade-to-grade based on the number of students in that neighborhood in a given year.
A related benefit is a reduction in blended classrooms, or classes with more than one grade in them. Blends are more prevalent in smaller buildings. They result from upswings and downswings in local student populations.
Closing a school would not solve either of these problems, but would lessen them.
Reasons to keep schools
On the flip side, there is a local attachment common to smaller neighborhood schools. Neighbors seem more willing to volunteer in the school that is near to them. Also, churches and service organizations are sometimes willing to lend a hand to a school nearby. Proximity is also important to those wishing to be within walking distance of a school.
-- PAUL HILLYER State Task Force Proposal Would Require School Districts To Fund Charter School Facilities-- State Impact Florida: September 27, 2012 [ abstract] A state task force is considering a proposal which would require local school districts to give money to charter schools for facilities.
Construction, maintenance and other capital expenses has been a growing concern for Florida schools as the state funding for those programs has decreased.
A Florida Department of Education task force will meet this afternoon to talk about a new proposal to change state law for district and charter school facilities funding.
Under the proposal, districts would be required to provide facilities funding to charter schools based on the number of students enrolled. Funding would be compulsory, ending the current practice of choosing facilities funding by need.
School districts would have the option of raising local property taxes an additional .15 mills to pay for charter school facilities. Districts can currently levy 1.5 mills on taxpayers for school facilities.
How to fairly fund school facilities has been a difficult issue for school districts to solve.
-- John O'Connor 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 facilitiesâ€"rather than trying to construct new onesâ€"is the most efficient and economical use of public resources.â€
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 City Courts Investors to Fix Schools -- Wall Street Journal New York: September 06, 2012 [ abstract] Officials in Yonkers, N.Y., are looking to partner with investors to raise $1.7 billion for renovating the city's crumbling public schools, in an unusual approach to education funding that is being watched by other cash-strapped school systems.
U.S. school districts traditionally finance infrastructure improvements by issuing bonds backed by local tax revenue, and they routinely maintain facilities through their operating budgets. The Yonkers school district, which sits just north of New York City, is weighing plans to contract with investors to pay for improvements and maintenance for as long as 30 years on more than three dozen school buildings with an average age of 73.
In exchange, the investors would receive a steady stream of payments from the city and the stateâ€â€which helps fund the district. The investors also might be able to use school facilities after school hours for profit, sharing any proceeds with the district.
Joseph Bracchitta, chief administrative officer for Yonkers schools, said the district would consider ideas from investors such as a for-profit health club at a new school gym. "Everything is on the table," he said, emphasizing that the district would have to agree to any plans.
"It's definitely to our benefit if [private investors] can develop separate revenue streams," he said.
Low interest rates make issuing debt relatively cheap right now. But district officials say there are advantages to the idea of contracting with private investors.
Such a contract could help minimize the need for new local taxes or budget cuts to cover the renovations, while offloading the risk of cost overruns to private investors and avoiding the need to staff-up for a huge, multi-phased construction project. Investors, meanwhile, potentially would get returns above standard bonds, with the added security of an investment in hard assets.
Similar partnerships with the private sector have been used widely in the U.S. to finance revenue-producing infrastructure like toll roads and bridges. If it proceeds, the Yonkers plan could set a model for adapting the structure to large public school systems at a time when many are having to slash budgets while struggling to maintain aging facilities.
"We're following [Yonkers's effort] with a good deal of interest," said David Lever, executive director of Maryland's Public School Construction Program, which oversees funding for the state's school projects. Mr. Lever said Maryland officials are exploring public-private partnerships, among other means, to help pay for more than $15 billion in needed renovations and new construction, though he noted that for-profit, after-hours operation of school facilities isn't currently among the considerations.
-- BOB SECHLER Parade Magazine decries poor state of public school facilities -- Economic Policy Institute National: August 15, 2012 [ abstract] Parade Magazine published an excellent report by Barry Yeoman about the sad state of the nation’s school facilities this past weekend. It’s a surprisingly detailed look at a deficitâ€"the backlog in school maintenance and repairâ€"with much bigger consequences for our children than the federal budget deficit. By some estimates, the nation would have to spend $271 billion just to bring the public schools up to a decent state of repair, while a state of world class excellence would require investments several times larger.
All of the talk about testing our way to educational excellence has only diverted attention and funding from the desperate state of the nation’s school buildings and grounds. Crumbling, antiquated facilities are, as Yeoman makes clear, hostile to learning and depressing to the children and teachers who spend so much of their lives there.
State and local governments too often look the other way or blame teachers for the educational shortcomings of the students. Education seems to be the place where many people don’t believe “you get what you pay for.â€
Today, more than 14 million children attend class in deteriorating facilities; the average U.S. public school is over 40 years old. In the worst of them, sewage backs up into halls and classrooms, rain pours through leaky roofs and ruins computers and books, and sinks are off the walls in the bathrooms. As Mary Filardo, CEO of the 21st Century School Fund, puts it, they are “unhealthy, unsafe, depressing places.â€
It doesn’t have to be that way, and with Filardo’s leadership and encouragement, the Obama administration and key members of Congress are working to close this investment deficit. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), and dozens of cosponsors have introduced legislation (Fix America’s Schools Today, or FAST) to provide $30 billion a year to repair and renovate school facilities, bring them up to code, and make important energy-saving improvements.
-- Ross Eisenbrey Some schools are in decrepit shape; it will take billions to fix-- Bakersfield Californian California: August 01, 2012 [ abstract] More than 6.2 million students attend K-12 public schools in California, but the conditions of the classrooms they sit in, playgrounds they run on and cafeterias they eat in are largely unknown. Unlike 22 other states in the country, California does not have a statewide inventory of its public school facilities.
Creating a statewide inventory of public school facilities was among several recommendations made in a state-commissioned report released last week. The report, by UC Berkeley's Center for Cities & Schools, highlighted an issue with which state and school officials have long grappled: How do we know the facility needs of our nearly 10,000 public schools?
"If the governor issued an executive order to improve the 100 worst-condition school buildings, no one could really bring him the list," said Jeffrey Vincent, lead author of the report and deputy director of the center. "The state's almost shooting in the dark, frankly."
By considering projected K-12 enrollment and existing facilities' modernization and maintenance needs, Vincent found that California schools will need $117 billion and policy changes over the next decade to ensure their facilities are safe, modern, equitable and sustainable learning environments. In order to be strategic with those funds, he said, California must be able to identify what and where the facilities needs are.
School facilities inventories are among the best practices in other states, said Kathleen Moore, director of school facilities and transportation services in the state Department of Education.
"Every day in education, we're asked to make quality decisions based upon the research and based upon the data, and I don't think that facilities should be any different," she said.
-- JOANNA LIN 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 â€" 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.â€
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 amountâ€"about $117 billion from all sources, including local and state â€" 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.â€
-- Lara Azar Valley schools raise facility fees to cover costs-- azcentral.com Arizona: July 21, 2012 [ abstract] The Valley's school districts own hundreds of well-kept fields and air-conditioned gyms that are available for rent, mostly for cheap. But with cutbacks in state funding, schools are having to strike a balance between giving taxpayers a break on using the facilities and covering their costs.
Two districts, in Phoenix and Cave Creek, were the latest to adjust their facility rental fees this summer to recoup the money they spend on irrigation, air-conditioning and maintenance. But the impact of fee changes on some of the biggest users -- youth sports leagues -- can be dramatic. And huge variations in the rates that districts charge mean some teams pay big rents while others nearby pay nearly nothing.
This month, the Madison Elementary School District kept its $20-per-hour fee to rent gyms but removed the daily cap and added a custodial charge. The Cave Creek Unified School District switched from unlimited field or gym use for $5 per player to an hourly system.
Both districts cited the need to cover their costs -- and in Cave Creek's case, the state Office of the Auditor General recommended raising the rental fees.
The new $2.50-an-hour fee will mean the Cactus Foothills South Little League will pay an extra $800 to use baseball fields at two Cave Creek elementary schools during its spring season, according to Aerin Jacob, the league's president.
While Jacob called the new rate fair, "it still is rising by more than 50 percent."
-- Mary Beth Faller 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.â€
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.â€
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 A School Built in the 1950's: Should It Stay or Should It Go? -- Branford Patch Connecticut: July 05, 2012 [ abstract] It's been sitting, mostly ignored, at 80 Burban Drive for nearly two decades now. Built in the 1950s as part of a generation of schools that included Brushy Plain School (which became the Mary T. Murphy School) and Damascus School (renamed the Mary Tisko school in 1983), the Branford Hills School was last used as an elementary school in 1991. For a brief period in the 1990s, it was used by a technical school. Since then, it's still put to use, although not with great frequency. The School Aged Child Care program uses the spot for day care, Friends of the Library and BCTV use it for storage, and meetings and professional development seminars are irregularly held there. During elections, it serves as a polling place.
But the building is old and in need of repairs, including $350,000 in roof repairs. And those repairs will eventually have to be done -- or the Branford Hills School building will just have to go. As Branford Schools Facilities Director Mark Deming told the RTM education committee in May, the roof needs the repair funds as soon as possible. "From a maintenance standpoint, I can't keep it up for the next five years," he said. And as long as it belongs to the town, Branford taxpayers are paying for the building. A $15,000 building facilities study commissioned by the town should be out by the end of the summer, and it's expected to provide data that could ultimately settle the school's future.
-- Davis Dunavin Oregon School district aims to lower its energy bills -- Lagrande Observer Oregon: July 02, 2012 [ abstract] Union High School’s classroom building, which features one of the most ornate building entrances in the region, was constructed in 1911, the same year electric starters replaced hand cranks in automobiles.
Motor vehicles have come a long way since 1911. So has Union High School â€" in every way but energy efficiency.
UHS’s classroom building has almost no insulation, an outdated heating system for the school’s gym wastes large amounts of energy and many other related problems exist.
The issues explain why the Union School District has monthly energy bills that sometimes reach $10,000 during exceptionally cold winters.
The days of such five-figure bills, like the hand-crank automobile, may soon be only a memory. The district’s heating bills should drop significantly next winter because of the Oregon Department of Energy’s new Cool Schools program.
Some $370,000 of work will be done at UHS and throughout the Union School District over the next six months to boost energy efficiency. The work will be financed by the Cool Schools program and likely will not cost the district any money over the long term in part because it will save the district about $31,000 a year in energy, operation and maintenance costs, said Beth Stewart, a member of the Union School Board.
Stewart has been working with the Oregon Department of Energy since October to get her district involved in the Cool Schools program, created by the Legislature in 2011.
-- Dick Mason Fox Cities, Wisconsin school districts need millions to update facilities -- Post Cresent Wisconsin: June 16, 2012 [ abstract] Fox Cities school districts own a lot of real estate and spend millions every year to maintain their facilities, and for older districts, the to-do lists keep getting longer. The Appleton Area School District has identified more than $19 million in necessary improvements to school buildings. For example, crews will install elevators at Franklin and Johnston elementary schools this summer so the buildings can properly accommodate students with disabilities â€" additions that will cost the district almost $413,000
AASD budgets $960,000 every year to maintain its schools and facilities. The money is pulled directly from a capital projects account, called Fund 41, that is fed by property taxes and state aid. “We have a lot of square footage,†said Don Hietpas, who manages the district’s finances. “To only invest a million dollars a year in our buildings to keep them viable is not enough. But we’ve done what we can with what we have.†In past years, the district budgeted upward of $2 million a year for capital projects, but budget constraints have reduced the amount set aside significantly, Hietpas said. Kimberly, Little Chute and Neenah also pay for their maintenance and capital projects using a Fund 41 account. Both Kaukauna and Menasha budget for capital projects out of a general fund reserve. This gives school boards more flexibility while budgeting for the year, said Mark Van Der Zee, director of business services for the Menasha Joint School District.
The long list of needed improvements in Appleton is mostly due to the age of the district’s more than 20 buildings. Bob Zuehlsdorf, facilities and operations director, said the average classroom in Appleton schools is more than 50 years old.
-- Megan Nickolai Palm Beach County school safety violations up 17 percent-- Sun Sentinel Florida: June 16, 2012 [ abstract] Safety violations soared this year in Palm Beach County public schools mostly because there are fewer building inspectors and maintenance workers, officials say.
A new report for the state fire marshal lists 3,335 citations, ranging from problems with school fire alarms to faulty emergency lights to broken guardrails to leaks.
That's up from 2,837 violations in 2011, or an increase of 17 percent, according to a report provided for the School Board's meeting on Wednesday.
But the parents and employees should not be worried since all imminent dangers are fixed immediately when reported, said Support Operations Chief Joseph Sanches.
"We have not and will not allow any classroom, office or building to be occupied if there were life threatening safety concerns," he said. "Our track record shows that our buildings are very safe places to work, learn and play."
The number of citations reported to state authorities would be greater if the emergency items were not handled right away, Sanches said.
Yet it's taking longer to find and correct some accident hazards because there are four inspectors instead of five. This resulted in numerous violations appearing on the final year-end report before maintenance teams had a chance to correct them, he explained.
"Losing one person may not seem like much but losing that person increased the other inspector's workload by approximately 25 percent," Sanches said.
Moreover, there are fewer carpenters, painters, plumbers, electricians, roofers and other workers in the facilities maintenance division who are available to make the corrections.
There are fewer than 350 workers on the staff, down from about 570 in 2007, a drop attributed to retirements and budget cuts.
-- Marc Freeman New school rises from old facility. A grade school remodeled from a middle school takes shape -- Register Guard Oregon: June 13, 2012 [ abstract] The lockers are gone. The front doors have extended windows so you can see even the smallest students coming and going. There’s bright new flooring, spiffed-up wood paneling and attractive built-in wooden benches. After a year of work, Two Rivers/Dos Rios Elementary School is taking shape in the Springfield School District’s old middle school on G Street, closed last year in a cost-saving measure.
You’ll have to forgive Jeff DeFranco for looking about as proud as a new parent in showing off Two Rivers/Dos Rios â€" or TRDR as district employees have begun to call the new school. DeFranco, the district’s communications director and facilities manager, has been shepherding the project for the past year. He’s excited that it’s all coming together, and that it will cost a whole lot less than a brand-new school â€" about $750,000 as opposed to $16 million to $18 million. Refurbishing the building so it will suit much younger â€" and smaller â€" students included $390,000 in bond money, which voters agreed to several years ago, to get rid of asbestos and put in new floors, as well as $50,000 in previously approved funding to replace windows. The remaining $310,000 comes cobbled together from other funds the district had on hand for maintenance and other projects, including $18,000 from the Springfield Utility Board for energy efficiency upgrades. “We redirected resources,†DeFranco said. “We didn’t increase resources.â€
-- Susan Palmer 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 â€" 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 Amid budget politics, Arizona school buildings crumble-- Green Valley News and Sun Arizona: May 10, 2012 [ abstract] Districts like Kyrene School District are facing the summer’s scorching heat with coolers that could break down at any moment, which could send kids home to their parents so emergency repairs can be made. Higley’s situation mirrors the larger problem of funding for school facilities in Arizona: not only are schools breaking down, but there’s no way to fix the problem. After budget talks about overhauling school building maintenance flopped, the legislature has continued to cut off funding to regular school repairs in violation of the state Constitution and a previous court order.
-- Kellie Mejdrich Mesa panel urges $285 million bond issue for school repairs-- AZ Central Arizona: May 04, 2012 [ abstract] A Mesa Public Schools committee agreed Thursday to recommend that the district governing board ask voters in November to approve a $285 million bond for building repairs, new buses and technology improvements.
The governing board has until June 9 to decide whether to ask voters to approve the bond, which would be used primarily to make repairs to aging buildings and tear down and replace aging elementary schools that have become inefficient to operate.
"Seeing that two-thirds of our facilities are 30 years old, this number makes sense to me," said Dennis Tingey, a committee member appointed to represent district parents. Others on the 44-member panel represented teachers, students, administrators and retirees who live within the district.
District officials told the committee on Thursday that the average house in Mesa is valued at $113,00. If the bond is passed, the monthly tax bill of the average home owner would increase by $5.56 a month.
The committee, comprising administrators, faculty, parents, students and community residents, is charged with reviewing attendance and building conditions at Mesa's 74 schools and coming up with a 10-year plan for school-building repairs and maintenance.
In addition, because Mesa's enrollment has declined by about 9,000 students -- to 64,000 -- in the past decade, the committee also is looking at closing and consolidating some of the district's 56 elementary schools.
-- Cathryn Creno Dade School Board to consider new deals with cities, charters-- Miami Herald Florida: April 17, 2012 [ abstract] With more than $4 million in needed improvements - and the school district’s coffers dry - West Homestead Elementary is turning to an unlikely investor.
The city’s redevelopment agency may secure about $4 million in financing and pay $775,000 in interest to upgrade the school and transform it into a science-themed K-8 Center.
It’s one of several new partnerships the Miami-Dade School Board will consider at its meeting Wednesday. The deals team the cash-strapped school district with local cities, other government agencies and charter school groups.
“Rather than just invest in brick and mortar, why not invest in education because that’s where you get a return on your investment,†said Homestead Councilwoman Patricia Fairclough-McCormick, who serves on the redevelopment board and attended West Homestead Elementary.
Driving the creative deal-making for the district: a dire capital budget with nearly $2 billion in maintenance needs and little prospect for new borrowing or new tax revenues, coupled with a clamor for more school options from parents, including specialized charter schools.
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho called the projects “a new way of doing business†in school construction for the nation’s fourth-largest school district. “They are embracing the upfront liability and bringing about projects that ordinarily we couldn’t afford to do,†Carvalho told board members at a committee meeting this week.
-- Laura Isensee 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 â€" Macquarie Capital, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and URS Corp. â€" 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 Senate proposal addresses repair and maintenance backlog at state facilities, creates jobs-- therepublic.com Hawaii: April 03, 2012 [ abstract] A state Senate proposal to fund $500 million in capital improvement projects would go a long way toward addressing repair and maintenance backlogs at Hawaii's public facilities.
At Farrington High School, $8.3 million in construction funds could address a number of problems, such as leaking roofs, cracked walkways and broken gym bleachers.
Department of Education Public Works Administrator Duane Kashiwai led a tour of Farrington on Tuesday to demonstrate how public schools could benefit from the Senate's "Invest in Hawaii Act of 2012."
Farrington was selected because it's one of the state's largest and oldest schools, with the biggest backlog of repair and maintenance projects  as evidenced by rusty pipes, exposed foundations, broken security fences and falling railings. Other high schools, such as Kaimuki and Roosevelt, also have repair and maintenance needs in the $4 million to $6 million range, Kashiwai said.
If the bill passes, Farrington's most pressing needs could be addressed and, as Kashiwai described, the DOE could "bring it up to 21st century teaching standards."
The Senate has made the bipartisan Invest in Hawaii Act one of its top priorities for this session, not only to catch up with repair and maintenance needs at state facilities, but also to stimulate the economy.
The idea was to create a flagship bill to put people back to work, explained Sen. Michelle Kidani, vice chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
-- TREENA SHAPIRO, Associated Press Fix them now-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: March 15, 2012 [ abstract] Building maintenance has long been a weakness of Harford County Public Schools. Certainly, school buildings are used hard and can't be expected to last forever. Then again, most school buildings are constructed rather solidly using the best techniques of the day. Even when the old Bel Air High School building was demolished a few years back, it wasn't falling apart and, with enough work, probably could have been kept serviceable for another half century.
This isn't to say old school buildings should never be torn down and replaced. To the contrary, the new Bel Air High building compared to what it replaced is a wonder of modern educational technology, even as the old school building was still serviceable.
But that doesn't mean maintenance issues should be given the rudimentary attention they generally receive at the leadership levels in Harford County Public Schools. A case in point is the recent presentation by the leadership of the Harford County Education Association, which revealed in some detail problems with mold and rust in William Paca/Old Post Road Elementary School in Abingdon.
Similarly, problems with mold and other cleanliness and maintenance were pointed out by parents from the Prospect Mill and Youth's Benefit elementary schools communities.
The presentations amounted to pleas for increases in funding for the purpose of replacing the existing buildings, which are among the county's older schools and are probably in line for replacement in the next few years no matter how you look at it.
Unfortunately, the plea for new buildings to replace those that are aging has generally overwhelmed any call for improved building maintenance. No doubt when William Paca/Old Post Road Elementary School opened, it was a shining model of an educational facility and it has taken years of neglect for it to devolve into something of a poster case for increased school maintenance funding.
Mold and rust, however, are hardly insurmountable. Sure, they can be expensive to deal with as their collective root cause is probably some sort of drainage or ventilation problem, but that cost pales compared to the cost of school replacement.
-- Editorial from The Aegis L.A. Schools Use Mobile App to Report Maintenance Problems-- CIO California: March 06, 2012 [ abstract] The Los Angeles Unified School District plans to turn many of its 700,000 students into "smart sensors," to help keep the school facilities running smoothly.
The L.A. school district is using a mobile app to report maintenance issues.
The school system has quietly deployed a mobile phone application that allows users to easily report maintenance issues. Anyone with a smartphone -- students, teachers and parents -- who has downloaded the app, can take a photo of a maintenance issue, water leak, broken window or some other problem, and then send the report in for maintenance action.
With the ubiquity of apps and smartphones, and the improving integration of social media-type services with backend systems, using an app to record maintenance problems may seem like an obvious application. But what makes the LA school district's effort noteworthy is its scale. The district has around 700,000 students and 14,000 buildings located on 700 square miles of property.
What happens to the maintenance operation once thousands of users begin reporting problems? The school district hopes it leads to speedier resolution of issues and better preparation through the use of photos and GPS data that will help the maintenance staff identify and locate a problem.
"It's another eye at the school site for us," said Danny Lu, a business analyst at the school district. Previously, if a student, teacher or staff member saw a broken window, water leak, graffiti or anything else in need of repair, the issue would be reported to the site's plant manager, who would notify the school system's service desk.
-- Patrick Thibodeau New Bedford school system struggles to maintain aging buildings-- South Coast Today Massachusetts: February 29, 2012 [ abstract] Between aging buildings and diminished resources, maintaining the school district's facilities has become an ever bigger challenge, with many buildings across the district in need of some work, said school officials."There are growing maintenance concerns throughout the school system: buildings that have leaky roofs, others with old boilers, and others still with various maintenance challenges," Mayor Jon Mitchell said Tuesday. He continued later: "We have old school stock, and try as we might, we're not going to be have brand new schools tomorrow, so we have to do a better job of maintenance." "Because of the cuts in the budget year after year, the most likely place to cut, cut, cut was in the maintenance department budget," said School Committee member John Fletcher.
-- CHARIS ANDERSON 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 buildingâ€"through its design, maintenance and operationsâ€"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 Charter schools seeking cut of school districts' construction dollars-- Sun Sentinel Florida: February 18, 2012 [ abstract] A legislative plan to give charter schools a cut of local school districts' construction money would steer millions of additional dollars to large charter-school networks that are already sitting on tens of millions of dollars in cash, records show.
The charter-school industry is lobbying hard to gain a share of tax dollars raised by school districts to cover the construction and maintenance costs of traditional public schools  tax revenue that has dropped dramatically in recent years with plummeting real-estate values.
School districts say the proposal could cost them as much as $140 million a year statewide and cripple their ability to repair aging buildings and pay debts for past construction. But charter school operators say the lesser funding for their students is unfair, and argue that withholding construction money has stifled charter schools' growth.
Many charter schools collect more tax dollars than they spend, and sock away the unspent cash. The Doral Academy charter-school network, with five Miami-Dade schools, had net assets of $13.6 million last year, much of it cash, records show.
The Doral Academy network is one of four large South Florida charter-school chains run by Academica, the state's largest charter school operator. These four school networks  the Doral, Mater, Somerset and Pinecrest academies  had combined assets of more than $83 million last year, records show. This money is held by nonprofits that own the schools, which are managed by Academica, a for-profit company based in South Miami.
These schools could stand to gain millions more every year from the construction tax dollars, which would be distributed on a per-student basis. For example, the Doral, Mater, Somerset and Pinecrest academies would receive an additional $14.5 million from the Miami-Dade school district this year alone under the proposal.
Lynn Norman Teck, spokeswoman for the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, said charters should not be cut out of construction funding because some schools have been financially savvy.
"Their reserves are for a rainy day," Teck said.
-- Kathleen McGrory and Scott Hiaasen Robbing public schools-- Miami Herald Florida: February 13, 2012 [ abstract] As roofs sag in old school buildings, air conditioners break, electric panels blow and mold grows in classrooms where students are expected to learn, the maintenance costs keep adding up in this unwinnable game of catch-up for Florida public school districts facing billions of dollars in needed repairs.
So what does the Florida Legislature propose to do about it?
Nothing substantial. Forget about alleviating this mounting public need or fixing an antiquated funding mechanism that’s shortchanging public schools. Yet public education is the state’s “paramount duty,†as voters made clear when they passed a constitutional amendment in 1998 seeking “adequate†funding for education.
-- Miami Herald Editorial Fewer dollars flowing into statewide school repairs fund-- Miami Herald Florida: February 12, 2012 [ abstract] What do landline telephones have to do with school repairs?
Quite a bit, but few state lawmakers want to talk about it.
Tucked away on your telephone bill â€" and electricity and cable TV bills â€" is a tax that supports school construction and maintenance.
But there’s a problem: As Floridians cut down their electricity and cable consumption â€" and ditch their landline telephones for wireless smart phones â€" far less money is flowing into the Public Education Capital Outlay fund, or PECO fund. That leaves public schools, colleges and universities on their own to address their aging roofs, leaky pipes and outdated air-conditioning systems.
Last week, the Florida House passed a short-term fix that involves shifting some existing tax collections into the PECO fund.
Some officials, however, are reluctant discuss a long-term solution.
Senate President Mike Haridopolos said it would probably have to wait until next year, when Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, takes over as the Senate’s president.
“These are some of the issues that will be on his plate, and we want to make sure we think long-term and not just short-term,†said Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island.
A decade ago, the PECO fund provided almost $1 billion for school construction and maintenance, and accounted for about a quarter of all expenditures on school facilities.
But the fund’s revenues have waned over time. Last year, the state could not award any PECO dollars to traditional public schools. It gave a smaller-than-usual share to charter schools and the higher-education system.
This year, state economists have said the fund is almost out of money â€" and headed toward a deficit.
At first, the situation seemed so dire that Gov. Rick Scott initially said some projects currently being funded by PECO would have to be halted, and requested that some of the money be returned to the state. He later said that would not be necessary.
-- KATHLEEN McGRORY District eating millions in facilities costs at Audenried, other Renaissance charters-- The Notebook Pennsylvania: February 10, 2012 [ abstract] Even while slashing staff, programs, and hours at schools across the city in an effort to close an enormous budget gap, the School District has been swallowing millions of dollars in facilities-related expenses at its 13 Renaissance Schools now run by outside charter operators.
Nowhere is the situation more pronounced than at Audenried High in South Philadelphia. There, the District has allowed Universal Companies to operate cost-free in a new, $55 million District-owned building since July because the parties have yet to come to terms on a facility license agreement.
Universal is â€Å"not paying for anything†at either Audenried or Edwin Vare Middle School, said District spokesperson Fernando Gallard. The District, he said, is â€Å"currently managing both buildings and covering [their] costs.â€Â
Representatives from Universal declined to comment.
Audenried and Vare Middle, both â€Å"Promise Neighborhood Partnership Schools†awarded to Universal by the District last spring, are the only two Renaissance charters without an executed facilities license agreement.
But even at the Renaissance charters where such agreements are in place, said Gallard, the District has incurred millions in facilities-related expenses. In some cases, the District is continuing to employ pay unionized blue-collar employees whose school positions have been eliminated, not to work so that Renaissance charter operators can have flexibility in how they provide services like maintenance, cleaning, and food service.
So just how much is it costing the District to convert struggling schools into charters?
Despite the budget crisis, District officials say they don't know.
Asked to put a price tag on this second year of the Renaissance charter initiative, Gallard said only that the District's most recent calculation – a number he identified as â€Å"south of $10 million†– is likely too low.
â€Å"The District has an estimate, but we believe we need to do further work on it,†said Gallard. â€Å"We don't want to put a number out there that we don't believe is capturing all the costs.â€Â
Nevertheless, the District intends to move forward with a planned expansion of the initiative in 2012-13.
-- Benjamin Herold 1/3 U.S. Schools Have Serious Mold and Dust Making Kids Sick-- Eco Childs Play National: February 03, 2012 [ abstract] Schools are germy places, almost as bad as hospitals. As a teacher, I’m suffering from my second illness this school year.
Children are in and out of class with various viruses and bacterial illnesses, but sometimes, those illnesses come from the school facilities themselves.
Astonishingly, “a third or more of U.S. schools have mold, dust and other indoor air problems serious enough to provoke respiratory issues like asthma in students and teachers.â€
CNN reports:
Dr. John Santilli, a Connecticut allergist, says he has treated dozens of students sickened by school air. Even when children don’t miss school, he said, the medications they take for asthma and conditions like rhinitis, an allergic reaction to mold or dust, can make it harder for them to do their best work.
“They’re on antihistamines, they’re on nasal sprays, they’re on asthma medications, and this limits their ability to perform,†Santilli said. “These kids can’t concentrate. They can’t focus on what’s going on.â€â€¦
Researchers and others who follow the issue say school air problems have probably been exacerbated in recent years by funding cutbacks that have resulted in less money for building upkeep and maintenance…
Researchers at the New York state Health Department found a correlation between building maintenance at the public schools and hospitalizations for asthma. The condition of roofs, windows, walls and boilers were all related to the health of children at the school, researchers found.
A similar study in Boston schools found a link between asthma rates and leaks, mold, lack of repairs and visible signs of insects or rodents.
-- Jennifer Lance Florida schools, colleges are growing, but state construction money has dried up-- Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau Florida: January 22, 2012 [ abstract] An unfinished university science lab. Leaky roofs in elementary schools. Plans for a new classroom put back on the shelf.
On campuses across Florida, these and other projects are stalled because the state fund that pays for school construction is broke. And it looks like there won't be any money for the next two years.
Blame all those people who gave up their land lines and bought energy efficient appliances. The fund known as PECO, used by schools exclusively for new buildings and maintenance, gets its money from a tax on telephones and electricity.
"We're probably never going to get back to where we were," state university system chancellor Frank Brogan told the Florida Board of Governors last week.
Despite the recession, Florida schools, colleges and universities are growing, and the state expects more than 30,000 new students next fall in the K-12 system. But no construction money.
All of those students will have to make do with what's there.
Public Education Capital Outlay is in a deficit  and it's rare for the D-word to be spoken aloud in the state Capitol, where deficit spending is prohibited under the state Constitution.
Gov. Rick Scott, who vetoed many PECO construction projects in last year's budget, has now asked the Department of Education, Florida College System and State University System to identify $250 million worth of previously authorized projects that could be put on hold.
-- Kim Wilmath and Steve Bousquet Put condos on school grounds, Hawaii state urged-- Hawaii Star-Advertiser Hawaii: January 15, 2012 [ abstract]
A state Department of Education official says allowing private developers to build on school property could be one way to raise money to rebuild some of Hawaii's aging schools.
Randy Moore, assistant superintendent with the department's Office of School Facilities and Support Services, used Queen Kaahumanu Elementary School on the corner of Beretania and Piikoi streets as an example of a school in a dense urban area where some of its land could be used for a condominium. The school is surrounded by four streets, allowing for separate entrances to keep the school and the condominium separate. The condominium would then generate taxes that the school currently doesn't pay and some of those funds could also be used to improve other schools.
Moore said the idea was just a local example of what one presenter spoke about during a conference Saturday on improving Hawaii's school buildings. He said Hawaii has about 260 schools and that half of them are more than 50 years old.
Mary Filardo, one of the presenters at the conference at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, brought her experience of using the land's value to rebuild a school in Washington, D.C.
Her nonprofit, the 21st Century School Fund, found that Hawaii has ranked last in the country in spending on capital school construction for the past four years. It was 49th for the 10 years before that, according to the organization, which develops policy and research on school facilities.
"I think you guys have many, many years of deferred maintenance and real neglect of your school facilities," she said. "You need a big solution because you've got a big problem."
She said studies show poor facilities affect learning in the classroom. For example, more children are affected by allergies and asthma and miss school when ventilation is poor. They also get sleepy when classrooms have stale air.
Filardo began a campaign in 1989 to improve the condition of her children's school in Washington, D.C., by finding a developer to build an apartment building on the school's property. In 2001, a developer completed a 208-unit apartment building on the school property and a new three-story school building.
Filardo said Hawaii could renovate its schools using the same public-private method.
"Government has a lot of assets besides just the cash that comes in," she said, referring to land ownership, zoning laws and taxing authority. "You learn to leverage the other assets of the government."
She said the hard part is getting people involved to support the changes and work with the government and developers.
-- Rob Shikina Community Mulls Options for Philadelphia School Facilities -- Philadelphia Tribune Pennsylvania: December 21, 2011 [ abstract] The School District of Philadelphia wants to hear from community members, parents and staff in the West and Southwest sections of the city. District officials stressed this point during a recent community meeting to discuss the Facilities Master Plan (FMP) area data samples and recommendations for schools in the area.
The community forum was held at the new West Philadelphia High School earlier this month. Nearly 100 parents, students and school officials attended the community meeting to discuss the proposed closure of Charles R. Drew Elementary and George Pepper Middle School, grade changes at seven schools and selling two vacant properties in West and Southwest Philadelphia. The old West Philadelphia High School building is one of two properties the District plans to sell. There are proposals for senior citizen housing, condominiums and retail space. District officials shared they will review the proposals with community members before any action is taken. The goal is to reach a balance between the best use of the property and the desires of the community.
There was a presentation on the purpose of the FMP followed by breakout sessions to target more focused groups of parents, community members and District staff. Groups discussed the ten recommendations for West and Southwest Philadelphia as well as general facility concerns.
In the general facilities breakout group, a small group of employees and neighborhood residents were able to share their opinions, concerns and recommendations regarding facility matters and much more. Horace Clouden and Pat Riley are building engineers in Philadelphia area schools. Both men offered ways they could directly improve learning in the schools where they work. “I would really like to find a way to do more, like focus on the engineering specific tasks,†Clouden said. “maintenance issues are huge, and this is where the majority of my time is spent.â€
-- Angela Haskell Short-term solution is now long-term necessity for overcrowded schools-- Times Free Press Tennessee: December 01, 2011 [ abstract] All that's missing is the pink flamingos.
Sitting behind Sale Creek Middle/High School are enough double-wide mobile trailers to start a small trailer park. The trailers, covered in a chipped beige paint, are connected by a maze of wood decking and leaky metal overhangs.
Inside, it doesn't get much better.
The trailer that houses Kristie Magee and Deanne Mulder's classrooms is fraught with water, insect and vermin problems. Aside from the physical problems, the teachers say they and their students can feel disconnected from the main school.
And they're definitely not alone -- all of Sale Creek's middle school students are housed in portable classrooms, save one class.
These portable classrooms have become the norm for dozens of Hamilton County teachers and hundreds of students. What started as a temporary Band-Aid more than 35 years ago to alleviate overcrowding has turned into a long-term solution. About 30 of the district's 79 schools currently have portables.
Such use of trailers as classrooms is common fare for schools across the United States.
The Modular Building Institute, the trade group for modular construction, estimates there are 180,000 portable classrooms currently in use across the nation's school districts. More than half of those units are in the high-growth states of California, Florida and Texas.
Some education officials now say Hamilton County has grown too reliant on its aging stock of 110 portables, most of which are at least 30 years old. The district has only purchased about a dozen new portables in the last 35 years, said Assistant Superintendent for Auxiliary Services Gary Waters.
"It's become convenient to have a portable classroom," said School Board Chairman Mike Evatt. "It is a very short-term fix that has become a long-term problem."
Evatt said the district's outdated units need to be removed.
"We just need to get rid of them," he said. "They're high-maintenance and too costly to relocate."
It costs between $20,000 and $23,000 each time a portable is transported, Waters said, a price which includes utility connections and installation of awnings and sidewalks.
The alternatives, though -- renovations, additions or new construction -- are even more expensive, sometimes running into the millions of dollars. A double-wide portable trailer containing two classrooms costs about $65,000.
Planned renovations and additions in Hamilton County Schools are projected to cost between $2.2 million and $10.5 million each. As for an entire new school, the 1,000-student Ooltewah Elementary -- Hamilton County's next planned school construction project -- is estimated to cost $23 million.
Portables are "far cheaper," Waters said, "but you don't get the longevity."
-- Kevin Hardy Wyoming School Facilities Commission panel sides with department decision vs. Natrona County-- Star-Tribune Wyoming: November 28, 2011 [ abstract] The state School Facilities Commission rejected a request to use state-provided major maintenance funds for enhancement projects in Natrona County.
Natrona County School District officials and trustees repaired the swimming pool at Kelly Walsh High School and replaced the artificial turf at Natrona County High School during the summer. The school board paid for the projects with about $700,000 from the board’s priority fund.
A complicated formula decides how much money school districts receive from the state to maintain facilities and make required improvements, such as updating a fire alarm system. Once districts address high priority needs, they can use up to 10 percent of their maintenance allocations to improve or repair enhancements â€"building features that fall outside state construction guidelines.
Natrona County received about $380,000 for enhancement maintenance.
The School Facilities Department approved 10 percent enhancement maintenance money for the two Natrona County projects, but trustees decided to use enhancement money to improve the NCHS stadium and elementary school playgrounds. The district petitioned the state to pay for the pool and turf, saying the enhancements contribute to academic programming and essential activities.
The commission sided with the department during an informal review of the district’s case Monday. Commissioners were weary of making a decision without legislative input, a decision that could set precedent for funding enhancements.
Commissioners plan to review the panel’s rules next year and Natrona County’s argument will likely be discussed then, said Commissioner Janet Anderson.
“I’m hoping it’s not a slammed door,†Anderson said. “We’re headed towards something in the future. I hope we’ll keep talking.â€
-- JACKIE BORCHARDT Oshkosh (WI) district's 5 year maintenance plan - a small dent in district's $43.1 million in overall maintenance needs-- The NorthWestern Wisconsin: November 21, 2011 [ abstract] School roof repairs, building exterior improvements and boiler replacements dominate a new five-year capital improvements plan for the Oshkosh Area School District. This is the district’s first multi-year plan for addressing a mountain of deferred maintenance needs since a fizzled 10-year facilities plan crafted by school board members in 2007.
The new plan calls for spending between $1.5 million and $1.7 annually for a total of $7.9 million in school building repairs by 2017. An additional $2.6 million will be spent over the next two years on projects approved by a referendum in 2009. That spending will make only a small dent in the district’s $43.1 million in overall maintenance needs.
-- Adam Rodewald L.A. settles lawsuit claiming contamination of high school site-- LA Times Blog California: November 16, 2011 [ abstract]
The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to settle a lawsuit over allegations that soil underneath a Glassell Park high school campus was contaminated by chemicals that originated at a nearby city-owned property.
On a 10-0 vote, the council agreed to pay $2.5 million to the Los Angeles Unified School District and its law firm, Musick Peeler & Garritt, city officials said. The money will be paid from the city’s Sewer Operations and maintenance Fund.
L.A. Unified filed a lawsuit earlier this year demanding $4 million to pay for cleanup at the newly built, $239 million Sonia M. Sotomayor Learning Academies, which is along San Fernando Road northeast of downtown.
In their lawsuit, district officials said industrial solvents and other hazardous substances had been found in soil at one end of the campus -â€" and fingered land owned by the Bureau of Sanitation as the culprit.
Councilman Ed Reyes, whose district includes the 2,295-seat high school, missed the vote because he had another engagement, a spokeswoman said. But in a statement, he said he supported the payment because “remediated land is important for the health of our kids.â€
Wednesday’s vote provided yet another chapter in the complex history of the campus, which sits near the Los Angeles River. School officials were negotiating to buy the property in 2005 when real estate development company Meruelo Maddux Properties swooped in and purchased it.
The district responded by filing a lawsuit. But the school board ultimately agreed to pay Meruelo Maddux $50 million for the site in 2008 â€"- $18 million more than the company had spent just three years earlier.
-- David Zahniser New York's Lower Hudson Valley region's aging schools crumble as finances falter-- Journal News New York: November 13, 2011 [ abstract] Thousands of Lower Hudson Valley children attend aging public schools with poor air quality, leaking roofs, crumbling walls, ancient boilers or insufficient fire safeguards. The revelations of these hazards come in school inspection reports obtained by The Journal News that show one in three buildings in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam's 54 school districts received unsatisfactory ratings this year. According to a Journal News analysis, the cost of repairs to all 456 buildings could exceed $1 billion over the next five years.
Building lapses run the gamut from evidence of vermin to exposed electrical wires, and are prevalent in rich and poor districts alike. Nationwide, the problem of aging public schools has worsened, with $270 billion now needed to catch up on deferred maintenance and make necessary repairs.
Districts have spent less since the Great Recession began in late 2007, despite worsening conditions. The state Education Department continues to see fewer projects submitted for approval. The economy has made districts reluctant to set aside large sums for repairs or to ask taxpayers to approve hefty bond issues. So aging buildings continue to break down, requiring overworked maintenance crews to patch problems and monitor safety concerns.
-- Cathey O'Donnell and Gary Stern 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 â€" Park, Evansville, Pineview and North Casper â€" 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.â€
But district officials say the process has not been clear. Antrim said the steps to receive a DAL and planning money â€" civil engineering survey, land appraisals â€" 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 â€" for the planning phase, at least.
-- JACKIE BORCHARDT Philly plans 9 school closings amid low enrollment-- York Dispatch.com Pennsylvania: November 02, 2011 [ abstract] City education officials on Wednesday proposed closing nine public schools and reconfiguring more than a dozen others in an effort to save money and streamline operations in the face of major enrollment declines.
The proposal, which must still be approved by the School Reform Commission, also recommends selling four buildings.
The state's largest district has lost about 52,000 students over the past decade, largely due to changing demographics and an increase in charter schools.
"We need to aim for a more efficient footprint, reflecting the times and demographics of the city," Acting Superintendent Lee Nunery said at a news briefing. "But we also need to align our resources in a way that benefits the education of our students."
The facilities master plan unveiled Wednesday would close five elementary, two middle and two high schools, mostly over the next two years.
Seventeen other schools would be restructured as the district tries to standardize schools using K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 grade configurations. There are about 25 configurations currently in use in the district.
The plan, which was developed over the past year with community input, is the first comprehensive effort to address district buildings in about 30 years, Nunery said. He described it as flexible enough to meet the district's evolving educational needs and a way to prioritize badly needed maintenance and renovations. The average district school is 63 years old.
Philadelphia currently operates about 250 public schools but owns dozens more buildings; some are administrative offices and some are vacant. It serves about 146,000 students yet has the space to educate slightly more than 227,000.
Put another way, the district is operating at about two-thirds percent of its capacity. The moves proposed Wednesday would be the first phase in an effort to reach 85 percent capacity, Nunery said.
The nine buildings proposed for closure were Levering, Harrison, Sheppard, Drew and E.M. Stanton elementary schools; Sheridan West Academy and Pepper middle schools; Fitzsimons High School and the Philadelphia High School for Business.
Additional recommendations for closings and consolidations will follow, he said.
-- KATHY MATHESON 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 â€" the third funding decrease in a row â€" 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 â€" Paradise Valley Unified and Phoenix Union High School â€" 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 Chesapeake weighs $485.9M plan to fix aging schools-- The Virginian-Pilot Virginia: October 25, 2011 [ abstract] Chesapeake schools would spend nearly half a billion dollars on construction and maintenance over the next five years under a plan unveiled Monday night.
And all of it, division officials said, is needed.
The projects are mostly maintenance, said officials who presented the annual Capital Improvement Plan to the School Board.
Chesapeake built many of its schools around the same time, during a population boom in the 1980s and '90s. Now those schools are simultaneously coming due for new roofs, heating and cooling systems and other maintenance.
"We are an aging school division," Paige Stutz, director of new school construction and planning, told board members.
The plan would cost $47.7 million next year and a total of $485.9 million over five years, but Monday's presentation is just the first step. The board will have to approve the plan before the city can consider it along with capital project requests from Chesapeake's other agencies.
-- Elisabeth Hulette District needs to be building a school a year, but has no money to do so-- St Augustine Florida: October 22, 2011 [ abstract] If the St. Johns County School Board had the money, it would be building a school a year in order to handle the growing number of students.
Dropping property values and tax monies, a cut in millage from the Florida Legislature and little state money for public schools means those schools won’t be built in the immediate future.
But the need is there, says Superintendent Joe Joyner, and the board is seeking ways to address the growth issue, including looking for help from legislators.
“If we had the resources we’d be building another school this very day,†Joyner said. “That’s what we did for the first six or seven years when our tax base was growing at a similar rate as our population.â€
Now, tax rates don’t keep up with growth needs and decisions made in Tallahassee have put additional clamps on needs.
“It’s not just the economy, it’s choices that have been made by the state,†Joyner said.
Over two years, the state legislature cut money from the school districts’ capital budgets and transferred the money into the state’s operating budget.
Also, for many years the St. Johns County School District has levied 2 mills for the capital budget; now it’s at 1.5 mills. Capital budgets pay for building, maintenance and items such as buses and technology.
This year public schools took another hit when legislators voted to give almost all the state funding for school construction (called PECO funds) to charter schools. The state’s 350 charter schools will be sharing $55 million while the state’s 3,000 traditional schools are going without.
-- MARCIA LANE D.C. Public Schools Facing Millions in School Infrastructure Needs, According To New Report -- WUSA9 District of Columbia: October 14, 2011 [ abstract] This notice comes to us from the U.S. Department of Education:
The U.S. Education Department, in advance of remarks today by Secretary Arne Duncan on the proposed American Jobs Act, spotlighted a new report by the Council of the Great City Schools showing that Washington, D.C. and other urban school systems face substantial, costly repairs to deteriorating buildings and classrooms.
According to the report, Washington, D.C. needs substantial resources including:
-- $2.2 billion for renovation, repair and modernization of its schools. And,
-- $150.0 million to pay for deferred maintenance at schools.
Under the American Jobs Act, the administration estimates that D.C. could receive $84.7 million for modernization efforts to rebuild crumbling buildings and classes, which could help Washington, D.C. begin work on long overdue upgrades to schools and classrooms.
“Our children only get one shot at a good education. They deserve better than crumbling school buildings and half-century-old science labs. This report is further proof that Washington, D.C.’s schools critically need the funds proposed by the President in the American Jobs Act,†U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. “The Act will provide billions for school modernization, which will help give our children the world-class education they deserve.â€
-- Simon Landau L.A. schools need billions in facilities upgrades, report finds-- Los Angeles Times California: October 14, 2011 [ abstract] Los Angeles public schools are in need of billions of dollars in repairs and renovations, according to the findings of a report released Friday on the condition of schools in the nation's largest districts.
The report by the Council for Great City Schools, a coalition of urban school districts in U.S., said that Los Angeles Unified, the nation's second largest district, requires $17.8 billion for repairs, renovation and modernization, with another $5.7 billion needed to pay for deferred maintenance at schools.
Of the districts examined in the report, many had the majority of their schools built more than 60 years ago. The report projected more than $100 billion worth of repairs, construction and maintenance is needed in the 65 districts included in the survey, which serve about 7 million students. The report also found that if the districts launch about $16 billion in facilities projects in one year, it could create more than 200,000 jobs.
Federal officials on Friday seized on the report as an opportunity to promote President Obama's job creation plan, which would direct $2.8 billion to California that could be used for schools.
"Our children only get one shot at a good education. They deserve better than crumbling school buildings and half-century-old science labs," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement Friday. Duncan said the president's American Jobs Act would "provide billions for school modernization, which will help give our children the world-class education they deserve."
-- Rick Rojas Open Houses Show What's Wrong with Lafayette Schools-- KATC Louisiana: October 11, 2011 [ abstract] Lafayette Parish Schools each hosted open houses Monday night to show the public what's wrong with the schools, as an effort to inform tax payers about the $561 million bond to fund the LPSS Master Facilities Plan.
Under the plan seven schools would be rebuilt, including the Parish's two largest, Lafayette High and Northside. All other schools would undergo major renovations and upgrades, along with long term maintenance plans.
And as parents got to tour various schools in the Parish, faculty pointed out just what all needs to be repaired.
"I got to see Alleman which is disgusting and this one is in pretty bad shape too," said John Munsell after he toured Lafayette High.
Munsell has four children in the Lafayette School System. After taking a look at his their schools, he said he wasn't happy with what he found.
"I got to see first hand some of the conditions. I mean when you walk into a room and you smell the mold... you know you've got a big problem," said Munsell.
LJ Alleman Middle Schools has some of the worst conditions in the Parish, it's also set to be completely rebuilt. But Alleman shares many of the same problems as a majority of Lafayette schools: It's almost 60 years old, has inadequate electrical systems and half of its students are in portable buildings.
-- Maddie Garrett More districts join school funding lawsuit-- MySanAntonio.com Texas: September 28, 2011 [ abstract] School districts will throw everything short of the kitchen sink into their upcoming lawsuit against the state of Texas for shortchanging public education, a lead attorney in the case said Tuesday.
â€Å"We are going to try to cover the waterfront because the system is so out of whack,†school finance lawyer Randall â€Å"Buck†Wood said.
The suit, which he expects to file within two weeks, will claim state leaders have created an â€Å"arbitrary, irrational and inequitable†funding system.
The suit also will claim the state is responsible for the inequitable funding of school facilities, he said, while also alleging a violation of the state's ban against a statewide property tax.
Nearly one-quarter of the state's school districts are already levying the maximum $1.17 tax rate for maintenance and operations, resulting in a statewide property tax, Wood said, which the Texas Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in a school finance case six years ago.
There have been six constitutional challenges to Texas's school finance system to reach the Texas Supreme Court since the landmark Edgewood vs. Kirby decision in 1989, when the court ruled that â€Å"districts must have substantially equal access to similar revenue per pupil at similar levels of tax effort.â€Â
Per-student funding in Texas now ranges from less than $5,000 per child in some school districts to more than $10,000 in others, according to the Equity Center, which represents 690 school districts.
â€Å"We believe litigation is the only way to ensure taxpayer equity and a quality education for Texas children,†said Wayne Pierce, executive director for the Equity Center.
-- Gary Scharrer Peoria Unified district's needs mount amid scarce funding-- AZ Central Arizona: September 23, 2011 [ abstract] The Peoria Unified School District is in a quandary as school-maintenance needs mount and funding is scarce.
The district pegs its most pressing maintenance needs at about $20 million within the next year. Over the next decade, an estimated $171 million is needed for capital improvement projects and to meet minimum safety requirements.
The district's need comes as the state eliminated funding for school maintenance three years ago. Without funding from the state School Facilities Board, school districts around the state have asked local voters to approve bond issues.
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That's just what the Peoria school board is considering on next fall's ballot.
The problem is that, even if it passes, the district's bonding capacity, $62.5 million, meets about a third of its needs.
Like many districts across the state, Peoria's capacity to sell bonds shrank with the recent drop in assessed property values. Adding to the predicament, Peoria hoped to meet some of its immediate maintenance needs by reallocating some leftover bond funds. But a court decision last week against another Valley school district brought those plans to a halt.
The school board spent nearly three hours last week debating how it would cover its most pressing needs, where to cut corners and the possibility of a bond election.
-- Kristena Hansen Colonial Beach Middle School shows structural damage from time, nature -- Journal Press Virginia: September 21, 2011 [ abstract] Inspections of school buildings after last month’s earthquake, Hurricane Irene and flooding from Tropical Storm Lee have revealed significant damage to the Colonial Beach Middle School building.
A report produced by structural engineers, Stroud, Pence & Associates, outlines damage that is of immediate concern.
The two-story building, built in 1912, has suffered structural damage, some from the recent storms and seismic activity and some from lack of
maintenance.
The two bathrooms in the main structure of the building located on Douglas Avenue have been shut down because portions of the ceilings have collapsed due to water leaks and structural damage.
The water leaks have caused significant rusting in several joists, hidden for several years by a drop ceiling that was installed some 30 years earlier.
According to the engineers, the attic of the second story revealed structural damage to roof trusses spanning over classrooms. Improper bracing of the trusses when the building was first built seems to be the culprit for vertical supports warping over time. The warping cannot be reversed and there is the potential for eventual collapse.
Also a number of bricks have fallen off the top of the chimney or are loosened. The report credits the problem to deterioration of the mortar over time and continued water infiltration, aggravated by the seismic activity and wind forces.
-- Linda Farneth Montgomery Board of Ed president intrigued by privatizing construction, maintenance-- Gazette.net Maryland: September 20, 2011 [ abstract] Montgomery County’s top elected education official is intrigued by the concept of using private sector dollars to build and operate schools.
“I’m actually pretty excited about finding out what potential options are out there,†said Board of Education President Christopher S. Barclay (Dist. 4) of Takoma Park.
With the amount of traditional state and local money inadequate to keep up with short- and long-term capital needs, schools throughout Maryland are giving closer scrutiny to alternatives, some of which have been tested in other countries.
For example, in fiscal 2012, Montgomery County requested $163 million in state aid for projects under way or already completed, but only received $42 million.
Barclay and dozens of other school and government officials attended the meeting for “Alternative Funding and Financing of School Facilities†in Annapolis on Monday, which was hosted by the Public School Construction Program.
On Monday, David Lever, executive director of the state’s Interagency Committee on Public School Construction, noted that $6 billion would be needed just to bring Maryland public schools up to minimum building standards.
In Maryland’s 2012 Capital Improvements Program approved by the state’s Board of Public Works in May, $257.2 million in school construction aid was approved for 148 construction projects statewide, and 23 projects received planning approval. The state received $612.29 million in requests for construction (244 projects) and planning approval (61 projects).
The concept Barclay is interested in works by private organizations or consortia contracting with a school board (typically for 25 to 30 years) to build new schools, sometimes bundling them together, and then operating and maintaining them in exchange for scheduled payments. The public still would own the buildings, and the school systems would still be responsible for instruction.
-- andrew ujifusa Education Impact of Jobs Bill Under Debate-- Education Week National: September 19, 2011 [ abstract] Educators and analysts are taking a hard look at whether the $55 billion K-12 portion of President Barack Obama’s nearly $450 billion jobs plan will provide the jolt to schools still feeling the pinch of a sputtering economy that the administration hopes.
Fixing Facilities
In once-rapidly-growing Clark County, Nev., which includes Las Vegas, the school district’s student enrollment has stabilized at nearly 310,000, but construction needs persist to the tune of $270 million in already-identified construction projects, officials there said. For that reason, extra money would come in handy.
“Our challenges right now are providing equitable learning environments and keeping up with maintenance and repairs,†said district spokeswoman Cynthia Sell. Any additional school aid also would help with class-size pressure brought on by staffing pressures. “The district is always trying to reduce class sizes. [Class size] continues to be a problem for us,†Ms. Sell said.
But others are taking a wait-and-see attitude.
Jobs Package and Education
President Barack Obama last week unveiled a $447 billion jobs bill that would include $60 billion in new education spending. Among the highlights:
Jobs Money
• $30 billion to help prevent teacher layoffs and create jobs
• Money could be used for compensation and benefits
Infrastructure Aid
• $25 billion to revamp K-12 facilities
• 40 percent would go to 100 large school districts, based on need, and 60 percent to states thought a formula
• Uses could include emergency repair and renovation, energy-efficiency upgrades, new science and computer labs, and modifications under the Americans with Disabilities Act
Higher Education
• $5 billion to revamp community college facilities
SOURCE: The White House
Jan Ellis, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Education, said it was too early to say whether that state would welcome the money. She said Michigan would need to see specifics on both aspects of the package, such as more detail on the strings attached.
The Obama administrationâ€"which tried, and failed, to get school construction aid as part of the 2009 economic-stimulus packageâ€"is estimating its new proposal would pay for repairs to at least 35,000 schools.
Forty percent of the $25 billion in school infrastructure aidâ€"$10 billionâ€"would go to 100 of the nation’s largest school districts, allocated according to need.
-- Alyson Klein Court ruling in Cave Creek school district lawsuit shatters Peoria's bond plans-- AZ Central Arizona: September 18, 2011 [ abstract] Earlier this week, Peoria Unified School District was considering $10.4 million in leftover bond money be used for much-needed school maintenance and bus repairs, among other things.
But the day before the issue was up for discussion at a special board meeting Friday, Peoria's plans suddenly unraveled when a court judgement was reached in a lawsuit against Cave Creek Unified School District.
"My recommendation, before yesterday, was that in November we go and we reallocate those monies to things that were more pressing to the district,†said Michael Finn, Peoria's chief financial officer, to the school board.
When voters approved the $93.5-million bond in 2002, Peoria promised the $10.4-million chunk would fund a new elementary school in the northern area of its boundaries to accommodate the then-rapid growth.
But as enrollment, state funding and the nation's economy starting on a sour detour several years ago, Peoria faced reality and put construction on the back-burner.
Instead of funding a new school, the district was planning to propose the $10.4 million serve its immediate needs, such as building renovations, capital improvement projects, updating technology and school bus repairs.
"That recommendation is now, clearly, obsolete,†Finn said.
-- Kristena Hansen 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 Sixth Ward Middle to battle mold-- Daily Comet Louisiana: September 18, 2011 [ abstract]
Problems with mold at Sixth Ward Middle School could soon be fixed, school officials say.
Seth Holloway, with Lafourche schools’ safety and maintenance, said the main school building wasn’t equipped with central air-conditioning when it was built in the early 1980s.
“This building wasn’t built to house air conditioning,†Holloway said. “It was built to have a free airflow.â€
The building had gaps between the roof and walls, which workers filled with foam when central air-conditioning was added, he said.
Over the years, Holloway said squirrels or birds have eaten the foam away, allowing outside water to drip onto the system’s pipes.
That caused condensation, which in turn lead to mold growth, he said. Workers will plug those holes next week.
Holloway said a construction engineer will visit the school over the weekend to examine the property and make sure no other precautions are necessary.
“If he says we need to do anything else, we’re going to do it,†Holloway said.
ES&H, the contractors that battle mold for the school system, were supposed to be on campus this weekend to attack visible mold and clean the school’s air ducts and grates.
This week, Lapeyrouse Contractors will fill in the gaps that allow the moisture to come in contact with the pipes, he said.
-- Matthew Albright Obama's right: Spur the economy by repairing schools-- LA Times National: September 14, 2011 [ abstract] In the jobs bill President Obama sent to Congress on Monday, he proposes using federal funds to repair 35,000 schools nationwide.
Now, we must hope Congress embraces the idea, which has the potential to create jobs, spruce up decrepit school buildings and inject money into stagnating local economies.
As Los Angeles has shown, school renovation is labor intensive: It creates more jobs per dollar spent than many other kinds of public works projects. According to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., each $50 million spent by the Los Angeles Unified School District on school renovations during its recent push to build and upgrade schools created 935 annual jobs, which paid $43 million in wages and generated $130 million in Southern California business revenue.
In the Los Angeles area, school bonds have financed 111 new campuses and modernized hundreds more since 2001, which enabled the district to alleviate extreme overcrowding. But there is much more that needs to be done. L.A. Unified has more than 13,000 buildings serving about 670,000 students. Half of the structures are at least 50 years old and many are much older, and they need attention.
To keep teachers in classrooms during a time of shrinking revenue, the district has made major cuts in its maintenance and operations budget. Also, because of the fiscal crisis, the state has relaxed rules that forced schools to set aside funds for building upkeep. But without needed maintenance, school buildings deteriorate more rapidly, which will lead to higher repair costs in the future.
Schools nationwide are suffering from a massive backlog of leaky roofs and windows, clogged and rusted pipes, inadequate wiring, inefficient heating and air-conditioning systems, and neglected playgrounds. As in California, school districts have slashed building maintenance to avoid cutting teachers.
Do bricks and mortar affect how kids learn? Of course. Nearly two dozen studies recently collected by the 21st Century School Fund document the impact on achievement and attendance. Depressing surroundings lower student and teacher morale. Upgrading buildings reduces noise and improves health and learning.
As the president put it to Congress last week, "How can we expect our kids to do their best in places that are literally falling apart?"
Obama's plan would distribute $25 billion to K-12 schools, not just for fixing roofs and removing asbestos but for installing new science and computer labs.
-- Steve English and Mary Filardo 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€Å"Too many schools in our state need building repairs and renovations,†Brown said during a conference call with reporters this afternoon. â€Å"It's time to get the job done for our schools and our economy.â€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 Jobs bill could give Richmond County $38 million in construction funding-- The Augusta Chronicle Georgia: September 13, 2011 [ abstract] The Richmond County school system could get $38.4 million in federal funds to help with its ongoing building renovation and replacement program.
Georgia also would be eligible for more than $1 billion in school building funds, and South Carolina could get about $450 million, if President Obama’s American Jobs Act gets congressional approval, according to a fact sheet released Tuesday by the White House Press Office.
“Look, I think he thinks it’s all important, because, obviously, it’s unacceptable if kids are trying to learn in a school that’s crumbling, or in some way unsafe, or needs serious maintenance,†White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday afternoon during an informal question-and-answer session with reporters aboard Air Force One. “It’s also vitally important for the future of this country and our ability to compete globally that we have kids who are learning about science and technology as they go through the school system and head to university.â€
-- Jason Wermers Jobs plan would give $926M to MI K-12s-- WOOD TV8 Michigan: September 13, 2011 [ abstract] Michigan would receive about $926 million to repair and renovate K-12 schools under President Barack Obama's $447 billion job creation proposal, the White House announced Tuesday.
The administration says that funding has the "potential to support" 12,000 jobs in the state.
The state would also receive about $158 million to upgrade community colleges.
Republican critics in Congress have criticized the jobs plan -- which also includes worker and employer tax cuts, money to hire teachers and money for unemployment benefits -- as a temporary fix and as old ideas with a new name.
They've also criticized the president's plan to pay for the spending through tax changes aimed at higher-income Americans and corporations.
White House officials say the $30 billion school infrastructure portion of the plan "would fund a range of critical repairs and needed renovation projects that would put hundreds of thousands of Americans -- construction workers, engineers, maintenance staff, boiler repair and electrical workers -- back to work."
-- Tony Tagliavia Obama in Boehner's Backyard to Push for School Renovations-- San Francisco Chronicle National: September 13, 2011 [ abstract] A day after presenting Congress with legislation for his $447 billion jobs proposal, President Barack Obama used an Ohio high school as a backdrop to promote the plan that includes $25 billion on public school renovations.
"If Congress refuses to pass this bill, middle-class families will get hit with a tax increase," Obama said at Fort Hayes Arts and Academic High School in Columbus. "Tell them to pass this bill," he said as the audience picked up that theme and began chanting in support.
Showcasing a school in the home state of House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, Obama pressured Republican congressional leaders who say the U.S. can't afford more stimulus spending.
Ohio could get $985 million for work at elementary, middle and high schools, supporting an estimated 12,800 jobs, said U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. "This is not a partisan issue," Duncan said on a conference call.
Duncan said school modernization is "the right plan at the right time" as the administration looks for ways to reduce the nation's 9.1 percent unemployment rate.
A multimillion-dollar upgrade at the Fort Hayes school improved the students' learning environment and created local jobs, said Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman. The administration estimates the school plan would create hundreds of thousands of construction, engineering and maintenance jobs and help as many as 35,000 public schools.
Tax Changes
Obama yesterday proposed offsetting the price tag of his jobs plan by increasing taxes for high earners, private equity managers and oil and gas companies starting in 2013. Those provisions have been rejected by congressional Republicans in the past and the party's leaders in the House said their opposition hasn't changed.
-- Staff Writers Statement of America's Building Trades Unions on the Introduction of the "Fix America's Schools Today Act-- Market Watch National: September 13, 2011 [ abstract] Building and Construction Trades Department President Mark H. Ayers issued the following statement today on the introduction of the "Fix America's Schools Today Act of 2011 (FAST)":
"America's Building Trades Unions applaud the introduction today by Senator Sherrod Brown and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of the "Fix America's Schools Today Act of 2011." This legislation addresses two critical issues facing America today: the need for immediate investments in our nation's infrastructure that will put Americans back to work; and the need to upgrade our public education facilities to meet the requirements demanded by a 21st century education.
The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that America's public schools need $160 billion over the next 5 years to merely be adequate. For every $1 billion spent on school infrastructure approximately 10,000 jobs are created. The FAST Act would direct nearly $25 billion to meeting this critical need, thereby creating nearly 250,000 jobs for construction workers across the country, all the while lowering these schools' energy and maintenance bills, updating facilities so our children can compete in the 21st century, and, most importantly, ensuring they are spending their days in safe and healthy buildings.
-- Staff Writers What President Obama should say tonight
-- MinnPost.com National: September 08, 2011 [ abstract] Unemployment remains high because the U.S. economy's growth rate is far below its long-run trend of 3 percent a year. Today's over-extended consumers cannot bring the economy back to its potential output level because they are burdened with mortgages they struggle to pay and other debts. Households and businesses, uncertain about the future, want to hold safe assets such as cash and government bonds.
Is there a remedy? Is there a set of policy prescriptions President Obama, who addresses Congress tonight, should follow to reinvigorate the economy, lower unemployment and set the foundation for future growth?
Yes. The president should announce a two-part strategy: increased current borrowing combined with long-run deficit reduction.
Another good candidate for public investment is the Fix America's Schools Today (FAST) program proposed by the 21st Century School Fund and the Economic Policy Institute. Currently, public schools face about $500 billion of deferred maintenance and repairs. The FAST program would allocate $50 billion to begin chipping away these projects.
There are a host of other infrastructure projects that could be considered: port and rail improvements to enhance the ability of U.S. firms to export their products; broadband expansion in small towns and rural areas; upgrading and repair of wastewater systems. Any and all of these would surely have a payoff greater than 3.25 percent in the long run, and would put people to work in the next six to 18 months.
-- Louis D. Johnston A doable jobs program â€" and a boon for schoolchildren -- News Tribune National: September 06, 2011 [ abstract] President Barack Obama plans to announce a jobs package Thursday. For those of us angered by Washington’s recent predilection for self-inflicted economic wounds, this is very good news.
But as always, the devil is in the details. Especially in a climate where both political and popular forces are skeptical of the government’s ability to help on the jobs front, the plan needs to be crafted to resonate with the public and to get a strong bang for the buck.
That’s where FAST comes in. Fix America’s Schools Today is a proposal â€" from the 21st Century School Fund, the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities â€" to address the backlog of repairs at the nation’s 100,000 public schools. It’s an idea that efficiently marries big problems to a big solution.
One big problem is that most school districts in our country have been deferring maintenance and repairs for years. The has led to inefficient, and thus expensive, energy use, unsafe drinking water, mold, poor air quality, inadequate fire safety systems and structural dangers. With local governments hammered by the recession, school districts do not have the resources to address this backlog, nor will they for many years to come.
The other big problem is that after the housing bust, employment opportunities crashed for construction workers. So far this year, their unemployment rate has averaged 18 percent.
An efficient and common-sense solution is a government infrastructure program to put many of these workers back on the job fixing our nations’ schools.
-- JARED BERNSTEIN, MARY FILARDO AND ROSS EISENBREY Congress Returns to Face ESEA, Ed. Funding Issues-- Education Week National: September 06, 2011 [ abstract] Congress returns from its summer recess this week with a full plate of unfinished business on the future of K-12 spending and policyâ€"a tall order in Washington’s polarized political climate.
Federal lawmakers, who have already had two protracted battles this year over budget issues, must finish the appropriations bills for fiscal 2012. The budget process is complicated by the work of a new panel created as part of a deal to raise the federal debt ceiling and charged with finding ways to significantly cut the deficit over the next decade.
The panel’s recommendations, due in November, could have a dramatic impact on discretionary federal spending, including for education.
Job Creation
The first part of what could be another spending showdown could begin this week, when President Obama is expected to unveil his plan for spurring job creation.
School construction proponents are urging the administration to close certain tax loopholes and funnel the savings to school maintenance and repair. The 21st Century Schools Fund, a research and advocacy organization in Washington that promotes high-quality facilities, would like to see Mr. Obama put $50 billion toward upgrading schools.
“There is an enormous backlog†of construction projects, said Mary Filardo, the group’s executive director. “At the same time, we have skilled trades people out of work in communities across the United States.â€
Mr. Obama gave those advocates reason to be optimistic during an Aug. 30 interview on “The Tom Joyner Morning Show,†a nationally syndicated radio program.
“We’ve got a lot of stuff that needs to get done,†he said. “There are schools all across the country that right now you could put people to work fixing up.â€
-- Alyson Klein A jobs program â€" and a boon for kids-- Washington Post District of Columbia: September 01, 2011 [ abstract] President Obama plans to announce a jobs package next week. For those of us angered by Washington’s recent predilection for self-inflicted economic wounds, this is very good news.
But as always, the devil is in the details. Especially in a climate where both political and popular forces are skeptical of the government’s ability to help on the jobs front, the plan needs to be crafted to resonate with the public and to get a strong bang for the buck.
That’s where FAST! comes in. Fix America’s Schools Today is a proposal â€" from the 21st Century School Fund, the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities â€" to address the backlog of repairs at the nation’s 100,000 public schools. It’s an idea that efficiently marries big problems to a big solution.
One big problem is that most school districts in our country have been deferring maintenance and repairs for years. The has led to inefficient, and thus expensive, energy use, unsafe drinking water, mold, poor air quality, inadequate fire safety systems and structural dangers. With local governments hammered by the recession, school districts do not have the resources to address this backlog, nor will they for many years to come.
The other big problem is that after the housing bust, employment opportunities crashed for construction workers. So far this year, their unemployment rate has averaged 18 percent.
An efficient and common-sense solution is a government infrastructure program to put many of these workers back on the job fixing our nations’ schools.
-- Jared Bernstein, Mary Filardo and Ross Eisenbrey Fixing Schools: A Smart Plan for Jobs-- CommonDreams.org National: August 20, 2011 [ abstract] Politicians love to talk about how to ¡°fix¡± the education system, from imposing standardized tests to shuttering ¡°failing¡± schools. But they've been ignoring a big, basic fix for the nation's schools¡ªone that might help fix the unemployment rate as well. A comprehensive school renovation program could be a boost for jobs and for public education.
Revamping schools is one pillar of Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky's new job-creation bill, which would provide '400,000 construction and 250,000 maintenance jobs to fix American schools,¡± among various other public-service related work projects.
The program is known as Fix America's Schools Today (FAST!). Developed by the Economic Policy Institute and the 21st Century School Fund, the proposal points out there's a big job to do in the country's foundering school buildings and facilities:
[S]chool districts have been under-spending on maintenance and repair for many years. Chronic deferred maintenance and repair can lead to energy inefficiencies, unsafe drinking water, water damage and moldy environments, poor air quality, inadequate fire alarms and fire safety, compromised building security, and structural dangers.
By conservative estimates the accumulated backlog of deferred maintenance and repair amounts to at least $270 billion. Including the cost to "green-up" existing schools¡ªand using less conservative assumptions¡ªthe cost of needed improvements to buildings and systems could exceed $500 billion....
Most school districts do not have resources to address the maintenance and repair backlog, let alone to make energy conservation and efficiency improvements.
-- Michelle Chen President might call for school renovations, tax break for hiring in new jobs push-- Daily Kos National: August 19, 2011 [ abstract] One idea that has been percolating as a stimulus program is a nationwide school rehab and renovation program, explained here by Laura Clawson. Fix America's Schools Today (FAST) was "put together by Mary Filardo of the 21st Century School Fund, Jared Bernstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Ross Eisenbrey of the Economic Policy Institute, FAST (PDF) points to the maintenance and repair needs of our aging school buildings, which are on average 40 years old, and how that dovetails with job creation."
The idea apparently now has a powerful proponent in the White House:
The jobs package that President Obama plans to unveil shortly after Labor Day could include tens of billions of dollars to renovate thousands of dilapidated public schools and a tax break to encourage businesses to hire new workers, according to people familiar with White House deliberations.
As aides work to put together the proposal, they are also hammering out a companion plan to reduce federal budget deficits over the next decade, which Obama would share with the 12-member congressional "super committee" charged with finding long-term fixes for the growing national debt.
-- Joan McCarter Baltimore County rewrites school facilities policy-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: August 08, 2011 [ abstract] The Baltimore County school board is expected to vote Tuesday night on a revised facilities policy that would allow PTAs and community groups to hold craft fairs and bingo games that had been in jeopardy.
Responding to a deluge of public complaints, the school system has rewritten the policy and rule twice so that most of the uses that community groups lobbied for will be allowed.
Members of school PTAs became upset last year when school administrators began enforcing the policy, which prohibited third-party vendors from earning profits at county schools. The rule led to the cancellation of long-standing craft fairs that raised tens of thousands of dollars for PTAs.
The school board decided to add language that says it "recognizes that school facilities are an essential component of the communities which they serve" and allows both nonprofit and for-profit organizations to use them.
"The board of education and the administration have listened very carefully to the public input, and we have attempted to craft language that will open the facilities up to the general public for usage," said Michael Sines, who oversees facilities for the school system.
"If the facility is available, and if the activity is legal and not contrary to another board policy or would create a problem through our insurance carrier, then the program will most likely be acceptable," he said.
While the policy is not new, the school system had recently begun to enforce it because of concern about the heavy use of facilities, liability issues and costs for utilities and maintenance.
Leslie Weber, the former PTA president of Loch Raven High School who helped form a coalition to oppose the facilities policy, said she was happy with the changes.
"I do think they listened to a lot of our concerns," she said. "The policy … is trying to welcome the community back in."
Weber said she was surprised to see that for-profit organizations now would be specifically allowed. Craft fairs and flea markets also should be permitted, she said.
-- Liz Bowie 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 Sign of the Times: Only 1 School Construction Project in Boca, Florida -- Sun Sentinel Florida: August 03, 2011 [ abstract] A red Dumpster sits outside the office at Whispering Pines Elementary School, as an army of hard hats work against the clock to ready the expansion for the first day of class on Aug. 22. The school has been under construction since December 2010. The school district has reconfigured the 1984 building, and is adding a new structure with 18 classrooms to meet proposed boundary changes and the demand of young families moving in, said Walter Cornnell, who has been principal for three years. In a way, Whispering Pines is the last man standing. With the new economic reality of public education, this is the only major public school construction project in Boca Raton, both in the city and the unincorporated areas further west.
We're shifting our focus from new construction to maintenance and repairs," said Joseph Sanches, chief of facilities management for The School District of Palm Beach County. "The amount of money is significantly down. We have enough capacity to serve our students. The district is not able to borrow until at least 2025. We don't see stimulus money." If he had his wish, Sanches would give other Boca Raton schools at least a face lift.
-- Marci Shatzman Editorial: Florida Charter Schools Score Big on Maintenance Funding-- Sun Sentinel Florida: August 01, 2011 [ abstract] Gov. Rick Scott and the state Legislature do an outstanding job of talking a good game about improving education in Florida. Too bad the lofty talk isn't backed up by action. The latest slap toward Florida's traditional public schools, following drastic budget cuts earlier this year, is the report that charter schools will receive all of the state cash - $55 million - budgeted this year for school construction and maintenance. None of that money - not a nickel - will go to traditional public schools for additions, or needed repair to aging buildings.
Charter schools are public schools, of course, and if they need the money for construction and repairs, fine. And it's not like the construction and maintenance track record of some public school districts, like Broward's, inspire confidence.
But this is not enough rationale to benefit one set of public schools at the expense of another. All of Florida's schoolchildren deserve better.
-- Editorial Board Charters get $55 million for upkeep, other schools get zero-- Orlando Sentinel Florida: July 25, 2011 [ abstract] Traditional public schools in Florida will get no money from the state this year for additions or needed repairs to thousands of aging buildings, but charter schools will score big.
All of the state cash budgeted for school construction and maintenance is going to the independent, tax-financed charters favored by the Republican-dominated Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott.
The charter school operated for children of employees of The Villages, the Republican stronghold in north Lake County frequented by Scott and former President George W. Bush, is expected to receive about $1 million.
School district officials across Florida are bemoaning the Legislature's decision to cut traditional public schools out of PECO  the Public Education Capital Outlay program. The state's 350 charter schools will share $55 million, while the approximately 3,000 traditional schools will go without.
"Every cent allocated for school construction went to charter schools," complained Lee Swift, a Charlotte County school board member who heads the Florida School Boards Association.
Swift said lawmakers should focus on "properly funded traditional schools" instead of pressing for more charters that drain resources from the traditional schools.
But Sen. David Simmons, a Maitland Republican who chairs the Senate's subcommittee on school appropriations, said the reason the traditional schools aren't getting any PECO cash this year is simple: They don't need it.
"We did a whole lot of building a few years ago," Simmons said. "Growth has stagnated, and there has been some overbuilding of schools in some areas."
He pointed to Seminole, which has more than 9,000 vacant seats after a decade of school construction. The School Board recently closed Longwood Elementary in an economy move and is considering closing other schools next year.
But Seminole Superintendent Bill Vogel counters that Seminole and other districts still need cash for roofing and air conditioner repairs, painting, plumbing work, carpeting and other maintenance projects.
"We desperately need the PECO money," Vogel said. "It is essential for maintenance of our buildings."
And not all districts have stopped growing and needing more classrooms, either. While overall enrollment in Florida public schools fell by 19,305 students over the past five years, districts such as Lake and Osceola have continued to grow.
-- Dave Weber Serious safety violations flagged at Palm Beach County schools-- Sun Sentinel Florida: July 17, 2011 [ abstract] The safety of Palm Beach County public school buildings is again under scrutiny after a recent report to the state fire marshal flagged 2,837 violations, many of them repeat citations.
Local fire officials and school building inspectors found fire alarm, structural and maintenance deficiencies on most campuses.
"I was hoping it would be little things like a tear in the carpet, a loose doorknob, but some of the things that I found were pretty serious," School Board member Karen Brill said. "A lot of these aren't just little minor things."
To illustrate her concerns, she highlighted Lake Worth High's 85 violations, among the highest for any school. The findings include a lack of proper fire department access to some rooms, and a requirement to verify that a function of the fire alarm system is operational.
-- Marc Freeman 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 U.S. funds finance school repairs-- MORGAN JOSEY GLOVER North Carolina: July 11, 2011 [ abstract] The 2008 voter-approved bond package may get the most public attention, but that $457 million means diddly for schools that weren’t included in Guilford County Schools’ project list.
Instead, many other schools will rely on $16.8 million in special loans to fix leaky roofs, replace windows and upgrade antiquated heating and cooling systems over the next year.
Guilford is one of 62 districts in the state to receive a total $553 million in qualified school construction bonds, a type of interest-free loan provided through the federal stimulus program. Guilford was given $34 million and plans to spend about half of that financing projects in its larger bond program and the rest tackling its deferred maintenance list.
“There’s no way we could afford to do these projects without this funding,†said Robert Melton, the district’s director of facilities and construction. “It’s a great opportunity
-- The News Record Parents blame politics as Severna Park High goes without fixes-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: July 10, 2011 [ abstract] They had already been through the public testimony, the email campaigns and, they thought, the political wrangling. Severna Park High School was on track to receive a nearly $107 million to rebuild one of Anne Arundel County's highest-performing schools  but also one of its worst facilities.
But some members of the County Council argued that for the same price, the school system could renovate six elementary schools that they said were just as needy. At what seemed to Severna Park advocates like the last minute, the council voted to delay funding for the project and use the money for the other schools.
What happened to Severna Park during this spring's budget process, critics say, is evidence of a school construction and renovation system bogged down by politics. And with an economic downturn leaving funding around the state flat or in decline, fights over available funding for an ever-widening group of aging school buildings are likely to continue.
"Despite what anybody might try to say, the reason they pushed that school off was not money," said Brad Myers, an information technology consultant and 1982 graduate of Severna Park, where his teenage daughter is now a sophomore. "One of the main reasons was because there was fighting among some County Council members and it was retribution for that. It angers me. Inevitably, if there's politicians making the decision on how money is spent, you're not going to take that out of it."
But several members of the council who supported the funding change disputed that interpretation, saying that the funding decisions were aimed at spreading the money equitably.
Councilman Jerry Walker, a Republican from South County, said Lothian Elementary School in his district was just as deserving, noting its portable classrooms.
"This wasn't about punishing anyone," Walker said. "I toured five of these six elementary schools, and they all need a lot of work."
At the root of the problem, almost everyone agrees, is a lack of money. In Baltimore, for example, officials are contending with $2.8 billion in unfunded maintenance needs. Sixteen of Baltimore's schools were built in the 1920s. The city's Booker T. Washington Middle School is the oldest school building still in use in the state, built in 1895.
Similarly, Anne Arundel County has a $1.5 billion maintenance backlog and 36 schools jockeying for renovations. In 2005, the school system commissioned a private company to rank and prioritize its construction and renovation projects. The study found three of the county's high schools, including Severna Park, to be most in need of funding.
But the replacement or extensive renovation of an aging high school can cost about $100 million, and the school system doesn't have enough money to pay for all three at once. Northeast Senior High in Pasadena was the first to get renovation money and is being fixed up now.
-- Nicole Fuller Arizona Schools Getting Solar-power Systems Installed for Free, Thanks to Stimulus-- Tucson Citizen Arizona: July 09, 2011 [ abstract] Two Gilbert elementary schools will get solar-power photovoltaic systems installed free by Salt River Project in an effort to reduce the schools’ net energy consumption and save the district money. SRP will install the 13.2 kilowatt per hour roof-mounted systems at both Highland Park and Quartz Hill elementary schools in Gilbert Public Schools later this year, according to an agreement unanimously approved by the governing board.
SRP will fund the purchase and installation of the project through federal stimulus money, and provide maintenance for the first 10 years of the 20-year agreement. In return, GPS agrees to assume responsibility for the maintenance of the systems for the remaining 10 years.maintenance could include a new inverter, which costs between $2,000 and $3,000, and replacement and cleaning panels, which costs a few hundred dollars, said Assistant Superintendent Clyde Dangerfield in his recommendation to the school board.
The Gilbert schools are among eight schools in Phase 2 of SRP’s Solar for Schools program, and were considered because they are newer facilites with structurally sound roofs that can handle the installation, said SRP spokeswoman Patty Garcia-Likens. The schools include Red Mountain and Dobson high schools in Mesa. “SRP provides the school with data on how it’s (the solar panels) operating, which becomes a good educational opportunity,†Garcia-Likens said. “This is showing real day-to-day information to the students on renewable energy.†SRP inspected the schools, and found that some minor roof repairs may be needed before the installation.
-- Hayley Ringle Perryville Middle declared ‘cleanest’ school in Maryland-- Cecil Whig Maryland: July 05, 2011 [ abstract] Perryville Middle School hosted the annual county schools' custodial recognition awards ceremony Friday afternoon.
What they did not know was that they hosted the event to show off the cleanest school in Maryland.
Anthony Lassiter, a state maintenance inspector with the Public School Construction Program, said Perryville Middle scored a 98.66 out of 100, the highest score recorded in the state this year on the annual maintenance inspection.
"I don't think I have ever seen a score that high in my four years on the job," he added. "Out of the 35 categories, they scored a superior rating in 32 of them."
Beginning in 2007, the Public School Construction Program began inspecting all school facilities on a routine six-year schedule by conducting approximately 230 new inspections and 28 reinspections each year. The inspectors check for cleanliness and whether or not building systems are working properly.
Tony Kerr, the head custodian at Perryville Middle, said he was quite surprised to find out how well the school did on the maintenance inspection.
"I thought we had done pretty well, but not the best in the state," he said.
He added that he was especially proud of his five-member crew's work because it was the school's first inspection since their renovations were completed in 2008.
-- Jacob Owens County school sales tax to debut Friday-- herald-review.com Illinois: June 30, 2011 [ abstract] A 1 percent school facilities sales tax in Macon County has been such a long time in coming, many people probably have forgotten it will start being added to purchases Friday.
Macon County's school facilities sales tax, to be applied to general merchandise as well as food prepared for immediate consumption, alcoholic beverages, soft drinks and candy, is expected to generate about $9 million annually for the construction and maintenance of public school buildings.
-- THERESA CHURCHILL Arizona School Funding Formula for Building and Maintenance Debated-- Arizona Republic Arizona: May 23, 2011 [ abstract] Arizona has been failing its schools for decades when it comes to providing money for building and maintaining campuses, education-funding advocates say. Despite nearly 20 years of lawsuits that forced the state to provide more-equitable funding for poorer school districts, the gap between "have" and "have not" districts is growing again. Meanwhile, by some measures, as most states spend more to improve school facilities, Arizona consistently spends less.
And it shows, says one of the state's most dogged gadflies. As Tim Hogan, director of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, talks with school leaders across Arizona about filing a new lawsuit against the state, he says the Legislature and other leaders need to find a fair way to fund and maintain schools, many of which have no money to properly repair their older buildings. "This is doable," he insists. Twenty years ago, Hogan represented the Roosevelt School District in a suit charging that relying on property taxes to build and maintain schools unconstitutionally shortchanged students in poor districts. Arizona's Supreme Court agreed, forcing an overhaul of how Arizona paid for school buildings and sparking a slew of school-funding lawsuits from Massachusetts to Wyoming. Some of those states have had success creating fairer school-finance systems. And since Arizona's chronically underfunded overhaul isn't working, some critics say the state should look to those models.
-- Bob Ortega KW pool, NC turf repairs continue despite dispute
-- Star-Tribune Wyoming: May 23, 2011 [ abstract] Wyoming's school funding inequities have been remedied with several supreme court decisions, and Natrona County school officials hope their latest disagreement with the state can be resolved without a lawsuit.
The school district's board of trustees voted unanimously Monday night to enter into an "reservation of rights and tolling" agreement with the state School Facilities Commission. The agreement allows the district to repair the swimming pool at Kelly Walsh and the artificial turf at Natrona County high schools during the summer without penalty while pursuing an "informal review" of its request to use major maintenance funding for the projects.
The commission pays for maintenance of educational facilities but does not pay for upkeep of features such as swimming pools and bleachers, called enhancements. The commission allows districts to spend up to 10 percent of their major maintenance allocations toward enhancement repairs, provided more immediate needs are met.
The district requested use of regular major maintenance for the projects -- both considered enhancements by past commission decisions. District officials cited educational purposes for each. Commission staff members denied the request.
Natrona County received about $3 million for major maintenance last year and about $4 million has been allocated for 2011-12. The swimming pool will be paid from 2010-11 enhancement maintenance money, while the turf will be paid for by two years' allocations, said Mark Antrim, associate superintendent of facilities and technology.
This is the first time the district has challenged a state facilities decision, Antrim said.
-- JACKIE BORCHARDT Arizona Schools Forced to Divert Funding to Repair Buildings-- Arizona Republic Arizona: May 22, 2011 [ abstract] Across Arizona, scores of school districts are using money they had set aside for textbooks to fix air-conditioners and leaky roofs, laying off maintenance workers and having teachers sweep their own classrooms, putting off repairs and hoping nothing major breaks down. Malaj and his counterparts around the state are wrestling with the fact that, for the fourth year in a row, the Arizona Legislature has siphoned almost every penny from the state's school-repairs fund to help plug the budget deficit. Under the state's Students FIRST law, school districts should get $242 million for building repairs and renovations in the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. They'll get barely more than 1 percent of that - $2.66 million - and only for emergencies. The near-elimination of the state's building-renewal fund for schools is part of a broader set of cuts to K-12 education spending, which makes it harder for districts to shift funds from somewhere else without affecting classrooms.
-- Bob Ortega Elementary Goes Green with Garden, Trees, Birdhouses-- Dundalk Patch Maryland: April 26, 2011 [ abstract] One of the largest green projects Eastwood Elementary tackled as a Maryland Green School was creating an outdoor habitat garden. Within this garden, teachers, staff, parents and students placed plants to attract butterflies in the warmer months and winter birds during the colder months. There are also birdhouses for bluebirds, and birdbaths to draw some local wildlife closer to the school. Eastwood Elementary was certified as a Maryland Green School in 2009 after a committee of administrators, teachers, building maintenance staff, a parent and two students completed the application process. But earning Maryland Green School certification is about more than an application process. It's about changing the way teachers and students view the natural environment. It's also about integrating environmental education into every aspect of learning.
According to Walls, one of the greatest challenges the school faced with regard to Maryland Green School certification was finding the money to implement the projects they wanted to do. Luckily local companies, including Lowe's Home Improvement and Home Depot, came through with donations of trees and other plants for both the habitat garden and the playground project.
-- Timothy Dunn House unveils $3.13B capital-budget proposal
-- Seattle Times Washington: April 04, 2011 [ abstract] The state House released its $3.13 billion construction budget for the next two years Monday, including $718.5 million in construction grants for K-12 schools and $626.7 million for projects at colleges and universities.
Nearly half of the budget is paid for from state general obligation bonds. The overall plan is about $200 million less than the previous biennium's budget.
Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, chairman of the House Capital Budget committee, said he worked with Republican Rep. Judy Warnick, of Moses Lake, to come up with a bipartisan budget proposal. He said he's pleased with the result, particularly for the K-12 grants, which provide matching money for bonds raised by school districts around the state.
"I really feel good about what they did in those communities to get those bonds passed, and now we've got to keep our end," he said.
The $718.5 million toward construction-assistance in public schools is paid for by state bond money and the Common School Construction Account, which receives money from trust-land transfers and timber revenue within the state, as well as federal revenue.
About a quarter of the budget, $831.9 million, is dedicated to renovation and preservation projects for public agencies. More than half of that would go to colleges and universities for major renovations and facility maintenance.
The plan would create more than 51,000 new construction jobs at a time when Washington needs them most, Dunshee said. He added that this number doesn't take into account the jobs that spin off from things like farm preservation and habitat-maintenance projects.
-- Molly Rosbach Taxpayer advocates urge consideration of sales tax for schools in Madison County-- bnd.com Illinois: March 21, 2011 [ abstract]
Taxpayer advocates and some school officials are urging passage of a Madison County referendum calling for a one-cent sales tax to abate property taxes and fund school construction, while others oppose it.
Citizens for Property Tax Relief hosted several Madison County school superintendents Monday to ask voters to approve a 1-cent county-wide sales tax that is expected to generate $20 million a year for school construction and maintenance.
The money would be allocated to school districts on a per-student basis. Purchases of groceries, medicines, automobiles, etc. would be exempt.
Most school boards have approved a resolution to use the majority of the money to abate property taxes, with the remainder going toward construction projects.
For example, Alton school board president Larry Thompson said they have passed a resolution to use 60 percent of the money to abate property taxes, lowering their current rate of $4.06 per $100 of equalized assessed value to $3.81.
Granite City Superintendent Harry Briggs said the average home of $150,000 will save about $141 a year in his district, while an Edwardsville home of $194,000 will save about $193 a year.
-- ELIZABETH DONALD Ameresco Undertakes Energy Saving Contract with Shenandoah County Public Schools-- AZ Building Virginia: March 19, 2011 [ abstract] Ameresco, a company that provides solutions for achieving efficient use of energy and facilitates the operation of renewable energy plants, declared that it has signed an energy savings performance contract (ESPC) accord with Shenandoah County Public Schools, placed 90 miles west of Washington in Virginia’s northern Shenandoah Valley.
The terms of the contract will require Ameresco to facilitate the implementation of energy efficiency upgrades to 10 schools located in the Shenandoah County, the bus garage of the school division and a maintenance shop.
Ameresco undertook an exhaustive energy performance audit to understand the baseline of energy usage and consumption of utility power at the schools. The company has prepared a number of energy conserving features for the Shenandoah schools, which include installation of proper lighting and controls, conservation of water, upgradation of existing controls and further expansion. Other energy conservation measures include replacement of the unit ventilator and introduction of direct digital controls, setting up of a multizone unit conversion facility and replacement of boilers and existing transformers.
The company assisted the Shenandoah County Public Schools to fill in the Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCB) application. Under the provisions of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the schools received an interest free grant of $7.3 million through QSCB. The project is expected to provide energy savings of around $480,000 over a period of 16 years.
-- Joel Scanlon L.A. Unified School Construction Chief Resigns-- Los Angeles Times California: March 16, 2011 [ abstract] The head of the $20-billion construction program for the Los Angeles Unified School District announced his resignation, the second departure in two years of the top official for the nation's largest school-construction program.
James Sohn had the support of Supt. Ramon C. Cortines, who said he especially valued Sohn's efforts to streamline the maintenance of schools in the wake of budget cuts. But Sohn, 44, also has come under scrutiny for his handling of contractors in the district's massive school-building program.
-- Howard Blume and Gale Holland Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Will Lease its Shuttered Schools-- South Charlotte News North Carolina: March 09, 2011 [ abstract] Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is now taking bids from organizations interested in leasing any of the nine school buildings CMS plans to close for the 2011-12 school year. CMS decided to close 11 school buildings and lease nine to help bridge a budget gap projected to be as much as $100 million.
Leasing some of the empty buildings will allow the school system to avoid the costs associated with maintenance, as leaseholders will be responsible for all maintenance and operations of the buildings. "Even when the building is not being used, you still have to do some pest management, send a custodian, (air) conditioning to avoid mold," said Dennis LaCaria, director of facilities planning and real estate for CMS. "The extent to which we can avoid those costs, that's mostly what can be used to keep some jobs. But the rent revenue is not really going to ... be a significant impact."
-- Caroline McMillan 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 School construction ongoing; local contractors benefit
-- Southeast Missourian Missouri: February 27, 2011 [ abstract] For its supporters, the mood was elation.
On April 6, 2010, voters in the Cape Girardeau School District overwhelmingly approved a $40 million bond proposal to replace an elementary school, build an event complex and address deferred maintenance throughout the district, among other projects. The issue, which required 57.2 percent for approval, garnered 61.26 percent of the vote.
It was a long time coming, the bond issue's champions said.
"This is really a testament to the determination of our school district," said Kyle McDonald, who served as school board president at the time.
The last time voters approved a bond proposal was in April 2000, with the support of an $18 million bond issue to build a new high school.
Nearly a year after the district got the green light, construction is humming on millions of dollars of building projects, with some work in the books and the entire scope still on schedule to be completed by the end of 2010.
"It's going really well," said district superintendent Jim Welker. "I really give a lot of credit to our professional team we have."
Leading the projects, McCarthy Building Companies and local architect Phillip Smith. Bond Wolfe, a St. Louis architecture firm, will handle the larger projects, like the Cape Girardeau Central High School auditorium.
"We have a great team and things have gone really well," Welker said. "I've been impressed with all those groups.
"It's kind of exciting to watch these things planned out."
The plan is proceeding rapidly.
-- M.D. Kittle Millions needed to fix Bradley County middle school-- Chattanooga Times Free Press Tennessee: February 23, 2011 [ abstract] Addressing Lake Forest Middle School’s most pressing maintenance problems will take about $6 million, Bradley County commissioners and school board members learned today.
And additional $5 million also would allow construction of a two-story academic building.
School Board Chairman Troy Weathers said county commissioners will be getting letters next week, explaining both options.
-- Randall Higgins KC district to weigh plan to borrow $50 million for repairs
-- The Kansas City Star Kansas: February 21, 2011 [ abstract] Caught in another winter of broken boilers and frosty classrooms, the Kansas City School District is contemplating borrowing about $50 million to ease its building woes.
“We’re hemorrhaging maintenance dollars to keep (district buildings) functioning,†said Michael Rounds, the district’s chief operations officer. “But it doesn’t have to be that way.â€
-- JOE ROBERTSON Mayor, schools at odds over penny-- Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: February 19, 2011 [ abstract] A potential showdown between Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Atlanta Public Schools over a penny in sales tax could jeopardize nearly $1.5 billion worth of school construction, maintenance and technology for the city and surrounding school systems, including Fulton and DeKalb counties.
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Reed said the penny â€" which over nearly 15 years has helped build or renovate 84 city schools or other buildings, among other projects â€" instead needs to go to a regional transportation plan expected to be put to voters next year.
The penny is in play because it expires next year. Reed doesn’t want the city school system to seek to renew it as voters also consider the transportation tax. If both were to pass, the city would have the state’s highest sales tax at 9 percent and would be at a competitive disadvantage, the mayor said.
-- Nancy Badertscher and Kristina Torres
Building Schools Provides Boost to Wyoming Construction Firms-- Casper Star-Tribune Wyoming: February 12, 2011 [ abstract] By November 2009, construction employment in the state was off by 5,200 jobs when compared to a year earlier. A year later, construction remained in the doldrums. But continued school building provided a welcome boost for many contractors.
In Natrona County, Groathouse Construction completed the CY Middle School last summer, which sent payroll and consumer-spending benefits rippling through the local economy. John Griffith, Groathouse project manager, said the CY Middle School project involved 49 subcontractors, 24 of which were from Casper and 35 from the state generally. Of the final project cost of about $29 million, $21.5 million went to Casper-based firms and just under $25 million to Wyoming-based subcontractors. In all, 86 percent of the dollars spent on the project went to Wyoming subcontractors. Casper-based companies did the mechanical, electrical and steel work -- big parts of any such project. Wyoming firms also provided the polished concrete floors, the doors, windows, ceilings, and supplied specialty items like bathroom partitions. On a Groathouse project, Griffith said it’s typical for 75 percent to 85 percent of the project dollars to be spent on Wyoming-based subcontractors.
The future of school construction spending is a topic before this year’s Wyoming Legislature. In his State of the State address, Gov. Matt Mead rejected $62 million for school construction, which had been in former Gov. Dave Freudenthal’s budget. “I remain skeptical that more dollars spent on buildings translates to a better education,†Mead said. He said that while he understands that the state is required by law to pay for school construction and maintenance, he wants a plan to demonstrate that the money is being spent for the maximum benefit of Wyoming. Mead wants the Legislature to adopt a strong preference law for Wyoming contractors and to resolve other contract problems before he will approve the additional money for school construction.
-- Tom Mast Catawba County, North Carolina Schools Are Changing Out All Fluorescent Bulbs in Next Two Years-- Hickory Daily Record North Carolina: February 12, 2011 [ abstract] Catawba County’s school systems are changing out thousands of fluorescent lights in the 44 schools. This will cost Catawba County Schools alone nearly three-quarters of a million dollars over the next two years. But, the new bulbs are expected to save more over the long run.
Every state agency, community college and public school must replace the T12 bulbs that are in most of the lights now with T8 bulbs, according to state legislation. The legislation is in response to a federal energy policy that was approved a few years ago. Unlike the old lights, the T8s have less mercury, are brighter and are more energy efficient, said Frank Southers, director of maintenance for Hickory Public Schools. “We started replacing lights at schools, beginning with Southwest Elementary, six years ago,†Southers said. “Since then, we’ve had to replace very few bulbs there. It saves energy and it saves time and labor.â€
Hickory Public Schools did not have a total for how much it would cost the system to replace the lights in every school. However, the school system has budgeted $125,000 to replace the lights at Oakwood, Viewmont and Jenkins elementaries for the 2011-12 school year. The lights were already replaced at Hickory High during renovations.
Although there is no timeline for when the lights need to be replaced, every state agency is expected to complete a report by Dec. 1 on their compliance with the state’s new environmental laws passed in 2010, which include replacing fluorescent lights, according to the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The T12 bulb will also no longer be manufactured after July 1, 2012.
-- Sarah Newell Williamson Grant Boosts Green Upgrades at Sacramento Schools-- The Sacramento Bee California: February 09, 2011 [ abstract] Plans for $100 million in green upgrades to Sacramento's school buildings received a boost from the national organization that certifies eco-friendly and energy-efficient buildings.
The U.S. Green Building Council on Tuesday named the Sacramento City Unified School District as one of the first school systems in the nation for its $300,000 green schools fellowship program.
The three-year fellowship will fund a full-time sustainability officer who will help direct the school district's energy efficiency programs, indoor air quality programs and its maintenance and transportation work.
-- Rick Daysog Roofs still buckling under snow; schools in 3 districts stay shut-- Boston Globe Massachusetts: February 08, 2011 [ abstract] It’s been almost a week since the last winter storm, but the heavy blankets of snow that remain are still wreaking damage.
As homeowners and work crews scrambled to clear snow atop buildings across the state yesterday, more than a dozen roofs collapsed, bringing the total number of buildings damaged by snow in the past week to 149, state emergency officials said.
Schools in three districts where snow had caused problems remained closed, as crews worked to get weight off roofs and inspectors assessed buildings.
“There’s just a tremendous amount of pressure up there,’’ said Jack Howland, a maintenance worker at Georgetown’s Perley Elementary School, where crews used shovels and a crane to clear snow from a roof that suffered a partial collapse last week.
-- Peter Schworm and Sarah Schweitzer Superintendent advocates sticking with middle school-- Payson Roundup Arizona: February 08, 2011 [ abstract] Alas, it’s probably too late to shift Payson to a K-8 school system â€" no matter what the research says â€" said Superintendent Casey O’Brien.
“If you could go back in time by five years, potentially there was an opportunity to build Julia Randall Elementary School as a big K-8 school and remodel the middle school,†he said, but converting existing schools now could do more harm than good.
The Payson school board is currently weighing a recommendation that the district shut down Frontier Elementary School and covert one of the two remaining elementary schools to a K-2 school and the other to a 3-5 school â€" while leaving the middle school and high school intact.
That move runs counter to a trend nationally as districts convert middle schools into K-8 schools, in response to studies showing that students in K-8 schools have significantly higher test scores and fewer discipline and other social problems.
Few parents or faculty in Payson have opposed the closure of Frontier Elementary School, which could save the district $300,000 in the cost of maintenance, utilities and administration. However, some parents and some research have expressed support for converting Payson Elementary School, Julia Randall Elementary School and Rim Country Middle School to K-8 schools.
-- Pete Aleshire Increasing American Economic Growth and Competitiveness-- Huffington Post National: February 04, 2011 [ abstract] Remarks prepared for the Congressional Black Caucus Commission on the Budget Deficit, Economic Crisis, and Wealth Creation
Currently, there are over 14 million Americans who would like to work but cannot find work. This is the most important immediate problem facing the country. Although African-American workers only make up 12% of the American labor force, blacks make up 20% of the unemployed. Our ability to create jobs -- sooner rather than later -- matters a great deal for the well-being of millions of American families. Our failure to create jobs causes people to lose their homes, produces increases in family stress, and leads children to drop out of school.
A serious, longer-term problem is the economic decline of the United States relative to other nations. In the 1950s and 1960s, the United States led the world on many important measures. Today, the United States has fallen behind. If we fail to invest in our people, in our infrastructure, and in research and development we will continue to fall behind. Even worse, we will stand by as we watch our country literally fall apart.
The good news is that we can go a long way to address these two problems -- the immediate problem of a high rate of joblessness and the longer-term problem of America's declining competitiveness -- with one solution -- smart investments now. The federal government needs to make investments rapidly in education, infrastructure, and research and development to make us more competitive globally. These investments if done quickly and substantially will create millions of jobs to address the current jobs crisis.
Falling Behind and Falling Apart
Below are just a few examples of how the United States is currently failing to make the necessary investments in education, infrastructure, and research and development.
Education
•A 2008 UNICEF report ranked the United States 20th out of 24 countries in providing early childhood education.
•Fifteen year olds in the United States ranked 17th out of 65 countries in the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment reading test. U.S. students were 23rd in science and 31st in math.
•The College Board found that the United States ranked 12th out of 36 countries in the college completion rates of 25- to 34-year olds in 2007.
Infrastructure
•The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that two-thirds of U.S. roads are in poor or mediocre condition.
•27% of U.S. bridges are "structurally deficient" or "functionally obsolete.
•29% of all transit assets are in poor or marginal condition.
•Each day in the United States, there are about 700 water main breaks, we lose 7 billion gallons of water from water main leaks, and we put the public at risk from contaminated water.
•An analysis by the 21st Century School Fund finds that we have neglected nearly 300 billion of required maintenance in our public schools.
Investments in Infrastructure
The infrastructure needed for the productivity, safety and health of the nation is falling apart. We need to make the necessary investments:
•to repair, replace, and upgrade our deficient roads, bridges, water systems, power grids, and sewers.
•to repair, replace, upgrade and expand our public transportation systems.
•to modernize our school infrastructure so that all our students have access to 21st century technology and instructional resources.
If we begin to make these investments now we will create a substantial number of jobs in construction, transportation, and technology, and we will be laying the foundation for U.S. competitiveness for the rest of the 21st century, just as similar investments helped to make the United States a dominant economic force in the 20th century.
The expansion and modernization of our public transportation systems are particularly important for our low-income population. These improvements to these systems will allow low-income workers greater access to jobs. Increased use of new and efficient public transportation has the additional benefits of reducing our dependency on fossil fuels and on foreign energy.
-- Algernon Austin Union says it will fight Sodexo's deal to take over DPS building services
-- Detriot Free Press Michigan: January 28, 2011 [ abstract] Union and school officials expect to square off in court over the Detroit Public Schools' plan to privatize facilities operations starting next month, to save $75 million over five years.
Robert Bobb, DPS emergency financial manager, announced Thursday that the outsourcing will mean 699 employees will have to seek jobs with companies taking over custodial, engineering, maintenance, repair and grounds services Feb. 21.
Also at issue is that the $43.9-million, five-year contract is with Sodexo Inc., a multinational company that Human Rights Watch and other groups accused of human rights violations and union busting.
Sodexo paid $80 million in 2005 to settle a class action by African-American workers over claims they were denied promotions and segregated within Sodexo. And last July it agreed to pay $20 million to settle accusations by the New York Attorney General's Office that it overcharged schools for food services.
-- CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY School district warns of consequences if state redirects bond money
-- Las Vegas Sun Nevada: January 26, 2011 [ abstract] Clark County School District officials protested Gov. Brian Sandoval's plan to redirect money for school construction and maintenance, warning that the proposal would require the school district to refinance bonds, increasing long-term costs, or be forced to raise property taxes in order to repay its debt.
Jeff Weiler, chief financial officer of the Clark County School District, told the Legislature's committee reviewing the budget that the district needs the $411 million it has to repay debt service on money raised for capital projects over the next five to seven years.
He was unable to estimate how much money it would cost the district to restructure its debt.
The Sandoval administration proposed sweeping a total of $425 million in funds from 12 school districts across the state and transfer it to schools operating costs, according to the budget Sandoval released on Monday. About $300 million of that would come from Clark County, and put into that district's schools.
Weiler said there has been a misunderstanding between the school district and Sandoval's administration about whether the district would need to refinance the debt anyway.
Sandoval's budget balanced without raising taxes, but did shift some resources around to lessen cuts. Sandoval's cut to K-12 schools of over 9 percent assumed that capital money could be transferred to operating costs.
-- David McGrath Schwartz Kamenetz presents school construction budget
-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: January 20, 2011 [ abstract] Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said Thursday afternoon that his school construction requests for the fiscal year starting this summer recognize the need for spending restraint in difficult times, but he said the same economic challenges "make the education of our future work force and leaders more important than ever," according to his prepared remarks.
The executive's annual message to the 15-member planning board on capital spending for 2012 offered highlights of a $670 million spending plan. Kamenetz focused on school construction, a contentious issue among many parents whose children are coping with crowded schools. The capital improvements budget also covers an array of maintenance projects, including roads, county buildings and parks.
The plan includes construction of three high schools and doubling the size of an elementary school. The request  much of which continues spending on projects that have begun  is part of what Kamenetz called the county's "commitment to ensuring that all of our schools are capable of giving our children the finest education possible."
In his two-page presentation, Kamenetz said the county's schools are among the oldest in the state, many of them opening more than 50 years ago. He praised the accomplishments of the school system but said that "our teachers cannot succeed, and our students cannot excel, if our classrooms and facilities are inadequate to provide what is required for a quality 21st-century education."
The capital improvements plan is for the fiscal 2012 year, starting July 1, and the plans are drafted every other year. The $600 million includes $285 million in borrowing approved in a referendum in the November election, which can be spent during more than one fiscal year, county spokeswoman Ellen Kobler said.
-- Arthur Hirsch Parents Raise Questions About PCBs at 2 Staten Island Schools-- Staten Island South Shore New York: January 19, 2011 [ abstract] More than 75 concerned parents showed up at Paulo Intermediate School in Huguenot with questions about how toxic chemicals found in classrooms at PS 36 and PS 53 will affect the health of their children â€" short-term and long-term. The public officials who made up a panel of experts left most of the parents gasping for answers.
“We take nothing out of here tonight,†said Marie Stackhouse, PTA president at PS 36, which was shut down so maintenance workers could replace every light ballast in the school after polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, were detected in leaky light fixtures in two classrooms.
Leaky ballasts also were found in 20 classrooms at PS 53, according to sampling results released Jan. 8. “The city,†Mrs. Stackhouse said, “is not giving us the necessary information.â€
A panel comprising four officials from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Ed Ohmstead of the United Federation of Teachers; Ross J. Holden of the School Construction Authority; Dr. Nathan Graber, M.D., from the Department of Health’s Environmental and Occupational Disease Division, and Kathleen Grimm, the city Department of Education’s deputy chancellor for operations, fielded parents’ questions for nearly two hours.
-- Jeff Harrell San Bernadino School District Earns High Marks for Green Schools-- Press-Enterprise California: January 18, 2011 [ abstract] The San Bernardino City Unified School District has been selected as a model for building environmentally friendly, high-performance, energy-efficient schools. Last month, the district received the Green Building Leadership Award, presented during the annual Green California Schools Summit in Pasadena. The district was honored for its dedication to the implementation of green building standards during the modernization of existing campuses and the construction of new ones.
In recent years, the district has broadened its environmentally sensitive building practices, said Wael Elatar, facilities management/maintenance and operations administrator.
"Building green and high-performance schools not only helps the environment," Elatar said. "It also helps save the district money, which is vital in these tough budget times."
The district has undertaken 53 projects and 14 school projects. These projects are focused on creating energy-efficient schools, Elatar said. These projects feature key high-performance and green components, such as efficient LED lighting and low-flush toilets.
-- Staff Writer School Replacement, Repairs Riding on Central Kitsap's Levy Measure
-- Kitsap Sun Washington: January 15, 2011 [ abstract] When Central Kitsap voters receive their ballots next week, they’ll be given a long list of school projects to consider when they decide whether to support a school building and maintenance levy.
Ballots will be mailed Wednesday for the Feb. 8 special election.
If approved, the district would collect $58 million over five years. In addition, the district expects to qualify for $31 million in state and federal funds, bringing the total to $89 million in projects.
The estimated levy rate would be $1.71 per $1,000 of a home’s value, which could increase to $1.85 per $1,000 in 2016.
Projects are planned for 19 of the district’s 21 schools, including the rebuilding of one, renovation of another and a new building for transportation and food services.
Other projects include $7.3 million to replace computers in classrooms districtwide, upgrade servers and software and install a fiber optic Internet network. Repairs and maintenance would be undertaken at 17 other schools and Silverdale Stadium.
PAST REQUESTS
Twice in the past decade, voters rejected the district’s request for funding.
In 2003, a $60 million bond was requested to replace Jackson Park, Fairview Junior High, Central Kitsap Junior High and Seabeck Elementary.
In 2005, Central Kitsap voters turned down a $17 million levy request â€" projects expected to bring an additional $40 million in matching funds â€" to replace both Jackson Park and Seabeck and upgrade 21 schools.
More than 50 percent of voters approved each measure, but at the time, a 60 percent “supermajority†was required to pass school funding. The district now needs just over 50 percent to pass the levy.
The repairs district officials says are needed have changed.
Enrollment declined, and budget pressures forced the district close Seabeck and Tracyton elementaries. Facilities at Tracyton are currently being rented, and the district plans to open portions of Seabeck for renting as well. Assessed value for both are a combined $9.5 million
“Enrollment is cyclic. We’re trying to stay out in front,†said Superintendent Greg Lynch.
It’s impossible to know exactly how many children will begin school in coming years, but first grade and kindergarten enrollment are up this year, and estimates suggest that enrollment could rise again, Lynch said. With that in mind, district officials say the buildings the district has will likely be needed.
During the past nine years, the district has made $61 million in repairs, funded by federal impact and state funds as well as grants and other non-tax revenue.
But not everything got fixed, and most of the schools are older than 30 years.
“We let these things go and as a result ... they are breaking faster,†said David McVicker, CKSD’s executive director of business and operations.
The backlog of repairs grew to $119 million, district officials said.
The district prioritized repairs based on maintenance and technology requirements, cost, survey rankings from the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and other needs.
-- Angela Dice Wrightsboro school indicative of trend of maintenance neglect
-- Star News Online North Carolina: January 15, 2011 [ abstract] Nancy Burke Burton's family has deep ties to Wrightsboro Elementary School.
Her mother-in-law, herself, her husband, her children and her granddaughter all attended the school. The memories of attending a school in such a close-knit community keep her family coming back for visits there, plus a yearly elementary school reunion that draws about 100 people from as far away as Boston and Florida.
The Burtons volunteered there. One even worked there for awhile.
And the Burtons aren't the only Wrightsboro-area family with continued ties to the school. In the case of Wrightsboro, no matter what condition the aging building is in – and it's had it's share of problems - the community has wrapped its arms around its educational center.
A StarNews Building Blocks investigation reviewing thousands of district documents about the school found more than 10 instances of repeated requests from the school to the district for improvements to its covered walkways, blacktop and carpeting during the past 10 years.
‘Like Mayberry'
Wrightsboro Elementary is, literally, located at the center of the community, sitting along Castle Hayne Road, next to or near the community's prominent churches and Volunteer Fire Department.
-- Amanda Greene Montana School District Seeks $8.5 Million QSCB for Energy Conservation Project-- Great Falls Tribune Montana: January 11, 2011 [ abstract] vation project, which called for trustees to approve a preliminary bond sale resolution. To secure the low-interest Qualified School Construction Bond loan for a 15-year period, it will have to be approved by the Montana Board of Investments when they meet on Feb. 9. Trustees unanimously approved seeking $6.6 million in loans for the elementary district and $1.9 million for the high-school district.
Odermann said they are asking for the maximum request they are allowed. Right now, Great Falls Public Schools is at the top of the list to receive the qualified school construction bond money which is being administered through the Office of Public Instruction.
The school district is at the top of the list to receive the low-interest qualified school construction loans because it is not proposing a levy election in order to finance such a project. Semmens said Great Falls is the first district in the state that he's known of that isn't seeking additional taxpayer dollars to finance the project. The district's proposal is to pay back the loan with the energy savings acquired each year and also $3 million of its deferred maintenance fund as well. Odermann and Superintendent Cheryl Crawley estimate the district will pay between $300,000 and $400,000 a year, with the majority of the money coming from energy savings.
-- Kristen Cates California Students to Return to Rain-damaged Schools-- Californian California: January 02, 2011 [ abstract] While local K-12 students were away on winter break, record rain pounded their campuses. And while most students return Monday to only slightly muddy playing fields, some return to classrooms out of commission after recent storms caused irreparable damage. Several school districts have filed claims with insurance companies. Some buildings have suffered leaky roofs that have since been fixed. But others -- like in Delano -- were "complete losses." "There was just more water than they could stand," said Charles Trueblood, Delano Joint Union High School District's maintenance supervisor. Five Delano middle school portable classrooms, a computer lab and an adult school office on district grounds are irreparable. Workers are also trying to salvage a Robert F. Kennedy High School lecture hall. Damage is estimated to be upwards of $800,000, Superintendent Rosalina Rivera said.
As of Thursday, four Kern County school districts filed claims with Self-Insured Schools of California, an insurance company that represents schools here. Belridge Elementary School District was one such district. A building there suffered a leak that has already been fixed. After schools file claims, insurance investigators assess damage and determine costs. It typically takes one to two weeks to process claims, said Bob Kretzmer, an adjuster with SISC. Any costs not handled by SISC are paid for using district funds. In Delano, school officials expect damage to be covered. Kern County saw record-breaking rainfall starting the week before Christmas. Estimates pit damage costs to at least $12.7 million. When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency, that opened emergency funds school districts could potentially use. Those funds, however, are secondary to money available through insurance, school officials said.
-- Jorge Barriento 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 Holbrook says no to school regionalization-- Wicked Local Massachusetts: December 22, 2010 [ abstract] Holbrook will not be joining its school system with Abington’s and will forge ahead with a proposal to construct a Grade 6 to Grade 12 facility.
The school committee unanimously agreed on Dec. 15 to accept the recommendation of the Abington/Holbrook regionalization study committee to not join the two districts, citing high costs.
The school committee also accepted the permanent school building committee’s recommendation to go forward with a plan to construct a new middle/high school facility.
According to Superintendent of Schools Joseph Baeta, the main reason for not regionalizing is cost.
“It would be a significant cost to bring the two districts together,†he said.
During the school committee meeting, the task force’s report was outlined along with its finding not to regionalize.
The panel’s conclusion was the result of several months of hashing out the pros and cons of joining the two districts.
The committee was looking at combining Grade 9 through Grade 12 Holbrook and Abington students and examined such information as enrollment, population, curriculum, and funding.
Baeta said that there were three critical issues facing Holbrook if it were to team up with Abington: aligning employee contracts, employee health care costs, and transportation.
“The three issues led to one big issue: cost,†he said.
The superintendent explained that regionalization ultimately creates its own municipality.
He said that if Holbrook were to join with Abington, all teacher, paraprofessional, and maintenance union contracts would have to be renegotiated in accordance with a state statue that governs regionalization.
As an example, if a Holbrook teacher was receiving a $50,000 salary and the same level Abington teacher was being paid $53,000, the Holbrook teacher would have to be paid $53,000.
“We would have to pay the higher salary,†Baeta said.
-- Tom Gorman New York’s Schools Seize a Chance to Expand-- The New York Times New York: December 22, 2010 [ abstract] The education sector, and especially the School Construction Authority, has become big business in the world of New York City real estate. As residential condominiums, office towers and other private sector projects have faltered, the authority has swooped in to take advantage of lower construction costs, amenable landlords and available land to pursue an aggressive expansion.
This year, the S.C.A. has built a record 26 new facilities, creating room for 17,500 students. The authority, which oversees the building and maintenance of the city’s nearly 1,700 public schools, is in the second year of an $11.7 billion five-year capital plan, to run from the 2010 to 2014 fiscal years. The city Department of Education is lobbying for an additional $4.4 billion that would put it on track to have added nearly 124,000 seats from 2003 to 2013. “The S.C.A. is the biggest game in town,†said Richard T. Anderson, the president of the New York Building Congress, a construction trade group. “In terms of actual construction, the S.C.A.’s five-year capital plan is the largest agency program in the city,†he said.
The education sector accounted for more than half of all construction starts in New York City from May 2008 to the end of last April, a pattern that is expected to continue, according to the building congress. In addition to traditional public schools, the number of charter schools in the city has surged to 125 in 2010, from just four in 1999, according to the New York City Charter School Center, and several private schools have been in the market for new buildings. At the postsecondary level, the City University of New York, New York University and Columbia University are all planning major expansions.
-- JULIE SATOW New York’s Schools Seize a Chance to Expand-- New York Times New York: December 21, 2010 [ abstract] After the Norcor Management Corporation bought the Sunnyside Jewish Center in Queens in 2006, it demolished the synagogue in expectation of building residential housing on the site. But like so many projects, the plans were dashed in the wake of the real estate crash, and the parcel has sat vacant for years.
Now, the School Construction Authority is in talks to buy the site and build a 379-student primary school on the land, located at 45-46 42nd Street. The new building, which would open in 2014, is in New York City’s most congested school district and would help ease overcrowding at nearby public schools.
“The downturn in the real estate market has afforded us some new opportunities,†said Lorraine Grillo, president of the School Construction Authority, which is financed jointly by the city and state, “including residential developments that stalled and are now available for us to acquire.â€
The proposal in Queens is in the midst of a public review process, and must be submitted to the mayor and City Council for final approvals.
The education sector, and especially the School Construction Authority, has become big business in the world of New York City real estate. As residential condominiums, office towers and other private sector projects have faltered, the authority has swooped in to take advantage of lower construction costs, amenable landlords and available land to pursue an aggressive expansion.
This year, the S.C.A. has built a record 26 new facilities, creating room for 17,500 students. The authority, which oversees the building and maintenance of the city’s nearly 1,700 public schools, is in the second year of an $11.7 billion five-year capital plan, to run from the 2010 to 2014 fiscal years. The city Department of Education is lobbying for an additional $4.4 billion that would put it on track to have added nearly 124,000 seats from 2003 to 2013.
“The S.C.A. is the biggest game in town,†said Richard T. Anderson, the president of the New York Building Congress, a construction trade group. “In terms of actual construction, the S.C.A.’s five-year capital plan is the largest agency program in the city,†he said.
-- JULIE SATOW 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.â€
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.â€
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.â€
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 Pittsburg, California School District Converting to Solar Energy In All Its School-- Contra Costa Times California: December 16, 2010 [ abstract] The school district here is installing
solar panels in all its schools, a move expected to
save more than $28 million over the life of the
panels.
The district will spend $18.5 million from Measure
L, the school construction bond issue passed by
voters Nov. 2, to put the panels at 14 school sites
and offices.
The panels have a 30-year expected life span and
will offset the equivalent of 10 million gallons of
gasoline, according to Rohnert Park-based Stellar
Energy, the contractor on the project.
Foothill Elementary School has its panels and other
sites will receive theirs over the next two years,
according to associate superintendent Enrique
Palacios.
Contra Costa Office of Eduction spokeswoman Peggy
Marshburn said Foothill is the first school site in
the county she is aware of to go to solar.
The entire system will pay for itself in about 12
years, Palacios said.
The district will have maintenance contracts for the panels that preclude unexpected costs.
"The panels will be installed on school roofs where
there is space and over parking lots," he said.
Palacios is looking into fuel cells as an alternative to
panels at Marina Vista Elementary School downtown.
The two-story school is built on a small city block
with limited parking and a large soccer field in the
rear.
"The site is small, and you need lots of square
footage for solar panels," Palacios said.
The district dropped
an earlier proposal to install solar lighting at
Pittsburg High School's football field because the s
avings weren't sufficient to justify the expense, he
said.
The San Ramon Valley and Mt. Diablo school
districts and the Contra Costa Office of Education
are also converting facilities to solar.
Voters in the Martinez and West Contra Costa school
districts passed bond measures that could be used
to pay for solar.
-- Rick Radin 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 CIty school board detailed on SPLOST plan-- Times-Georgian Georgia: December 06, 2010 [ abstract] The Carrollton City School Board is expected to approve the special local option sales tax referendum today that will provide an estimated $15 million for debt retirement and facility maintenance.
The board members were reminded of the projects on the SPLOST at a Monday night work session. Superintendent Kent Edwards said the highest priority of the school administration is repaying debt. Because of expected SPLOST III shortfalls, the system will be about $4 million short of meeting projected figures.
An additional $2.4 million will be earmarked to make three payments to Qualified School Construction bonds in 2016 to 2018.
“We can’t put any money in it until 2016,†Edwards said of the QSCB.
The federal construction bond funds are being used to build the sixth-grade wing at Carrollton Middle School and will be used to renovate the high school gymnasium and restrooms. The money will be gathered into an account and accrue interest over the 10 years the school system will repay the funds. All the interest will be returned to the school system.
-- Rachel Lane Oldham district to close Liberty Elementary School in 2014
-- Courier-journal.com Kentucky: November 30, 2010 [ abstract] Oldham County Schools plans to close Liberty Elementary School at the end of the 2013-14 school year, Superintendent Paul Upchurch said.
A letter was sent home with Liberty students Tuesday explaining the district’s
decision to close the historic school,Upchurch said.
The original school building was
constructed in 1923 and has been
renovated several times. It now houses about 400 students.
Upchurch said the district’s decision came after years of struggling with the Liberty
building’s maintenance and utility needs.
“The building is 87 years old, and while it’s half the size of some of our other school buildings, its utility costs are double what the other schools’ are,†Upchurch said.
-- Sara Cunningham 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 waterâ€"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.â€
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 School construction offers hands-on learning-- CNJ New Mexico: November 10, 2010 [ abstract] One Texico Municipal Schools agriculture mechanics class used construction of a new school cafeteria as a learning tool. Ag mechanics instructor Terry Whitener said the project, part of Texico schools’ $6 million school construction program, enabled him to show his carpentry and construction class things he can’t show them in class. “I got to show them how to use machinery to level the ground before pouring concrete and how to place rebar to reinforce it,†he said. “They got to see how to use heavy machinery to move steel beams.†Whitener said seeing the processes in person is better than looking at a photo, reading about them or even watching a video. “It puts it more into a real life perspective,†he said. “Until they experience it for themselves, some might never fully grasp it.â€
The cafeteria is one of seven construction projects the district is working towards. An 11,244 square foot cafeteria and pre-kindergarten classroom building and a 5,160 square foot maintenance shop will be finished first, ready for use when the students return from Christmas break. Business Manager Cheryl Whitener said the entire project includes the new building, remodels in the elementary, junior high and high school buildings and the current cafeteria and agriculture mechanics shop.
-- Liliana Castillo '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 Good Teachers Need Good Digs -- City Pulse Michigan: October 20, 2010 [ abstract] Ask teachers how important the condition of their building is and they’ll say, “A good teacher can teach anywhere.†But dig a little deeper and the responses become more reflective. Educators say that, most of all, a dilapidated school building sends a message to the staff and to the students about the community’s priorities.
Voters living within the Lansing School District will make that determination as they cast ballots through Nov. 2 by voting on a site sinking fund tax proposal. The five-year property tax is expected to yield about $4.18 million per year for construction or repair of school buildings. For a $100,000 home, the 1.5 mill levy would cost about $75 per year.
“It’s not the bricks and mortar that make the teacher,†said Sally Hudgins, who recently retired from Pattengill Middle School and was a Michigan Social Studies Teacher of the Year. At one point in her 31-year career, she arrived to teach but the building was not ready. She was informed her classroom would be in a nearby church sanctuary. “You know what? It didn’t matter,†the 55-year-old said, so long as she had the space, the right tools, the right supplies and the support of parents and administrators. But she was quick to add that the district’s millage is badly needed, particularly to free funds for technology to enhance instruction.
Pattengill Principal Kirk Sulzman concurred. There’s a point when a building’s condition sends a message, he said. Yes, teachers can teach anywhere. But to get them, and to keep them, teachers should be given a workplace where students can learn. Pest control, adequate lighting and heat costs money, he said.
Families also have options today on where they send their children, or school of choice. Parents in mid-Michigan can choose where to send their children to school, so long as there are vacancies. The most common question parents who are school-shopping ask Sulzman is this one: “Is it safe here?†The money from the new fund will be earmarked for sites, buildings and their maintenance. That will allow portions of the school budget being used for maintenance to be freed up for education programs, Sulzman said.
-- Gretchen Cochran L.A. School Board Votes to Proceed with Plant Manager Cuts
-- Los Angeles Times California: October 13, 2010 [ abstract] The Los Angeles school board voted narrowly to keep intact a budget cut that will eliminate plant managers from hundreds of elementary schools, a move that critics say will result in dirtier and less-safe campuses. Plant managers oversee custodial and maintenance operations and handle a range of school emergencies, including broken tree limbs and water pipes as well as sewer leaks. They secure the campuses and deal with assorted other tasks.
A typical elementary school formerly had a plant manager and two maintenance workers. Under the latest staffing reduction, such a school has one building and grounds worker. A smaller number of plant managers will then oversee the cleaning of three to five schools after school hours. The strategy, in essence, replaces some 240 higher-salaried managers with a larger number of lower-paid workers. This exchange is necessary after two consecutive years of 20% cuts in maintenance budgets if schools are to remain clean, said James Sohn, head of the district's facilities division.
"Principals are very worried," said Judith Perez, president of Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, which represents administrators. "We've been saying this is unwise and dangerous." Parents from seven schools also expressed concern at Tuesday afternoon's board meeting.
-- Howard Blume 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 Indiana County Offers Wind Farm Investment Opportunity to Schools-- Lafayette Journal and Courier Indiana: September 08, 2010 [ abstract] Tippecanoe County is planning a 2,500-acre wind farm. Schools and Universities will have the opportunity to invest in Performance Park, a 50-megawatt, 25-turbine wind farm. Construction is to begin in fall 2011. One turbine would cost $3.6 million to install, plus annual maintenance of $30,000 to $40,000. Landowners are paid on a per-turbine basis, and for the number of acres they own in the wind farm boundaries. Schools would have several options to pay for construction, including bond issues. The schools then would reap the profits from the sales of energy produced.
-- Justin L. Mack New Jersey Schools get $1.3 Million Grant for Upgrades-- The Record New Jersey: September 08, 2010 [ abstract] Governor Chris Christie announced the approval of more than $1.3 million in grants to pay for infrastructure upgrades at North Jersey schools. The money was made available after the New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved the sale of $500 million in new bonds in April. The state’s Schools Development Authority is now parceling out the proceeds from the bond sale to fund school construction and maintenance projects statewide, officials said. The grants include: $365,345 to the Westwood Regional School District, to replace boilers at Brookside and Jessie F. George elementary schools, and for a new fire alarm system at Ketler Elementary School - the district’s share of the project’s cost is $548,018; $512,902 to Mahwah Public Schools to replace the heating and cooling systems at Mahwah High School and Ramapo Ridge Middle School - the district’s share of the project’s cost is $769,353; $56,953 to the Oakland School district for a new generator at Valley Middle School -the district’s share of the project’s cost is $85,430; $88,150 to the Hawthorne School District for a partial roof replacement at Hawthorne High School -the district’s share of the project’s cost is $132,225; $67,811 to the Prospect Park School District for new security cameras at Prospect Park Elementary School -the district’s share of the project’s cost is $19,513; and $217,500 to the Butler Public Schools for unspecified “technology and security upgrades†at Butler High School, Richard Butler School and Aaron Decker School - the district’s share of the project is $326,250.
-- William Lamb NPCSC receives $1.95 million in construction bonds-- Banner Graphic Indiana: August 04, 2010 [ abstract] - North Putnam Community School Corp. is the recipient of a nearly $2 million grant that will aid in renovation and repair projects across the district, superintendent Mary Sugg Lovejoy announced at a school board work session Tuesday.
The district will receive the $1.95 million bond through a Qualified School Construction Bond, which will allow NPCSC to purchase bonds at a net 0 percent interest rate for rehabilitation and repair projects around the district.
Lovejoy cited renovations to windows and sections of the roof at North Putnam Middle School, sections of the roof at Roachdale Elementary and the entire roof of North Putnam High School as maintenance projects that would benefit from the extra funds.
"It certainly helps us tremendously. Now we don't have to rely on capital projects funds for necessary repairs," Lovejoy said.
The announcement came just prior to the school board's work session in which Lovejoy presented budget projections for the 2010-11 school year and reflected on the budget from last school year. The board also reviewed projected budget estimates for the capital projects fund plan and the district's school bus replacement plan.
Conservative spending and reduction in force of 15 district employees (both certified and classified staff) was part of the plan to cut the budget, which eliminated nearly $2 million in expenses last year, Lovejoy said.
"We made only the necessary expenditures we needed to make," she said.
Lovejoy said she is working to get the district's budget back into the black with the exception of the general fund by the end of the year, and is considering options to turn the budget around.
"It was my goal when I came to North Putnam to make sure we were fiscally sound," Lovejoy said. "We have looked at many different aspects, taken different strategies and have scrutinized all requests that have come through our desk."
Lovejoy said the district is still struggling with transportation and consolidated some routes and bought two buses instead of the three buses originally projected in last year's budget.
Fuel and supplies will be purchased out of the rainy day fund, she said.
It was also discussed that new transportation vehicles be purchased on a staggered schedule over the next 10 years.
Despite the projections to bring the school district to a positive balance, Lovejoy said the board should also recognize that additional cuts from the U.S. Department of Education are always something to take into consideration.
The board will publish the budget twice before it votes to approve it at a public meeting scheduled for September.
The North Putnam Community School Corporation will next meet at 7 p.m. August 12 at North Putnam High School.
-- AMANDA JUNK Governor Releases Millions More in School Construction and Maintenance Funds-- New Jersey Spotlight New Jersey: July 29, 2010 [ abstract] Add nearly 200 more school districts to the list of those receiving state school construction funds, as the administration of Gov. Chris Christie continued to roll out construction and repair money following a halt to the program earlier this year.
But New Jersey’s urban districts still face a wait of at least several more months, with an administration spokesman saying it will likely be end of October before a review of district needs is completed.
The Governor announced that $270 million in additional funds will be made available to 177 districts for 740 separate maintenance and construction projects. Another $16 million was provided to six vocational districts. All the projects will need to go through final reviews to secure the state funding, which will account for up to 40 percent of the total cost. This was the third round of new projects getting the go-ahead since Christie resumed school construction funding in May with a $500 million infusion of new borrowing.
-- John Mooney, Missouri School District's Repairs Financed with Interest-free Bonds-- Fulton Sun Missouri: July 02, 2010 [ abstract] After coping with recent state school aid cuts that forced a 2011 school employee salary freeze and other budget reductions, the North Callaway R-1 School District finally got some good news from the state. North Callaway Superintendent Bryan Thomsen said he has been informed by the state that the district qualifies for interest-free bonds to pay the entire cost of the district's $2.5 million school maintenance bond issue, which was approved last Nov. 3. The bonds will be used to pay for new air conditioning in all elementary and high school buildings in the district as well as numerous other maintenance projects.
-- Don Norfleet Construction To Start On Two Detroit PK-8 Schools-- Click On Detroit Michigan: June 24, 2010 [ abstract] Construction on the first two new pre-K-8 schools, totaling $41 million, will start this month in the Brightmoor and Clark Park neighborhoods and will serve as a model for future Detroit Public Schools.
The buildings will offer large, bright classrooms, separate wings for elementary and middle school students and multi-use common areas for both.
Both pre-K-8 schools will be buitd from the ground up in just over a year using bond money from the Proposal S Bond Referendum voters approved in November.
The contract for both schools was awarded to Brinker Construction in a 50/50 joint venture with Lansing-based Christman Construction.
"These schools, which we are pleased are $19 million below budget, will help the district to consolidate space and save long-term operating and maintenance costs, while replacing outdated structures with 21st-century learning environments," said Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb.
"And as we promised during our Proposal S campaign, these projects are providing thousands of jobs to Detroit residents and work to Detroit companies, as evidenced by the fact that each of the first six projects include companies that are Detroit-headquartered," continued Bobb.
Of the $500.5 million, three-year DPS bond construction project, $116 million has already been awarded in contracts for six schools.
Ground broke on Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School on June 18.
The new $20.5 million pre-K-8 school in the Brighmoor neighborhood will be located at the present Harding Elementary School site on Burt Road on the city's west side.
The new school will consolidate and replace three older buildings; Harding, Vetal and Gompers elementary schools.
Earhart Middle School will be torn down to make way for a new $20.5 million school to be located on Scotten Avenue overlooking Clark Park in southwest Detroit.
Construction on both pre-K-8 schools is due to start this month and they are scheduled to open in August 2011.
The DPS school construction project will build a total of seven new schools from the ground up.
Eleven more schools will receive extensive renovations or additions.
All projects are scheduled for completion by September 2012 to comply with federal guidelines.
-- Staff Writer Smart Schools-- Reed Construction Data National: June 21, 2010 [ abstract] Hearing the term “high performance schoolsâ€, 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 buildingâ€: 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 â€" 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 One finishing, one starts for Jefferson schools-- Jounal-News West Virginia: June 20, 2010 [ abstract] One major school construction project is ending and one is beginning in Jefferson County, Schools Superintendent Susan Wall said in a recent interview.
Construction of Driswood Elementary School on Job Corps Road is being completed, she said, and the new 50,000-square-foot school will welcome students in the fall.
It will accommodate 500 students, eliminating the need for portable classrooms at C.W. Shipley Elementary and T.A. Lowery Elementary schools, according to previous reports.
The West Virginia School Building Authority contributed $6.4 million for the new school, while the local contribution was $3.2 million, Wall said.
W. Harley Miller Contractors Inc. is the general trades contractor for the project, Ralph Dinges, assistant superintendent of construction and maintenance, explained in a recent interview.
Meanwhile, the site work has begun for the new Blue Ridge Primary School on the Blue Ridge Elementary School campus, 18866 Charles Town Road, Wall said. Panhandle Builders and Excavating Inc. of Berkeley County is preparing the site for construction, she said.
The new 40,000-square-foot school is expected to be open for the 2011 fall semester , she said.
Dinges added that construction bids for the primary school are expected to be advertised in about a month.
SBA has committed $7.5 million for the project and Jefferson County Schools is putting in $1 million, Wall said.
Also, an addition to South Jefferson Elementary School, 4599 Summit Point Road, will be ready for the start of school in the fall, she said.
It is an about $2 million project, Wall said, with SBA contributing $1 million and Jefferson County Schools contributing about $1 million.
The addition will include five new kindergarten classrooms and bathrooms, a teachers' work room and another set of bathrooms, according to previous reports.
Minghini's General Contractors Inc. of Martinsburg is building the addition, Wall said.
Additionally, the following renovation projects are under way:
Partial new roof on Wright Denny Intermediate School, Charles Town; Bonded Applicators Inc., Waynesboro, Pa., is the contractor; project cost not available.
Partial new roof on Jefferson High School, Shenandoah Junction; Harley Construction, Bunker Hill, is the contractor; project cost is $93,000.
Full roof on Charles Town Middle School; Mansuetto Roofing, Martins Ferry, Ohio, is the contractor; about $700,000 with SBA contributing about $525,000 and Jefferson County Schools contributing about $175,000.
Wall expressed her appreciation of SBA's contribution and the support of Jefferson County's residents.
-- John McVey Gazette opinion: Let’s work to fix up Billings school facilities-- Billings Gazette Montana: June 15, 2010 [ abstract] Billings Public Schools have a long list of deferred maintenance needs for the 30 buildings that house the district’s 15,600 K-12 students. This isn’t news. Billings citizens have heard about school building needs for many years, even as school operating levies were defeated. The district provided an itemized list running several pages with estimated costs to Billings area lawmakers before the 2009 Legislature.
Altogether, the Billings Public Schools have an estimated $120 million in deferred maintenance. This list needs to be whittled down for the sake of both our children and local taxpayers. These projects aren’t frivolous: We are talking about replacing old heating systems that are at risk of failing; replacing antiquated plumbing, worn-out roofs and windows that drain heat out of schools; repairing sidewalks and pavement; upgrading electrical and ventilation systems; and complying with handicap accessibility requirements. All of the projects involve safety, meeting life safety/building codes, preventing foreseeable disaster, enhancement of educational opportunities, energy conservation or a combination of these benefits.
Billings applications fail
Thus, it was disappointing to learn that the state Department of Commerce rejected the half-dozen applications that Billings Public Schools made in the first round of Quality Schools grants established by the 2009 Legislature. Five of the proposals would have improved energy efficiency and the comfort of students and staff in our schools; the sixth application was to replace a leaky section of the Castle Rock Middle School (730 students) roof that was installed when the school was built in 1979.
Superintendent Jack Copps raised valid concerns about Billings schools being shut out of these grants. It is concerning that Commerce Department officials, by their own admission, gave five of the Billings applications a zero score because the district didn’t submit copies of its 2009 energy audit, a document that was referenced in the applications and that was previously submitted to the department. Moreover, the Commerce Department asked other districts for additional information after receiving their grant applications, yet didn’t notify Billings Public Schools that its applications would fail without new copies of the energy audit.
The needs here are tremendous. A lot of good would come from fixing up our local schools.
-- Staff Writer State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Releases
School District Budget Cuts Survey Results-- California Department of Education California: June 11, 2010 [ abstract] State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today released the results of a survey of local educational agencies (LEAs) to find out how state budget cuts to public education are affecting them. O'Connell held a news conference in the Natomas Unified School District in Sacramento County where all eight elementary school libraries were shut down to close a budget gap. The survey results are attached.
"The survey results make clear that school administrators are making heartrending decisions to balance their dwindling budgets while trying valiantly to keep students' best interests in mind," said O'Connell. "Sixty-five percent of districts that responded to this survey made cuts to building and school grounds maintenance, 58 percent cut funding for instructional materials, and 58 percent reduced funding for district administration. Forty percent of respondents have reduced the number of teachers; reduced or eliminated summer school; increased class sizes; and cut art and music classes, closed libraries, eliminated school nurse positions, and canceled sports programs.
"These deep cuts to our schools were made even though the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided critical funds to save education jobs last year. These funds are now running out, and our state budget picture continues to look bleak. In the Governor's May Revise, he proposes another $1.5 billion in general-purpose funding cuts that will exacerbate the current annihilation of services to students.
"Our public education system is in crisis. These cuts hurt students and hurt California's future economic viability. I call on the Governor and the Legislature to show the courage and leadership needed to find a budget solution that puts students first and protects our schools from further cuts."
The California Department of Education launched the survey in April to ask administrators in county offices of education, school districts, and charter schools how they have balanced their budgets in light of state budget cuts to public education. At the close of the survey in May, 387 LEAs responded. They represent 1.7 million students, or 26 percent of the statewide enrollment. The cuts at Natomas Unified School District are similar to cuts made by LEAs throughout the state.
"We made the decision to close our eight elementary school libraries with a heavy heart, but our budget situation is so dire that we had no choice," said Natomas Unified School District Superintendent General Davie, Jr. "We've also cut all of our health aides, eliminated busing, shortened our school year by five days, increased K-3 class sizes to 30-1, and issued layoff notices to about 30 percent of our teachers, classified staff, and administration."
-- Tina Jung Bond would boost high school-- St. Helena Star California: June 10, 2010 [ abstract] St. Helena High School has beautiful, state-of-the-art agricultural, culinary, pool and performing arts facilities â€" but only on paper.
A bond measure being considered by St. Helena school officials could be the only way to transform those “dream big†plans into real facilities where students can learn skills to propel them into the workforce.
During four informational meetings held last week, members of the public consistently ranked the high school Ag/culinary facilities and the RLS Middle School sixth-grade portables as the highest priorities on the district’s facilities “wish list.â€
The proposed Ag and culinary facilities include an Ag science facility and lab, market garden area, shade house/nursery, livestock facility, agricultural mechanics building with applied science facilities and ornamental horticulture facility.
The school already offers classes like Ag science, Ag biology, viticulture, and plant and animal science. But the campus lacks the facilities, such as labs, to bring those classes to their full potential, said Ag instructor Randy Mendes.
“For example, we lack the facilities to offer computer-aided drafting,†Mendes said. “With the new facility, the wood shop, Ag mechanics, farm power, welding, and computer-aided drafting would all be housed in one building.â€
The Ag facilities would give students the skills they need to obtain entry-level jobs and excel in the grapegrowing and wine industries, he said.
“I envision a class like ‘Viticulture Machinery Repair and maintenance,’†Mendes said. “So students getting an entry-level job in the viticulture industry would understand and be able to maintain something like a spray rig that sprays sulphur in the vineyards.â€
The district’s Agricultural Advisory Committee is made up of members of the wine industry, who describe the skills they want in a new hire. Mendes said the new facilities would allow the high school to teach those skills more effectively than is possible now.
-- Jesse Duarte Lack of funding equals less school construction this summer -- East Valley Tribune Arizona: June 07, 2010 [ abstract] There's a collective sign of the times going on in East Valley school districts.
While summers past have brought about construction and major remodeling projects, this year it's fairly quiet.
In fact, the only new buildings going up appear to be at Mesa's Skyline High School, where a 30,000-square foot classroom building is rising, along with a new aquatic center the city is building on land donated by the district.
Not that there isn't a lot going on. The districts are busy with typical summertime maintenance and smaller projects, such as flooring replacement, energy upgrades and kitchen cleaning.
"We're not doing as many projects as we have in the past. In the past we'd have as many as 150 or more. This year we've got 37 to 43 projects," said Rick Michalek, director of operations for the Mesa Unified School District. "Money is one of the biggest reasons. We don't have the funding for some projects. We're deferring projects. We're coming toward the end of our bond funds."
Michalek said in Mesa's case, the district is also making sure it has an emergency fund available in case of any catastrophic failure at a school like a chiller or electric service. "We want to have the funds available to make repairs."
The state's School Facilities Board has provided funds to districts in the past to conduct building repairs and maintenance, but with the state's fiscal crisis, those funds have dried up, putting the bulk of the burden back on districts through either their maintenance and operations budgets or bond funds approved by voters.
-- Michelle Reese 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 School construction budget proposal a setback for students-- Hometown Annapolis Maryland: May 17, 2010 [ abstract] Over the last several years, the County Council and our school system administration have spent a considerable amount of time trying to align our six-year Capital Improvement Plan in such a way that we can leverage the maximum amount of state dollars to improve schools throughout our county.
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Through that collaborative process, one in which the county executive initially participated, we arrived at a plan that would use the findings of the study done by MGT of America.
That course of action has guided us as we have planned to upgrade our school buildings and provide our 75,000 students with an educational atmosphere that will allow them to achieve their full potential. The MGT study documented a $1.5 billion renovation and maintenance backlog in our county, and eradicating it will take years.
-- KEVIN M. MAXWELL Tulsa Public Schools Protecting Students With New Weather Technology -- News on 6 Oklahoma: May 15, 2010 [ abstract] Tulsa Public Schools is investing in weather technology to protect students from lightning strikes. TPS is getting new equipment to help relay information about potential lightning to coaches and teachers. The district has one Thor Guard lightning detection system at East Central High and is now adding eight more.
"It's going to be predicting if lightning can strike within a certain mile radius of the school. Or even within the school grounds itself," said Ben Tippin, TPS sound and light technician. Sensors collect electrostatic energy. When it reaches a certain point, a siren goes off warning anyone within about 800 yards there is the potential for a lightning strike. "And then they can make the call, to call the game for 20 minutes or call the game completely," said Tippin. The lightning detection system at East Central High is being paid for with school maintenance funds. The other systems, which will be installed by the start of next football season, are being funding through school security grant money.
-- Craig Day Senate Indian Affairs Committee to Hold Hearing on Safety Issues at BIA Schools.-- Haskell News Bureau of Indian Education: May 05, 2010 [ abstract] U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-NM, announced that the Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the massive health and safety deficiencies uncovered at Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools. Udall requested the hearing several months ago as part of his proposal to develop a "Marshall Plan" to eliminate the backlog in construction and maintenance of facilities that impact all parts of life in Indian Country - and ensure the safety of all Native children attending BIA schools. Currently, many schools within the BIA system have serious structural deficiencies, are not handicapped accessible, and are in violation of building and fire codes.
-- Staff Writer Plan for building New Orleans schools resurfaces, despite Jindal's continuous opposition-- The Times-Picayune Louisiana: April 29, 2010 [ abstract] For the third consecutive year, Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, is pushing for a statewide body that would establish a priority system to help local school districts build or renovate schools.
For the third consecutive year, Gov. Bobby Jindal is opposed to the idea, having vetoed the versions Peterson guided through the Legislature in 2009 and 2010.
The Senate Education Committee on Thursday again approved Peterson's proposal, sending Senate Bill 584 to the full upper chamber, where it is expected to pass as early as next week. A Jindal aide registered the governor's opposition but did not testify.
Peterson has rolled back her expectations since first introducing the idea. Her bill commits no state money to school construction. Rather, she proposes that the Education Facilities Authority assess the physical plant needs of the public school system and devise a priority system that could steer money to help systems with their projects. The panel would be authorized to accept gifts, grants and other sources of financing, besides whatever the Legislature might appropriate.
School construction is the purview of local districts, though the Legislature can theoretically include schools among the local projects in the state's capital outlay budget. But Peterson said the dilapidated conditions of schools around the state, particularly in rural and inner city districts with an inadequate tax base, prove that the current system is not working.
"It is a disgrace," Peterson said. "I've been doing this for three years and it's been vetoed twice, and I'm not happy about it. I'm going to keep doing and embarrass people into doing the right thing."
Jerry Jones, who heads the state facilities office, told senators that he is neutral on the bill, and he registered to testify as a state employee speaking "for information only." Then he proceeded with a litany of reasons why Peterson's idea is misguided.
"This bill opens the door to state funding of local schools, both construction and renovations, which has typically been driven by local officials," he said. "If we were meeting half of our needs at the state level, I would be up here supporting this bill."
But, Jones said, Louisiana has a $2.9 billion backlog in deferred maintenance on state-owned buildings, a $13 billion to $14 billion backlog on road and bridge work and a hefty unfunded liability in the public employee pensions. "And now in this bill you want to take on public schools. We cannot stand any more draws on the state's assets, on the state's revenues."
-- Bill Barrow Audit details troubles in school district’s building program-- Orlando Sentinel Florida: April 27, 2010 [ abstract] Orange County public-school managers are being criticized for sloppy and haphazard control over millions of dollars' worth of routine construction and maintenance projects on the 180 campuses that make up the nation's 10th-largest school district.
The district has had no formal system of checks and balances over how contractors for smaller construction and maintenance projects file estimates, charge for work or get paid.
The lack of such a system has meant that at least one contractor has been able to charge whatever he deemed appropriate without an initial district review of those costs.
The criticism comes from a highly contentious in-house audit that details the school district's lack of accountability. It's not clear how deep the problems go because the review covers only one year.
The audit itself has caused bad blood among school-district managers and administrators, as disagreements over the findings delayed the release from the fall of 2009 to March 15 and led to the transfer of one auditor to a different department.
In fact, there's even disagreement over who ordered it. School Board attorney Frank Kruppenbacher said he called for the investigation after being tipped to "irregularities." But the auditors said they already had planned the review.
Superintendent Ronald Blocker said he's troubled by the results and may order a more thorough outside audit. He said he'll talk with supervisors to see what action needs to be taken.
"I would be remiss if I didn't look into this," Blocker said. "If we didn't do something right, we need to correct it. But I need substantive guidance to make sure we're doing it right."
-- Erika Hobbs Shenandoah Valley school bids $4M lower than anticipated-- Standard Speaker Pennsylvania: April 26, 2010 [ abstract] The bids received for the planned elementary school addition and major upgrades and maintenance projects in the Shenandoah Valley School District were more than $4 million under the original estimates.
As a result, the cost of materials and labor has decreased from an estimated $12.5 million to about $8 million, allowing the school district to go forward with all project alternates.
The overall cost for the projects originally was estimated at $15.8 million, which also includes soft costs such as architectural and engineering services, legal services and fees, etc.
Bids were opened April 14 in the high school library by architect Carmen Wyckoff of Hayes Large Architects LLC, and recorded by Hayes Large project manager Steve Weaver.
Also, bids were opened for the new school bus garage/maintenance facility that will replace the current facility to be demolished for the school addition. The laundromat building recently purchased by the school district will also be demolished to make room for construction.
-- JOHN E. USALIS School’s Out! (Temporarily); The Auditorium Collapsed -- New York Times New York: April 15, 2010 [ abstract] Classes were canceled at Mount Vernon High School after a 100-foot section of wall in the auditorium collapsed around 4:30 p.m. Monday. The noisy avalanche exposed steel beams and wires and damaged three nearby classrooms used for woodworking, television production and R.O.T.C. meetings. The nearest students were on a practice field on the other side of the building, and no one was injured, district officials said. State and district officials immediately closed the 1,400-student high school, built in 1963, to determine whether it was structurally stable and to test for possible asbestos contamination.
W. L. Sawyer, the superintendent, said that preliminary investigation indicated the problem was limited to the collapsed wall and that classes would resume. Inspectors found that cinderblocks were not properly anchored to steel beams during the construction of that part of the wall, but that the rest of the building was safe. Officials said they would keep the area around the collapsed wall cordoned off.
Some students and nearby residents complained that the high school had been poorly maintained. Dr. Sawyer acknowledged that the district had struggled to maintain its buildings for many years because of budget problems. But, he said, other than a leaky roof, he knew of no structural problems at the high school. “This had nothing to do with maintenance,†he said. He also said there was no indication that the heavy rain played a role in the collapse.
State education officials said that Mount Vernon High School had not been cited previously for any deficiencies in building conditions and had a valid certificate of occupancy. A major wall collapse at a school in this area in 1989 killed seven children when a tornado tore through a cafeteria at East Coldenham Elementary School in the Valley Central School District in Orange County.
-- Winnie Hue, Consultants outline school facilities plan-- The Advertiser Louisiana: April 08, 2010 [ abstract] The long-range facilities master plan will likely be split into two phases, with the first one costing about $600 million in uninflated dollars to replace or construct eight schools, planners said Wednesday.
The estimate and plans are based off nearly a year of planning and community meetings held by planning consultants CSRS Inc. The final plan should be presented May 18.
The planners have held several community meetings since last year. The last round of meetings were held in March at all five high schools, where residents were asked to weigh in on whether they would support a tax initiative and how large of a plan they would be willing to support.
About 200 people attended the final meetings, CSRS Director Chris Pellegrin said.
About 82 percent strongly or moderately supported the most extensive and expensive plan.
Phase 1 includes about $423.77 million for major projects and $172.89 million for selective maintenance projects.
It would include the replacement of Northside and Lafayette high schools, L.J. Alleman Middle School and Carencro Heights, Green T. Lindon, Katherine Drexel and J.W. Faulk elementary schools.
It would fund the construction of the Comprehen-sive Career and Technical High School. CSRS has estimated the school will cost $70.7 million.
Where the school will be permanently located, however, has not been finalized. The school system will not disclose the location.
In addition, the board had discussed that every high school have about 1,500 students. Right now, population ranges between 2,300 at Lafayette High and 800 at Northside.
Evening out high school population, might not be possible, Pellegrin said. The draft plan recommends building Lafayette High for 2,000 students, transferring 300 Arts Academy students to Comeaux High School and building an auditorium at Comeaux.
To fund the Phase 1 long-range plan, a property tax would be needed, which 42 percent of the 200 surveyed said they support. Twenty-six percent said they would like a sales tax. The rest did not want a tax or wanted a combination of both sales and property taxes.
The second phase would have to be considered later, maybe seven years down the road, Pellegrin said.
That phase includes replacing Truman Montes-sori, Evenageline, L. Leo Judice, Plantation, Prairie, Ridge and S.J. Montgomery elementary schools.
-- Tina Marie Macias School district keeps cutting as budget slashes continue-- The Acron California: April 08, 2010 [ abstract] The Conejo Valley Unified School District Board of Education approved the first round of cuts needed to balance the 2010- 2011 budget amid objections about adult school and school site reductions.
The district’s budget committee, made up of principals, teachers, board members and representatives of the District Advisory Council, Conejo Council PTA and the Conejo Schools Foundation, among others, presented the recommendations during last week’s board meeting.
The first phase of cuts amount to $11.6 millionâ€"the majority of which will come from the district’s $4.6 million “rainy day fund†reserve and $3.2 million in negotiated employee compensation reductions.
Nearly $1.5 milion will be cut from school site programs and district office and support programs. The adult school will be cut $300,000 in phase one.
Eliminating two special education teachers, two paraprofessionals, groundskeepers, maintenance workers and a mail delivery driver will save money is the district office.
School sites enabled cuts by eliminating elementary counselors and custodians, as well as slashing coaching stipends and reducing remedial reading programs and roving counselor hours.
Conejo Valley Adult School Principal Mike Waters said the first $300,000 in cuts will cause increased fees and fewer class hours.
Until last year, CVAS’ budget was $4.5 million with 60 percent coming from the state. The state slashed $400,000 last year, and an additional $100,000 this year, mainly balanced by cutbacks in office staff.
“Who would have thought that the ‘good old days’ would be just three months ago?†Water asked.
There are 150 mostly part-time instructors at CVAS and 7,000 people who attend classes.
“We’re asking our students to be in class each day, and we’re asking more of them in fees,†Waters said. “For the first time, free public education is no longer there. It’s gone from free to $25 a class (last year) to $50 a class (next year). That’s hard for some people to do. We don’t want to scare them away.â€
More than a dozen people, including teachers and students, spoke on behalf of the adult school.
Maria Spence, an ESL teacher, asked the board to preserve the “accessibility and affordability†of CVAS programs.
“Conejo Valley adult education is an avenue for people in this community to achieve their goals,†Spence said.
Mexico City-born Elizabeth Rodriguez is one such student, studying to be a nurse. She’s been in the U.S. for seven years and started English classes at CVAS three years ago.
“The first thing I needed to learn was English,†Rodriguez said. “I need to continue studying. That’s why I’m asking you to keep CVAS alive and strong.â€
Cuts to the school libraries’ instructional media techs also drew several speakers, and resulted in fewer hours cut for the position. In phase two, the budget committee is recommending an additional $2.2 million in salary reductions, $490,000 from the district office and $400,000 from school site programs.
The district will also transfer $1.2 million from the deferred maintenance reserve and recommended taking an additional $500,000 from the adult school.
If cuts do exceed $600,000 (the recommendation is to cut $800,000 total), Waters said the school will still operate.
“Adult school will still be here,†Waters said. “But we can’t predict how we’ll fare. We’ll be a lot more unsure of enrollment if we have to increase fees that much.â€
Board members Betsy Connolly and Mike Dunn both fought hard to limit cuts to CVAS.
-- Joann Groff $81.57 Million in QSCB Bonding Authority Approved for Minnesota School Districts-- EMC Publishers Minnesota: April 04, 2010 [ abstract] The Minnesota Department of Education has authorized $81.57 million of no interest, or low interest, Qualified School Construction Bond (QSCB) authority for 10 Minnesota school districts from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In addition, the federal government authorized separate bonding authority to the Minneapolis School District, and St. Paul School District in the amounts of $19.7 million and $18.2 million, respectively.
School districts must issue the bonds by Dec. 31, 2010, and use the proceeds for construction, repair, or renovation of public school facilities. Bonding authority is allocated on a preliminary basis to the districts based on criteria that includes a preference for deferred maintenance over new construction, geographic location, project readiness, and district resource levels.
The districts will use proceeds of the bonds for a variety of projects including boiler replacement, roof replacement, heating and ventilation, and classroom upgrades. In order to ensure the entire 2010 allocation is utilized, each district selected to receive bonding authority has been placed in a pool of districts eligible for a 2010 QSCB allocation and will document to the department that all requirements are met, prior to final allocation.
-- Staff Writer School district's project list quadruples $500,000 budget-- The Standard Speaker Pennsylvania: April 04, 2010 [ abstract] Hazleton Area's maintenance department recently unveiled a capital improvement wish list for the 2010-2011 school year that includes more than $2 million worth of building repairs, paving projects and equipment purchases.
The challenge will be selecting which projects will be included in a budget that is a fraction of the estimated costs.
With the school district reserving $500,000 for capital improvement projects, one member of a budget subcommittee contends Hazleton Area is shortchanging vital preventative maintenance projects.
"What we've been doing for the last four years is ignoring preventative maintenance," said Larry Sampson, a member of the subcommittee appointed by the school board. "We really need to have a more meaningful program of preventative maintenance. There are a lot of situations where our district is falling apart."
-- SAM GALSK School board asks for additional $2.3 million in county funds -- The Franklin News Post Virginia: March 24, 2010 [ abstract]
Charles Lackey
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
By JOEL TURNER - Staff Writer
The Franklin County School Board voted unanimously Monday night to approve a $78.5 million school budget for 2010-2011 that would require an increase of $2.3 million in county funds in the next year.
Because of the financial crunch caused by a reduction in state funds, the school budget for the next fiscal year is almost $3 million less than the current $81.4 million budget.
School board members said that the additional county funds are needed to help make up a budget shortfall of $5.4 million and to avoid deep cuts in school programs.
In addition to asking for $2.3 million in additional county funds, the school board is asking the board of supervisors for permission to transfer $220,000 from capital funds to operating expenses, as well as using $615,000 in money reserved for future capital projects and $200,000 in energy fund carryover from this year.
Even with the requested additional county revenues and the budget transfers, Superintendent Charles Lackey said there would still be $2 million in cuts to the school budget.
The possible school cuts include:
"eliminate rental of YMCA (8th grade physical education)
"science museum fees
"eliminate strings (musical instruments) program.
"reduce middle and high school band courses and after-school opportunities
"eliminate seven administrative/professional staff
"eliminate 23.5 teaching positions
"eliminate six secretarial/clerical positions
"eliminate five and a half maintenance, transportation and purchasing positions.
Before approving the budget Monday night, the school board decided to ask the board of supervisors for an additional $350,000 to try to preserve middle school sports and 34 spots for Franklin County students in the Roanoke Valley Governor's School.
"If we're asking for a tax increase, we should ask for this," said Ed Jamison, the Blue Ridge District school board member.
Lackey said none of the proposed cuts in the school board "are set in stone" until the board of supervisors decides on the amount of local funds for the schools.
If the board of supervisors doesn't provide additional local funds to help cover the reduction in state funds, school officials said that deeper cuts will have to be made in the budget, including the possible elimination of up to 80 jobs and pay cuts for teachers and other school personnel.
If teachers are asked to take a pay cut, Lackey said, the school board feels that all county employees, including those who work for the board of supervisors, should take a pay cut.
School officials have developed four budget options that include cuts in programs and reductions in personnel.
The first option was presented at last week's public hearing on the proposed budget for the next fiscal year.
In addition to cuts in school programs and personnel, the option one budget cuts will also affect clerical services, teacher training and technological staff training, Lackey said. School building and school bus maintenance will also suffer, he said.
If the school system has to go to options 2, 3 or 4, the budget cuts will be even more dramatic and severe, Lackey said. The cuts could include the elimination of middle school band, middle school sports, school social workers; fewer elective courses at the middle and high school; restructuring the Gereau Center; and fewer librarians.
At a public hearing on the school budget last week, several hundred people voiced opposition to cuts in the budget. Many speakers said they are willing to pay higher taxes to avoid cuts in school programs.
-- JOEL TURNER Three closed D.C. schools won't reopen soon-- The Washington Post District of Columbia: March 22, 2010 [ abstract] Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's promises to rebuild three D.C. schools that closed in 2008 are likely to remain unfulfilled in the near future, a delay that city officials attribute to reduced revenue because of the economy and unanticipated expenditures on other projects.
Rhee and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) roiled neighborhoods across the city when they announced the closure of 23 schools that were underenrolled or in poor physical condition. In three cases, they softened the impact of the deeply unpopular decisions by promising to modernize or rebuild the schools while students were relocated.
Since fall 2008, students at Bruce-Monroe Elementary (Ward 1) have attended Park View Elementary, children from Brookland Education Campus (Ward 5) are enrolled at Bunker Hill, and Turner Elementary students (Ward 8) have gone to Green Elementary.
Parents in each community were told that new or vastly modernized buildings would be ready within three years. But the school system's $200 million-a-year capital program, which has delivered gleaming new facilities such as Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering High School (Ward 5) and the Wheatley Education Campus (Ward 5), faces a budget squeeze as tax revenue declines and deficits mount.
"Our biggest issue is money," said Rhee, who is scheduled to appear Monday before the D.C. Council. "We don't have as much of it as we did before." Asked whether, in retrospect, she overpromised school communities, she said: "I promised based on what [the financial situation] looked like at the time. I didn't expect the capital budget to take a hammering."
Parents unhappy about the unrealized pledges say the situation is made worse by conditions at the schools their children now attend. Despite nearly $1 million in improvements last year to the 94-year-old building now called Bruce-Monroe Elementary School at Park View, broken water pipes and rodent droppings are chronic problems, parents and staff members say.
maintenance records confirm the allegations, showing that pest-control workers were called to the school, at 3560 Warder St. NW, three times in January alone. A Jan. 13 notation on a District work order said: "The rodents are going into the food supply. Immediate action must be taken."
"This school is contaminated," said Lynell Granberry, who said her two children who attend Bruce-Monroe at Park View "stay home sick more than ever."
-- Bill Turque 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 â€" 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 Colorado Public Schools Need $18 billion in Construction and Maintenance, Report Finds -- Denver Post Colorado: March 11, 2010 [ abstract] Colorado's 8,419 public-school buildings need almost $18 billion worth of construction work, energy upgrades and overall maintenance, according to a statewide facilities assessment. Teams of evaluators last year examined every kindergarten through 12th-grade public-school building in Colorado, looking at energy use, overall condition and whether current or future educational needs were being met. The assessment was commissioned by the state's Public School Capital Construction Assistance Board to help decide how to allocate grant money from the Building Excellent Schools Today Act  a fund that directs money from the state's School Trust Lands to school renovation.
State Treasurer Cary Kennedy, who manages the land-trust fund, called the findings "striking." "What this demonstrates is that the health and safety risks for kids in Colorado schools are even higher than we originally thought," she said in a news release.
The assessment examined the ages of roofs, condition of buildings, effectiveness of utility systems and even air and water quality. Overall, the current and forecast needs for schools through 2013 calls for $17.9 billion in work, including $9.4 billion for deferred maintenance, $4.5 billion to modify schools for 21st-century classrooms and $19 million in energy repairs. The assessment did not figure in capital construction projects underway. Last summer, $87 million in BEST act money went to replace two elementary schools in Alamosa, schools in the Sangre de Cristo district and a high school in Sargent. The next installment of BEST funds is expected to be released in the next few days and will amount to more than $147 million available for school construction needs.
-- Jeremy P. Meyer School board OKs up to $21.6M for Phase II of project-- Standard-Times Go San Angelo Texas: March 08, 2010 [ abstract] The San Angelo school board approved a guaranteed maximum price of $21.6 million for the second phase of the Central High School portion of the bond project, which will include construction of a new administration building, an agriculture shop and a building maintenance shop.
Steve Van Hoozer, the San Angelo Independent School District’s director of bond planning and construction, presented the price from the contractor at risk, Lee Lewis Construction, at the Monday night school board meeting. The project was put out to bid in February.
-- Laurel L. Scott New York City Charter School Space Costs-- Gotham Schools New York: March 03, 2010 [ abstract] A recent report by the Independent Budget Office found that New York City charter schools that don’t use public space receive around $3,000 less per pupil than traditional public schools. This post reviews how much charter schools actually spend on their space.
We created a database using financial information from the 2008-2009 annual financial audits and school siting statistics from the 2008-2009 Blue Book report produced by the School Construction Authority to catalog school space. We found that the 26 schools not housed in Department of Education-provided space spent around $2,100 per pupil on occupancy costs, which includes rent, utilities, safety, and maintenance. (You can see the full spreadsheet.) This database lists every charter school and whether or not it is in DOE space. As an added feature, for those in DOE space, it lists the schools with which they share space and their respective progress report scores.
This $2,100 number only tells part of the story. According to a source who helps charter schools find private space, the market average for a charter school to lease space is between $2,400 and $3,500 per pupil. If the rental costs are less than $2,000 per pupil, this probably indicates that the school negotiated a great rental deal, bought the building a long time ago and paid off most of the mortgage, or has some sort of philanthropic money subsidizing part of the cost. This is certainly the case for many of the schools in our spreadsheet, such as the Carl C. Icahn Charter School or Bronx Preparatory Academy â€" both schools that have some sort of philanthropic entity helping them with their rental and/or purchase needs.
Ultimately, this spreadsheet is intended to serve as a comprehensive resource for those who want to know which charter schools share space, which schools own their buildings, and which schools lease. It includes information gathered from the 2008-2009 Blue Book reports to determine co-located schools, as well as the 2008-2009 fiscal audits and the 2008-2009 Progress Report scores.
-- Kim Gittleson Vacant Oklahoma City School Buildings For Sale-- KSBITV.com Oklahoma: March 01, 2010 [ abstract] The Oklahoma City Public School District has found a way to make a little more than $1 million without sacrificing jobs. Instead, several old buildings can now be yours for the right price. It comes with a playground and 32,000 square feet. What was once Creston Hills Elementary can be yours if you're willing to pay. The school that closed in 2003 as part of the MAPS plan is just one of the district's seven vacant buildings that are now up for sale.
"We spend $30,000 per year in insurance alone for those buildings. We're also keeping the grounds and mowing the grass. We have maintenance folks that are constantly coming through to check on those buildings." says Tierney Cook, Public Relations Manager for OKCPS.
Cook says it's a liability to keep up the vacant buildings. Plus, if all the properties sell at their appraised values, the district stands to make a little more than $1 million, which would come in handy in the midst of the district facing budget cuts. "This is one area we were really interested in to see if we could sell those buildings, which would alleviate that liability and also make the district some money," says Cook. Cook says the district also plans to sell another round of vacant buildings. While the buildings remain empty, staff members will check on them routinely to make sure no suspicious activity is taking place.
-- Staff Writer, 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 Study finds charter schools get less money, how much less varies-- Gotham Schools National: February 24, 2010 [ abstract] Charter schools receive less public funding per student than their district school peers, according to a report released today by the city’s Independent Budget Office.
But the size of that disparity varies widely according to whether the charter school is housed in a city-owned building, the report said.
Charter schools that are housed in public school buildings receive only $300 less per student than district schools, according to the IBO’s calculations.
But charter schools that own their own buildings or lease them receive more than $3,000 less per student in public funding than district schools, the report said. In those schools, charters must pay for maintenance and other building costs themselves. Those costs are covered by the Department of Education for charters in city-owned buildings.
The report, prepared at the request of Panel for Educational Policy member Patrick Sullivan, is an attempt to resolve a long-standing question in the charter school debate.
Charter school advocates argue that, under the state’s funding formula, the schools receive significantly less per student. Critics counter that charter schools, especially those housed in city-owned buildings, receive many hidden subsidies that either equalize or boost charter school resources above what district schools receive.
Both supporters and critics of the city’s charter schools found elements in the report to support their positions.
“The IBO study validates the City’s policy of offering public space to charter schools in an attempt to provide charter school students with the same resources as their peers in other public schools,†Chancellor Joel Klein said in a statement.
Charter schools are not legally guaranteed space in public buildings, but the Bloomberg administration, which strongly supports the schools, has offered space in district schools to many charters.
James Merriman, head of the New York City Charter Center, said the report bolstered charter advocates’ claim that charter schools are slighted by the state’s funding formula. “When you add it up, the gap between district schools and charters isn’t even close, particularly for those charters that do not share public space,†he said.
Teachers union chief Michael Mulgrew disputed that interpretation.
“The difference between funding for public schools and charter schools in public buildings is negligible,†Mulgrew said. “When you add in the private funding that many charter schools get, I’m sure that we’ll find that many charter schools have resources that are well beyond those of public schools.â€
At the same time, both charter school opponents and advocates also found nits to pick with the report’s analysis, claiming that it either inflated or understated the amount of public funding charter schools receive.
Parent advocate Leonie Haimson said that the IBO’s accounting of district schools’ per-pupil spending includes DOE central administrative expenses that are spent on things like data systems and consultants.
“A lot of it is being spent by DOE on highly questionable priorities that don’t really benefit students,†Haimson said. “How much do we actually see at the school level? That’s the disparity we are talking about.â€
By contrast, the Charter School Center released a statement arguing that many charter schools in fact receive far less money at the school level than district schools serving the same neighborhood. “[B]ecause the City has rightly directed more resources to district schools in high needs neighborhoods, the gap for charter schools in those same neighborhoods is much wider,†the statement said.
Because of the complicated ways charter schools and district schools are funded, a fair comparison of how much money district and charter schools actually spend on students is difficult to draw cleanly.
The IBO accounting of district schools’ per-student spending did include most central administrative costs, and the amount of money actually doled out to schools varies significantly from school to school depending on what students are enrolled at the school. Charter schools receive a flat per-student amount of public funding, but most of their administrative costs also come out of that fund. In the case of schools housed in city-owned buildings, some maintenance costs are then covered by the city.
The report did not examine the amount that charter schools raise through private philanthropy each year. According to an analysis by Kim Gittleson, a research assistant employed by one of GothamSchools’ funders, Ken Hirsh, charter schools in the city spent on average $14,456 per student. That number is greater than the amount of public support charter schools receive but still less than the amount of citywide per-pupil spending for district schools.
Questions of how charter schools are funded, and the effect of the city’s practice of granting public building space to charters, are currently under heavy public scrutiny. Charter advocates are currently lobbying legislators to lift a freeze on charter school funding that keeps spending capped at 2008-09 levels. And a rancorous debate over the city’s charter school siting practices has been cited as one of the biggest political obstacles to raising the statewide cap on charter schools.
In his statement, Klein linked those two issues, indicating that the city’s siting practices for charters are likely to remain unchanged.
“Until the state’s funding formula is revised and charter schools are eligible for capital dollars like other schools, we will continue to work with communities and parents across the City to find space for new charters when it is available and presents the right fit with other schools in a building,†he said.
-- Maura Walz In Florida District, Less Sales Tax Funds for School Construction and Maintenance-- St. Petersburg Times Florida: February 17, 2010 [ abstract] The Pasco County School District's income from the Penny for Pasco sales tax, approved in 2004, hasn't been the same since the first two years of collections. Single-month revenue saw its high point in December 2005, at $1.48 million. The following year saw the tax money peak at $14.44 million. Since then, the annual revenue has declined to a point where the district's chief financial officer, Olga Swinson, told the School Board that she is "hoping" that the district will bring in the $12 million she budgeted for the 2009 calendar year.
Things haven't looked good. Through October, the district had collected just $7.9 million, and October marked the single lowest month for collections of the Penny for Pasco: $717,626. November showed some signs of life, with an increase to almost the same amount as November 2008. "The positive point is, we're still collecting money," construction department accountant Mike Williams told the board. The upshot, though, is that there's little money available for any additional construction and maintenance projects that the district has in its sights.
The majority of the new schools and additions promised with the Penny for Pasco are either complete or in the works. But the remainder of the tax revenue is dedicated to repaying the debt incurred when the district bonded the anticipated income. "I don't see much gap to do additional projects," Swinson told the board.
-- Jeffrey S. Solochek ES School Board to review facilities 5-year master plan-- Carroll County News Arkansas: February 16, 2010 [ abstract] The Eureka Springs School Board faces a lengthy agenda at its upcoming meeting Thursday.
The annual facilities master plan will be discussed. The master plan gives an analysis of facility (infrastructure and technology) needs for each school in the district. It also shows a five-year maintenance and repair plan for each school, as well as updated insurance coverage, planned new construction projects and an annual statistical report and capital outlay.
The state requires this plan, even though a district like Eureka Springs, because of its tax wealth, gets little funding from the state.
The facilities master plan can be found online at http://arkansasfacilities.arkansas.gov/m....
Laura Morrison of Morrison Architecture will summarize previous completed construction and planned new construction and maintenance on existing buildings.
Also under discussion will be the Safety Audit Report conducted by Professor Johnny D. Purvis from the Safe, Orderly and Productive School Institute at the University of Central Arkansas. Purvis looked at all the school facilities and emergency safety plans and has sent a report to the school district.
-- Kathryn Lucariello Madison schools seek renewal levy, bond issue-- Star Beacon Ohio: February 08, 2010 [ abstract] Madison Local Schools is going to the ballot May 4 in a do-or-die election for a segmented building project, Superintendent Rodger Goudy said.
The district is asking the public for a 3.33-mill bond issue with an included 0.5-mill, 37-year building maintenance levy, as well as a 4.9-mill joint financing district renewal levy, which will go to Perry, Painesville, Madison and Ridgewood district voters.
If passed, the bond issue will raise $21,857,274 â€" the district’s 51 percent share of a new elementary school and a new middle school. The Ohio School Facilities Commission would cover 49 percent of the building project. The district will defer collection of bond issue funds for three years, Goudy said.
The May ballot is the last stop for Madison’s bond issue under these terms, Goudy said, as the Ohio School Facilities Commission will rescind its bricks-and-mortar funding if the issue fails, forcing the board of education to re-apply for the funds.
-- MARGIE TRAX PAGE Springfield moves bond issue toward ballot-- Akron.com Ohio: February 04, 2010 [ abstract] The Springfield Local Schools District Board of Education approved a resolution of necessity, the first of two measures needed, to place a $33.7 million bond issue on the May 4 Primary Election ballot at a special Feb. 2 meeting.
If approved by voters, the 38-year bond issue would be used in conjunction with 25 percent in funding assistance, or $8.3 million, from the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) to construct a $42 million building for students in seventh through 12th grades at the site of the current high school, which would be torn down.
According to district officials, the local share of $33.7 million would be collected through a 4.9-mill levy, which includes a 0.5-mill maintenance levy, as required by the OSFC. The cost for the owner of a home valued at $100,000 would be $150 a year in new taxes, according to district officials. For senior citizens age 65 and older owning a home valued at $100,000, the levy would cost $112.80 a year in new taxes.
-- Maria Lindsay Chesterfield shifts from building schools to maintenance-- Richmond Times Dispatch Virginia: January 25, 2010 [ abstract] Reflecting declining revenue, Chesterfield County schools' much leaner capital plan running through 2015 contains a major shift from building schools to spending most of the funding on long-delayed renovations and maintenance of existing facilities.
"This is the first time in my almost 19 years on the board that this has happened," School Board Vice Chairman Marshall W. Trammell Jr. said.
Most of the $182 million allocated for the 2011-2015 capital-improvement plan approved Jan. 12 will go toward additions to schools, replacement of heating and air-conditioning units, security upgrades and maintenance of facilities.
The plan is revised and approved by the School Board every year.
"There are a huge number of buildings that are very, very old buildings, and things start to break down," board member Dianne E. Pettitt said.
The shift comes as a result of the county's revenue gap. The plan reflects a $43 million loss in debt capacity, which stifled construction plans for a new elementary school scheduled to open in 2015 and a new high school planned to open in 2016.
When that happened, school officials were forced to delay construction of those schools beyond 2015, and they decided to channel most of the remaining money into renovations and maintenance in the revised plan.
-- JUAN ANTONIO LIZAMA Officials say St. Helena, Louisiana Schools in Shambles; Don't Meet Safety Codes-- WAFB.com Louisiana: January 12, 2010 [ abstract] Four times voters have shot down propositions to fix the three school facilities in St. Helena. Now the superintendent says the schools barely meet safety codes.
St. Helena Central Elementary looks just like any other school. But in one of the school's many T-buildings, if you walk in, water leaks through the door. Inside, the buzz inside isn't the students. It's from a heater that's been in the classroom since the 50's. Because the heaters don't keep the rooms very warm, some rooms use space heaters. maintenance workers come in at 4:00 a.m. to make sure the chill is under control. But that problem is just the tip of the iceberg. Cracks in the walls, holes and exposed wires are all around the school. Problems school officials say keep getting patched up. The maintenance department there operates on a $150,000 budget. Out of that money, the salaries for two workers must also be paid.
"These schools are old, they don't pass safety code standards and there needs to be something done," says Superintendent Dr. Daisy Slan. Slan says she closed campuses once, because schools did not have working fire alarms.
-- Tyana Williams Acton-Boxborough, Massachusetts Schools Harness Solar Energy; Funded by Stimulus-- The Beacon Massachusetts: January 11, 2010 [ abstract] Workers were bundled up tight on the rooftop of R.J. Grey Junior High School in the windy, below-freezing weather, carefully sidestepping ice patches as they plated the roof with solar panels. After five to six weeks of installation, the clean energy solutions company Nexamp expects the 506 panels to be up and running before the end of January, site foreman Pat Kincaid said. The company is currently installing a solar array on top of the high school as well, and plans to work on Douglas Elementary School during the summer.
J.D. Head, the school district’s director of facilities and transportation, said the cost savings will be effective immediately. “When it’s all said and done, the town of Acton will have half a million kilowatt hours of clean energy,†he said, including the town’s plan to install solar panels on the Forest Road highway shed. At the Douglas school, where there is no air conditioning system, the solar panels will be responsible for one-third of the school’s energy. For the other schools it will a smaller percentage, but the solar arrays will save a minimum of $7,000 from the regional school budget in the system’s first year, and $4,000 from the Acton Public School budget, Head said.
The schools are effectively leasing the arrays with a 20-year contract, with an option to extend it to 25 years from Nexamp, which will retain ownership and maintenance of the system while the schools only pay for the energy used. Head said that through this agreement, solar energy costs 8 cents per kilowatt-hour, as opposed to 19 cents for regular electricity.
While regular energy prices are expected to rise, the solar energy rate will remain stable throughout the length of the contract. Projections yield an average savings of $25,000 per year over a 25-year period factoring in the estimated energy cost hikes, Head said.
The solar energy installation is funded through stimulus money from the state called the Commonwealth Solar Program, so the schools pay nothing for the equipment, he said.
-- Becki Harrington-Davis Montana School District Seeks $8.5 Million QSCB for Energy Conservation Project-- Great Falls Tribune Montana: January 11, 2010 [ abstract] vation project, which called for trustees to approve a preliminary bond sale resolution. To secure the low-interest Qualified School Construction Bond loan for a 15-year period, it will have to be approved by the Montana Board of Investments when they meet on Feb. 9. Trustees unanimously approved seeking $6.6 million in loans for the elementary district and $1.9 million for the high-school district.
Odermann said they are asking for the maximum request they are allowed. Right now, Great Falls Public Schools is at the top of the list to receive the qualified school construction bond money which is being administered through the Office of Public Instruction.
The school district is at the top of the list to receive the low-interest qualified school construction loans because it is not proposing a levy election in order to finance such a project. Semmens said Great Falls is the first district in the state that he's known of that isn't seeking additional taxpayer dollars to finance the project. The district's proposal is to pay back the loan with the energy savings acquired each year and also $3 million of its deferred maintenance fund as well. Odermann and Superintendent Cheryl Crawley estimate the district will pay between $300,000 and $400,000 a year, with the majority of the money coming from energy savings.
-- Kristen Cates Recovery School District looks at making charters pay rent-- The Times-Picayune Louisiana: December 17, 2009 [ abstract] The Recovery School District is seriously considering whether to charge its charter schools rent for use of their buildings, a move that district officials say would put the city more in line with many cities where charters pay for their facilities.
"What we are doing now is not sustainable," said Ramsey Green, the district's director of operations, who said nearly half of his staff's time goes to handling the charter requests.
School space, including responsibility for repairs, will likely become an increasingly hot-button political issue over the coming years, as good-quality buildings already stand at a premium and some school buildings require significantly more maintenance than others.
In the short term, the construction of several new buildings through the $2 billion school facilities plan for the city might fuel the debate, as some schools move into state-of-the-art buildings while others remain in more dilapidated ones.
Officials at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools say it's not unprecedented for charters to get their buildings rent free ÂÂ-- or virtually rent free -- but that most charters bear the responsibility for finding their own facilities. As a result, the majority do not occupy traditional school building space.
"I think that could change over the next five to 10 years as charters become an increasingly important part of the landscape," said Todd Ziebarth, vice president of policy for the charter school alliance. "In a tight economy, we might see (more states and school districts) moving to provide access to vacant buildings."
Georgia lawmakers last year passed a bill requiring school districts to share their unused space with charters for free. California provides money to charter schools to help defray facilities costs. And in New York City, the mayor and school chancellor have handed over vacant buildings and classrooms to charters, making for some uncomfortable bedfellows when traditional and charter schools with different programs and resources share space.
-- Sarah Carr Cape Girardeau School Facilities Priority Planning-- Southeast Missourian Missouri: December 10, 2009 [ abstract] Planning for upgrading and constructing facilities in the Cape Girardeau School District has taken months of effort. School officials have worked with teachers, students and parents to determine what's needed the most. The latest compilation lists projects that would cost an estimated $40 million.
Paying for the improvements would require voters to approve the extension of a levy being used to pay off bonds for previous school projects. District officials say that, because a good portion of the projects are for maintenance, extending the levy also would free up funds for operational needs.
The school board now must make a final decision on what to include in the project list and whether to place the levy extension on the ballot, probably next April. As with all major spending plans, voters need to be fully informed about the proposal. They would have opportunities to hear presentations and ask questions before voting. And they need to let the school board and administration know what they think of the levy plan.
-- Staff Writer Ohio Schools Say They'll Stay True to School Safety Law Repealed by Budget Bill -- Marion Star Ohio: December 05, 2009 [ abstract] Local school administrators are vowing to remain true to the principles of Jarod's Law, a state school safety law repealed as part of the state budget bill.That doesn't mean they'll miss it. The law was passed in 2005, two years after a tragic accident in Lebanon, where a 6-year-old first grader died when a cafeteria table fell on him. Legislators spurred by the tragedy proposed a law that required local boards of health to inspect schools annually for health and safety dangers. An advisory committee spent 18 months writing up comprehensive sanitary and safety guidelines ranging from inspecting equipment such as tables, bleachers and playgrounds to scheduling radon testing.
"The intent behind Jarod's Law was absolutely good," River Valley Local Schools Superintendent Tom Shade said. "It was a tragic incident. "There probably was some overarching." Similar sentiment was expressed to legislators as some schools complained about the costs associated with replacing equipment that didn't meet the law's standards and the employee hours spent ensuring compliance. The law was repealed as part of the 3,120-page state budget bill passed in August.
Tom Raga, a former state representative who had sponsored the original legislation, said Jarod's Law could have been revised instead of eliminated. "That put us back to square one, where the school districts have no state oversight to make sure they're not deferring maintenance and creating situations that are unsafe for our schoolchildren." If nothing else, Raga said, Jarod's Law changed the mindset of schools when it comes to safety.
-- Kurt Moore, School Board Wrestles With Construction Priorities-- Leeburg Today Virginia: December 03, 2009 [ abstract] The Loudoun County School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to adopt Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick's Capital Asset Preservation Program that complies with fiscal guidance from the Board of Supervisors, and took its first look at two versions of a Capital Improvement Program outlining construction plans for new facilities.
The CAPP outlines the maintenance and repair operations that will take place over the next 10 years, although the adopted plan falls far below what School Board members and schools staff say is actually required to keep the school system's facilities operating smoothly in the long run.
Under the adopted plan, the school system will spend $1.4 million for maintenance and system replacements in FY11, the same spending level as FY10. However, several School Board members cautioned that, if funding for the program is not increased in coming years, the end result could be much higher costs for the replacement of systems that could have otherwise been maintained.
Chairman Robert F. DuPree (Dulles) said the board has been "very consistent" in warning county supervisors that the longer repairs are delayed, the higher costs will be in the end. John Stevens (Potomac) also said delaying maintenance will increase the cost of continuing to operate certain systems such as heating and air conditioning units, as lack of maintenance can cause them to operate less efficiently, resulting in higher energy bills.
-- Alex Bahr Wyoming Governor Seeks School Construction Funds -- Billings Gazette Wyoming: December 03, 2009 [ abstract] School construction projects in Natrona County got another chance this week when Gov. Dave Freudenthal announced his budget proposal for the 2011-12 biennium. Freudenthal recommended nearly $270 million for school capital construction in the next two fiscal years. That amount covers the top 40 projects in the state. The state School Facilities Commission evaluates and ranks buildings based on three weighted criteria: Building condition makes up 50 percent, capacity issues 35 percent and functionality 15 percent.
The governor’s proposal counters a recommendation to slash the school construction budget nearly in half, from $162 million to $82 million, from the Legislature’s Select Committee on School Facilities. That budget would include seven construction projects instead of 15 or 16, said Ken Daraie, director of the School Facilities Commission. The governor’s proposed amount includes $165.7 million for construction projects, $82 million for major maintenance projects and $18.6 million for component level projects. Component level projects are improvements that cost more than a district’s major maintenance budget, such as a new roof for a building in otherwise good condition.
Not tackling major remodeling needs could mean increased costs later. “Anything less than this (governor’s request), and we’re simply deferring maintenance,†Daraie said. “Deferring maintenance comes at an expense later.†Without school construction, major construction companies that moved into the state over the past five years might leave, said Mark Antrim, the Natrona County School District’s associate superintendent for facilities and technology. Low construction costs make now a good time to build, and saving money to spend later would only lower the value of those dollars, he said.
-- Jackie Borchardt, Woodbridge school board looking to possibly replace roofs on 23 buildings, install solar panels on 25-- myCentralJersey.com New Jersey: November 30, 2009 [ abstract] School officials are considering replacing the roofs and installing solar panels at most of the district's schools and facilities, noting that the aging structures are making it increasingly difficult to keep a lid on maintenance costs.
The township Board of Education last month submitted to the state roof replacement projects at all but two of the district's 25 buildings. The board also submitted projects to install solar panels at all 25 buildings.
Submitting the projects does not mean the district will replace roofs or install solar panels at any school. Instead, the submission allows the district to be considered for 40 percent state matching funds. The deadline for applying for the third round of the $1 billion Regular Operating District School Facilities Grant is January.
School business administrator Dennis DeMarino said most of the roofs are nearly 20 years old. The "first tier" of roofs needing immediate attention are Avenel Middle School, Fords Middle School, Ford Avenue School No. 14 and Matthew Jago School No. 28, he said.
-- SERGIO BICHAO California School District May Seek $25 Million Loan for Solar Panels With QSCB Funding-- Contra Costa Times California: November 23, 2009 [ abstract] The San Ramon Valley school district is leaning toward applying for a low-interest, $25 million federal stimulus loan to install solar panels that officials says would lead to big electricity savings. Margaret Brown, assistant superintendent of facilities, said the district could net $7 million to $10 million in energy savings after 16 years. After 25 years, which is considered the life of the equipment, savings would equate to $23 million to $30 million, Brown said. If the district goes ahead with the plan, the panels could be installed this summer, she said.
The district is one of 43 in the state that, through a lottery, is eligible to apply for low-interest "qualified school construction bonds," district spokesman Terry Koehne. "By all indications (going solar) is a major, major energy savings," he said.
Since the eligibility announcement earlier this fall, district administrators and the school board have been going through a complicated analysis of the benefits of adding solar panels to a handful of its more than 30 schools. The board wants to make sure the district's savings assumptions, which factor in a rise in energy costs, are correct so the schools wouldn't be expected to pay more money in the future. The money would have to be paid back at 2 percent interest over 15 years, Clarkson said. The $7 million to $10 million estimate factors in the cost of loan repayment. It also includes money the district would get back from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. rebates. maintenance is covered by the panel provider. Brown said the panels would supply about 30 percent of the district's electricity. Clarkson said officials haven't determined which schools would get the panels, which would be installed in parking lots rather than on rooftops. He said four contractors have sent proposals, which range from having panels installed in six to eight school sites, primarily middle and high schools.
Keyword Search: ARRA, stimulus, bond
-- Eric Louie Two Minnesota Schools Receive Stimulus Funds for Energy Improvements-- Park Rapids Enterprise Minnesota: November 14, 2009 [ abstract] Park Rapids Area High School and Frank White Education Center will undergo indoor air quality, maintenance and energy efficiency projects with the help of federal stimulus money. “The school really needed these improvements,†said Superintendent Glenn Chiodo. “What really put us in the position to be able to do them was the availability of stimulus dollars.†The total cost of the project is estimated at $12,232,417. Stimulus money will cover about $7.6 million, Chiodo said. “Without that money, there’s no way we would have been able to do this,†he said.
The school district will issue three series of bonds for the project: general obligation alternative facilities bonds, series 2010A; general obligation alternative facilities bonds, series 2010B (qualified school construction bonds); and general obligation capital facilities bonds, series 2010C (qualified school construction bonds). Improvements will include a boiler replacement at the high school and roof work, along with energy improvements and deferred maintenance at the high school and Frank White Education Center. Chiodo said the earliest that work could begin on the projects is next spring. “The boiler work is the top priority,†he said. The rest of the work would ideally be next summer when school is out, he said.
Keyword Search: ARRA, stimulus, bond
-- Anna Erickson Clark County, Nevada’s School District Maintenance Backlog Triples
-- Las Vegas Sun Nevada: November 11, 2009 [ abstract] According to a report presented at a recent Clark County School Board meeting "backlog of maintenance work orders had nearly tripled to 12,937 from 4,327 at the end of July 2008." It continues â€Å"the district's maintenance department categorizes its service at the third level  â€Å"managed care,†which means school interiors appear only â€Å"average,†with minor blemishes on the exteriors. Buildings are generally well lighted and clean, although heating and cooling systems periodically fail.†Paul Gerner, Clark County schools' associate superintendent of facilities, said, "Current levels of maintenance services are unsustainable and not in the long-term interests of the district."
The Las Vegas Sun points out that "most campuses are not in obvious neglect. But some of the chores that were once part of the daily routine are being put off, increasing the risk for larger and more expensive problems." It goes on to state that â€Å"the district has cut its operating budget by more than $133 million to about $2.1 billion. The facilities division  which includes maintenance, landscaping and grounds  was understaffed even before the most recent budget cuts, district officials said. Divisions across the board were cut about 12 percent, but the cuts were especially felt in the maintenance department because it was lean from a prior $15 million reduction in funding.
The facilities division staff dropped to 453 full-time employees this year compared to the 489 in 2008. According to the industry standards set by the Association of Physical Plant Administrators the maintenance department should require nearly 1,200 workers to handle the jobs. The School Board presentation indicates â€Å"The district's carpentry and painting divisions are the most severely understaffed, operating at less than 15 percent of the recommended levels. The budget cuts cost the landscaping and grounds division about 26 full-time employee positions, out of 188. The loss is particularly felt at some of the high schools that no longer have a daytime employee to help with trash collection and custodial duties.
-- Emily Richmond Renovation Pegged at $6.3 Million-- Whidbey News Times Washington: November 10, 2009 [ abstract] The renovation of Oak Harbor High School’s vacant career and technical buildings is projected to cost about $6.3 million, Project Manager Mitch Romero said Monday.
Last June, the school district embarked on this project to convert the existing wings into a new maintenance facility.
The current maintenance buildings on Midway Boulevard were in “extreme states of deterioration,†according to an architectural study.
The $6.3 million is only an initial budget, Superintendent Rick Schulte said, and funding sources will fluctuate due to the bond market and what funds are remaining from the high school modernization project.
-- LIZ BURLINGAME U.S. Stimulus Funds Prompt Quicker Baltimore Area School Renovations -- Baltimore Sun Maryland: November 07, 2009 [ abstract] Fueled by federal stimulus dollars, school districts in Baltimore City and Baltimore County are speeding up construction projects that have been on hold for years for lack of funding, including the possible construction of the first new city school in a decade. While most of the money - $300 million to be spent statewide over four years - will go toward essentials such as new boilers, chillers, roofs, doors and windows - the city hopes to use some of its dollars to build a new Lexington Terrace school on the west side and an athletic facility on the east side. Dozens of schools would get new media centers.
"It is a tremendous boost," said J. Keith Scroggins, chief operating officer of the city schools. "It is like getting seven years of allocation from the state in a two-year period."
The infusion of money means that after the last school bell rings in June, work crews will begin a construction push that is expected to reach every school in Baltimore. The city school system has an estimated $1 billion of deferred maintenance on its schools, an amount that would take many years to catch up on without a boost in funding. In the county, the money is expected to go toward funding high school renovations, said the district's chief financial officer, Barbara Burnopp. "We won't do a different project," she said, "but we will do it more quickly." The county is systematically going through its aging high schools and putting in new windows, heating and cooling systems and doing other upgrades, including adding to science laboratories and technical education classrooms
-- Liz Bowie 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 Bond issue = new digs for Elgin students-- Marion Star Ohio: October 21, 2009 [ abstract] Elgin Local Schools' interim superintendent figures he's talked to dozens of groups since he began educating the community about the district's upcoming bond issue.
Jim Craycraft said Tuesday those efforts will continue through Election Day, and the last three days will be spent "camping out" at the schools. There will be a community meeting tonight at Elgin High School.
The district is seeking a combined 8.49-mill, 28-year bond and permanent improvement levy on the Nov. 3 ballot. If passed, the bond will raise about $1.63 million and the 1-mill levy will raise about $141,053 to help cover maintenance.
Keyword Search: ARRA, stimulus, bond
-- Kurt Moore Missouri School District Bond to Address Vital Repairs With Help From Stimulu-- Fulton Son Missouri: October 08, 2009 [ abstract] For just a few dollars per year, voters can ensure that vital repairs are made here to ensure the longevity of school property and improve the quality of learning for students district wide. After months of deliberations, North Callaway School Board members made the hard decision in August to pare down a request for school improvements to just the basics, slashing millions of dollars off of April's failed ballot proposal. Instead of calling for additions to the school, new classrooms and eliminations of modular trailers, the board heeded voter dissent and will just address maintenance, security issues and air quality in its four schools.
Keyword Search: ARRA, stimulus, bond
-- Roger Meissen Fairbanks North Star Borough voters approve $11.95 million school bond-- Newsminer Alaska: October 07, 2009 [ abstract] Dave Ferree is ready to go to work now that voters have approved a plan to spend $11.95 million on major maintenance projects in five local schools across the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
The assistant superintendent for facilities management said he’s eager to conserve energy and lower future utility costs with most of the projects. They include lighting upgrades at Weller Elementary School and North Pole High School and exterior repairs at Badger Road Elementary School.
-- Rebecca George School construction underway-- The News Arkansas: October 07, 2009 [ abstract] Construction of the new Viola High School is underway. Steel beams on the main building are being erected this week. The Phase I of the building is scheduled to be completed in late-Spring 2010 at the earliest. While Phase II construction of additional general purpose classrooms and a physical education facility is scheduled to begin in the summer 2010.
The entire $3.9 million building project will bring Viola Schools to state standards. The state will pay for 42 percent of that price tag, while the remainder will be funded through a 30-year millage established in March 2008.
After the state rated all school facilities in 2004, Viola Schools had to upgrade to stay within state standards for public schools, said John May, superintendent of Viola Schools.
"I'm proud that we are going to be able to get our facilities in a position where we will be able to have a school here for a really long time," May said. The upkeep of the new buildings will be less expensive than maintenance of the older buildings. "It just would have been more money to keep putting money into the older buildings," May said.
-- Clover Birdsell Elgin plan: All students in 1 building
-- The Marion Star Ohio: October 05, 2009 [ abstract] "One of the most critical problems is you can stand here and anyone can come in these doors and do anything they want," he said, talking about the low visibility of people entering the building.
School security is part of the message that Craycraft is trying to deliver as the school district seeks support of a combined 8.49-mill, 28-year bond and permanent improvement issue on the Nov. 3 ballot.
If passed, the bond will raise about $16.63 million and the 1-mill permanent improvement levy will raise about $141,053 to help cover maintenance.
Passage would enable the district to receive about $20 million from the Ohio School Facilities Commission to build a new kindergarten-through-12th grade building on the current Elgin High School campus.
If the issue is approved by the voters, the owner of a $100,000 home would pay $229.38 per year
-- Kurt Moore 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.â€
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 Board looks for funding sources -- Casper Star-Tribune Online Wyoming: September 28, 2009 [ abstract] CY Junior High School. Summit Elementary School. Elementary school playground upgrades. Improvements to the high schools.
The Natrona County School District has plenty of projects on its plate, and the school board will talk about how to pay for these and future projects at its meeting tonight.
The Wyoming School Facilities Commission pays to build schools but does not pay for what it calls "enhancements," or those features beyond basic needs. The state also does not pay for maintenance for these enhancements. Local districts must pay for these additions, as well as computers, books and other curriculum materials. The SFC will build the library but won't fill it with books.
The new Summit Elementary School will have a library, said Mark Antrim, associate superintendent for facilities and technology. The question is how to best assemble and pay for it. A start-up library for 200 students costs an estimated $81,000, according to calculations by the American Association of School Libraries. Ideas include utilizing unused books, phasing-in the collection over a few years and using money from the school board library fund.
The board will consider funding $136,204 for computers and educational materials at the new CY Junior High School. The materials will be used to support industrial and engineering programs in the school's Professional Pathway Exploratory Studios. The district previously allotted $17,745 for materials in 2008-09.
-- JACKIE BORCHARDT Neglect chips away at school-- Monroe News Star Louisiana: September 24, 2009 [ abstract] The fate of the old Georgia Tucker Elementary School building in Monroe remains in limbo and it is again listed as one of the state's 11 most endangered historic sites.
The Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation included the building as the only northeastern Louisiana structure on its annual list of endangered sites. Michelle Meche, executive director of the Louisiana Trust, said a group of Louisiana architects and community members help compile the list to build awareness for dilapidated landmarks outside Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
"We hope it helps saves these properties," Meche said. "Several are in imminent danger."
The Monroe City School System owns Georgia Tucker and has been trying to find a buyer since the school closed 10 years ago. In that time climbing vines have choked its broken windows, fungus has spread along its walls and its only occupants have been the occasional stray animals beneath the school's floors.
But the building's poor condition belies its rich architectural heritage and longevity.
The structure combines elements of Italian Renaissance, Romanesque, Spanish Baroque and Persian columns, which support its distinctive clay-tile roof.
Georgia Tucker was built in 1920 on land donated by Col. Frank P. Stubbs and was named after his mother, Georgia Tucker Stubbs.
The school closed in 1999 to house a pre-kindergarten center and school system offices. Three years later, the building was relegated to a warehouse and has been unoccupied since.
Facilities Committee chairman Mickey Traweek said the school board missed an opportunity in 1999 to salvage the building. Traweek said the school board had set aside $1.8 million to renovate the building, but a vocal "handful" of Garden District residents raised concerns about replacing the wooden windows with metal frames and halted the renovations.
"Meanwhile, there was a change in board members and once the majority changed, they decided not to support it," Traweek said.
Since that time the city school system has paid for lawn maintenance and spent $50,000 to preserve the building's roof, but neglect has continued to eat away at the school.
Traweek said three groups have expressed interest in purchasing the property and all groups have agreed in principle to maintain the buildings exterior. But last year the three potential buyers declined to purchase the building and property for $362,000, its market value according to a 2008 appraisal, in part because of expected renovation costs.
-- Matthew Hamilton School facilities review overdue-- Osceola News-Gazette Florida: September 24, 2009 [ abstract] The recently completed review of the Osceola County School District’s facilities department was long overdue and we hope new procedures and processes will improve communication and transparency and help us build new schools â€" when they are necessary â€" more efficiently and at the optimum size.
District officials have called the proposed recommendations a step in the right direction as the district’s financial resources diminish due to the recession, the foreclosure crisis and falling property values. We couldn’t agree more.
In the past, we believe what once was the maintenance and facilities department was run without enough oversight and the interdepartmental task force teams that will now help the reorganized department make construction â€" and renovation â€" related decisions is indeed a step in the right direction.
Over the last year or two many questions were raised â€" some of them by new School Board member Cindy Hartig, to her credit, over the facilities department and the contracts it was administering. Some of those questions related to not having contracts signed before work began, as one example.
Local business owners became skeptical whether the district’s bidding procedures were fair to them â€" and rightly so. And it was, in large part, because these businesses stepped forward that changes are being considered.
The review also recommended the creation of a budget team that would receive priorities from all district divisions planning to use money from the capital outlay fund. The team would be comprised of assistant superintendents, department directors and community members. That’s a good idea.
-- Staff Writer Slower growth to mean more empty seats in schools -- Chesterfield Observer Virginia: September 23, 2009 [ abstract] When the remaining schools and additions in the Chesterfield County Public Schools (CCPS) capital improvements program (CIP) are completed, Chesterfield will have vacant seats in many schools. According to Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Dave Myers, CCPS will go from 98 percent of capacity in 2008 to 94 percent 10 years later.
Next week, CCPS is expected to report that its student population grew by just 159 students this fall after adding only 149 students last year (see chart on page 6). Previously, CCPS had been growing at a rate of 800-1,200 students annually, but now the rate has slowed considerably, mostly due to fewer people moving into the county because of the economy. County Administrator Jay Stegmaier believes higher vacancy rates of existing homes also played a role. Myers projects an average of 276 students annually over the next nine years.
At last week’s Budget and Audit Committee (B&A) meeting, Dale Supervisor Jim Holland, who serves on the committee, called for a review of the school system’s CIP. “We’re going to have excessive capacity,†he said.
It is possible to delay some CIP projects and shift those funds to pay operating expenses â€" like teacher salaries â€" for CCPS. Midlothian Supervisor Dan Gecker, who also serves on B&A, said last Friday that all options should be on the table so CCPS can meet its educational needs with a declining budget.
According to Midlothian School Board representative Patty Carpenter, who attended the B&A meeting, the school board hasn’t discussed changes to next year’s CIP.
In FY11 (starting next July 1), the CIP for CCPS totals $40 million, which includes $15.7 million for major maintenance, computers, technology, security and energy enhancements. It also earmarks $4.5 million at Watkins Elementary School and $12 million at Midlothian High School for renovations, and $8 million for reconfiguring the heating and air con- ditioning system at Clover Hill High School, so the building can be converted to some mix of a middle school, technical center and/or office space. Some supervisors have pointed out there may not be a need for another middle school because most are under capacity. The school system opened two new middle schools in fall 2008.
-- Greg Pearson Colorado School Construction Program Begins Saving Rural Districts -- 9news.com Colorado: September 16, 2009 [ abstract] Charlie Jackson walks around to the school buildings and sees the same problems over and over again, because the district never had enough money to address those problems - until now. "I think all of us have the same issues that we're sitting there with limited funding with maintenance projects that keep backing up," Jackson said. Jackson is the director of maintenance for the Alamosa School District. He says the district has needed new buildings for decades, but because its lower population, it cannot generate enough tax dollars. "Our budget is $12 million a year, and we still have to educate kids," Jackson said. He says Alamosa Schools have repair needs that total closer to $40 million as buildings approach 100 years of service. At Polmost Primary, students and teachers have dealt with at least 60 roof leaks within the past year. "We end up patching and patching and patching," Jackson said. Polmost is also overcrowded. Alamosa Superintendent Robert Alejo says its small kitchen and small common areas put a strain on the student body. Right now, about one-third of all the students at Polmost must attend class in modular buildings outside dubbed "trailer row."
State Treasurer Cary Kennedy and other leaders worked to change that. They created the B.E.S.T. Program or Building Excellent Schools Today. "B.E.S.T. allows the state to partner with those small rural school districts to give them the access to the capital that they need," Kennedy said. B.E.S.T. utilizes the School Land Trust. When Colorado became a state, the federal government donated millions of acres of land to be used solely to support K-12 schools. Farmers, oil companies, businesses use these lands and pay rent or mining fees to the state each year.
-- Nelson Garcia 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 â€" 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.â€
The approved plan also includes a more time-efficient construction plan â€" 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.â€
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 â€" or three months operating expenses â€" there,†he said. “That leaves us with enough to fund the rest of the project.â€
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.â€
-- Mary Rainwater School Board's ignorance on buildings is shameful
-- Seacoastonline.com New Hampshire: September 11, 2009 [ abstract] After reading the Sept. 9 article, "Fire officials: Elementary schools safe without sprinkler systems," I am struck by how completely irresponsible it is for our elected officials on the School Board to say they do not know the state of the elementary schools.
During the most recent budget discussions, our community was told that the renovation of Little Harbour School included in the capital improvement plan budget is now targeted for 2015. This is understandable in light of the current renovation plans for Portsmouth Middle School. At the same time, however, it is not clear why the City Council was assured the facilities are "adequate."
What criteria is used to evaluate Portsmouth's educational facilities? The student population is at an all-time high with more than 420 students. The request of the Fire Department to close all hallway fire doors seems to be in direct opposition to an EPA Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Study in 1996 that states, "... the air circulation for the entire floor is immediately altered when doors are closed." I hope we are not going to wait for another extensive renovation to address the population, air quality and fire hazard issues.
There must be a way we can be more proactive about ongoing maintenance issues in our schools. Let's not kid around with the health of our students and talented staff who are spending a majority of their days in these buildings. If the School Board doesn't know the current state of the elementary schools, then it is a travesty that the Little Harbour School facility is deemed adequate. Ignorance is bliss.
-- Kirsten Barton Board creates 2 new school districts-- 2TheAdvocate Louisiana: September 05, 2009 [ abstract] The Livingston Parish School Board created two new school districts in a move to clarify school attendance zones and resolve possible long-range taxing issues in regard to constructing potential new schools.
The board unanimously agreed Thursday night to create by ordinances School District No. 26-1 and School District No. 4-1.
The new districts, which are generally centered in the Walker and Livingston areas and take in the Doyle schools, were carved from parts of District 26 and District 4.
The board specified that any current bonded indebtedness contracted for school construction and maintenance in the old Districts 26 and 4 must be retired through taxes levied on homeowners and businesses in the existing districts.
School District No. 26, created in 1923, was later expanded. School District No. 4 has been in existence since 1947.
Several School Board members noted that down through the years, the lines defining the districts had become blurred.
Creating the two new districts was expected to clear up any potential problems with attendance zones and any future local taxing measures, members agreed.
The ordinances establishing the two new districts contain lengthy, detailed outlines of the districts based on recent land surveys conducted by the School Board.
Board member Clint Mitchell said much of the land in the new districts is wooded and the area encompassed by the districts is not heavily populated.
However, he added, development is planned for the two areas and new schools may be built there if and when demand for them materializes.
-- VIC COUVILLION School projects planned for $3M bond-- Hattiesburg American Mississippi: September 05, 2009 [ abstract] Hattiesburg Public School District has finalized a list of projects to use the $3 million in interest-free construction bond fund the district was approved to borrow in late July.
Hattiesburg, Petal and Forrest County school districts were among 51 statewide selected to receive a $3 million share of the $132 million Qualified School Construction Bonds program. The stimulus-driven initiative allows districts to borrow interest-free monies to use for construction, rehabilitation or repair of public school facilities.
Willie Burton, director of maintenance and facilities for Hattiesburg public schools, said plans include roofing and parking lot improvements districtwide.
"We'll be doing some type of work at every site in the district," he said.
"We should get a 10- to 15-year extension on the lifespan of our roofing systems. We'll also be able to make our parking lots much safer."
The list of projects, he said, includes restoring roofs at Lillie Burney, Rowan, Thames and Woodley elementaries, Mary Bethune Alternative School and Hattiesburg High School.
Burton said the entire roof of Hawkins Elementary School will be replaced while portions of roofs at Woodley Elementary, Thames Elementary and Hattiesburg High schools will be replaced.
"Hawkins has one of the worst roofing systems in the district," he said.
Also included in the district's list of projects will be adding curbs, gutters, green space and lighting to all parking lots.
"We're going to re-stripe the lot at Burger Middle," Burton said. "At Lillie Burney, we're going to widen the lot's radius and add parking spaces to make a safer area for our car riders."
At Woodley Elementary School, Burton said the asphalt parking lot will be replaced with concrete.
"The soil there is very shaky," he said.
"The concrete will be much more durable."
Burton said the district could begin bidding the projects in October.
"If everything goes smoothly with the bidding process, work could begin this fall," he said.
-- BRITTANY BROWN So Far, So Good, With D.C.'s Effort to Modernize its School Facilities
-- Washington Post District of Columbia: August 30, 2009 [ abstract] The verdict is still out on whether the District's ongoing education reforms will lift student learning. There is little doubt, though, about the success of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's efforts to fix and modernize school facilities. This was reinforced by last week's flawless opening of schools, the third since Mr. Fenty took control of the system.
All schools were ready and up to code when classes started Monday. In addition, a number of gleaming new facilities -- H.D. Cooke Elementary School in Ward 1, School Without Walls in Ward 2 and Savoy Elementary School in Ward 8, to name a few -- opened to rave reviews across the city. It's a significant achievement considering that it was not that long ago that many students were habitually shut out of the first day of classes because schools weren't ready. Even worse was the general disrepair of buildings; deferred maintenance gave rise to broken windows, non-functioning bathrooms, inoperable water fountains and busted heating systems.
So daunting were the problems that the mayor and the D.C. Council knew they had to establish a separate office. It is to the credit of Mr. Fenty that he tapped the able Allen Y. Lew to head up the new Office Of Public Education Facilities Modernization. Mr. Lew, who had successfully managed construction of the city's convention center and baseball stadium, made a priority of eliminating the backlog of more than 30,000 work orders. He was able to jumpstart long-stalled projects such as the Wilson Aquatic Center, while also completing more than 30 fields and playgrounds. And he has brought long-needed credibility to school maintenance, with the result that more architects and contractors are bidding on the work.
Of course, this has all come at an extraordinary price, an estimated $1 billion over two years. Critics are right to wonder if, in the understandable rush to make fixes, money was spent as effectively as possible. With city resources now tightening, it will be important to carefully map expenditures and to ensure there will be no return to the days of deferring maintenance in a shortsighted bid to save money. But anyone who doubts the importance of this work need only visit the transformed Sousa Middle School in Ward 7. Students there posted dramatic gains in test scores, and, while they acknowledge a new principal and better instruction helped, they also say that their new building made a difference: Now, they like going to school.
-- Editorial Detroit Plans to Build 8 New Schools, Renovate 10, With Federal Bonds
-- Crain's Detroit Business Michigan: August 26, 2009 [ abstract] The Detroit Public Schools plans build at least eight new schools and significantly renovate as many as 10 other schools using proceeds from a planned $500.5 million capital bond issuance. Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb unveiled the details of the DPS’ capital improvement plan Tuesday afternoon, saying the bond issuance will be presented to Detroit voters on the Nov. 3 ballot after receiving election commission approval. New school construction costs will account for about $315 million of the bond proceeds, with $165 million paying for renovations to existing schools and $20 million for demolition and decommissioning of obsolete schools as well as security improvements throughout the district, Bobb said.
The bonds are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly referred to as the stimulus bill. The DPS was allocated $246.5 million in Qualified School Construction Bonds for 2009 and 2010, which will be interest-free. The remaining $254 million of the bonds are available under the Build America Bonds portion of the stimulus package. If approved by voters in November, the bonds will be issued in January and the all the proceeds must be spent on the improvement projects within 36 months.
The improvement projects are expected to create 3,725 direct jobs, Bobb said, using formulas used by the State of Michigan. By demolishing, closing and rebuilding the schools, the DPS will cut about 1 million-square-feet out of its current capacity and have 19 fewer schools in the district. It will also cut annual maintenance costs by $12 million.
-- Ryan Beene Board discusses enhancements, needs-- The Casper Star Tribune Wyoming: August 25, 2009 [ abstract] The new eastside elementary school dug up the topic of enhancements at the school board of trustees retreat on Tuesday in Casper.
The Wyoming School Facilities Commission pays for school construction but does not pay for what it calls "local enhancements" such as auditoriums, gymnasiums and new bleachers. The SFC approves enhancement requests by scoring and ranking each school based on three weighted criteria: building condition makes up 50 percent, capacity issues at 35 percent and functionality at 15 percent.
Priority for enhancements is given to schools that show more need based on those three factors. For example, shifting ninth graders to high schools could increase the capacity figure enough to bump Kelly Walsh High School up on the list and boost the need for a new high school, said Mark Antrim, associate superintendent of facilities and technology for the district.
The new elementary school has requested close to $1 million in enhancements, including a wind turbine, greenhouse and labyrinth. The school's teachers and Principal Anne LaPlante have prioritized these requests according to the curriculum needs, and the final request will be put before the board on Sept. 14.
Trustees said they had reservations about improving enhancements without knowing how to pay for maintenance.
School districts can use 10 percent of the maintenance fund to pay for enhancement maintenance, but only after completing maintenance projects with a higher priority level. These higher priority needs will cost an estimated $32.8 million to fix, but the district only receives about $4.5 million each year to do so, according to Antrim.
-- JACKIE BORCHARDT Broward School Board Approves $1.3 Billion Construction Budget
-- Miami Herald Florida: August 25, 2009 [ abstract] Broward School Board members managed to scrounge some cash to salvage a couple of axed projects as they passed a pared-down plan for construction, maintenance and technology over the next five years. The nearly $1.3 billion budget -- less than half the size of the previous year's plan -- includes no additional money for new schools or major projects. The majority of the money is targeted at paying down debt, upgrading buildings for safety or health or fixing up old schools. Removed from last year's nearly $3 billion plan: 33 replacement projects, nine new schools, 31 classroom additions, 21 major remodeling projects and hundreds of improvement projects. Those cuts to the construction budget -- and a ruling from the state that the district has too many empty seats to justify building more -- eliminated dozens of classroom additions and several new schools that would have relieved crowding in western Broward schools. Without those projects, Broward could have to change school attendance boundaries for three middle schools and three high schools in Weston, Pembroke Pines and Miramar -- forcing hundreds of students to switch schools beginning in the 2011-12 school year.
-- Patricia Mazzei and Hannah Sampson Wood County BOE to receive rental update-- Parkersburg News West Virginia: August 15, 2009 [ abstract] The Wood County Board of Education has requested an update on the rental policies of Wood County Schools.
Officials last year updated Policy 1330: Use of School Facilities to include new guidelines and rental costs. Board members feared the policy was not being followed by all schools, that some schools were renting facilities to groups for discounted prices and the old price list did not reflect the actual cost of maintenance and utilities to the school system.
Lawrence Hasbargen, assistant superintendent of maintenance and facilities, said Tuesday he will present board members with a list of outside groups who use the facilities and information on which schools see the most rental use.
"Some schools are used more often," he said Friday. "You have schools like Parkersburg High School, Blennerhassett Middle School, Mineral Wells Elementary and Jefferson Elementary Center. Those tend to see the most use."
Hasbargen said often communities have few places to gather other than public schools, and those schools represent a significant investment for taxpayers.
"We don't have a civic center, so a lot of groups make use of our schools," he said. "We try to be fair and even in our rental policies."
The policy spells out which groups are exempt from certain fees and when, as well as citing what the responsibilities are for renters.
"We have contracts, rental agreements we draw up with these groups," he said. "One difference in this policy is we ask for the payments up front. If there are additional costs after the fact, we charge them. If there was less cost than originally determined, we refund them the difference."
Hasbargen said he also will present updates on several construction projects at Parkersburg High School, including creation of a security link and replacement doors for the front of the building.
The school system received funding this year from the state School Building Authority to enclose an area of PHS, bringing several buildings under one roof.
"It will be much safer for the students," Hasbargen said. "It is something that is much needed at the school."
-- MICHAEL ERB 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 â€" 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 â€" QZAB â€" 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 â€" 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 Cascade school cuts costs, goes green with stimulus funds
-- Montana's News Station Montana: August 13, 2009 [ abstract] The school colors at Cascade High School are yellow and black - but the school building is becoming more green, thanks to $14 million in the form of federal stimulus Quick Start Energy Grants.
Bill Upthregrove, McKinstry MT Quick Start project director, said, "Some are studies of the building, some are lighting projects like at CMR, some are projects like this one where they're controls or building automation systems, so it's kind of what was the biggest need of the school district."
June Sprout, Cascade School Superintendent, said, "They go in and they determine what should be working, how should it be working, is it working the way it should be and if it's not what do we do do we place it do we fix it?"
At Cascade High School, the heating system and temperature control are being replaced, to the tune of $369,000 dollars, paid for by stimulus Quick Start funds.
Converting from propane to natural gas will also save the school money on heat bills and affect the whole building.
Lester Johnson, maintenance supervisor for the school, said, ""Heating of each room, the temperature control of each room, the hot water - this basically heats everything in our school right now."
But lower heating and electric bills aren't the only benefit. "This will allow the building to be that much more constant and consistent in the heating and cooling, and that much more comfortable which will allow a much better environment for both teaching and learning for the students that come in and the teachers that work there," said Sprout.
All of the Quick Start projects are required to be completed by September 30.
-- Staff Writer Can old Lehman school be saved?-- Canton Repository Ohio: August 10, 2009 [ abstract] Everyone agrees on one thing: Saving old Lehman High School.
But is it possible?
The Canton City Schools Board of Education has met with members of the Canton Lehman Alumni Association and the North Lehman Neighborhood Association to discuss the old school’s fate.
The associations will brainstorm over the next few months. Members are hopeful they’ll find a party interested in the 89-year-old building.
“There is no place like home, and this school is at the heart and the center of our homes,†said Linda Tuttle, a member of the neighborhood association, who addressed the board at its regular meeting Monday night.
About two dozen members of the neighborhood association attended a recent Canton City Council meeting. They asked council to hold the school district accountable for the decrepit school building, which has been the target of vandalism. The neighborhood association called for increased security and maintenance of the school grounds.
The school district recently turned off electricity to old Lehman after a break-in when it was discovered that several people had entered the building. A homeless man was found living in the basement.
Tad Ellsworth, the City Schools’ business manager, said the district is trying to better secure the building, including fixing the building’s exterior lights. It also plans to install an interior motion detector, which would alert police to trespassers.
The district is interested in entertaining offers from developers, but it’s also actively seeking funds to tear the old school down.
“We’ve had minimal interest. No one has the ability to do what needs to be done,†Ellsworth said.
The district has been working with city officials for years, looking for a developer for the property. But renovating old Lehman will cost millions. In fact, some estimates have climbed to $15 million.
The district also has sought help from the state, including the Ohio School Facilities Commission. There is asbestos in the building that needs to be abated, driving up the cost of demolition, which is estimated at around $1 million.
The alumni association discussed Monday the possibility of turning the school into a community center, a senior citizens’ center or genealogy society.
“I would hate to see Lehman ... demolished,†said Larry Taylor, president of the alumni association. “We hope (its development will) energize the community.â€
-- Melissa Griffy Seeton Stimulus Bonds For Schools Will Lower Some Property Tax Bills -- WISC Wisconsin: August 05, 2009 [ abstract] The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction said the state is getting $125.5 million in interest-free bonds, and the money will have a major affect on some property tax years.
The federal stimulus money is to be used to pay for school projects.
Sun Prairie school officials said the money comes at a good time because of major school projects, including a new high school, which is part of a nearly 100 million dollar referendum.
"When we presented it to the taxpayers, we said we we're going to borrow $96 million. But the true cost of it, we included the cost of interest into that, so now, on the last $23 million that we need, we won't need to pay any interest on, so that's a $15 million savings to the taxpayers," said Phil Frei, Sun Prairie School District deputy superintendent.
Sun Prairie property taxpayers will see the savings on their bill next year.
The Madison Metropolitan School District is not building new schools now, so it only received about $3.9 million, interest free, to handle infrastructure improvements.
The bulk of that money will help cover the cost of the district's new wireless infrastructure.
"Without funding in this day and age, funding being very tight, we can't do maintenance on an annual basis. So an opportunity like this allows us to do the maintenance today and pay it off over a period of time without having any interest costs associated with it," said Erik Kass, superintendent of business services for the Madison Metropolitan School District.
Elsewhere, the Adams-Friendship School District will get more than $2 million, Beloit will get $1.785 million, and the Fennimore, Middleton and Oregon school districts will get $500,000 each.
Monona Grove will get $729,000, Richland will get $437,000 and the Watertown School District will get more than $1.3 million in interest-free federal stimulus bonds.
-- Staff Writer Sullivan County schools to seek $20M in bonds -- Kingsport Times News Tennessee: August 05, 2009 [ abstract] Sullivan County is putting the wheels in motion to seek up to $20 million in low- or no-interest federal bonds for school construction, renovation and maintenance.
Director of Schools Jack Barnes, notified of the Qualified School Construction Bond (QSCB) program last Thursday, said the federal stimulus program has very few strings attached, but applicants get more points for “green,†energy-efficient and high-technology projects.
Barnes said Wednesday the bonds, if received, likely would go toward a more than $100 million school building and renovation program that would cost almost $202 million when funding is shared with the Kingsport and Bristol, Tenn., school systems based on enrollment.
However, Barnes said the county system would not have to share the QSCB money with the city systems.
The money must be spent within three years, and 10 percent of the money must be spent in the first six months. Barnes said the idea is to get the money into the economy and help the construction business.
The Sullivan County Board of Education will meet in a called session at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, to consider and vote on applying for the bonds. The County Commission will then consider the issue at its Aug. 17 meeting, to be followed by submission of the application to the Tennessee Department of Education in Nashville by the deadline of 4:30 p.m. Central Time on Aug. 21.
Tennessee is to receive $184 million, but after the Memphis area received bond money, a little less than $122 million remains available.
Barnes said that money will be split 12 ways among competing systems. In Northeast Tennessee, Hawkins County also plans to apply.
-- Rick Wagner School Board Votes To Bypass Taxpayers
-- RhinoTimes.com North Carolina: July 30, 2009 [ abstract] The Guilford County Board of Education took steps to add to the school system's construction bankroll on Thursday, July 23, when it voted 7-to-4 to apply for $17 million in federally financed school bonds offered as part of the mammoth $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 – the federal stimulus bill. The act allows school boards to apply for the bonds without having to take them to the voters for approval like normal school bonds.
The Guilford County Board of Commissioners must approve the application. If Guilford County applies for and gets the bonds, they will add to the $457 million in school bonds approved by voters in May 2008 and the $23 million the school system has left over from the 2003 school bond.
School board Chairman Alan Duncan and school board members Sandra Alexander, Jeff Belton, Kris Cooke, Carlvena Foster, Deena Hayes and Nancy Routh and voted to apply for the bonds. School board members Amos Quick, Darlene Garrett, Garth Hebert and Paul Daniels voted against the application.
The $17 million is only half of the federally financed bonds the school board will probably apply for, as the act allows the school system to apply for another $17 million in bonds in January 2010.
The school board members who voted for the no-interest bonds said they did so because it was a rare chance to save the $5 million in financing charges that would normally come with the money, and because the school has unfunded maintenance needs. Those who voted against it said they did so because they did not want to do an end run around the voters during a recession, in which taxpayers are straining to pay bills.
Quick was the school board member who was the most vocal in opposition to applying for the bonds, and took umbrage at the use of the word "grant" in connection with them.
"The long and short of it is, this is a line of credit," Quick said. "This bill, like all bills, has a due date. A reasonable person could simply say that this is a line of credit for $34 million. The term 'grant' was used, and this is not a grant."
-- Paul C. Clark Parish seeks $30 million federal loan for schools-- Daily Comet Louisiana: July 22, 2009 [ abstract] The School Board decided Tuesday to apply for $30 million in interest-free federal loans to build new public schools and upgrade older ones in Terrebonne Parish.
Construction also hinges on whether Terrebonne voters agree to a proposal Oct. 17 to allow money from an existing sales tax to be used for the work.
If voters agree to rededicate that tax money, it will be used to repay the $30 million in federal bonds that would be sold to pay for construction.
Because that federal money is interest-free, Superintendent Philip Martin said it could save the school system millions of dollars. If the school system does not receive the federal aid, Martin said, the board will instead issue traditional school-construction bonds.
Passed in 1996, the board’s 1-cent sales tax provides the school system with about 14 percent of its annual income â€" nearly $25 million this past year.
That money is split: 83 percent goes toward teacher salaries and benefits, and the remaining 17 percent is divided equally between technology and school maintenance.
The Oct. 17 proposition would allow some or all of that 17 percent to also be used to build new schools.
Martin said the money is critical to “revitalize our schools,†whose average age is 50.
The board agreed Tuesday to launch a $12,000 campaign explaining the tax-rededication proposal and outlining the first phase of construction. The campaign will include signs, fliers and brochures. The brochures may be mailed or sent home with students, with some board members favoring the latter to cut costs.
The brochures outline the five major goals for new construction:
n Decrease reliance on portable classroom buildings.
n Standardize high schools as ninth through 12th grade.
n Replace or relocate flood-prone schools.
n Decrease overcrowding.
n Buy land needed for future construction.
These goals were developed by a committee including school-system staff, parents, teachers and community leaders.
-- Daniel McBride Public schools pledge frugality-- Philadelphia Neshoba Democrat Mississippi: July 22, 2009 [ abstract] Neshoba County and Philadelphia school districts have adopted their budgets for Fiscal Year 2010, pledging to hold the line on spending.
In addition, the county school district is in the process of applying for up to $3 million in federal stimulus funds that will be used for construction and maintenance priorities for the FY 2010.
City schools are not applying for construction bonds due to a lack of monies to pay off the federal loans.
"We just don't have the funds to pay off federal construction loans," Dr. Joseph White, superintendent of the Philadelphia School District, said. "We are purchasing some pre-existing properties near our campus and we would like to pay those off first before we start any new construction projects."
He said that for the past seven years, city schools have not seen growth like county schools have experienced.
George Shaw, superintendent of county schools, said his board will need to apply within the month in order to be considered for school construction bonds.
An adviser was scheduled to meet with the county School Board this week in order to let board members know if Neshoba County schools are eligible for the interest free bonds.
"The first round of stimulus bonds went to the first 51 districts that applied for them," Shaw said. "However, there is a second stimulus package that we might be eligible to receive some funding from."
He said these construction bonds can only be used for school construction purposes and that the county could utilize the monies to fund roof, plumbing, and electrical improvements.
The county school district's estimated shortfall for FY 2009 was about $40,000.
The FY 2010 budget includes expenditures of about $28,760,443. Estimated revenue, or money received by the school, is about $24 million. The board budgeted $25,000 for roof improvements and $150,000 for plumbing work on the restrooms at the football field.
Close to $2,460,000 will go towards the costs of construction for the new elementary school building. About half of that cost was included in the budget for FY 2009, and the remainder has been included in FY 2010.
Funding for new roads on the school campus to help with traffic problems has also been set aside. Shaw said the board will ask for help from county supervisors for road improvements.
Keyword Search: stimulus, arra, bond
-- T.J. JERNIGAN Schools need maintenance
-- Chesterfield Observer Virginia: July 22, 2009 [ abstract] Cooperation of our board of supervisors and school board are necessary if our community is to move forward. Without a doubt, our leaders have made many outstanding decisions to position us in the enviable position of being recognized in the top 100 places in the country to live. However, I am concerned the current inability of our boards to view the brutal facts and make decisions to position us for success in the future is in jeopardy. Repeated articles on school repair needs and the escalating cost over the past several years with no action is a prime example. When are we going to do something? The need to have all the facts with both boards at the table is not optional.
Decisions made without board collaboration and review of all the facts in the past are having negative consequences in the present. In 2005, the tax rate was $1.07 per $100 of assessed value. The double-digit rise in assessments brought on by the economy and a strong desire to live in Chesterfield resulted in a unilateral movement by the [previous] board of supervisors to lower the property tax rate. The popular mantra of lowering the tax rate, tightening your belt and cutting the fat out of school and county spending became a political slogan. Unfortunately, there was never full disclosure to the public on what the trade-off was. The lagging infrastructure on the county side and the critical repair needs in schools were quietly put on the back burner.
From 2006 to 2008, a 9-cent reduction in the tax rate occurred resulting in a $30 million reduction in realized revenue (one year) or approximately a $270 gain for a family owning a $300,000 home. Even with the tax rate decrease, both the county and school system experienced a growth in their budgets. However, where was the better return on our investment - reducing our property tax rate over the past several years or investing a portion of those dollars in our infrastructure and older schools?
Please know I am not opposed to tax decreases, nor tightening the budget, but they must take place with all the facts on the table. In addition, both boards and the public must know the full implications to make an informed choice. This is not possible if the boards are not listening to each other. Now in 2009, there is discussion of a $50 million bond referendum to meet the same critical needs that were present in 2006.
If our older neighborhoods are to thrive and compete with the westward sprawl, the schools in need of major repairs must be a top priority for both boards. Home assessments will drop and revenues from our older neighborhoods will decline without board action. It is not rocket science; it is simply the brutal facts. Without the cooperation of the two boards, previously excellent communities will quietly decline in their appeal to young families. That is only one of many issues that will not be resolved unless the two boards come together around a common cause: serving the community
There is no place for sandbox behaviors at the board level. It has the potential to paralyze the boards' ability to make decisions and move forward. It impacts every level of government. Serving in public office requires people working together to be effective, not trying to prove to each other who is right or wrong. I have never seen boards that are functional until individuals put aside their own personal egos and agendas, and develop a shared purpose, respect and trust of each other. Our board members have a tough job, and I am grateful that they have willingly offered to serve, but with that there is an accountability they have to the citizens of our community. Please deliver on your campaign promises to the citizens.
Jim Schroeder, DDS
Midlothian
Mr. Schroeder previously represented the Midlothian District on the Chesterfield School Board. Editor
-- Letter to the Editor School Board Members Caution Against Federal Construction Bonds -- FOX8 News North Carolina: July 21, 2009 [ abstract] At their next meeting Thursday, Guilford County school board members will consider accepting up to $17.1 million in federal money offered in the form of school construction bonds.
The bond money is being offered as a tax-free loan, which means taxpayers will have to pay back the principal on the bonds. And some school board members are concerned about accepting the money because taxpayers don't get a say in it.
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system plans to apply for the money next week.
The money is badly needed in Guilford County, where the schools maintenance budget has been reduced again. Replacing Hunter Elementary School's HVAC system has been put off as has replacing the leaky roof at Archer Elementary.
"We would not be in the shape we are in if the commissioners had been funding us the way we request," said school board member Kris Cooke.
The qualified school construction bonds would provide quick cash for fixing those problems. The interest-free bond money could save taxpayers around $5 million in finance charges.
"This is a new invention, so to speak. A new way to spend taxpayer dollars that they have not approved," board member Amos Quick said Tuesday, cautioning against accepting the loan.
Fellow board member Sandra Alexander agrees: "In the event we do move forward with this, I caution you to not move forward until we feel comfortable it's the right way to go."
But Cooke feels the school system is in a position where it has to take the money. "We've got to maintain our buildings, and I don't know where else we are going to get it from," she said.
On Thursday, the school board will look again at a list of maintenance projects when they decide whether to apply for the federal stimulus money.
-- Chad Tucker Federal money could pave the way for new Terrebonne schools-- Daily Comet Louisiana: July 20, 2009 [ abstract] A proposal to borrow $30 million to build new Terrebonne public schools and revamp existing ones will be discussed Tuesday by the School Board.
The federal government is setting aside $11 billion in interest-free school-construction bonds as part of the national economic-stimulus package.
The board will discuss applying for some of that money at its meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. at its offices, 201 Stadium Drive.
The money would be used to help alleviate flooding at schools in lower Terrebonne and build several new schools, said Superintendent Philip Martin.
The debt would be repaid using 1-cent sales-tax money if voters approve a measure on the Oct. 17 ballot allowing a portion of the existing tax to be used for new school construction.
The School Board gets 14 percent of its income, about $25 million this year, from the parishwide 1-cent sales tax. That money must be divided three ways, according to a measure previously passed by voters. Eighty-three percent pays employee salaries. The rest is split equally, 8.5 percent each, on technology and building maintenance.
"We're very optimistic it's going to work out, which is a huge savings to taxpayers," Martin said.
A study group of school staff, parents, teachers and local planners reviewed the proposal to reallocate the tax money. The thrust of the group's work is to educate the community on the plan's purpose.
Paula Ferrer, a parent and study-group member, said she's in favor of the rededication.
"I feel like they're kind of stuck in the position of using the money for what it was previously dedicated to and that's maybe not serving the school district or students the best that it can," Ferrer said.
For instance, she said, the sales-tax money is now being used to put air-conditioners in schools that should be rebuilt.
The 13-member panel is also recommending the School Board start by:
n Eliminating and removing portable classrooms.
n Resolve overcrowding at Mulberry Elementary in Houma.
n Move the ninth grade from Evergreen Junior High to H.L. Bourgeois High and build a new freshman center.
n Build a new elementary or middle school on donated property off Woodlawn Ranch Road to replace the oft-flooded Grand Caillou Elementary.
n Buy land, as needed, for current and future building plans.
-- Naomi King 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.â€
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.â€
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 Montana School District Receives Fed Stimulus Grant for Energy Conservation-- Choteau Acantha Montana: July 15, 2009 [ abstract] The Choteau school district has received a $77,958 federal stimulus grant to be used for three different energy-conservation projects in the elementary and high school buildings. Superintendent Kevin St. John said the state Department of Commerce in a letter dated June 29 notified school officials of the grant. The school had applied for grant funding for four projects, and received money to do three. St. John said the grant funds, which must be expended by Sept. 30, will be used to replace all remaining single-pane windows in the elementary school with double-pane, energy efficient windows; to replace the fluorescent lighting in the elementary school and the high school vocational-agriculture and wood shop with energy-efficient lighting; and to replace the doors on the west and east entrances to the elementary school with lighter, easier to open and close, energy-efficient doors.
The school had also requested funds to remove an older boiler in the elementary school that heats the three end classrooms in the west wing and to replace the boiler with in-room heaters. St. John said more federal stimulus funding for “deferred maintenance†projects is coming available and the school will be applying for various projects. He said the state has said that the district could receive up to $23,000 in the high school and $40,000 in the elementary school in these funds, which can be spent up to fall of 2010. Some projects that the board should be thinking about include: chip sealing the school parking lots, placing the three skylights (which are a constant source of leakage of heat out and water in) in the high school library, or removing the remaining asbestos-containing floor tile from 15 elementary school classrooms and replacing that tile with new, asbestos-free tile. “I think it would be a huge improvement for the elementary if we could get those classrooms done,†St. John said.
Search Tags: stimulus green energy arra
-- Melody Martinsen, Henderson County, NC Pursues Interest-free Loans for School Construction
-- Times-News North Carolina: July 14, 2009 [ abstract] The Henderson County School Board will seek low-interest loans through the federal stimulus program to pay for $4 million in school construction or repairs. In the 2009-10 budget, the Henderson County Board of Commissioners budgeted $4 million for school maintenance. The school board authorized completing applications for two interest-free loans to finance the $4 million in maintenance. The two loan programs have different requirements, so the board directed staff to determine which loan fits best for which projects. If the interest-free loans are not approved, the school board still can get financing through traditional lending sources. The board approved a $4.8 million list of projects and directed staff to pare the spending to $4 million.
The two loans are Qualified Zone Academy Bonds and Qualified School Construction Bonds. The first requires a 10 percent match from a local business. The latter does not require a match, but only finances between $500,000 and $2 million. County Finance Director Carey McLelland said that the process for receiving funds through the programs is challenging, especially the Qualified School Construction Bonds. The county has to put the projects out to bid, then apply for the loan and forward the application to the Local Government Commission. Once approved by the commission, McLelland said he will have to find a bank to loan the money at zero interest. Banks get tax credits in exchange for offering the loans. "I don't know what the market for these is," McLelland said. The entire process for the Qualified School Construction Bond loan must be completed by Dec. 31, while the county has two years to spend the Qualified Zone Academy bonds. "They are good deals, if you can find the proper project to match them with," McLelland said.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra, bond
-- James Shea GPS officials pushing increase in rent for school facilities-- Arizona Republic Arizona: July 13, 2009 [ abstract] Gilbert Public Schools officials have urged the governing board to raise fees for churches and youth groups to rent classrooms, sports fields and other rooms or sites around the district.
The increased rents would boost district revenues, which are directed back into the school budgets to pay staff salaries and other maintenance and operations costs.
The change also would align the district's fees closer to what other school districts charge their renters.
The move is unsurprising; districts are likely to receive smaller state funds this year due to the economic crisis and have tried to increase revenues and decrease spending. GPS already raised its athletic and parking fees.
District officials told the board recently that GPS rental fees are significantly less - sometimes half - what other districts charge.
Jack Blanchard, the GPS community education director who oversees rentals, said Gilbert's fees primarily lag behind other districts' because it hasn't charged renters for electricity and other utilities.
"Our rates are so low that everyone wants to be over here," Blanchard said.
A GPS study showed, for example that while GPS charges non-profit youth groups $45 an hour to rent a high school gym, Chandler charges youth groups $80 an hour, Dysart $45, Peoria around $220 plus a $25 surcharge and Paradise Valley $105.
Blanchard said that with its current rates, Gilbert isn't even recovering the cost of the keeping on lights and air conditioning, watering fields or other expenses incurred when someone rents a classroom or field.
At the same time, GPS officials also are considering a cutback. The district wants to reduce labor costs by hiring a contractor who would assist renters for their weekend events, rather than relying on district custodians or managers to work overtime.
-- Emily Gersema School renovations decided on a scientific basis
-- The Herald-Mail Maryland: July 13, 2009 [ abstract] Although a Washington County Public Schools planning document lists only six major school renovations through 2022, schools countywide benefit from minor improvements throughout the year.
Some of those projects, including infrastructure improvements and equipment replacement, occur during the summer months to limit disruptions to students.
This summer, about $10.2 million will be spent on projects at 39 school sites and two administrative buildings.
Public schools in Washington County have a maintenance backlog totaling about $40 million, said Rob Rollins, executive director for operations. He said he expects that amount will be reduced by about $7.5 million after the completion of this summer’s project list.
School maintenance projects are completed according to a numerical system that ranks school facilities and equipment on a scale of one to five, with one being the worst.
Facilities are ranked base on their physical qualities, like exterior conditions, roof conditions, flooring and heating, and also based on functional features, like classrooms, instructional rooms, food service areas and media centers.
Based on the facilities master plan adopted this year, the best school based on the ranking system is Maugansville Elementary School, which opened in 2008 and has a total of 154 points. The second-highest-ranking school is Rockland Woods Elementary, which opened that same year and has 147 points.
According to the 2009 document, the facility with the lowest point total is Winter Street Elementary, which has 70 points. The second-worst facility, according to the numerical ranking system, is Conococheague Elementary, which has 78 points.
-- Staff Writer School construction slowed-- Tallahassee.com Tennessee: July 11, 2009 [ abstract] Despite an influx of stimulus dollars, Leon County Schools will have almost $8 million less for construction-related projects compared to last year.
As a result, more students at crowded schools will continue learning in portables instead of in newly built classrooms. Most elementary schools will have to go another year without science labs, and some equipment upgrades are likely to be passed over.
Although kitchen and cafeteria improvements are desperately needed at several schools, they may fall to the bottom of the district's priority list.
A public hearing regarding the proposed $27 million 2009-10 capitol-outlay budget is planned for Tuesday's school board meeting. The board is scheduled to vote following the hearing.
Michele Meyer, the mother of five children who have attended W.T. Moore Elementary School since 1990, said the school's age shows at times. She'd like to see the noisy air conditioner replaced along with upgrades to the school's cafeteria.
"Sometimes it's kind of disconcerting to see how old our school looks compared to some of the newer ones," Meyer said.
District officials say they are forced to streamline resources toward "preventive maintenance" and projects geared toward health and safety, such as ensuring air quality.
Federal grants are being pursued, but they are very competitive.
-- TaMaryn Waters Jackson Public Schools must act fast to get funds-- Jackson Clarion Ledger Mississippi: July 10, 2009 [ abstract] Jackson Public Schools could claim more than $15 million in federally subsidized bonds each year for two years - or lose access to the interest-free loans if it fails to act quickly enough.
So far, the district has not made a decision on whether to request the bonds.
JPS is one of 100 school districts across the country to qualify for a share of $4.4 billion in Qualified School Construction Bonds. The districts chosen have the largest number of 5- to 17-year-olds who qualify for free or reduced lunches, a federal poverty indicator.
The bonds can be used for new construction or building maintenance, but the money has to be repaid.
If JPS chooses not to use its bond allocation, the money "can go into the state pot and be allocated to other districts," said Martez Hill, chief deputy superintendent of policy and operations for the state Department of Education.
School Board President Sollie Norwood did not return phone calls for comment.
JPS Superintendent Lonnie Edwards Sr. has made the school board aware of the bonding authority offered under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but no specific recommendation has gone before the board, said Michael Thomas, JPS deputy superintendent for operations. The board also has given no indication of whether the district will take advantage of the bonds, he said.
"We're still looking at what options we might have for the use of those dollars and looking long-term at the requirements for retiring the debt that goes along with receiving those funds," Thomas said.
"It's a unique opportunity because the way the legislation is structured, the dollars appear to be interest free," Thomas said. That means there is an opportunity for the district to borrow $15 million in 2009 and again in 2010.
Some other school districts that have taken advantage of the bonding authority have been given between 14 and 16 years to repay the bonds, Thomas said.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra, bond
-- Marquita Brown School requests pour in for stimulus building aid-- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Wisconsin: July 02, 2009 [ abstract] A new program that allows school districts to borrow money interest-free has attracted requests for nearly six times the amount allocated to Wisconsin.
Fifty-five districts submitted $550 million worth of requests to the state Department of Public Instruction last month for the funds authorized as part of the federal government's economic recovery plan. The state has authority to cover interest payments on a little less than $98.6 million of the school bonds, not counting a $72.1 million allocation made specifically for Milwaukee Public Schools.
As part of the Qualified School Construction Bond program, the federal government provides tax credits to financial institutions holding districts' bonds and covers all the interest payments. A similar program, which covers the interest costs for borrowing to pay for school repairs and other costs in districts with large numbers of low-income students, has sufficient funding to cover state applications.
The likelihood that school districts might be shut off from the federal funding has some on edge about how the state will decide who gets what.
"The stimulus dollars and the bonding are critical for us," said Patricia Herdrich, superintendent of the West Bend School District, which has requested assistance for a $27.4 million voter-approved middle school renovation and $6 million in additional maintenance projects. "Obviously, we can't control the politics around the decision-making."
Projects prioritized
Predicting the onslaught, DPI officials have said they probably would cover only one-third of projects approved through referendums. They plan to give priority to projects focusing on early education, school health and safety, environmental conservation, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics - or STEM - efforts.
The DPI also has said preference would be given to "shovel ready" projects, meaning those that have voter support from referendums or that can be done within existing school budgets.
"It's a long shot, yeah," Pewaukee School District Assistant Superintendent John Gahan said of the district's request to cover interest costs on a $27.2 million project that includes constructing a swimming pool, auditorium and additional gym space.
State approval would help the School Board decide when and whether to go forward with a referendum, he said.
The Pewaukee district also submitted an application for $850,000 in borrowing to pay for mechanical and air system replacements as well as irrigation and safety projects from its existing budget.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra, bond
-- Amy Hetzner Ohio Schools Seek State Stimulus Money for Energy Efficiency-- Morning Journal Ohio: June 30, 2009 [ abstract] State money could help pay for energy efficiency measures for Vermilion Local Schools. The board of education voted 5-0 to seek up to $2 million in Qualified School Construction Bonds, which are available from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Ohio School Facilities Commission. The bonds would allow Vermilion schools to borrow money at no interest for energy conservation measures in the school buildings, said district Director of Finance and Business Operations Amy Hendricks.
Vermilion voters would not need to approve a levy or bond issue to repay the money, Hendricks and board President Tim Rini said. Rather, the district would pay back the bonds with money saved due to lower energy bills, they said.
Vermilion schools could use the money for a variety of projects, ranging from "waterless" fixtures used in rest rooms to hardware upgrades to conserving electrical use of school computers, Hendricks said. The Vermilion High School has rooftop air conditioning units that are aging and requiring more maintenance and they may be replaced, Hendricks said.
Keyword Search Tags: stimulus, green, energy, arra, bond
-- Richard Payerchin Moving on up-- LaSalle News Tribune Illinois: June 27, 2009 [ abstract] Changes at Mendota’s grade school district are obvious with the new addition at Lincoln School but more subtle changes are occurring behind the scenes at Northbrook School.
maintenance crews are cleaning, painting and moving walls to make room for more efficient and roomier spaces at Northbrook School that will lose approximately 140 fourth-grade students when doors officially open to students in grades 5-8 at 8 a.m. Aug. 24.
Northbrook’s fourth- grade teachers have already packed up books and learning materials in preparation for their move into the new addition at Lincoln School. Supplies and equipment will be stored in a semi-trailer until they can be moved into the new classrooms at Lincoln.
The trailer, loaned to the district by Boelk Trucking, gave maintenance crews early access to the former fourth-grade rooms, and work already is ahead of schedule according to superintendent Marcia Burress.
The changes include moving walls in the new fifth-grade wing to maximize space and efficiency, moving the life skills classroom back into the main building, a new computer lab and lots of painting to transform the middle school building.
-- Tamara Abbey In Tough Times, Sacramento Districts Look to Lease Vacant Schools -- Sacramento Bee California: June 26, 2009 [ abstract] In the last five years, two of Sacramento's largest school districts have shuttered 16 campuses, and with tough budget cuts likely to go into next year, more will join the list. Most of the closed schools were elementaries. And Sacramento City Unified and San Juan Unified school districts have been actively pursuing multiyear leases to help offset the cost of holding onto the campuses.
Don Myers, San Juan's director of facilities and planning, said the leases can bring in between $20,000 and $30,000 a month. San Juan's school board voted Tuesday night to lease its last vacant property – Orangevale Elementary School – to a statewide charter. Orangevale sat empty for two years because the property does not fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Those issues will be addressed as part of the lease agreement, Myers said. During the two years that Orangevale sat empty, Myers said vandalism proved costly. Renting out schools might save on vandalism costs, but leases don't always cover the cost of maintenance and operations. Still, the goal is mostly to break even, said Myers, so the district isn't losing money, especially in these tough budget times.
-- Melody Gutierrez Money Crisis Puts Some California School Construction Projects on Hold -- Record Searchlight California: June 08, 2009 [ abstract] With the state's budget crisis, construction at many area school districts this summer will be slow to nonexistent. "We're just putting everything on hold," said Diane Kempley, superintendent of the Redding School District. Summertime is traditionally when districts update old buildings or construct new ones, patch leaky roofs, replace carpet or fix the parking lot. But this summer, Shasta County schools are facing $12 million in cuts from the state for this school year and the next.
The Redding School District will continue its usual maintenance - such as repairing fixtures and cleaning carpets - but will put on hold a big painting project that it had scheduled for this summer. It was something that could wait until the district's finances improved, Kempley said.
Across the Sacramento River, the Enterprise Elementary School District is constructing four new buildings for its Boulder Creek Elementary School expansion. The money for the multimillion-dollar project comes from a $34 million bond approved by voters in the district in February 2008. Phil Brown, chief business officer for the district, said the majority of the work being done at the district's schools this summer is funded with either bond money or grants it has received over the past year.
Crews are building walking tracks - paid for with federal grant money - at Lassen View and Mistletoe elementary schools. The district also is overhauling its computer network with the aid of a federal technology grant.
The four school districts that won bonds from voters in November - Cascade Union, Happy Valley, Pacheco and Gateway Unified - have yet to begin work at their sites and have no plans to begin this summer. The districts have recently received their credit ratings from Standard & Poor's - the international provider of independent credit ratings - which means they will begin to sell their bond certificates this summer and plan their building projects this fall. In the meantime, "we'll be doing some roofing repairs," said John Strohmayer, superintendent of the Gateway Unified School District. "That's pretty much it."
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, speaking to state lawmakers in a joint legislative session last week, called again for action on the state's budget and proposed changing rules that would affect how schools are maintained. The governor's office proposed allowing districts to hire independent contractors for school maintenance rather than being required by the state to employ custodians, according to a statement on the governor's Web site.
-- Rob Rogers Environmental Protection Agency Studies Playground Risks -- Associated Press National: June 04, 2009 [ abstract] For years, the Environmental Protection Agency has endorsed the use of ground-up tires to cushion the surfaces of children's playgrounds and sports fields  a decision now being reconsidered because of concerns among the agency's own scientists about possible health threats. The concerns are disclosed in internal agency documents about a study the EPA is conducting of air and surface samples at four fields and playgrounds that use recycled tires. Recycled-rubber surfaces have been popular for decreasing playground injuries and providing resiliency and cheap, weatherproof maintenance. But doubts were raised by research suggesting potential hazards from repeated exposure to bits of shredded tire that can contain carcinogens and other chemicals, according to the documents.
The EPA scientists cited gaps in scientific evidence, despite other reviews showing little or no health concern. They urged their superiors to conduct a broad health study to inform parents on kids' safety. Results from the agency's limited study, which began last year, are expected within weeks.
Along with its own research, the agency will consider studies in New Jersey, California, Connecticut and New York to determine whether more testing is needed. A shortcoming of EPA's study is the small number of locations examined, according to the documents.
-- Rita Beamish Exercising Stimulus Provisions-- Bond Buyer Florida: June 02, 2009 [ abstract] The Broward County School Board expects to price about $135 million of certificates of participation Thursday in what may be the first single deal structured to take advantage of two kinds of new debt authorized by the recently passed federal economic stimulus act.
The deal also will be the first to offer taxable Build America Bonds and qualified school construction bonds as COPs.
And the QSCBs, if successfully placed with a private investor, will be the first from the Sunshine State.
The proceeds would be used to build school additions or replacement facilities, as well as a new maintenance office; some funds would be used for re-roofing and installing handicap access on some buildings.
The deal is expected to be structured in three tranches, including $19.9 million of tax-exempt COPs insured by Assured Guaranty with maturities out to 2027, $64.8 million of taxable BaBs with maturities out to 2035, and $49.9 million of QSCBs, which are expected to be placed privately with maturities out to 2024. QSCBs offer investors tax credits.
However, the ultimate structure depends on investors and getting the best deal for the district, said David Moore, a managing director at Pubic Financial Management Inc., the school board’s financial adviser, along with Fidelity Financial Services LC.
The QSCBs are expected to be placed privately because this is a new program in an uncertain market, Moore said.
“We were able to find a buyer that would buy them on the terms and the conditions as good as anything that the investment banks were saying and that they committed to in the market,†he said. “Once we found a buyer, we decided to lock in at those terms and felt it would be safer for the district.â€
Final terms of the private placement are still being worked out, but if it falls through, the district could still issue the debt in the bond market.
The district’s school board has authorized the finance team to vary the remaining debt as tax-exempt COPs or as BaBs.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra, bond
-- Shelly Sigo Shuffling the deck on enrollment
-- San Diego Union Tribune California: May 23, 2009 [ abstract] After years of rapid growth and an aggressive building campaign, the Del Mar Union School District faces a new challenge: dramatically uneven enrollment at its eight campuses.
A quick look at the latest numbers, updated just last week, reveals the differences. Some examples: Del Mar Hills Elementary, west of Interstate 5, enrolls 375 students. Sage Canyon Elementary, in sprawling Carmel Valley, has 733.
Del Mar Union has worked hard in recent years to keep pace with a fast-growing suburbia in North San Diego, building five schools since the late 1990s. But changing demographics have prompted the district to form a committee that this summer and fall will examine how to balance enrollment.
The committee could recommend closing a campus and redistributing students at other schools. The closed school would become a new home for the district office and a maintenance yard.
¡°We have to be aware of the sizes of our schools so we don't have schools that are too large or too small,¡± said Superintendent Sharon McClain, the district's new schools chief, who came on board last fall. ¡°There's a happy medium . . . to make it run efficiently.¡±
A district study completed this past winter projects that Del Mar Union will grow 27 percent by 2018, but that growth assumes that a huge housing development in the Pacific Highlands Ranch area will move forward. The growth would hit Sycamore Ridge the most, boosting enrollment to 1,474 ¨C far above capacity.
District administrators are skeptical, however, that the Pacific Highlands Ranch development will go forward anytime soon. Residential development there can't proceed until an interchange from southbound I-5 to eastbound state Route 56 is built, said Rodger Smith, the school district's director of human resources and facilities planning. Also, some residents near the proposed interchange are opposed to the project.
¡°That project will probably be tied up in the courts for many years . . . so the build-out of Pacifica Highlands Ranch isn't even on our radar screen,¡± Smith said.
If that holds true, the overall number of students in Del Mar Union will remain relatively stable, but uneven enrollment is a problem that still must be addressed, administrators said.
The committee will consider a range of options, McClain said. Just because Del Mar Hills Elementary School now has the lowest enrollment doesn't necessarily mean it's a top candidate for closure, she said.
-- Bruce Lieberman Schools clamoring for capital bill-- THE JOURNAL STAR Illinois: May 22, 2009 [ abstract] School officials are holding their breath.
The $29.9 billion capital bill awaiting the governor's signature contains $1.5 billion for school construction - something not seen in about a decade.
For school districts unable to afford repairs or build new schools, some current buildings have become prone to maintenance issues, leaving many districts clamoring for a chance to upgrade.
Peoria District 150 alone has a need for more than $550 million in repairs.
"The heating systems in some of the buildings date back to the 1920s and 1930s, they are without air conditioning . . . and we have leaks in some of our buildings," said District 150 projects director Dave Ryon. "We've been spot repairing as we can, but when there's been a lack of a capital bill for 10 years, things pile up - at all school districts."
Recognizing the large dollar amount, Ryon said the district has been on a list seeking state funding for construction and renovation projects since 2003, updating it two years later, which then amounted to some $130 million needed.
Provided the legislation is signed by the governor, it's not known which school districts could receive funding.
"All we have is the list that's been growing," said Mary Fergus, a spokeswoman for the Illinois State Board of Education. That alphabetical list dating back to 2002, she said, contains more than 320 school districts.
Any funding process appeared to be up in the air. School officials speculate funding might go to those districts that applied first.
If that's the case, "they'll be lucky they get to the schools in fiscal year '05," said Brimfield District 309 Superintendent Dennis McNamara, relating a phone conversation he had Thursday with state education officials.
Brimfield is in need of a replacement high school, McNamara said, estimating its cost could range from $17 million to $20 million. "Our school district is not on the list until 2009, so for us it would take a huge revenue stream before we could see any money."
-- DAVE HANEY North Dakota Governor Hoeven Signs $1.3 Billion K-12 Education Funding Bill-- all american patriots North Dakota: May 19, 2009 [ abstract] North Dakota Governor John Hoeven today was joined by Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple, legislators, members of the Governor's Commission on Education Improvement, educators and students to sign House Bill 1400, a historic K-12 education funding bill that invests $1.3 billion in North Dakota's schools.
The legislation represents a nearly $290 million increase in state and federal education funding for the state, and includes $825 million for per-pupil payments, an increase of $100 million. In addition, the legislation specifies that no less than 70 percent of all new funds distributed to a school district must be applied to teacher compensation. The bill also includes increased funding for teacher mentorships, school counselors, tutors and capital projects, and creates an enhanced curriculum to better prepare students for the jobs of the future.
"In the last session, we passed the most significant reform in K-12 education funding in more than a generation," said Hoeven. "With the signing of this bill and our property tax relief
bill, we are investing $1.3 billion in our schools, reducing the burden of taxes on our local communities and bringing the state's share of the cost of education to the long sought goal of 70 percent. This legislation represents an important step forward for our children, our workforce, our communities and our future."
Key provisions of the legislation include:
* A record $1.3 billion K-12 education funding bill, with a nearly $290 million increase in state and federal funding. (The ongoing state funding increase is $120 million; ongoing federal funding increase is $20 million; and one-time fiscal stimulus funding is $150 million.)
* $825 million in per-pupil payments, including an increase of $100 million. At least 70 percent of all new operating dollars are dedicated to teacher compensation.
* $85 million in new funding for capital projects and deferred maintenance.
* The creation of an Early Childhood Learning Council.
* An appropriation of $2.3 million to the Education Standards and Practices Board for a mentorship grant program to select and train experienced teachers to serve as mentors for first-year teachers.
* Additional funding for three professional development days for teachers.
* Increased requirements for counselor staffing from one counselor for every 400 students in grades 7-12 to one counselor for every 300 students.
* The presence of a tutor for every 400 students in grades K-3.
* A revised curriculum, with enhanced requirements, to better prepare students for the jobs of the future.
* A new Indian Education Advisory Council to help Native students succeed.
* A Longitudinal Data System to follow student progress from kindergarten to career in order to improve educational adequacy and meet the needs of the future workforce.
* Increased reimbursement rates for school bus transportation.
-- Staff Writer Facilities plan receives no comments-- Carroll County Times Maryland: May 15, 2009 [ abstract] Carroll County Public Schools officials say they have received no feedback from the public on the school system’s long-term facilities plan this year.
No residents came out to a public hearing Thursday evening on the proposed Educational Facilities Master Plan, which prioritizes school construction projects through the year 2018.
“I think all of the energy and focus has been on the operating budget,†said Ray Prokop, director of facilities for the school system.
The fiscal year 2010 budget was adopted by the Carroll County Board of Education Wednesday.
Plans for building a new career and technology center have been delayed by one year in the facilities master plan, while the construction of a new South Carroll area elementary school has been pushed back six years to 2018.
Those projects are planned to be completed in 2014 and 2020, respectively.
Facilities Planner William Caine presented the proposed facilities master plan to the board April 22. The board is scheduled to vote on it during the June 10 meeting, he said.
The master plan includes renovations and new construction as well as routine maintenance projects.
It is used to develop the school system’s Capital Improvement Program request, a six-year construction budget.
-- Karen Kemp N.Y.C. Plans to Enter QSCB Market With $1.4B of Bonds-- The Bond Buyer New York: May 13, 2009 [ abstract] New York City plans jump into the new qualified school construction bond market with $1.4 billion of these tax-credit bonds over the next two years, but not until federal government provides more guidance, city officials said.
The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocated $22 billion of the QSCBs under the new program to states and the 100 largest cities. New York City was allocated $699 million of the tax-credit bonds for this year and next.
Fiscal deterioration led the city in January to cut back on its bonded 10-year capital plan by 30% - excluding bonds backed by state school building aid - and to set a goal of keeping debt service growth at the rate of revenue growth.
Rather than slash on the city's $11.3 billion capital school construction program for fiscal 2010 through 2014, officials expect to achieve the same result through interest cost savings through the use of QSCBs and to a lesser extent, qualified zone academy bonds.
"In the 10-year window that we're looking at in trying to bring city debt service within the sort of average annual growth of resources - our fixed costs are eating us," city budget director Mark Page said in testimony before the City Council on Monday. "We were able to eke out something approaching a 30% reduction over the 10 years in our debt service for that continuing $11.3 billion program by assuming that we're going to utilize the federal bonding programs."
Under the QSCB program, the issuer does not pay interest, rather the investor receives a tax credit from the federal government. The city expects the reduced costs will be roughly equivalent to the savings that they needed to meet their target.
"We figured we were in the ballpark and we were going to maintain the school investment without cutting it," Page said. "Losing the interest costs helps us out on the debt service calculation."
Those calculations, however, assume that the program won't disappear after 2010. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's executive budget said that "maintenance of the proposed level of the education five-year capital plan depends on reauthorization and market acceptance of QSCBs."
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra, bond
-- Ted Phillips Getting a facelift?-- Culpeper Star Exponent Virginia: May 04, 2009 [ abstract] Cracked and uneven sidewalks surround Culpeper County High School. The brick exterior is water-damaged and air easily escapes through the single-pane aluminum windows of the two-story, 40-year-old building.
Inside, discolored ceilings sag. The restrooms, clock system and fire alarm system are all outdated.
These are some of the more visible issues addressed last week by SHW Group, a Reston-based planning and architecture firm, during a 90-minute PowerPoint presentation for the CCHS Renovation Plan Steering Committee.
During Wednesday’s presentation, consultants pointed out a list of facility conditions that need to be addressed, including: interior and exterior architecture, structures, civil conditions, mechanical conditions, systems-life expectancies, plumbing and electrical conditions.
“It’s a pretty tall order when there’s this much to be done,†SHW Group Managing Principal Derk Jeffrey said following his presentation.
Jeffrey and his team spent a day taking pictures in and around the 130,000-square-foot school during spring break in early April.
Jeffrey shared his findings with the committee â€" a group consisting of School Board members, Culpeper County supervisors, local business leaders, CCHS Principal Jeff Dietz, the school division’s maintenance director and the construction projects manager.
The report wasn’t anything new to school officials. What they’re waiting on is for SHW consultants to produce a master plan prioritizing the to-do list.
According to the $125,500 contract, the SHW Group must produce a list prioritizing a plan to the committee by this summer.
CCHS was built in 1969 on Achievement Drive and houses nearly 1,020 students.
Getting the job done
After the presentation, committee members and people in the audience had plenty to say.
“From this viewpoint, this school doesn’t have a whole lot going for it,†said a man who attended CCHS as a teenager. “Is it a train wreck?â€
Jeffrey declared that while a lot of the systems are outdated, the “building is solid.â€
“There’s nothing wrong with the building structurally,†he explained. “There is a 100-year life expectancy, and there’s about 60 more useful years worth of the floors, the structure and the structure holding the roof.â€
Bill Bradley of the Charlottesville office talked about how the building affects instruction.
What about the cost?
When SHW Group produces a CCHS renovation priority list to the school system, it will most likely be in phases. It is still unclear how much it will cost and how long it will take.
School Board Chairman George Dasher estimates that this ongoing renovation project would cost between $1.5 million and $2.5 million annually to renovate CCHS. He’s hoping federal stimulus money and the capital improvement plan account would cover the expenses.
-- Rhonda Simmons 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 Newton keeps old North up and running-- Boston Globe Massachusetts: May 03, 2009 [ abstract] Even as the city finishes rebuilding Newton North High into the state's most expensive school, it is spending more than $100,000 a year to keep the old building in usable condition until students can move into its replacement.
Workers completed 501 repair jobs at the school between last July and the end of March, compared with 240 jobs completed over the same period at the recently renovated and expanded Newton South High. Most of the Newton North repairs involved its electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling systems.
Officials say the repairs are to be expected in the 35-year-old building, but they are also wary of pouring too much into a facility that only has to last until the fall of 2010, when its $197.5 million replacement is slated to open.
"We have an obligation to keep that school running properly," School Committee chairman Marc Laredo said. "Obviously, it's disappointing to put any money into a building we're not going to be using much longer."
"I would be surprised if you didn't see what you're seeing," said Heidi Black, director of high school construction. "We're trying to hold on until we can get into the new school."
Michael Cronin, the school system's chief of operations, also said it's no surprise that the aging school requires more work than its mostly new counterpart. But he added that the Newton North repairs are short-term fixes, rather than preventive maintenance.
"We're certainly not going to sink millions of dollars into a building we're going to knock down next fall. It certainly won't get the Cadillac service that Newton South would get," he said.
The district spent $128,520 on work to Newton North in the fiscal year that ended last June, and Cronin said he expects the costs to be similar this year. Expenses for Newton South were greater last year - $172,916 - than for North, but Cronin said he expects to spend less money on South this year because of preventive maintenance steps taken last year.
-- Calvin Hennick Reducing energy usage, costs at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High-- Sudbury Town Crier Massachusetts: April 15, 2009 [ abstract] It’s the nerve center of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School.
Every heat pump, thermostat and light switch in the school is regulated by computers, carefully monitored and programmed by the Building and Grounds Department.
"There’s really nowhere in the building that isn’t on the computer, inside or out," said electrician Fred Egizio, who also serves as one of the department’s general maintenance staff.
According to B&G Coordinator Kevin Rossley, the school has significantly reduced its energy consumption and corresponding expenses by switching to a Building Automation System (BAS) to manage the lighting and HVAC systems. For the past several years, Rossley has tracked the school’s energy efficiency through ENERGY STAR, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.
According to ENERGY STAR’s energy performance comparison, since Rossley began benchmarking the facility in 2006, the average annual energy bill at the high school has decreased from just over $785,000 (as of Nov. 30, 2006) to just under $600,000 (as of Dec. 31, 2008). This translates to a cost of approximately $1.56 per square foot at L-S, compared to the national average of $2.68 per square foot.
Rossley credited the school’s business office for contributing to the savings by negotiating a low rate for electricity.
Ninety percent of the improvement, however, is due to the implementation of the BAS, which he said has enabled the school to dramatically reduce its energy usage. Since 2006, the school’s "Energy Performance Rating" has increased from 86 to 92 â€" a rating of 75 or above qualifies as an ENERGY STAR rating and the national average is just 50. Greenhouse gas emissions at the school are also down over the past two years, according to the ENERGY STAR report.
"You can always get better. That’s what we believe," Rossley said.
-- Ben Aaronson School Superintendents Are Not Too Proud To Beg-- CBS 4 Florida: April 15, 2009 [ abstract] Broward and Miami-Dade Counties' school superintendents say they're in begging mode, hoping legislators in Tallahassee will hear their pleas to save their budgetsâ€â€with just two weeks left in the state's legislative session.
"I have a lot of pride, but I'm willing to beg along with my counterpart, Mr. Carvalho, for our children," said Broward School Superintendent Jim Notter.
The Florida House and Senate are looking at bills that will essentially move money out of the capital fund and allocate it for operating costs for these schools. This means millions of dollars earmarked for school construction, improvements and technology will be put in the pot to pay for salaries and the operations of the school systems.
"So they're robbing Peter to pay Paul," said Notter. "It's what I grew up with in New York City, called the New York City shell game."
Carvalho says, "And that's the real shame. It's because Tallahassee made a decision that basically says, 'We're going to force you to transfer a quarter (millage) and fire these people so that others can keep their jobs,' and I say, those on the losing end? Construction workers, maintenance staff and computer technicians, hundreds from each school district could lose their jobs if the legislation is passed. That includes money to upgrade or maintain computers."
-- Tiffani Helberg A Dusty Box of Goodies-- Carthage Press Missouri: April 02, 2009 [ abstract] Documents date back to 1880s
Eight or so boxes, saturated in a half-inch layer of dust, were recently rescued from the corner of the new Carthage Junior High’s attic.
When R-9 maintenance Director Gary Chorn popped open one of the boxes’ lids, he discovered a wide assortment of old, slightly yellowed documents ranging back to the early 1880s. Luckily, Chorn recognized the value of the contents before his crew, up clearing junk from the attic, could grab and dispose of them.
“They were way back in a dusty corner â€" I saw they were full of old (school) records so I didn’t let the crew throw them away.†Chorn said. “It was different years in the different boxes, and they just kind of lumped them all together over the years.â€
The boxes were filled with all kinds of scattered school miscellany â€" old monthly bills spanning the entire year of 1905 from hired contractor Ellis Jackson, hand-scrawled notes, typewritten letters and even postcards â€" one showing the Jasper County Courthouse in all its glory.
Several items that caught Chorn’s eye were construction bills related to the then 1904-1905 construction of the then-new Carthage High School on S. Main. One document â€" dated July 8, 1904 â€" showed total construction cost at $63,216. Another bill â€" dated Jan. 30, 1906 â€" showed the price had dramatically escalated to $74,541, all due to change orders. That’s a difference of $11,279, or roughly 15 percent.
When finished and opened in 1906, the building would cost the district $150,000.
As a construction worker and engineer, “I like looking at it, how things were done differently,†Chorn said. “It was fascinating to me that the actual change orders were 15 percent, which is not all that uncommon, and it’s really not uncommon today to go 5 to 10 percent.â€
Fifteen percent, when talking about the new Carthage High School, would have been an additional $4.5 million. And while most of the construction paper to the 1904 building fit nicely into a single cardboard box, “the blueprints alone on the new High School probably weighed close to 60 pounds.â€
-- Kevin McClintock School, city officials square off over building maintenance-- Woburn Advocate Massachusetts: March 31, 2009 [ abstract] Was it open communication or a hostile takeover bid? It depends on whom you ask.
With anxious employees from the School and Parks Departments crowded on the sidelines, representatives from the City Council and School Committee gathered around a table in City Hall Monday to discuss pooling their resources for building upkeep.
The meeting was Alderman Mike Raymond’s first attempt to examine the idea that he floated while running for City Council and still hopes to achieve. Rumors have been flying that the City Council wants to take over school building maintenance and cut jobs, and Raymond tried to squelch that notion.
“No matter what, no one will lose their job. Let’s start with that precedent right there,†he said.
But his avowal was small comfort to School Committee member Joseph Crowley. He remembers the School Department’s 15-year climb back to respectability after it slashed the maintenance budget and let its buildings go to seed.
“We are very proud of the way our buildings are now, and we don’t want to see it go back downhill again,†said Crowley. “I look at the condition of our buildings compared to some of the city’s, and I don’t see a benefit for us right now.â€
To Alderman Raymond Drapeau, consolidation would not necessarily save money, but it would assure that all buildings, municipal and school, would be better maintained.
Alderman Edmund Wall proposed a revolving fund for major repairs shared by school and city departments. Each department would contribute to the fund based on the square footage of its buildings. Capital projects would then be submitted, prioritized collectively and funded from the pooled money. It would guarantee that money was available when roofs, windows and boilers need replacing.
Drapeau suggested that combining school upkeep with the Department of Public Works would help the schools focus on other things.
-- Linda Kush 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 Broward school officials hope Legislature eases financial pinch-- MiamiHerald.com Florida: March 25, 2009 [ abstract] Plummeting property values may halt upkeep of Broward schools, force cutbacks to its maintenance staff and push almost all new construction to the back burner over the next few years -- unless the Florida Legislature takes action or the school district raises taxes.
The state's latest revenue predictions, released earlier this month, project a 14.9 percent drop in Broward school property-tax collections for the next fiscal year and an 8.7 percent decrease the following year.
The shortfalls will translate into a loss of millions of dollars for capital projects, which means the district may not be able to afford its existing, fixed costs -- much less any new construction.
"That's huge if we can't even maintain our buildings," School Board member Robin Bartleman said.
DELAYS
Board members have already eliminated or delayed some projects from the $3 billion construction plan due to budget cuts. The Broward school system has axed about $150 million from its $2 billion operating budget in the past year and a half.
The additional reductions to the five-year plan would mean losing $1.39 billion in projects -- more than 80 percent of the ones currently on the list, including maintenance of existing schools -- and not being able to issue bonds for new ones.
"All the projects in the five-year plan, most of them have to come out," said district financial chief Ben Leong, adding that his staff is identifying which projects would be affected. Projects already funded would be safe.
For two years, the district would also not be able to afford all of its fixed costs, like salaries for maintenance employees, debt payments and property-insurance premiums. For example, the school system might have to dip into its day-to-day budget to cover insurance, Leong said.
-- PATRICIA MAZZEI Stimlus: $4.38 million for local schools
-- Clarion News Pennsylvania: March 24, 2009 [ abstract] It’s called the stimulus bill on the national news, and its official name is the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Congress passed it and President Obama signed it into law Feb. 17, and the education portion includes an estimated $4.38 million for Clarion County school districts over two years.
The state Department of Education announced the funding March 11, estimating Pennsylvania ’s total for early childhood, K-12 and higher education at $2.6 billion.
Here are the total estimated stimulus allocations to local school districts:
4A-C Valley, $585,665.
4Clarion Area, $440,439.
4C-L, $749,571.
4Keystone, $848,415.
4North Clarion, $487,501.
4Redbank, $796,358.
4Union, $473,573.
4Forest Area, $460,628.
4Brookville, $1.21 million.
4Cranberry, $957,438.
How it can be used
State fiscal stabilization grants â€" Title I formula. $317 million will be distributed according to the Title I formula, based on the level of poverty in the district. It can be used for modernization, renovation or repair of facilities; basic education; special education; career and technical education; and adult and family literacy programs.
While these funds can be used for facilities improvement, they cannot be used to build new schools; pay maintenance costs; purchase or upgrade vehicles; build stadiums or athletic facilities or facilities for events where admission is charged; or to improve non-educational facilities such as administrative offices, parking lots or other operations or logistical support facilities.
-- Tom DiStefano Carthage students to move into new high-school building-- Joplin Globe Missouri: March 22, 2009 [ abstract] It may be a brand-new building, but plenty of the past will be in evidence today when the new Carthage High School opens its doors to students.
There is a trophy case in the main commons area that Kandy Frazier, school principal, calls the “decades case†because it features trophies and awards to students and teams from each decade in the school’s history.
“We’re highlighting some kind of award and honor from every decade,†Frazier said Thursday as she and student volunteers used metal polish and elbow grease on the prizes.
Frazier said she believes the new building will stir a new sense of tradition among the students who will be leaving the 100-year-old high-school building downtown.
“I don’t think there will be a loss of tradition,†she said. “Once they get into this building, I think the Tiger pride will be stronger than ever.â€
That pride was especially evident last week among former CHS students who are now high-school teachers and were preparing their classrooms in the new building on River Street at Airport Drive.
In the old high school, there were six science teachers and one science lab, said Autumn Palmer, a chemistry teacher.
The construction was financed with a $30 million bond issue approved by voters in 2006.
The $33 million building is 262,672 square feet in size. By comparison, floor space in all the rest of the district’s buildings adds up to 580,000 square feet.
Baker credited work by district maintenance crews to prepare the building after construction was finished. For teachers and other staff members, the last week of preparations came at spring break.
Before that, Frazier said, teachers were trying to get ready for the move and teach at the same time.
“It’s been hectic,†she said. “But it’s been so exciting, I haven’t heard any complaints.â€
-- Susan Redden School Officials Define Recommendations For High School Facilities -- Cape Cod Chronicle Massachusetts: March 19, 2009 [ abstract] The Harwich High School auditorium served as much as an illustration of the tired building as it was a venue for the presentation of the School Building Needs Committee report calling for the construction of a new $60 million facility.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carolyn Cragin used the dingy auditorium as a backdrop to illustrate the condition of the 45-year old school last Wednesday evening when she told 50 people the school is “a wonderful place to learn and grow, but it’s a building with issues.†The words she repeatedly used were “a tired building.â€
Cragin said students are able to put on great shows, but the issues within the auditorium â€" pointing to a makeshift sound system to the rear of the room â€"“are about what is old and inadequate.â€
The SBNC is recommending a new school be built to replace the obsolete facility, and for Harwich to continue to investigate with Chatham possibilities of developing a model regional district.
The present high school was opened in 1964 and cost $1.6 million, SBNC Chairman Allin Thompson said. But the structural needs of the 1960s were different than those required for 21st century education, Cragin added.
This was made clear in a report issued by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges after a school assessment in March 2007. In that report, the superintendent said, NEASC placed the high school in a “warning†category due to the inadequacy of facilities and facilities related curriculum.
She said the current school was identified as lacking the resources and infrastructure necessary to educate students for their future. She cited deficiencies in technology, adequate and appropriate space and lab facilities. There are also needs for significant structural, maintenance, and energy-efficiency that could be addressed through costly repairs that would yield only short-term solutions.
She praised efforts of teachers working in these conditions who were still able to provide a quality education, as was reflected in the system be recognized as the “most improved district in Massachusetts†this year.
-- William F, Galvin Winchester says school building still a go-- Jacksonville Journal Courier Illinois: March 19, 2009 [ abstract] In response to Thursday’s article, “Winchester’s Building Plans Go Awry,†Superintendent Dave Roberts insists that the district’s plans to build a grade school addition are still on track.
In a written statement to the Journal-Courier, he detailed the district’s position of why the building project was put on hold at Tuesday’s board meeting, as well as responded to allegations made by visitors at that meeting.
As previously reported, two union representatives protested the Winchester Grade School Building project on the grounds that the district was in violation of the Prevailing Wage Act and Illinois School Code by not putting the project out for bids.
Mr. Roberts’ rebutted their claims: “(The men) apparently did not realize that all work performed in our district complies with the Prevailing Wave Act, not only with regard to large projects but also routine maintenance and repairs.â€
He cited an annual notice published in the local newspaper and the wage scale posted in the board office. Mr. Roberts’ statement also said that the building contract with Cleary Building Corp. clearly obligates Cleary to pay prevailing wages.
“Accordingly, the district is not in violation of the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act, as alleged by the union representatives,†the statement said.
-- KATIE ANDERSON New Jersey Gov. Announces $180 Million for School Maintenance and Construction -- Hudson Reporter New Jersey: March 18, 2009 [ abstract] Stepping into the boy’s room on the second floor of Washington Community School on March 6, Gov. Jon Corzine traveled back in time. This was not a matter of nostalgia or a fond looking back at a better bygone era. Ancient urinals, cracked tiles, and toilet stalls with squeaking wooden doors greeted him and his staff. Aging schools such as this one are a problem throughout the state, he said later during a press conference elsewhere in the school, and he had come to Bayonne to look over the problems firsthand and offer ways to deal with the situation.
Washington School is one of hundreds of schools throughout the state that are near or exceed 100 years old, and his plan to upgrade them will not only provide a better learning environment, he said, but also help serve as a job generator at a time when the construction industry is seeing massive unemployment rates due to the downturn in the economy. Corzine walked in and out of classrooms, looking over windows in need of repair and pausing to talk with children and teachers.
Corzine used this tour to announce that more than 130 New Jersey school districts are eligible to receive approximately $180 million for capital maintenance and construction projects under the first round of School Development Authority (SDA) regular operating district grant allocations. Corzine said round three of the $3.9 billion approved by the state last summer is in addition to, but not funded by, the recently passed federal stimulus package. It is part of a state initiative to help improve schools while also kick starting the economy by creating jobs. Corzine said it is unlikely New Jersey schools will see much from the federal package, and the state must generate its own repair effort.
-- Al Sullivan 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 Lafayette Board to select facilities firm -- 2TheAdvocate Louisiana: March 17, 2009 [ abstract] The Lafayette Parish School Board is scheduled to hold a special meeting at 3 p.m. Wednesday to select the company that will shape the future of the parish’s school facilities.
The special meeting will be followed by a joint meeting of the board and the Lafayette Consolidated Government that will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the School Board’s meeting room.
The selection of a master planner ends years-long discussions about the dire needs and deferred maintenance within the system.
The board met with five firms on March 3. Teams included CSRS of Baton Rouge and Architects Southwest of Lafayette; MGT of America and MBSB Group of Lafayette; Architects Beazley Moliere of Lafayette and the SHW Group; The Estopinal Group and The Lemoine Co. of Lafayette; and Garrard Project Management and the Baton Rouge architecture firm, Remson Haley Herpin Architects.
During the joint meeting, council members will be briefed about the facility needs and the selection.
The meeting will also include presentations from the Lafayette Parish School System and the area’s higher education institutions: the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, South Louisiana Community College and Louisiana Technical College.
The joint meetings began in December as a way to improve coordination and information-exchange between the two bodies.
At the first meeting in December, held in the council’s auditorium, the meeting was school-system focused with the presentation of a concept for a comprehensive career and technical high school and city planners’ concept for use of rights of way property for the proposed high school.
Recent school system efforts to phase in the new high school at an existing facility didn’t carry momentum during the last regular School Board meeting. The item was introduced at the last regular meeting on March 4 and is expected to be included on the next regularly scheduled meeting, April 1.
The board will meet today for the first of its budget workshop meetings. Today’s meeting begins at 4 p.m. Funds on the agenda include: special revenue fund; capital projects in the capital improvement fund; capital projects in self-funded construction fund; debt service fund; sales tax fund; child nutrition services fund; and group insurance fund.
-- MARSHA SILLS 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 Hanover School Board votes to raise fees to rent school facilities-- Richmond Times Dispatch Virginia: March 15, 2009 [ abstract] Hanover School Board Rental fees for school facilities to rise The changes, which are the first in six years, will take effect in July
At a time when everyone is struggling to pay bills, the Hanover County School Board is no exception.
The board voted 6-1 last week to raise the fees for outside groups that rent school facilities.
Board member Robert L. Wood voted against the fee increase.
The fees have not changed in six years, school officials said. Board members pointed out that they are already subsidizing most of the costs to keep the buildings open and maintained after school hours.
Paul Vecchione, assistant superintendent for support services, told the board last month that an audit last year found that it costs about $60 per child to use school facilities when the utilities, custodial expenses, building maintenance costs and athletic and audio-visual equipment expenses are considered. Of that, the current fees allow the school division to recoup about $12.43 per child.
The new fees could garner another $7.60 or more toward the per-child costs.
The changes take effect in July. Groups that start their seasons before July will pay the current fees.
The changes include:
School and classroom rental fees would go from $50 for a maximum of 3ÂÂ1/2 hours to $50 for a minimum of three hours plus $25 for each additional hour.
Elementary and middle school auditoriums, gyms or cafeterias would go from $100 for a maximum of 3ÂÂ1/2 hours to $150 for a minimum of three hours plus $50 for each extra hour or partial hour.
High school auditoriums, gyms and cafeterias would go from $150 for three hours to $200 for a minimum of three hours plus $75 for each additional hour or partial hour. Groups associated with the county's Parks and Recreation Department would have to pay a one-time-per-season fee of $150 for each night of the week it reserved a school facility. The current fee is $100.
For those not associated with the county, the fees would be $200 per event, per school site, for each week of their season.
Board members discussed whether the changes should begin with the vote on Tuesday night, or in July, January 2010 or July 2010.
Wood voted against the measure because of the time frame. Board Vice Chairman John F. Axselle III and board member Glenn T. Millican Jr. said that if the fees weren't increased immediately, money would have to be taken away from classrooms to pay for the facilities.
During the public comment period before the vote, representatives from the Ashland Girls Softball and Hanover Youth Basketball Leagues asked the board to consider the hard times facing families right now and not to increase fees this year.
-- Holly Prestidge Half of bond issues fail on March ballot-- Seattle Post Intelligencer Washington: March 13, 2009 [ abstract] School officials are scratching their heads wondering why bond issues failed to pass in Western Washington this week while most bonds on the ballot in Eastern Washington got the votes they needed.
One possibility pops up in most conversations: the economic downturn. But no one reason can be blamed for Tuesday's ballot failures, said Jon Gores, senior vice president of Seattle-based D.A. Davidson & Co., the leading underwriter of Washington school bonds.
"We've been kind of scratching our heads on that too," Gores said Friday.
He said major employers such as Starbucks Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Boeing Co. have announced layoffs in Western Washington, while most Eastern Washington communities have been spared job cuts so far. Home prices have also dropped more dramatically on the western side of the Cascade Mountains.
The psychological impact of the economic downturn may be leading some voters to say no to new taxes, Gores said, especially long-term commitments like construction bonds.
Bonds allow school districts to take out long-term loans for projects like school renovations and pay the loans back through future tax collections.
Most ballot measures for shorter-term school maintenance and operations levies did pass this week, a year after lawmakers decided to lower the bar and require only a simple majority vote on operations levies, while a 60 percent super majority is still required on bond issues.
Bond elections appear to be failing in Benton, King, Pierce, Skagit and Yakima counties, with exceptions including successful elections for a $11.4 million bond for Sunnyside School District in Yakima County and a $27.5 million bond for Snoqualmie Valley School District in King County.
Gores said the news appears grim, but the results are actually better than last month's bond elections, so the economy can't explain everything.
-- DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP 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 Thompson School parents address School Committee about building conditions-- Arlington Advocate Massachusetts: March 11, 2009 [ abstract] On Tuesday night, Thompson Elementary School parents told the School Committee they are tired of waiting for a rebuild of their school.
“Basic maintenance has been put off year after year,†said Meg Moloney. “It is your responsibility to do something about this gross inequity.â€
In 1998, Arlington passed a debt-exclusion property-tax override to pay for the renovation of all seven elementary schools, however the state agency that helped fund those projects instituted a moratorium a few years ago and rebuild of Thompson and Stratton elementary schools have been slowed down. The newly created Massachusetts School Building Authority currently provides funding for school building projects, and the head of that agency recently toured Thompson.
“Arlington has five elementary schools that have been rebuilt, and two that have not,†said Hilary Rappaport “Both of these schools have been treated unfairly… the rebuilt schools were paid for by everyone in Arlington.â€
Moloney detailed the deficiencies in the school, including a hole in a window, an outside door that doesn’t close properly and a roof over the gym that she says is in danger of caving in.
Rappaport suggested rotating elementary students around town, so that the burden of attending an insufficient school is shared.
-- Andy Metzger School superintendent: Funding not available to proceed with new building projects-- Madison Messenger Virginia: March 10, 2009 [ abstract] Nearly an hour into Monday’s Rockingham County Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Rodney Shotwell finally spoke the words everyone dreaded hearing: “We can’t build anything,†Shotwell said.
“Not four schools?†board member Tim Scales asked.
“We can’t even build one right now,†Shotwell answered.
Shotwell’s dire prediction came at the close of his remarks concerning losses of state revenues intended for school systems. He explained that two of the county’s three funding sources for school construction were recently tapped by Gov. Beverly Perdue to help cover state budget shortfalls.“The governor has taken second-quarter lottery proceeds and ADM funds (money allocated to school districts from corporate taxes according to Average Daily Membership), to fill the budget deficit for this year,†Shotwell told board members. “The decision was made in lieu of asking districts to send reversions to cover the deficit.â€
School districts were asked to return ADM funds in December 2008. This time, the second-quarter portion of those funds would not come at all.
Shotwell said the decreased funding stream meant the school system would not have enough left after paying previous construction debt to incur new debt.
Looking at the year ahead, Shotwell figured only $600,000 from ADM funds, $3,040,000 from Capital Reserve Funds (revenues from the two half-cent sales taxes collected for the district), and $1,125,000 from lottery proceeds.
The ADM funds reflected the missing second-quarter proceeds; Capital Reserve Funds were down by about 20 percent from previous figures; and the lottery proceeds were missing the funds kept by Perdue.
The total $4.7 million would first be used to pay off existing debt from Phase I and Phase II construction projects. Those payments, plus an annual percentage taken to cover capital maintenance needs, would require $4.6 million.
-- Steve Lawson New Jersey to Inject $180M into School Repair and Construction Projects -- Star-Ledger New Jersey: March 07, 2009 [ abstract] Stressing the importance of keeping the construction trades working in a worsening recession, Gov. Jon Corzine announced the state will pump $180 million into hundreds of school repair and construction projects. The funding isn't new. It comes from $3.9 billion in borrowing approved by the state in July, but districts had been waiting to hear whether their projects would be approved.
Little of the money will go for new construction. One notable exception is the rebuilding of Memorial Elementary School in East Brunswick, which was damaged in a fire last July. Two new preschools also will be built in South Jersey. Most of the 400 projects are far simpler, things like boiler and window replacements. New Jersey is home to 150 schools that are a century old or older, Corzine said as he announced the projects at a school in Bayonne. "Today, we are delivering on our commitment to transform our schools into safe, healthy learning environments for our children," Corzine said. "We recognize that many... districts are struggling with costs for construction, maintenance and repairs to make desperately needed improvements. Investing in these types of projects will help stimulate the economy and create job opportunities during this critical time."
The $3.9 billion in borrowing the state approved in July was needed to restart its massive school-construction push that had run out of cash. That push was prompted by state Supreme Court orders to repair perilous conditions in the state's poorest 31 districts, known as Abbott districts. The new bonds will fund $2.9 billion in additional construction and repairs in those poor districts, with $1 billion available to all other districts. Non-Abbott districts around the state applied to the state Department of Education, and Corzine yesterday announced the first round of selected projects. The state will announce subsequent rounds of funding until the $1 billion is gone.
Districts are required to shoulder some of the cost of the projects, putting the questions to voters April 21 as either part of their budget or separate referendums. Fourteen percent of the projects announced are slated for referendum. In total, districts will kick in $267 million, but the state-versus-local ratio varies depending on the project, said Kathryn Forsyth, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education.
-- Karen Keller SAN MARCOS: City, school district working on joint-use agreement for shared facilities-- North County Times California: March 07, 2009 [ abstract] After years of casually sharing fields, parks and other facilities, city and San Marcos Unified School District officials are taking steps to formalize the arrangements.
San Marcos community services Director Craig Sargent-Beach said last week that the two sides began working recently on a joint-use agreement that will cover all the sites the two share, including baseball fields at just about every local elementary school, a city pool and baseball, softball and soccer fields at several city parks.
The joint use agreement will lay out who gets to use what when, who will be responsible for everything from maintenance to insurance, the types of activities allowed on the properties, and how those activities will be scheduled, Sargent-Beach said.
Kathy Tanner, executive director of facilities and planning for the San Marcos Unified School District, said she sees several benefits to sharing athletic fields, pools and other facilities with the city.
"Whenever you do a joint use, there's a potential for both agencies to save money on it," she said. "And it also provides more program flexibility."
The city and the school district began using each other's facilities in the 1960s, when the city asked if a San Marcos Middle School playing field could be used for youth sports after students went home for the day and on weekends.
As the number of local youth sports leagues grew, Sargent-Beach said, the city and district agreed verbally to involve other school fields and city parks. In a few rare cases, the two sides worked out piecemeal agreements covering individual facilities.
City and school officials started talking about the need for an umbrella agreement that will cover all joint-use facilities last year, after the city opened Hollandia Park off Mission Road in east San Marcos, said Sargent-Beach.
Spread over 30 acres, the park is adjacent to Mission Hills High School and includes two lighted softball fields and a lighted multipurpose field. School officials would like to use those fields for Mission Hills High's physical education classes and softball team practices, Sargent-Beach said.
"The school district and the city have always had a good working relationship," he said. "(But) it seems like between (Hollandia Park's opening) and some other agreements that should have been formalized, it makes sense now to get this all pulled together and to use this as an impetus to do it."
-- ANDREA MOSS N.J. announces $180M in school repairs, construction-- NJ.com New Jersey: March 06, 2009 [ abstract] Stressing the importance of keeping the construction trades working in a worsening recession, Gov. Jon Corzine announced the state will pump $180 million into hundreds of school repair and construction projects.
The funding isn't new. It comes from $3.9 billion in borrowing approved by the state in July, but districts had been on tenderhooks waiting to hear whether their projects would be approved.
"We're certainly glad this is moving ahead; it's time," said Lynne Strickland, director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, which represents roughly 100, mostly suburban districts.
Little of the money will go for new construction. One notable exception -- the rebuilding of Memorial Elementary School in East Brunswick, which was damaged in a fire last July. Two new preschools also will be built in South Jersey.
Most of the 400 projects are far simpler, things like boiler and window replacements. New Jersey is home to 150 schools that are a century-old or older, Corzine said today as he announced the projects at a school in Bayonne.
"Today, we are delivering on our commitment to transform our schools into safe, healthy learning environments for our children," Corzine said. "We recognize that many...districts are struggling with costs for construction, maintenance and repairs to make desperately needed improvements. Investing in these types of projects will help stimulate the economy and create job opportunities during this critical time."
The $3.9 billion in borrowing the state approved in July was needed to restart its massive school-construction push that had run out of cash. That push was prompted by state Supreme Court orders to repair perilous conditions in the state's poorest 31 districts, known as Abbott districts.
-- Karen Keller 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 â€" both in mind and pocketbook â€" 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.â€
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 â€" 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 â€" 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 Report: Harwich High School Building Is Beyond Repair-- Cape Cod Chronicle Massachusetts: March 05, 2009 [ abstract] Saying it would be costly, wasteful and ineffective to renovate the 45-year-old high school building, a draft report by the school building needs committee recommends that plans begin immediately to replace the facilityâ€"preferably by forging a regional school district with Chatham.
If regionalization of the schools isn’t possible, the report recommends that the town prepare to replace the existing high school with a new middle-senior high school, a facility Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carolyn Cragin said could cost taxpayers $60 million.
But if the two school districts regionalize, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) would reimburse an additional 6 percent of that price tag, Cragin said. Without a regional partnership, the state reimbursement will be much lower, she said.
The school building needs committee will hold a public hearing on its report on Wednesday, March 11 at 6 p.m. in the high school auditorium. The committee will then present its report to the board of selectmen on March 16.
Having researched the problem for the past 19 months, the school building needs committee drew a number of conclusions. First, the current school lacks the resources and infrastructure to meet the needs of modern students, specifically in the area of technology, lab facilities and energy efficiency; it also doesn’t provide adequate or appropriate space for learning, and has many code compliance and security problems, the report reads.
Secondly, the deterioration of the building has caused “significant structural and maintenance challenges that could be addressed only through costly repairs and would yield only short-term solutions,†the report concludes. The fiscal 2008 maintenance budget for the building was $51,350, more than three times the budget for the recently-renovated elementary school, which serves more students and has more square footage. The high school maintenance costs will increase to $83,350 for fiscal 2009, according to the committee’s findings.
The current building has no sprinkler system for fire suppression, and two of the school’s five buildings need reinforcement in order to withstand wind loads. The building has an outdated heating and ventilation system and has poorly insulated exterior walls; the cost to re-insulate the cafeteria alone is estimated at $30,000, the committee found. The school relies on nine modular classrooms, the oldest of which are badly deteriorated.
“Architect Brad Dore of Dore and Whittier indicated that renovation is the ‘least desirable route’ for program effectiveness, energy efficiency and affordability due largely to the building condition,†the report reads.
-- Alan Pollock Mobile considers closing schools-- Montgomery Advertiser Alabama: March 03, 2009 [ abstract] Mobile County officials in a cost-saving move are considering closing possibly a half dozen schools in Alabama’s largest school system.
A panel of administrators has prepared a list of schools to be considered at a school board agenda-setting meeting Wednesday.
School facilities manager Tommy Sheffield says the top target for closing is Hillsdale Middle School because of its deteriorating physical condition.
He says closing six schools could save the system $1 million on just utilities, insurance and routine maintenance.
Superintendent Roy Nichols was unavailable for comment on targeted schools.
The system has some 66,000 students.
-- Associated Press Jackson-area schools ready to use money for repairs to aging buildings-- The Jackson Citizen Patriot Michigan: March 01, 2009 [ abstract] All buildings at Concord Community Schools will need new roofs in the next decade and the district's 45-year-old high school still has its original doors and windows.
So the newly approved federal stimulus money that is expected to trickle down to schools soon will come in handy  in Concord and in other local school districts.
As school budgets have gotten tighter, maintenance has been deferred in many buildings across the state, said David Martell, executive director of the Michigan School Business Officials.
"You patch things instead of major repairs," Martell said. "You try to get by another year by not redoing the whole roof."
Jackson County schools have submitted at least $76.6 million in requests to fund "shovel-ready" construction projects, including $7.5 million in proposed projects in Concord.
Jackson Public Schools asked for $7.4 million  mainly to replace lighting, roofs, ceilings, asbestos flooring and chalk boards. Northwest Community Schools wants to replace boilers in four buildings at $750,000.
Add in requests from other area schools outside Jackson County, such as Stockbridge's $10 million and Albion's $36 million, and the total jumps to $131 million.
-- Claire Cummings Legislative committee endorses flexibility in school building fund-- AberdeenNews.com South Dakota: February 26, 2009 [ abstract] A legislative committee recommends that South Dakota schools should be able to tap building funds to meet other budget needs.
The House Education Committee voted 11-4 on Wednesday to pass SB91, which lets schools use money from capital outlay funds for three years to pay for transportation, utilities and insurance. The capital outlay fund generally is restricted to construction and building maintenance.
Supporters said the temporary move gives schools budget flexibility in a time of economic uncertainty. Opponents worried that building funds could be depleted when schools need money for structures.
Several school superintendents testified for the bill.
Chester Superintendent Mark Greguson said the bill would give his district an additional $120,000 to $150,000 that could be used to offset utility and transportation costs. He said the district might not spend that much, but having it available would allow officials to respond to shifting budget conditions.
Jim Hutmacher of Oacoma, a lobbyist for a group of schools, said the bill offers only a temporary fix but an important one.
"This is all brought about because of a lack of state funding for the districts," Hutmacher said.
Diana Miller of Sioux Falls, lobbyist for a group of the state's largest school districts, opposed the bill. She said lawmakers created the capital outlay fund more than half a century ago. Then, the law gave schools power to collect taxes specifically for that fund and to use the money only for maintenance and repair of buildings.
-- TERRY WOSTER MONEY: Think You Know Your Stim Numbers? You Have No Idea.-- This Week in Education Blog National: February 20, 2009 [ abstract] The Administration is running around telling everyone how much money they're going to get but in reality state and local education agencies have no idea how exactly how things are going to pan out.
That's the gist of this (Speculation Rampant) story from the Title I Monitor, which points out that there are lots of twists and turns inside the stim that folks still don't understand -- how the money is allocated isn't necessarily how it's going to be spent, for example -- and that state funding formulas and district by district decisions could affect how the money is used. Check it out.
Modernization Funds
Those hoping to get funding for repairs to schools are also now realizing that there isn't a dedicated modernization fund - once expected to total $20 billion. Therefore, facilities will have to line up with Title I, special education, adult and family literacy, and career and technical education programs - and even public safety - for a share of those dollars.
Mary Filardo, executive director of the 21st Century School Fund, said calls she's received indicate confusion at the state and local level about the stimulus. She said some state officials weren't aware that the $20 billion for school modernization didn't make it into the final legislation. She said she's trying to give modernization "an identity" to help school districts know that money for these projects exists within the broader stabilization fund.
Modernization Needs Loom Large
OSPI's School Facilities and Organization recently surveyed school districts to gauge their needs for school construction and repair, in anticipation of federal and state economic stimulus funding. The full responses from 181 school districts resulted in a 200-page list of projects totaling more than $4 billion for safety, energy efficiency and myriad other school facility projects.
Filardo, of the 21st Century School Fund, criticized the compromise legislation for failing to consider schools as part of the nation's infrastructure and for not creating a mechanism to ensure that only the neediest schools get repair money.
The final language does not list eligible projects; the closest it comes to specificity is to say that fixes consistent with a green building rating system are allowable. It also says modernization projects must not be inconsistent with state law, which actually could give localities more flexibility as they make spending decisions. There are a number of prohibited expenses, however: states may not use stabilization money for vehicle purchase and repair, maintenance, central office administration, or stadiums or other facilities that charge the public admission.
-- Alexander Russo School work funds clipped from stimulus-- 2TheAdvocate Louisiana: February 20, 2009 [ abstract] Livingston Parish School Superintendent Bill Spear reported Thursday on Livingston Parish’s version of the bit of bad news for school districts that has come out of the national economic stimulus package.
The final version of the package approved by Congress a week ago today has less money for Livingston Parish schools than what was first approved in the U.S. House a few weeks ago.
The $787 billion in tax cuts and new spending also lost the dollars that had been set aside for construction aimed at school modernization and improvement, Spear told the parish School Board.
He said the system expects to receive about $7.1 million in special education and Title I dollars and no school modernization dollars.
The House bill had originally proposed about $12.3 million for Livingston Parish schools, Spear said.
Earlier this month, school officials said they had hoped to put some of those modernization dollars toward an estimated $600,000 expansion of the district bus maintenance building.
The U.S. Senate’s version of the stimulus package eliminated that school construction funding to help garner the three necessary Republican votes for passage and those cuts remained in the final package, according to published news reports.
Keyword Search Tags: Stimulus, arra
-- DAVID J. MITCHELL New school building sites proposed-- Times Community Newspapers of Greater Dayton Ohio: February 19, 2009 [ abstract] With upgrades as a major theme for the Huber Heights City Schools, the district board on Thursday approved a handful of resolutions involving the construction of new schools, including a recommendation that outlines proposed locations for the seven new school buildings that voters approved in November.
Tentative reports from administration include the construction of new school buildings adjacent to Monticello, Rushmore and Valley Forge Elementary Schools, as well as Wayne High School and Weisenborn Middle School. Another school could be built adjacent to Kitty Hawk and Menlo Park while the final elementary school may be built on the Standpipe Park site.
In addition to outlining potential building sites, the recommendation also included tentative plans for use of the remaining school buildings. Titus Elementary could be converted into a maintenance and transportation site, with shared space possibly available for the city of Huber Heights.
Studebaker Middle School could be converted into a Central Office building and Community Center for city residents. While the future was not so clear for LaMendola Elementary School, administration recommended a plan to leave a decision in regard to its possible use for future consideration.
In regards to new schools, the board also approved the increase in estimated revenue and appropriations as required by the Ohio Revised Code. The increase is a direct result of $114,656 in interest collected.
-- Brian Trexler Roeland Park council rejects offer for former school building-- Kansas City Star Montana: February 17, 2009 [ abstract] After several months of negotiations, Roeland Park and the Kansas City Autism Training Center have been unable to reach an agreement on the purchase of the former Park Elementary School.
The City Council rejected a $550,000 offer from the training center with a 6-1 vote on Monday night. Councilman Robert Meyers Jr. described it as a “lowball offer.†Councilwoman Megan England voted no; Councilwoman Toni Hull was absent.
“The building is worth more than that,†Meyers said. “We need to either put it on the market or turn the property into a park.â€
Late last year the center presented a letter of intent offering to purchase the school for $650,000; however, the center wanted the city to finance the sale. The council made a counter-offer in which the city would not finance the sale.
City Administrator John Carter said the center was having difficulty raising cash for the school purchase. He suggested that one way to make up the difference in the sale cost would be to charge the center an annual park maintenance and parking lot snow removal maintenance fee. He suggested an annual amount of $10,000.
Council members voted 6-1 to being open to the center introducing a counter-offer involving a service fee that would bring the price to $650,000 or higher. Voting no was Councilman Scott Gregory.
The Kansas City Autism Training Center is a private licensed child care center that specializes in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders. It currently operates in the Kol Ami Synagogue in Prairie Village.
The center plans to operate an early childhood learning center in the former school as well as partner with the Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training operated by the University of Kansas, which trains teachers how to teach students with autism.
-- LINDA CRUSE Stimulus bill has east metro schools wishing and hoping-- Minneapolis Star Tribune Minnesota: January 31, 2009 [ abstract] Forest Lake Elementary School needs a new roof; White Bear Lake schools would like help with an aquatics facility; and South Washington County wants a wind turbine.
These east suburban schools and many others are assembling wish lists of overdue maintenance, long sought upgrades and projects that can save energy or make buildings more "green." They're also asking for funds to improve their technology underpinnings -- wireless networks and teaching gadgets, and the training to use them more effectively.
"It's a hot topic right now," says Mia Urick, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, which has been encouraging school districts to list their projects and then sending them on to lawmakers.
-- GREGORY A. PATTERSON District nearing ‘use it or lose it’ on facilities fund-- DeWitt Era-Enterprise Arkansas: January 14, 2009 [ abstract] When the DeWitt School District submitted its Master Facilities Plan to the state two years ago, it included a new middle school and new classrooms for the elementary school. The time may be coming when the district will either have to implement those plans or lose the state funding set aside for them.
Under the state laws that were passed to help bring all school facilities up to adequate standards, Arkansas established a partnership program, in which the state would pay a portion of approved projects based on a “wealth index†of how much the district could afford to pay. The state’s share of the DeWitt projects would be $3.2 million; and currently there is no deadline on when the district would have to spend that money.
However, maintenance and transportation director Jeff Rader told the DeWitt School Board Monday that this could be changing. After attending a recent meeting of the state’s Facilities Commission, Rader said that districts that had their projects approved the year before DeWitt did are now being asked to either approve a millage increase or, if they failed to do that, submit an “improvement plan,†about how they will pay for a project without a millage increase.
“Do we need to panic?†Rader asked. “No, but do we need to be cautious? Yes we do.â€
Eventually, Rader said, “We think they will put a date on it,†and DeWitt will have to either implement the projects or relinquish the money. “This is something we need to think about.â€
The other issue that brought about the most discussion was superintendent Gary Wayman’s request for himself and the district’s administrators to attend an effective leadership conference in Phoenix, AZ, in March. The cost of the conference fees and travel expenses will be $12,000.
Wayman explained that he had attended this program several years ago and it would help in, “taking our school to the next level.†The DeWitt schools have spent a lot of time talking with other schools nearby, but this would give the administration the chance to, “share new ideas from all over the country.â€
-- Christina Verderosa Anchorage School Board Votes on Program to Modernize Every Public School -- Anchorage Daily News Alaska: January 11, 2009 [ abstract] Anchorage School Board members will vote on whether to ask city residents to fund the next phase of an ambitious program to modernize every public school in Anchorage. The latest installment would cost $97 million and would include renovating Service High School in South Anchorage, advancing plans to redo Girdwood's elementary school and footing the costs of maintenance upgrades at various schools. Funding would come by selling bonds that property owners and the state would repay over the next 20 years.
The effort to upgrade Anchorage school buildings has been under way for some years and is partly behind a doubling of total School District debt in the past 10 years. If the full ambition of renovating every school occurs, the district would take on another $740 million in debt over the next nine years to complete the job.
The landscape of Anchorage education has changed. And that, educators argue, has cost money and will continue to cost money. School District Superintendent Carol Comeau knows she can't ask voters for $740 million all at once to complete the building makeovers. That's why she and her administrators are staggering their requests over the next decade. To her, like other educators, upgrading schools is not something that can be put off for much later. It's all a priority. To her, it's about equal education. She wants all students learning in modern science labs, having access to current technology, and learning in 21st century environments. A dozen public schools are more than 50 years old; and half of those have never had significant renovations. Those are at the top of the priority list. The district ended up with a backlog because it deferred renovations on older buildings for too long, administrators say. First, the pipeline boom in the 1970s created an unprecedented growth spurt. Then Anchorage's population soared again in the early 1980s. The School District scrambled to build new schools for the new students while upgrades or renovations to older buildings were put off.
-- Megan Holland Shuttered Schools Open Window of Opportunity -- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Pennsylvania: January 08, 2009 [ abstract] Morningside lost the closest thing it had to a town square when its elementary school closed. But there's hope of filling the city neighborhood's core with new apartments thanks to a first-ever partnership between the Urban Redevelopment Authority and Pittsburgh Public Schools. The two are marketing 18 vacant school buildings to developers interested in putting in apartments, office space, stores and even charter schools -- all of it with the goal of shedding nearly $2 million in annual maintenance and utility costs the district spends on aging buildings.
The district shuttered most of the schools during a 2006 downsizing that closed 22 buildings and left 65 open to accommodate the district's 26,500 students, said Paul Gill, the district's outgoing director of operations. The average age of the 18 buildings is 75 years, and the average size is about 75,000 square feet. Gill said 90 percent to 95 percent are in good condition inside.
-- Jeremy Boren Director of Operations Working Magic and Miracles for Carson City Children -- Nevada Appeal Nevada: December 24, 2008 [ abstract] Job performance is based on results. Take St. Nick for instance. Tonight is the one night that his job performance is rated, despite the other 364 days and nights of planning, preparation, and personnel (elf management). Then there’s Mike Mitchell, the soon-to-be-retired director of operations for the Carson City School District. Mike has been working magic and miracles for Carson City’s children, parents and taxpayers for 16 years. Trained as an architect, and gifted with communication skills and common sense, Mike had what the school district needed to remodel its facilities and build credibility with taxpayers. If you think it’s hard to deliver toys to the children of the world in one night (and not just any toy will do) then you know Mike Mitchell and Santa Claus have a lot in common.
Mike has delivered every day for Carson City’s schools and students. Mike has cared for the facilities of the school district by making buildings more energy efficient, cost effective and conducive to education. He earmarked money for capital improvements to replace roofs, resurface parking lots and remodel bathrooms. He has made the best use of Carson’s aging school facilities by extending their life through scheduled maintenance and extreme makeovers.
He has had a love-hate relationship with portable classrooms. Portables expand school capacity without the cost and permanency of bricks and mortar. But they drain precious dollars that could be used for a permanent solution, and are susceptible to mold and weather damage. Mike now knows more about mold than an insurance claims adjustor, after dealing with the portable classroom mold crisis that ultimately resulted in an innovative expansion to Bordewich-Bray Elementary School.
-- Abby Johnson School Modernization, Broadband Access Keys to Obama's Plan to Provide Jobs -- eSchool News National: December 09, 2008 [ abstract] To boost the sinking economy, government needs to invest in modernizing and upgrading school buildings, expanding broadband internet access, making public buildings more energy efficient, and launching a public works program to rebuild the nation's highways, said President-elect Barack Obama in a Dec. 6 radio address. The address came a day after the government reported that employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years. The plans are part of a vision for a massive economic recovery program Obama wants Congress to pass and have waiting on his desk when he takes office Jan. 20.
He offered no price estimate for the grand plan, nor stipulations for how the money might be divided or its effect on the country's financial health at a time of burgeoning deficits. However, a recent report by the Center for American Progress suggested a spending plan of $350 billion in the first year of economic stimulus and recovery.
My economic recovery plan will launch the most sweeping effort to modernize and upgrade school buildings that this country has ever seen," Obama said in the address. "We will repair broken schools, make them more energy-efficient, and put new computers in our classrooms. Because to help our children compete in a 21st-century economy, we need to send them to 21st-century schools."In the Center's report, they recommend that a total of $20 billion be spent to address the nearly one-third of schools that have one or more temporary buildings housing an average of 160 students each--and the hundreds of billions of estimated dollars needed to bring school facilities to good condition. The report suggests that $7.25 billion should be spent immediately to support state and local green school construction and modernization projects. It suggests an additional $12.75 billion be spent on school districts to eliminate years of deferred maintenance, particularly in schools in low-income communities. The study claims that those two measures could create 250,000 skilled maintenance and repair jobs and supply $6 billion of materials and supplies. Obama's proposed upgrades to schools are part of a larger plan to make all public buildings more energy-efficient. The U.S. government currently pays the highest energy bill in the world, according to the president-elect.
-- Maya T. Prabhu City school closings: Attendance mandatory-- St. Louis Post-Dispatch Missouri: December 08, 2008 [ abstract] St. Louis Public Schools will receive a report early next year that could influence crucial aspects of the district's operations for the next decade and beyond. It also is guaranteed to generate controversy.
At issue is a "comprehensive facilities review" being conducted by MGT of America, Inc. of Olympia, Wash., at the behest of the district's Special Administrative Board. MGT's contract requires it to review the district's buildings and facilities. Many school buildings are operating at just a fraction of their capacity, adding huge maintenance and operating costs at a time when the district is trying to manage difficult financial challenges.
SAB members have suggested that they may need to close as many 20 of district's 88 school buildings. That's the stark reality of a decline in enrollment from 42,000 in 2001 to about 25,000 this year.
But there are other factors: Many schools serve as important social anchors for their neighborhoods, and many of the buildings are significant architectural landmarks. Closing any school, in other words, is no small thing, and closing as many as 20 is a daunting task.
-- Staff Writer Flint school district may be forced to close several schools-- ABC12.com Michigan: December 07, 2008 [ abstract] Details are beginning to emerge about the possibility of several school closings in Flint.
Flint hasn't built a new school since 1972. That's part of the reason an independent committee is recommending big changes, including consolidation.
Members of the committee are expected to outline their recommendations to the school board later this month. According to some on the committee, they will recommend to close several schools ranging from the elementary level to high schools.
Paul Jordan, vice president of the Flint School Board, is preparing to read the report recommending the closure of 17 of the city's 35 school buildings.
"The city is continuing to shrink," he said. "We have twice the capacity that we need to serve the students that we have in the city."
He says Flint's student population has dwindled from 48,000 children in the late 1960s, to just 13,000 today.
After their year-long study, the committee is also recommending big maintenance upgrades. The plan calls for $150 million in new buildings and renovations. That could result in a new high school and maybe a new elementary school.
-- Gabe Gutierrez Strapped Schools May Boost Class Sizes -- Washington Post National: December 05, 2008 [ abstract] Worsening budget conditions are pressing school officials in the Washington area and across the country to consider backing away from what has become a mantra of education: Kids learn best in smaller classes. Area school systems are moving into the difficult part of their budget seasons, and many of them say that trimming spending by increasing class size is a real possibility.
Montgomery County seems to have avoided the prospect this week, when teachers agreed to give up a 5 percent raise to help the school system save tens of millions of dollars. But the size of the raise in that contract was unusual. Elsewhere, school officials say they will have to get by with fewer teachers to find such savings. In Fairfax County, the region's other premier public school system, bleak fiscal forecasts point to a potential increase of as many as 2 1/2 children a class next school year, a bump of more than 10 percent in elementary classrooms. That would come on top of a half-student per class increase in September. Larger classes are also being considered in Loudoun and Prince George's counties.
For more than a decade, billions in federal and state dollars were targeted to whittle classes so that teachers can devote more time and attention to each student, crafting lessons to fit the needs of struggling students, high-achievers and everyone in between. Nationwide, the average number of students in elementary classes dropped from 29 in 1961 to 24 in 1996, according to the National Education Association. In 2004, the average elementary class nationwide had 20 children, the U.S. Education Department says, with about 25 in the average secondary class. But this smaller-is-better trend is in jeopardy. A survey of more than 800 districts released last month by the American Association of School Administrators found that 36 percent have moved to larger classes in response to the economic downturn. Many are also putting off maintenance, buying fewer textbooks and lowering thermostats.
-- Maria Glod 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 Texas School District Remedies Soaring Energy Costs and Aging Infrastructure -- PR Newswire Texas: November 11, 2008 [ abstract] Ferris Independent School District recently completed renovations aimed at increasing energy efficiency and indoor air quality while creating a high-performance learning environment at Ferris Junior High School, Ferris Intermediate School, the Ingram and McDonald Elementary Schools and the district maintenance facility. Additionally, the district built a new high performance high school to accommodate the district's growing student population. The renovations and new facility make the district one of the most energy efficient and healthy in Texas.
Until renovations commenced in February 2007, the Texas school district faced rising energy and maintenance costs, inconsistent lighting conditions and dated mechanical equipment. Ferris Junior High School, built in 1985, and Ingram Elementary, built in 1972, represent the district's oldest facilities. Some classrooms were below IES (Illuminating Engineering Society) standards for light levels in classroom spaces. Ferris Junior High School was the district's high school until the renovations and new building were complete. Outdated and inefficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment (HVAC) resulted in high energy usage, excessive maintenance costs and unreliable operation. Further, the HVAC systems in these schools lacked programmability, allowing limited or uncontrolled building operations for temperatures and ventilation. Without programmable capability of these systems, the buildings were heated and cooled whether they were occupied or not. This was a huge waste of energy, not to mention taxpayer dollars. "These renovations and our new high school have reduced our costs and helped us be better stewards of the environment," said Bodine. "Just as important, we've provided our students and staff with an optimal learning environment. This award is confirmation that we're on the right path for everyone in the school district."
-- Staff Writer Fuel Cell Debated for New High School -- Norwich Bulletin Connecticut: October 08, 2008 [ abstract] Spend now, save later. Killingly’s Town Council and Permanent Building Commission debated the affordability and feasibility of implementing alternative fuel sources into the high school building project, a proposal some officials said might require asking taxpayers for more funding. Most of the joint committee members spoke positively about installing a $1.7 million, 300-kilowatt fuel cell into school project plans, an addition estimated to save approximately $283,000 in heating and electricity annually. Even with state clean energy fund and school construction grant assistance, the cell will cost the town at least another $77,691. And that doesn’t include yearly maintenance. The town also would need to upgrade a planned gas line to accommodate the fuel cell plan. That cost has not been determined, said attorney Jennifer Janelle, council representative. The number of fuel cell units the new school will support also hasn’t been determined â€" and that information is necessary when tallying expected state reimbursements.
-- John Penney Unit 6 would use school facilities tax to pay off bond
-- Iroquois County Times-Republic Illinois: October 07, 2008 [ abstract] Cissna Park C.U.S.D. 6 has planned ahead.
If the Illinois School Facilities Tax were to pass, the district will put a majority of its money to the already issued bonds.
The district's superintendent Dr. Dan Hylbert said the school board made a motion to ask the county board to put the resolution on the ballot in June. The next motion made was "to commit 75 percent of the county wide school facilities tax, if enacted, toward payment of the school district's health and life safety bond issuance". It was approved 6-0, with one member absent.
He said the the district is currently at a 65 cent rate. If this resolution were to pass, the district could abate about 40 cents.
The rate is dependent upon the assessed value of the property within the district.
"Figuring a home assessed at $50,000 and taking out a $5,000 for homestead exemption, a 40 cent abatement would save $180 on the tax bill," said Hylbert. "On a home with an assessed value of $75,000 with the homestead exemption, there would be a $280 savings. On a home with an assessed value of $100,000 with the exemption, there would be $380 savings." He said for every $25,000 there would be a $100 savings. He said the figures are based upon department of revenue figures.
"If it's more than 40 cents, and it could be, those figures are low," he said.
With approximately 320 students K-12, he said figures show the district could receive approximately $160,000 per year. The motion would used $150,000 per year to abate the bonds.
"The other 25 percent would go to regular maintenance items," he said.
He said the $990,000 worth of bonds were sold on a seven year cycle.
Hylbert said in July of 2007 bonds were issued to pay for the reroofing of the entire school building in Cissna Park at a cost of $362,417. At the same time $116,315 worth were issued for a new telephone and emergency warning system at the school. Both projects were completed in August of 2007.
The next summer $148,326 worth of masonry projects were completed, he said, including tuck pointing the building and ag shop/bus garage. Also, $58,790 worth of interior work was done as well as replacing 20 doors. He said $20,637 was used to replace the high school's stage curtain.
He said this year "there is very little left" to do. He said the district is replacing eight unit ventilators at a cost of $63,500.
-- WENDY DAVIS School Construction And Funding Proposal Raises Questions-- NBC17.com North Carolina: September 09, 2008 [ abstract] ake County school leaders have drafted a proposal they hope could ease the constant battle over budgets and new school construction with county commissioners.
But the county board expressed concern with some details of the proposed agreement at its work session Monday.
The preliminary proposal is in response to a recommendation from the WakeEd Partnership and Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, that the school district turn over the responsibility of land acquisition, school construction, and building maintenance to the county, in exchange for the guarantee of increased funding over the next several years.
WCPSS’s proposal, “Project Student Success,†has a stated goal of increasing graduation rates.
In a presentation to commissioners, County Manager David Cooke said that even with a growing tax base, the school system’s funding requests could not be met without massive property tax hikes.
“The reality is, if that was implemented, it would be a 50 percent tax increase, and that’s just not going to happen in Wake County,†said Joe Bryan, chair of the board.
Another disagreement between the boards is about which entity should employ the approximately 900 members of the school’s current facilities department.
-- Kerry Hall Report makes case for school closure-- Indiana Gazette Indiana: September 08, 2008 [ abstract] In a report released last week, Armstrong School District Superintendent William Kerr provides additional justification for the administration's proposal to close Elderton Junior-Senior High School and offers a review of the district's past and several recommendations for the school board in the future.
Citing documents and studies since the district's formation in 1966, a 2008 housing study on Armstrong County and the facilities master plan, Kerr asks that the district commit to a new direction and encourages leaders to embrace change rather than resist it.
"Now is the time to be proactive rather than parochial, to lay sentimentalities aside for sensibilities and to adopt a forward-thinking approach to developing mutually acceptable and beneficial solutions that will move the Armstrong School District forward," he wrote in the report, which was made public Wednesday. "Whichever road we choose to travel, we must all go together, or the ones who ultimately fall behind will be our children."
The major problems facing the district, Kerr wrote, are declining enrollment and above-average operations, maintenance and transportation costs. Those coupled with limited tax base and aging facilities were part of the reason the administration evaluated the number of schools in the district and proposed closing Elderton Junior-Senior High School at the end of the 2008-09 school year and redraw attendance lines.
"The fact that the district is forced to consider this measure is symptomatic of a greater educational and economic dilemma that afflicts our district and the Armstrong County region as a whole," he wrote. "As the costs of providing quality education continue to rise, they must be supported by positive financial and growth dynamics, which quite simply do not exist this time in our district's communities."
-- LAUREN DALEY School facilities make grade-- So Md News Maryland: August 13, 2008 [ abstract] After a tour of the new Barstow Elementary School, it was back to business for the Calvert County Board of Education last week.
Board members got a sneak peek at the new school before its meeting Thursday morning, Aug. 7. However, the school will not be open to students until November.
Board member Gene Karol said he was impressed with the progress on the new school.
Director of school construction George Leah acknowledged the construction teams when he said the crews had been working long hours to stay on target.
maintenance crews didn’t go unnoticed Thursday as Tuck Powers, director of school facilities, maintenance and operations, announced that three of four schools inspected reached 97 percent and one school reached a 94-percent rating on a facilities inspection performed by the state. Schools are selected at random for inspection of maintenance around the facilities. Powers said Calvert Middle School received a 94 percent, which he said was good considering the school’s age.
-- GRETCHEN PHILLIPS Crews work to lower temperature at Glassford Hill Middle School
-- The Daily Courier Arizona: August 03, 2008 [ abstract] Humboldt Unified School District officials are notifying parents of students attending Glassford Hill Middle School that classroom temperatures may be higher than normal when school starts Monday.
The reason? The middle school building is old and it has an old heat exchanger.
Superintendent Dr. Henry Schmitt said that while the heat exchanger is old, crews have followed the maintenance schedules during the past years.
Schmitt said the cooling tower "went down last spring and replacement parts were flown in from California. The tower was repaired and air conditioning was running at year's end."
The superintendent said the state School Facilities Board cut building renewal money by 50 percent mid-year to all schools. He said HUSD was short $300,000 in the building renewal fund, which is where the money comes from for repair and/or replacement of such items as the heat exchanger.
"However, for the health and safety of the students, employees and parents, we found money for the needed repair," Schmitt said.
When the cooling tower went down again this past week, repair crews cleaned all plates of mineral deposits. maintenance crews charged the unit Friday afternoon and they anticipate it will be ready for the start of school.
-- Paula Rhoden 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 Massachusetts Trying to Cut School Construction Costs -- The Republican Massachusetts: June 12, 2008 [ abstract] The state is trying to pare down school construction costs, and eliminate unnecessary extras as it provides reimbursement of projects in Springfield and other communities, state Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill said. Cahill commented on school construction needs in the state, and the state's fiscal constraints, following a meeting at City Hall with Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Springfield Finance Control Board Executive Director Stephen P. Lisauskas. Cahill also spoke today at the annual meeting of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield. "We are trying to make sure that all schools have consistent components," Cahill said after his private meeting with Sarno and Lisauskas. "What we are trying to do is cut down on some of the extras like the field houses and the palatial auditoriums that seat far too many people and are never used, not to their full capacity." In addition, Cahill said he is pleased with Springfield's emphasis on repairs and maintenance to avoid costly school projects.
-- Peter Goonan and Jim Kinney District has been proactive in process-- Times-Standard District of Columbia: June 02, 2008 [ abstract] It is extremely perplexing that after questions are answered regarding the need for the McKinleyville Union School District to repair and upgrade its school facilities, certain people don't value the foresight of past administrations, the Board of Trustees, maintenance directors, business managers, community members, parents, staff and field experts who spent over two years investigating the current and future facility needs for the district.
You may disagree with the district's decision to repair, replace or enhance the educational environment for our children, but if you have a question about MUSD's past practice regarding modernization or facility repairs, you should ask and not assume we have not applied for all applicable state grants or completed repairs to our facilities.
We have been very proactive by applying for and receiving modernization funding for each site. Repairs and improvements mentioned in the facility study go beyond modernization; they help us prepare our facilities for many years to come.
This bond measure will help us put science labs into the 6-8th grade classrooms, it will help us secure our campuses, and will add a gym to the middle school because MMS doesn't have adequate facilities for the mandated physical education programs required for our students.
McKinleyville Middle School currently has a cafeteria that operates part-time as a space to hold physical education classes for up to 30 students when it
-- Dena McCullough Hawaii School Repairs Lag Due to Lower Tax Revenues -- Honolulu Star-Bulletin Hawaii: May 29, 2008 [ abstract] Cuts in state spending to fix campuses have prevented the Department of Education from attacking a backlog in projects that rose 20 percent to $412 million in less than two years. The state withheld $140 million from the total $310 million appropriated for fiscal 2007 and 2008 for overdue school repair and maintenance. Duane Kashiwai, public works administrator for the Education Department said $66 million approved for fiscal 2009 campus improvements and $100 million to refurbish classes might not be enough to reduce the inventory of projects.
State Budget Director Georgina Kawamura said school construction funds were held up because tax revenue came in lower than expected. Her office has been working more closely with education officials since 2006 so that projects prioritized for safety or health concerns can be completed. To trim the backlog, in 2001 the Education Department began prioritizing maintenance work at schools older than 25 years. But because of the funding challenges, the estimated cost to tackle the deferred work jumped to $412 million from $341 million in September 2006. Statewide, the schools backlog, which reached $720 million in 2001, has slowly declined, but progress has been hampered as annual funding has ranged from $150 million to $35 million.
-- Alexandre Da Silva Funding sources identified to build regional high school
-- Daily Journal Illinois: May 20, 2008 [ abstract] The Watseka Unit 9 School District Board discussed several funding opportunities at its meeting on Monday, options that may help with the construction of a regional high school.
The two funding sources include Public Act 95-0675, a retail sales tax for school construction and building maintenance, and House Bill 628, a bill introduced by State Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, that will provide funding for a cooperative high school in Vermillion County.
Superintendent Steve Bianchetti said that he's been told that Vermillion County will receive $15 million to construct a cooperative high school for the Catlin, Jamaica and Oakwood districts.
Bianchetti said that he's already been in contact with Rep. Shane Cultra, R-Onarga, and has asked the other districts interested in a cooperative high school to contact him. Watseka has been discussing the possibility of consolidating with Milford and Crescent-Iroquois.
Board member Jim Reynolds suggested that the district also contact State Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, to discuss consolidation plans.
In 2006, Black helped pass a law that provides the same funding incentives for high school cooperatives that are already provided to districts that consolidate.
-- Lynn Dill Restoring enrollment and building condition are top issues in Pittsford election-- Hillsdale Daily News Michigan: May 03, 2008 [ abstract] Low funds, poor school facilities and declining enrollment are the major concerns for three men running for two seats on the Pittsford Area School’s Board of Education.
David Billington, Craig Armstrong and Phil Wilson are on Tuesday’s ballot. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the high school, located at 9304 Hamilton Road in Pittsford.
Armstrong, 44, a maintenance supervisor at ACT Test Panels, thinks that improving school facilities would solve a lot of the district’s concerns.
“I think that there are improvements that we can do at this school that will make us return investments,†he said. “The first two things I want to look at are renovating the heating and investigating the electrical usage, lighting and ways to save energy. The saved money in fuel could then be spent in other ways.â€
Wilson, 44, vice president and engineer for Johan van de Weerd Co. Inc., in Litchfield, thinks that more careful spending by the administration is necessary to save money but is not sure how to solve the school’s economic troubles.
-- Erica Hobbs Bond approval would mean new use for elementary building
-- sturgis journal Michigan: May 02, 2008 [ abstract] Colon Elementary School has been sitting on a prime piece of lakefront real estate for the past 40 years.
Now with the idea of having a K-12 campus on the high school grounds, some people wonder what this property could mean to village taxpayers. It has the potential of being turned into a strip mall or lakeside lots, according to school board president Todd Cook.
That's one option being considered if the $20.1 million Colon bond issue is approved Tuesday. Property taxes would be increased an average of 5.82 mills over 30 years but an increase in business or lakeside homes could benefit taxpayers.
What to do with the old elementary school is one of the most asked questions about the bond proposal.
The answer, according to a list of FAQ's prepared by two committees, is: "The Facilities Committee approached the township and village of Colon about using the building for their offices and small business incubator space for the community. Citizens involved in the Colon Community Center were approached to see if they were interested in the elementary school."
All of the parties said no, mostly because of the high cost of utilities and maintenance.
-- Terry Katz Fenty Warns Against Fund Transfer Plan
-- Washington Post District of Columbia: April 30, 2008 [ abstract] D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty cautioned that art and after-school programs planned for this fall could be cut if council members transfer $18 million out of the public schools budget and into the school modernization spending plan as proposed by D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray yesterday.
The warning came hours after the council started its markups of Fenty's $5.7 billion spending proposal for 2009. A vote on the budget is set for May 13.
Gray (D) said he recommended moving the $18 million because the mayor's proposal would require the new Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization to use more than $34 million legally bound for modernization for the separate task of maintenance.
Gray's staff members estimated that the mayor's plan to dip into modernization funds -- a pool of money Fenty (D) proposed when he was a council member and mayoral candidate in 2006 -- could lead to a $204 million deficit over six years and "is tantamount to 11 schools that would no longer be funded for modernization," a council report noted.
"We've made promises to parents. We've made promises to kids to create these first-class facilities," Gray said in an interview.
-- Nikita Stewart Budget standoff delays nearly $100 million for schools
-- Examiner District of Columbia: April 18, 2008 [ abstract] Nearly $100 million slated for the D.C. Public Schools is tied up in a budget tug of war between D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray and Mayor Adrian Fenty, leaving school consolidations, buyouts and pay raises in limbo.
What started seven months ago as a dispute between the District’s two top elected officials over DCPS maintenance funding now affects about $93 million pegged for the schools, for transportation improvements and for the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission as it attempts to stave off bankruptcy.
The council won’t release the money until Fenty transfers $33.5 million from DCPS to the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization, headed by Allen Lew, for school maintenance. Fenty hasn’t been willing to release more than $26 million, which he claims is the actual maintenance budget.
-- Michael Neibauer Louisiana Lawmakers Want School Building Aid from the State
-- The Advocate Louisiana: April 04, 2008 [ abstract] lawmakers said they want to reshuffle the state budget and spend $60 million per year to repair and replace public school buildings statewide. That spending has long been the responsibility of local school districts in Louisiana. East Baton Rouge Parish voters on March 8 renewed a 1-cent sales tax, part of which will be used for local school construction. State Sen. Cheryl Gray, D-New Orleans and one of the sponsors, said the state needs to foot part of the bill because local school districts are struggling financially, especially in low-income areas with the most needs. “Our schools are in dire need of repairs, maintenance, renovation or new construction,†Gray told reporters.
-- Will Sentell Possible pollutants in portable classrooms-- The Examiner Maryland: April 03, 2008 [ abstract] Some Montgomery County parents, worried about mold and other air pollutants, are angry over the school system’s recent $3.1 million request regarding “portable†classrooms, prefabricated buildings used to ease overcrowding and accommodate long-term construction.
At least four elementary schools with portables deemed unsatisfactory by a recent district air quality assessment are not slated for replacements by the start of next school year: Laytonsville, DuFeif, Burning Tree and Bradley Hills, according to information from parents and the schools’ facilities director, Joe Lavorgna.
The money, an advance on a 2009 appropriation for the county’s construction projects, will be used to relocate some trailers and restore land left vacant by other reductions in the county’s current supply of portables â€" 566 as of November.
“In a lot of the units, it’s impossible to stop water from getting in,†said Laurie Halverson, a parent representative for the cluster of schools feeding into Potomoc’s Winston Churchill High School. “And the district doesn’t have enough people to do proper maintenance.â€
-- Leah Fabel Schools Grateful for New Simple-Majority Requirement for Passing Levies -- News Tribune Washington: March 19, 2008 [ abstract] The recently approved simple-majority requirement for voter approval has rescued several South Sound school levies from defeat. Until this year, the state constitution required school district levies to capture a 60 percent supermajority of yes votes in order to pass. Last November, voters amended the constitution to allow levies to pass with a simple majority â€" 50 percent of ballots cast plus one more yes vote. The new rule means maintenance and operation levies in Auburn, Eatonville, Orting and Clover Park have passed, according to unofficial results from the March 11 election. With approval rates of between 51 percent and 58 percent, they wouldn’t have met the old standard. The measures, which replace expiring levies, continue local taxpayer support for expenses beyond what the state provides.
-- Debby Abe Survey: Louisiana Schools in Bad Shape -- Daily Advertiser Louisiana: March 14, 2008 [ abstract] While there is disagreement about where to find the money for school construction, maintenance and repair, the argument by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers that Louisiana schools are "crumbling and lack modern technology" is accurate. There is undeniable evidence here in Lafayette Parish.
The teachers' union is calling for financial assistance from the state to maintain and upgrade school buildings. LFT President Steve Monaghan says, "Too many local school systems are cash-strapped and cannot afford to properly maintain the buildings they have, much less invest in the improvements that are required." "We just believe that the children and their teachers in the classroom deserve the best facilities we can provide, and unfortunately that access is often denied," Monaghan says. LFT is conducting a survey of teacher opinions about school buildings. Many sound like echoes of the opinions of Lafayette teachers.
-- Editorial Ailing Economy Opens Up Space at Some Pennsylvania Schools
-- Pocono Record Pennsylvania: March 13, 2008 [ abstract] In another sign of the ailing economy, schools in the Poconos are finding themselves with something unfamiliar  space to breathe. "Consistently, we've opened up buildings and they've been full," said Sharon Laverdure, assistant superintendent for special projects in East Stroudsburg. "We've never had breathing room." In East Stroudsburg, that will all change next year, if only in the elementary grades. East Stroudsburg Elementary will open in the fall and house 1,125 students. The district will go from bursting-at-the-seams to about three-quarters full in its kindergarten through fifth-grade buildings, if today's enrollments are juxtaposed with next fall's building capacities.
Still, the buildings will not be under-used, district officials said. "We won't open any buildings and have empty classrooms," said James Shearouse, director of maintenance for the district. Smaller class sizes are one way that students will be spread throughout the space. The added room also will allow the district to move nearly all full-time classes from basements and closets to proper classrooms.
-- Dan Berrett Budget Crisis Should Not Stop the Building of New Florida Schools -- Herald Tribune Florida: March 13, 2008 [ abstract] The state budget crisis should not affect Sarasota County's plans for new schools, including rebuilt Venice and Booker high schools. While the School Board has not approved plans for razing and rebuilding the Booker and Venice high schools, it plans to soon, said board member Frank Kovach. "They are still putting together a financing package," Kovach said. "The budget cuts are probably going to affect maintenance" but not the new buildings, he added. Local school boards are adjusting to lower budget expectations because of cuts in state allocations and voters' recent approval of property tax cuts. The state association of school superintendents is advising districts to expect to lose anywhere from $150 million to $500 million -- about 7 percent for each district because of property tax cuts alone.
-- Kim Hackett Mold Spurs Call for New School in Indiana -- Post-Tribune Indiana: March 08, 2008 [ abstract] Extreme heat, moisture and an antiquated heating system have bred recurring mold at the Emerson Visual and Performing Arts School. As many as seven teachers are avoiding the building on doctor's orders. Some students claim they have suffered headache and breathing problems. The state Occupational Safety and Health Administration will visit the school at the request of the teachers union. In a letter sent to parents Thursday, Principal Noah Riley acknowledged a "mold condition ... in a few locations" but said Emerson was safe and "no Emerson student or staff is in health danger." Riley said a new location is being sought for next year, possibly within another school. He said returning to the current site is "highly unlikely." But some teachers and students want out of the building now, even if just for a few weeks to make sure the mold, which has been treated since last year, is gone. Gary Community School Corp. Chief Financial Officer Robert "Mickey" Beach said the district's maintenance staff and J&K Environmental treat the mold regularly with bleach to keep it at bay. Tests are done weekly. Beach said high humidity is to blame. "We've got so much of a heating problem, a ventilation problem, and the accumulation of moisture on the windows at that building that it's created a lot of moisture, which is where spores can start," Beach said. "We're doing more cleanup and trying to keep the moisture out. If we can do that, we can keep the mold down.
-- Sharlonda L. Waterhouse Closings, Consolidation Will Cost $110 Million
-- Washington Post District of Columbia: February 29, 2008 [ abstract] The cost of closing 23 D.C. schools and making repairs to other school buildings that will receive students will be at least $110 million, school maintenance and construction officials said yesterday.
Private contractors and school system workers have to build age-appropriate restrooms for pre-kindergarten students, increase gymnasium space at some schools and add classrooms, among other projects.
The school closings plan of Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty will require $19 million to convert facilities such as Francis Middle School in Northwest and LaSalle Elementary School in Northeast into learning centers for students in pre-kindergarten to eighth grade.
-- Theola Labbé 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 Seattle school district defers maintenance-- Seattle Times Washington: February 10, 2008 [ abstract] Seattle Public Schools employees put in about 400 requests a week for basic maintenance: faulty equipment, leaky plumbing, burned-out lights and other small projects. In a given week, only about 100 get fixed.
And while district officials say health and safety issues are always a priority, just last week lead-based paint was flaking onto the playground at Van Asselt Elementary School  a problem the district identified 10 years ago. And in December, at Nathan Hale High, a partially blocked drain contributed to the extensive flooding that closed the school for four days.
Officials say two failed levies in the 1990s, along with major cuts to the district's maintenance budget, have saddled it with a backlog of thousands of maintenance projects. Worse, the district's 6,100-item database is so outdated, officials don't know exactly what fixes are needed or what's already been done.
A 2006 report pegged the total repair bill for all 100-plus buildings at $485 million. About $100 million worth of that work will be paid for with last year's capital levy. The deferred maintenance has "had the effect of moving the district to only the highest-priority items addressed," said School Board member Michael DeBell. "I think the appearances of the buildings have suffered, and something that is not necessarily immediate or health-and-safety issues still should get done. A lot of that work can only be put off so long before it becomes a health-and-safety issue."
-- Emily Heffter Seattle schools have $485 million maintenance backlog
-- Seattle Post-Intelligencer Washington: January 24, 2008 [ abstract] Seattle Public Schools has roughly $485 million in deferred maintenance on its school buildings and properties, largely because of construction-levy failures in the '90s and inadequate state funding for education, School Board members were told. The district has had a substantial backlog of maintenance and repair projects for decades, but the district's facilities staff members gave the School Board an updated figure during a work session to discuss updating the district's facilities master plan. The document is intended to guide the district's use of its buildings and properties.
-- Staff Writers Baltimore Councilmen Study Tax Hike to Pay for School Construction -- Examiner Maryland: January 16, 2008 [ abstract] As the County Council struggles to fund school construction, some council members floated the idea of increasing taxes residents pay when selling their houses instead of fees placed on developers. Councilmen Edward Middlebrooks and Jamie Benoit proposed higher transfer and recordation taxes and tying the revenue to school construction. “It’s a worthwhile discussion ... if we looked at how the transfer tax may allow us to have a steady stream of funding to actually do something about the schools,†Middlebrooks said. This proposal emerged as the County Council debated over proposed increases to impact fees â€" charges levied on new development for expanding roads and schools â€" that County Executive John R. Leopold is seeking to offset rising construction costs. Using the transfer and recordation taxes, instead of the impact fee, may be a better option because impact fees are restricted by geography and to only new construction â€" making them less effective, council members said â€" while tax revenue is more flexible and reliable and could be used for maintenance, officials said.
-- Jason Flanagan Report: Maryland's School Maintenance Problems Sometimes Ignored -- The Examiner Maryland: January 04, 2008 [ abstract] Plumbing problems, cracked walls and damaged roofs at schools in Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Harford and Howard counties remained unrepaired after state inspectors raised concerns about them, a new report shows. “I know how limited the schools’ resources are so it’s not terribly surprising that certain things get overlooked, but I do think the fact that the state is focusing on them will tend to increase the responsiveness,†said David Lever, executive director of the state’s Public School Construction Program, which performed the inspections. “The issue of responsiveness is important because there are going to be deficiencies but it’s about how the schools react that will make a difference.â€
In Baltimore County, problems included a lack of tree trimming and ground maintenance, which led to clogged drains and damage to roofs, walls and windows, the report reveals. But Baltimore County also is home to five of the state’s 49 schools recognized as “superior†during inspections last school year of 35 components, including heating, air conditioning, roofs and parking lots. Building operations supervisor Mark Russell and Principal Carole Quental credit their monthly meetings on improvement projects. “Our team realizes that keeping a clean, comfortable climate in our building has an impact across the board,†Quental said. “By keeping people comfortable and happy in their working environments, they can focus on the achievement of students.†The state’s worst-maintained schools, flagged as “not adequate†during inspections last school year, totaled six in Baltimore City and four in Prince George’s County.
-- Kelsey Volkmann 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 The Price of Neglect-- Washington Post District of Columbia: December 31, 2007 [ abstract] The Army Corps of Engineers came to the District in the late 1990s on an expensive mission: launch a massive overhaul of decrepit school buildings, which eventually included spending $80 million to replace ancient heating systems with brand-new boilers to last 25 years or more.
Since then, 40 of the 55 renovated heating systems have broken down or needed major repair. Public schools officials failed to maintain the new equipment, leading to problems such as damage from mineral deposits that built up because the water was not properly treated, repair records and interviews show.
It would have cost just $100,000 a year to remove harmful minerals from the water flowing into all of the more than 400 boilers in the public schools. But maintenance officials say there was never enough money for it in their budget.
As a result, heating systems old and new have been breaking down all over the school district. Administrators had to sink more than $10 million into emergency repairs this year alone, prompted by cold classrooms at 71 schools in February that displaced hundreds of children.
-- David S. Fallis, V. Dion Haynes and Dan Keating Mississippi District Praised for Maintenance, But New Buildings Needed -- Natchez Democrat Mississippi: December 20, 2007 [ abstract] On average, school buildings in the Natchez-Adams School District are half a century old. The newest of the six schools housing grades kindergarten through 12th grade is Frazier Primary, which is 43 years old. The oldest is McLaurin Elementary, which is 54 years old. The buildings have been patched, partially rewired, painted and re-roofed several times over in some cases. And the district’s efforts in making old buildings work is something of which they are proud. But the buildings aren’t getting any younger, and good maintenance can only go so far.
Administrators know that soon the challenge has to move from maintaining old buildings to funding new ones, but they don’t have a plan they think will work just yet. Building a new school would take a bond issue, Superintendent Anthony Morris said. And that means higher taxes. “Before we start considering any buildings, you have to investigate the community environment,†Morris said. “The first thing that’s going to be said is, ‘That’s going to raise my taxes and I don’t want taxes raised.’†Morris said he feels certain the community would not embrace a bond issue right now, despite the need. “A bond issue is somewhere out in the future,†he said. “For now, we need to study community perception of the idea.â€
-- Julie Finley Plan for Joint Use of LAUSD Campuses Inches Ahead -- Daily News California: December 12, 2007 [ abstract] Calling it a logical step that maximizes public land, the Los Angeles City Council approved a plan to expand agreements with the Los Angeles Unified School District to keep schools open on nights and weekends for the public. "The time has definitely come for this," Councilwoman Janice Hahn said. "I will tell you that the people I talk with all want to know why we can't work together to make better use of these facilities. "They see these facilities and wonder why we can't work together and make better use of them." Under the proposal, a master joint use agreement is to be developed - the school board is scheduled to take up a similar proposal soon - in which the the district and city would agree to develop more sites at which the public can use the facilities after school hours. In the past, such agreements have stalled over liability concerns and cost of maintenance and operation. Councilman Tom LaBonge, who has been spearheading the project, said costs for both sides can be reduced by working together to make the land available. "We are finally (able to) make a step forward for increased joint use," LaBonge said, adding that the initial program is to identify 17 sites throughout the city in addition to 30 already in place. "What we are doing is developing a framework of agreement for the city and the LAUSD," LaBonge said.
-- Rick Orlov Lew: School upkeep funds short-- The Examiner District of Columbia: December 08, 2007 [ abstract] The fund devoted to maintaining D.C. public school buildings is tens of millions of dollars short of what is needed, according to the city's school facilities chief, who has issued a new comprehensive work plan for the rest of the year.
At present, D.C. Public Schools spends just $1.73 per square foot on maintenance, which is "well below" benchmarks in other urban districts, according to the new report from Allen Lew, head of school facilities.
His Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization was created during the mayoral takeover of the schools and recently added basic school repairs to its responsibilities.
When that switch happened, the office's maintenance budget swelled from $6 million to almost $30 million, according to the report, but several million more dollars are needed.
Lew has stressed in a number of public meetings and announcements that the conditions of the city's schools are deplorable and that he hopes to make changes to reflect the importance of education in the architecture and quality of the facilities.
His report was requested by members of the D.C. Council in October so they could understand the office's priorities and work schedule until a master facilities plan is finalized in the spring.
-- Dena Levitz Mold, Air-Quality Issues Ongoing Concern at South Carolina Schools
-- Island Packet South Carolina: November 16, 2007 [ abstract] Here in the wet Lowcountry, mold is a fact of life. That's why it is imperative the Beaufort County School District have in place a maintenance plan that includes quick response times to keep ahead of this potentially health-threatening problem. It's also imperative that we understand and account for any construction or structural issues that might lead to problems with mold. A leaking roof at the 3-year-old Bluffton High School is very disturbing, especially given past experience. And unfortunately, the school district has years of experience in tackling this problem. The district has paid millions of dollars for repairs and cleaning and has faced and filed lawsuits related to air quality and health problems. We've learned that turning off air-conditioning systems during our hot, steamy summers can be a problem, and that carpeting in hallways and classrooms, while good at reducing noise, can increase problems with mold and dirt.
The community's first big introduction to mold problems came in the early 1990s with problems at the new middle school on Hilton Head Island. After the $9 million school opened in 1991, it was plagued with mold, high levels of carbon dioxide and other air quality problems caused by poor ventilation. District officials filed a lawsuit after spending an estimated $695,000 to correct air-quality problems at the school. The district received $275,000 from companies involved in the school's construction in a mediated settlement. District officials even blamed mold problems for the 1994 defeat of an $80 million school bond referendum. (Voters approved a $122 million referendum the next year.) In 2003, the district spent $2.7 million fixing problems at Battery Creek High School, and in 2002 and 2003 spent about $5 million fixing problems in the two older sections of the Hilton Head elementary school. The $3.5 million new HVAC system in the school's "Blue Building" came after teachers filed a complaint with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health about air-quality hazards at the elementary school. The agency inspected the building and found excessive carbon dioxide levels and fungal contamination. Given that history, it's troubling to learn that since the beginning of the school year, five schools in southern Beaufort County have reported problems with water leaking.
-- Editorial 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 Criteria being drafted to select up to 20 D.C. schools to close-- The Examiner District of Columbia: November 01, 2007 [ abstract] Education leaders in D.C. are working to define what makes a high-functioning school so they can use the tenets to determine the approximately 20 public schools that will be closed in the next three years.
Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso had said criteria to guide the selection and order of school consolidations would be out by the end of October, but officials now say it will take a few
more weeks to finalize the information.
Once the criteria is set, school officials will hold meetings to inform citizens and engage them in the decision-making.
“It shouldn’t take long after that to [release a definitive closings list],†said Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s spokeswoman, Mafara Hobson.
Declining enrollment in the public schools and facilities maintenance issues are driving the school closings.
Rhee and Reinoso are using research from the 21st Century School Fund, Brookings Institution and Urban Institute on school enrollment trends to make their decisions.
-- Dena Levitz 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 Is Fort Worth School District Up to Bond Challenges?
-- Star-Telegram Texas: October 28, 2007 [ abstract] As its front line of defense against waste, fraud and mismanagement, the Fort Worth school district plans to add several positions, including an in-house architect, an internal auditor, a financial manager and a chief construction executive, to oversee the $593.6 million bond package. The district is also improving its accounting and business operations. Among the changes is new accounting software, slated to be deployed in March, that will allow the district to track bond expenditures project-by-project from start to finish.
Still, Superintendent Melody Johnson and her top lieutenants in technology, maintenance and operations, and finance face daunting tasks if voters approve the bond package Nov. 6. District officials will have to hire, assimilate and train the new employees, get the kinks out of the new accounting software and implement checks and balances while trying to launch the largest bond program ever undertaken by a Tarrant County school district. The massive effort is intended to avoid a repeat of the 1999 bond program debacle and a 1980 school bond scandal, both of which were blamed in part on shoddy financial controls. "You learn by your mistakes," Johnson said. "I don't think anybody sets out to do any harm."
-- Yamil Berard Guest View: Our Future is Always Under Construction in Winona, Minnesota Schools -- Winona Daily News Minnesota: October 23, 2007 [ abstract] It is a widely held belief that public education is essential to the local economy. Schools are a significant part of the infrastructure of a community and can have a direct impact on real estate values, employment, wages and countless other economic factors in the life of our citizens. Healthy public schools are often as much an indicator of economic progress as the numbers of people employed locally or the profit and loss indicators of area businesses. Often people judge the quality of a community and the educational institutions that serve them by what they see on the outside of the buildings. Is there a link between the overall maintenance of our buildings, the condition of school facilities, and student academic achievement? According to many research studies on this issue, the answer is yes.
Studies conducted over the past 20 years have shown a direct correlation between the overall qualities of learning environments and enhanced academic outcomes. According to a report sponsored by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, “The overall impact a school building has on students can be either positive or negative, depending upon the condition of the building. In cases where students attend school in substandard buildings they are definitely handicapped in their academic achievement. Correlation studies show a strong positive relationship between overall building conditions and student achievement.†The Winona Area Public Schools also face these same challenges with our facilities. We have worked hard to make real improvements to our school buildings and grounds over the past few years, yet we hope to make even greater progress on them in the years to come.
-- Paul Durand There's More Than One Way to Manage Schools' Pests -- Roanoke Times Virginia: October 03, 2007 [ abstract] Fairview Elementary School's recent rat infestation has nudged the Roanoke school system toward more modern methods of dealing with pests. The school system is putting together what's known in pest-control circles as an integrated pest management plan. It relies more on building maintenance, regular cleaning and record keeping than on the liberal use of pesticides. Instead of hiring an exterminator to apply pesticides regularly, the school system wants its employees to take on more responsibility for keeping rats, roaches and other pests out of school buildings. "The goal is to keep rodents out of the facility and keep it very inhospitable for them which they [school staff] are completely in charge of," said Dini Miller, an entomologist and urban pest specialist at Virginia Tech who is working with the Roanoke school system. "That is not something your pest control company can do for you." Although there's always going to be some evidence of pests in school buildings, the goal is to keep it to a minimum and to deal with the unwanted visitors promptly, she said.
-- David Harrison Lew Seeks Control of Maintaining Schools
-- Washington Post District of Columbia: September 28, 2007 [ abstract] Allen Y. Lew, the D.C. schools construction czar, asked the D.C. Council yesterday for power to take over the routine maintenance of school buildings, saying that to fully transform crumbling schoolhouses, he needs funding and staff members now assigned to the school system.
City education leaders also said yesterday, for the first time, that they plan to close some schools next year.
Lew said his Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization should acquire the school system's Office of Facilities Management, a $33 million department that responds to routine maintenance requests such as repairing roofs and does long-term planning for multimillion-dollar construction projects recommended in the Master Facilities Plan. He also asked for a one-year extension to submit an updated Master Facilities Plan, which was due Monday.
Lew testified in a public roundtable that he has run into "bureaucratic slowdowns" because the school system retains control of construction contracts.
"The system is in gridlock and paralysis," Lew said. If he managed that office, he told council members, "we can move forward in a cleaner, more efficient manner."
In a statement released last night, Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee said Lew had made significant progress with facilities "and could certainly bring about the same level of change and accountability to the Office of Facilities Management."
-- Theola Labb After repair blitz, 500 fire code violations remain in D.C. schools-- the examiner District of Columbia: September 26, 2007 [ abstract] There are nearly 500 fire code violations in the D.C. school system, a formidable obstacle likely to take the rest of the school year and millions of dollars to overcome, officials told The Examiner Tuesday.
Tony Robinson, director of communications for school facilities chief Allen Lew, said the 492 existing violations are down from a high of 2,520 fire code failings a few months ago.
Roughly 2,000 violations were mostly taken care of during the so-called summer repairs blitz, when crews installed air conditioning units and other essential equipment in half of the district’s schools.
“We were able to make a big dent during that time,†Robinson said.
Still, to correct the rest of the deficiencies, work will likely continue throughout the school year so that “going into next year we have a clean slate,†he added.
Fire code violations can vary substantially from a blocked door to excessive piles in front of windows.
maintenance workers and firefighters are in the midst of reviewing the outstanding code violations.
-- Dena Levitz 52 Paterson, New Jersey Schools Shut Down for Fire-Code Violations -- New York Times New Jersey: September 08, 2007 [ abstract] All 52 of the schools in Paterson's run-down troubled district were shuttered on short notice, locking out 28,000 students. The shutdown set off a political brawl between the mayor and district officials after city inspectors found what they said were scores of dangerous fire-code violations at half of the schools.
Working parents frantically searched for baby sitters they said they could ill afford. They wondered why city officials allowed the schools to open despite the violations, which included faulty alarm systems, missing sprinkler heads, unsafe extension cords, and missing ceiling tiles  and why school administrators had failed to fix problems that in some cases dated to 2006.
The mayor accused the school district, which has been under state control for years, of hiring a maintenance contractor who filed reports falsely claiming to have repaired fire violations. Although he declined to name the contractor, he said he had referred the matter to Passaic County prosecutors.
-- Nate Schweber and Anne Barnard Baltimore School Buildings Show Age
-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: September 01, 2007 [ abstract] The broken air conditioning that kept Thomas Johnson Elementary closed all week highlights a continuing problem in the Baltimore school system: building parts that were, until recently, neglected for decades. Until last year, the system did little to take care of its building equipment. The system's 170 school buildings are the oldest in the state and in need of nearly $1 billion just for basic maintenance. J. Keith Scroggins, the school system's chief operating officer, compares the situation with driving a car for several years without an oil change or tuneup. "At that point, when the car starts breaking down, it's just one thing after another, because you have old parts that have never been dealt with," he said. "We're dealing with very old equipment that hasn't been well maintained until this year. You can't catch up on something like that."
-- Sara Neufeld Cost Rises On D.C. School Repairs-- Washington Post District of Columbia: August 23, 2007 [ abstract] District leaders said yesterday that they need to spend an additional $120 million to make emergency repairs to city schools because the dilapidated buildings need more work than originally planned.
That money would go toward 70 schools that officials said were spruced up over the summer and are ready to open when class begins Monday, but the buildings have a backlog of work orders and code violations. In addition, the funds will address heating and air-conditioning problems throughout the system so students won't have to sit in classrooms that are too cold or hot.
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) announced the School Stabilization Program at a news conference at Calvin Coolidge Senior High School in Northwest yesterday in his latest effort to bring noticeable change to the 55,000-student school system.
Fenty, who gained control of D.C. public schools in June, said the school maintenance issues had lingered for decades. "If we attack all of those [repairs], and we have to, and we will, it's about a $120 million cost," he said.
Allen Y. Lew, chief of the new school modernization office, said he needs that amount of money to clear a backlog of more than 10,000 work orders dating back at least five years.
Last year, the D.C. Council approved a $2.3 billion, 10-year school modernization package to upgrade aging buildings and construct new ones. The additional money Fenty seeks for the emergency repairs is separate from those funds. Lew said his repair and construction plans will "change the culture of the school system."
"What we're looking to do is eradicate all of the outstanding violations . . . from health code issues to fire code issues, and the most critical ones we will address on a priority basis, and the rest of them we will spread throughout the rest of the year," he said.
-- Theola Labbé IMPROVING THEIR GRADES-- Times-Picayune Louisiana: August 19, 2007 [ abstract] Three months ago, it seemed impossible that Thurgood Marshall Middle School would be renovated in time to hold classes in September. Even the contractors thought so.
The 99-year-old school on Canal Street took on 1 to 2 feet of water after Hurricane Katrina. The first floor looked like "a dungeon," state Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek said, and it hadn't been gutted since the storm, which blew out windows and heavily damaged the school's roof. Bathrooms and ceiling tiles were crumbling after years of deferred maintenance.
But when Pastorek and other officials toured Marshall on Saturday, they found new floors, ceilings and lighting and a new kitchen. The asphalt for a new parking lot was put in Friday, and the school will be ready for classes Sept. 4.
The visit to Marshall was part of a tour of several schools in the state-run Recovery School District scheduled to open next month for the first time since Katrina.
"A month ago, it looked like it was possible," Pastorek said. "About two weeks ago, it looked like it was real."
As many as 26 additional public schools will open in New Orleans this school year, depending on enrollment, with the Recovery District operating as many as 17 of them. As many as 6,000 new students are expected to enroll in the city's public schools, the bulk of them in Recovery District schools, for a total of more than 32,000.
-- Darran Simon Rundown Buildings Could Erode Bond's Political Support in San Diego -- Voice of San Diego California: August 07, 2007 [ abstract] It was summer of 1998, and the San Diego Unified School District was just months away from asking San Diego voters to approve the largest public works project in the county's history. To overcome the Herculean task of receiving the required two-thirds approval from the voters, the district reached out to political leaders all over the community, asking them to sign on to a plan to rebuild crumbling schools and prepare the district for the rising tide of enrollment.
But two key holdouts remained: The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and the county's Taxpayers Association continued to withhold their support for Proposition MM, the $1.51 billion bond measure. The groups pointed to the district's estimated $258 million maintenance backlog -- work that should have been done to keep the school system's facilities in shape but never was -- and asked how they could be sure that San Diego Unified would take care of its facilities in the future, once the new schools promised by Proposition MM were built.
And so, in those waning days of June, the two sides struck a deal. Under the agreement made after a series of closed-door meetings, the taxpayer and business groups said they would back a plan that allowed the district to use bond dollars to eliminate the deferred maintenance backlog; in exchange, San Diego Unified vowed to spend enough of its own money in future years to, as the district's press release put it at the time, "ensure that schools and classrooms are never allowed to deteriorate to a substandard level again."
-- Vladimir Kogan Upkeep of Schools Is New Focus For Budget-- Washington Post Maryland: July 26, 2007 [ abstract] Howard County's four older high schools need $35 million in repairs, according to a recently released study, and education leaders are warning that a dedicated source of capital is needed.
"There are not sufficient funds unless we have a sustainable source of funding for school improvement," Superintendent Sydney L. Cousin said last week. "We will talk about this as a community. Stay tuned."
A recently released study -- spurred by debates over serious maintenance needs at Ellicott City's Mount Hebron High School -- took a look at deteriorating conditions at that facility along with three other older high schools: Atholton and Hammond in Columbia and Centennial in Ellicott City.
An estimated $35 million is needed for maintenance and replacement of essentials such as mechanical systems and roofs in the next two decades. "This is just the beginning," Cousin said. An additional $120 million would be required to bring the older schools up to the standards of the county's newer schools, according to Ken Roey, the district's executive director of facility planning.
A second phase of the study, examining the future maintenance needs of the eight other high schools and 19 middle schools in the district, is underway, Roey said. The third phase, looking at 39 elementary schools, is expected to finish next year.
School board Chairman Diane Mikulis said the report "quantifies the need."
But she, like Cousin, expressed concern about the future costs of school upkeep: "We need a sustainable revenue source."
-- Mary Otto Using School Sports Facilities in Summertime -- The Intelligencer Pennsylvania: July 20, 2007 [ abstract] School is out and in the summer months, the sports facilities at Tohickon and across the region are the public's playground. In districts across the region, school sports facilities are open for public use, though with some restrictions  especially when it comes to football fields and baseball fields, which require more costly upkeep. Most tracks, playgrounds and tennis courts are open to the public across the region. Field use and use of indoor courts and gyms, however, varies on the district. Most districts across the region place limits on football fields because of the maintenance and upkeep required. Indoor facilities can be used, but need to be formally reserved and a custodial fee may apply to for-profit community groups. â€Å"Our facilities are used extensively by the community; it's one of the things we are focused on promoting. We are part of the community and a firm believer that facilities are here for the public to use as much as they can,†said Mario Galante, principal at Quakertown High School. School events and sports clubs, though, have first priority. The school track and tennis courts are used by the local community, he said, adding that the lights are coin-operated at night. The Hatboro-Horsham district has a similar policy. â€Å"We try very hard to accommodate facility use requests from the taxpaying public,†said Bob Reichert, Hatboro-Horsham's director of business affairs.
-- Marion Callahan Chillin' in Class: Maintenance in New Haven's New High-Tech Schools -- New Haven Advocate Connecticut: July 03, 2007 [ abstract] It was too cold too often last winter in at least seven of New Haven’s new multimillion-dollar schools. While daffodils were shooting up early in an unusually warm January, teachers and principals were complaining of classrooms, or entire wings, that were too coldâ€"sometimes day after day. maintenance reports for the Aquaculture Sound School, Celentano, Clinton Avenue, Edgewood, Fair Haven Middle, John C. Daniels and John S. Martinez schools all showed lots of complaints relating to heating and cooling systems. These seven schools are all new, built between 1999 and 2006, at a combined cost of $243 milliom to city and state taxpayers.
The new schools use complicated HVAC control systems manufactured by Honeywell International that oversee heating and cooling in the buildings. They cost between $65,000 and $75,000 to install in each new school. From a small office on Chapel Street, a few computers can monitor and regulate room temperatures in each classroom, humidity levels in the pool room and CO2 levels inside and out.
-- Betsy Yagla 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 Potential Changes Loom for Oregon School Construction Tax -- East Oregonian Oregon: May 25, 2007 [ abstract] A proposal to allow Oregon's 197 school districts to levy development fees to pay for school construction and maintenance already has more twists and turns than a soap opera plot - and now more potential changes loom before the legislative session winds down next month. At a hearing before the House Revenue Committee, an array of groups, from churches to hospitals to big-box retailers pleaded to be exempt from the fees. Meanwhile, cities are upset that the proposal would put a 10-year freeze on their own ability to charge any new construction taxes or fees, and offered several amendments of their own.
-- Associated Press From North to South, San Antonio School Bonds Get the Nod -- San Antonio Express-News Texas: May 13, 2007 [ abstract] Voters in three San Antonio school districts said a resounding yes to paying for building new schools and improving old ones, despite a jaw-dropping $1.2 billion overall price tag. The bulk of the money is to build new schools and classroom additions to keep up with growth. Northside's bond totals $693 million  the largest school bond in San Antonio history  and will finance the construction of a dozen new schools and about $275 million worth of upgrades, renovations and classroom additions.
School officials expect to pay off about 70 percent of the debt using state money. Officials in all three districts say property owners shouldn't see a difference in their tax bills, even with the bonds passing. A 2006 mandate by the Texas Legislature will drop the maintenance and operations portion of school property-tax bills from $1.33 to $1 per $100 of assessed value next year. That's on top of the drop from $1.50 to $1.33 reflected in this year's tax bills.
-- Jenny LaCoste-Caputo A Tax Increase With a Purpose in Tennessee-- Bristol Herald Courier Tennessee: May 06, 2007 [ abstract] A proposed 12-cent property tax hike should not come as a surprise to Bristol Tennessee residents. The increase is needed to cover the cost of the city’s ambitious school construction and renovation plans. Instead of grousing about it, Bristol residents should applaud the city for turning long-overdue attention to its school buildings. The buildings represent one of the city’s biggest investments, yet they’ve received little attention other than routine maintenance for decades. Some, like Fairmount Elementary â€" the oldest school in the city â€" are at the end of their natural lifespan. Continuing to make patchwork repairs would be a disservice to the students who begin their academic careers there.
-- Editorial Green Clean Schools Act Would Impact Illinois Schools Statewide -- The Southern Illinois: May 06, 2007 [ abstract] New Illinois state legislation aimed at making cleaning supplies for school districts more environmentally friendly appears to be well on its way to passing both houses of the General Assembly. House Bill 0895 creates the Green Cleaning Schools Act. If passed and signed into law by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, it would establish guidelines and specifications for environmentally sensitive cleaning and maintenance products for use in school facilities. The legislation states that "no later than 90 days after implementation of the guidelines and specifications, all elementary and secondary public and non-public schools shall establish a green cleaning policy." Moreover, schools should exclusively purchase and use environmentally sensitive cleaning products, but may first deplete their existing cleaning and maintenance supply stocks and implement the new requirements in the procurement cycle for the following school year.
-- John D. Homan More Florida Schools Making Earth-Friendly Grade-- St. Petersburg Times Florida: April 22, 2007 [ abstract] Imagine a school with classrooms constructed entirely of recycled materials. One that uses nontoxic paint on the walls and low-maintenance polished concrete for floors. Parking spaces near the entrance would be reserved for carpools and people who drive fuel-efficient vehicles. Native plants would dot the landscape. Those are the types of ingredients that likely would appear on a "nutritional label" for a school considered environmentally sensitive by the U.S. Green Building Council.
-- Donna Winchester Rhode Island Proposes Changes in School Construction Projects-- Providence Journal Rhode Island: April 04, 2007 [ abstract] The Rhode Island Department of Education is proposing a new set of regulations that would hold school districts more accountable for construction and maintenance of school buildings and require districts to set aside millions in their budgets each year for upkeep. Each year, the state spends tens of millions on school construction projects across the state. This year, the state has given districts $46.8 million in “housing aid,†which covers both new construction and payments on bonds. Wealthier communities â€" 18 out of 36 school districts â€" get the state minimum contribution of 30 percent of construction costs. Poorer districts get more help, based on enrollment, property values and median income. Eighty percent of Providence’s school construction is covered by the state, and the city has just proposed a $792-million plan to gradually rebuild half of the district’s schools. Central Falls gets 94.2 percent of its school construction money from the state. Lawmakers and state education officials wanted more oversight over how the money was spent, said Carolyn Dias, finance director for the state education department. Concerned about rising costs in recent years, the legislature last year asked the education department to review its school construction process. The proposed changes have taken about a year to develop, Dias said.
-- Jennifer D. Jordan 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 Issues Vary Town by Town in Choosing to Build a School-- Times Record Maine: February 27, 2007 [ abstract] Although both Brunswick and Durham are hoping to have new schools built by 2010, the local approval process is complicated in Brunswick by strong neighborhood allegiances to older schools that might end up being closed. Durham, on the other hand, has one school for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Its proposed new school would be built behind the present one and house the same grades as the present school. At that time the old school would be torn down.
In neighboring School Administrative District 75, which replaced the older Bowdoin Central School with a brand-new building in 2002, Business Manager Ron Lavender said newer buildings are better insulated than older ones; older buildings can be more expensive to heat. The new Bowdoin Central School has modern windows with sealed glass to keep in the heat and its maintenance costs are down compared to its predecessor, said Lavender. Lavender said older buildings might not have the technological infrastructure needed in today's schools either  for example, they might lack an adequate number of electrical outlets in classrooms, or be limited in how much electricity can be drawn from them. Lavender acknowledges that renovation and preservation of older school buildings is always an option  but it also comes with a cost. "Once a building gets in the neighborhood of  let's say  20 to 25 years old, you start having to budget replacement of major systems or components in the building, such as the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, flooring and roofs. There's some trade-off with younger buildings in that expenses are going to pay for a new one," Lavender said. "A lot of times you move from paying for a building to paying for major repairs and renovations." Lavender added that the difference with new construction is that the state typically pays for the bulk of new school's construction cost, while maintenance and repairs come out of a school's operating budget, which is paid for largely by local taxpayers.
-- Michael Reagan San Diego Schools Being Shorted on Maintenance, Study Says-- San Diego Union-Tribune California: February 26, 2007 [ abstract] About $131 million a year is spent on maintenance and operations in the San Diego school district, but taxpayers in the state's second largest public education system are far from getting the most bang for the buck, a contested study says. Completed by a consulting firm at a cost of $195,525, the study calls for an $800,000 overhaul that could affect more than 1,000 custodians, landscapers, architects and others. The study details numerous deficiencies, but its accuracy is being challenged by maintenance and operations director Bill Dos Santos.
Trustees are scheduled to discuss creating a new management structure. Other proposals would increase the number of landscapers from about 70 to 101 and raise custodial spending by $633,000 to $33.5 million a year. Money for more landscapers has already been budgeted, according to consultant Phil Stover, and the modest increase for custodial services would come from realigning existing resources. Past cuts have decimated landscaping and custodial services, and parents have complained about the appearance of schools. District officials insisted the reorganization would be cost-neutral, but some question that assertion.
-- Helen Gao Snoqualmie Valley schools measure is big; so are needs, supporters say
-- Seattle Times Washington: January 19, 2007 [ abstract] Snoqualmie Valley voters are about to see a whopper of a school-bond measure on their Feb. 6 ballot.
The $209.2 million proposition is the largest school-bond measure Snoqualmie Valley School District has ever put forward, with about half of it going to build a second high school to accommodate fast-growing student enrollment.
If the bond passes, the district plans to open the $110 million high school by 2011.
"A common reaction from people has been 'Wow, that's expensive,' " said Kathryn Lerner, one of the co-chairs of Valley Voters for Education, the citizens group working in support of the bond measure. "They want to know if we really did our homework, and yes, we did."
Almost all of the money from the bond would be used to accommodate the growing numbers of students coming from families moving to new housing developments in the area. Besides the high school, the bond would provide $29.6 million to construct a sixth elementary school and $28.5 million to buy land for future schools.
An additional $3 million would pay for 14 portable classrooms to be added to Mount Si High School, to accommodate students until a second high school can be built, and $8.6 million would be used to upgrade and remodel existing schools.
The district's bus maintenance buildings would get a $5.5 million renovation to keep up with its growing fleet
-- Rachel Tuinstra Seattle's schools are in a tough spot, once again
-- Seattle Times Washington: November 01, 2006 [ abstract] When a fiscal crisis hit Seattle Public Schools in 2002, the district found itself $35 million in the hole. A year later, Superintendent Joseph Olchefske stepped down under public pressure, and the majority of the School Board was up for re-election. A crucial levy vote was just a few months away.
Sound familiar?
The 46,000-student district is in a similar spot now. Four members of the seven-member School Board are up for re-election in November 2007, and Superintendent Raj Manhas announced last week that he will resign at the end of this school year. In February, the public will vote on a maintenance levy and the district's first construction bond, a $490 million measure to renovate several schools.
But this time, the district is in a different kind of crisis  one of leadership rather than finances. And some say it will be even tougher to overcome.
Former Superintendent Olchefske was seen by many as the reason for the financial crisis of 2003  and his departure seemed to clear a path toward solving the problem.
Outgoing Superintendent Manhas, meanwhile, rebuilt the district's reserves and put in place stricter financial oversight. His supporters praise his ability to listen and say he has changed the district's culture, creating more openness and a willingness to tackle issues formerly considered untouchable.
But he will leave another problem behind: a divided School Board under fire from the community for its recent decisions regarding school closures. The board voted in July to close seven schools and instructed the superintendent to close three or four more as a second phase. But the board's support for phase two  and perhaps for Manhas himself  waned, and two weeks ago the board killed the second round of closures.
-- Emily Heffter On the Field, D.C. School Finds Victory; In the Locker Room, Rust and Neglect-- Washington Post District of Columbia: September 23, 2006 [ abstract] Arrelious Benn, a senior on the Dunbar Senior High School football team, is living every student athlete's dream: The all-Met wide receiver is so good that he is a prime reason his team was chosen to be featured on national television next month. But he and other athletes worry that the school in the District's Shaw neighborhood will become a national disgrace should the telecast highlight conditions that athletes confront daily: The running track that encircles the football field has been condemned because of potholes. The carpet in the locker room is tattered and the showers moldy. The secondhand equipment in the weight room is rusty; the floor tiles are cracked and the benches so ripped that nearly as much foam padding as black vinyl cover is showing.
A week after Superintendent Clifford B. Janey released a $2.3 billion, 15-year plan to upgrade school buildings and academics, a group including student athletes and parent activists is fighting to ensure that sports programs get their share of the funding. The group has flooded his office with complaints about the conditions and demanded $350 million for citywide athletic facility repairs now -- not years in the future. Janey said every track, football field, baseball field and other sports facility would be upgraded as part of his master plan to modernize all schools. "Our kids deserve access to high-quality sports and athletic facilities," Janey said in an interview.
Many other public schools across the city are in the same shape or worse. The deficiencies were caused by a complicated set of factors that have yet to be addressed: repeatedly shifting athletic department funds to the academic side to fill revenue gaps that resulted from declining enrollment systemwide; ignoring routine maintenance until small problems escalated into large, expensive ones; and hiring contractors who did shoddy work.
-- Dion Haynes Seattle School Building Levy Will be on Ballot-- Seattle Post-Intelligencer Washington: August 31, 2006 [ abstract] Seattle Public Schools plans to ask voters to approve a $490 million school-construction levy in February, but lingering anger over planned school closures and the competition for voters' tax dollars may make it a tougher sell than in the past. Details are still being worked out, but district staff members sketched out plans during a School Board workshop. Under two options being considered, the district would use about $380 million to either focus on renovating middle and high schools, or scale those projects back slightly and include significant remodeling projects at two elementary schools. Money also would go toward fixing the backlog of school-maintenance projects, some of which have been deferred for years because of tight budgets. Among them are expensive but needed fixes to improve indoor air quality at some schools, upgrade water systems and modernize some child care facilities. The levy also would pay for seismic upgrades, classroom additions and new synthetic sports turf at some schools, as well as $42 million in technology upgrades. But even if the levy passes, the district won't be able to fix all its buildings.
-- Jessica Blanchard Solar power in schools saves money, renews energy-- The Daily Transcript California: August 31, 2006 [ abstract] The Poway School District's first solar-powered school, Monterey Ridge Elementary, will open in August using solar energy to power 50 to 60 percent of the school's electrical needs. The solar photovoltaic system will lower electrical costs for the Monterey Ridge Elementary School by $30,000 to $40,000, said Doug Mann, Director of Facilities.
Lemon Grove installed solar panels at three existing schools in October 2005 that will provide about 95 percent of the school's energy needs. Half the $4 million cost was funded by a grant from the San Diego Regional Energy Office; the remainder will take about 15 years to pay back.
San Diego Unified School District has installed photovoltaic systems on the rooftops of 19 district buildings through a public-private partnership with Solar Integrated Technologies and GE Commercial Finance Energy Financial Services. The private entities pay all the up-front and maintenance costs, while the district agrees to buy the solar power for the next 20 years. Since the panels double as roofs, the district doesn't have to pay for roof maintenance, said J. William Naish, the district's energy utility coordinator. The system saves the district $100,000 in electricity costs and $46,000 in avoided roofing maintenance costs every year. San Diego Unified plans to install photovoltaic roofs at 24 more sites over the next two years.
-- Diana Samuels Brick by Brick. Ocala, Florida Lays Out its 5-year Construction Plan-- Ocala Star-Banner Florida: August 16, 2006 [ abstract] Marion County Public Schools unveiled its five-year construction plan that includes $140 million in renovations and new school construction to be launched this fiscal year. The project list shows that the school system will need $512 million in the next five years to renovate and build new schools, as well as complete maintenance on existing schools that need upgrades. Robert Knight, the school system's supervisor of facilities, told the board that the 2006-07 projects are fully funded, but the school system will be $217 million short in the next five years. Knight used all known income sources, from impact fees and sales tax to money that already has been allotted by the state for construction, to formulate the facilities plan. The school system will receive some state funds for construction projects in the future, but how much remains unknown. That's because school districts can only request construction money when a need is shown and that need can't be based on projected population numbers.
-- Joe Callahan Delaware's Aging Schools Need Replacing, Upgrading-- News Journal Delaware: July 31, 2006 [ abstract] Milford Middle is a perfect example of a school that needs to be replaced because of old age, and it has plenty of company across Delaware, said John Marinucci, who runs school plant planning and maintenance for the state's Department of Education and is former director of operations in the Milford district. The average age of Delaware's schools is 46 years, Marinucci said. And that fact could point to costly construction and renovation, a steady parade of referenda and higher taxes for Delaware residents. Not all old schools are in bad shape, though. A school's condition depends on how well it was built and how often it was renovated, officials say.
But with an average age of 46, even schools built to last 50 years are reaching the end of their lives. And buildings that hang on beyond their life expectancy might not offer the best learning environments for students if infrastructure such as proper lighting and air circulation are not brought into the 21st century. "You make it tougher for kids to learn," said Paul Abramson, a national educational space-planning consultant and columnist for School Planning and Management magazine. "Could you imagine the Philadelphia Eagles playing in a 46-year-old stadium, or the Phillies? You end up with kids who are not educated, or who are not educated enough to come into the modern world. Are you educating them for 1940, or are you educating them for 2040?"
Glen Earthman, a professor emeritus of education administration at Virginia Tech University, agrees. He conducted a study of North Dakota schools in 1995 that showed state test scores of students in schools with poor conditions were as much as 10 percent lower than students in better buildings. Similar studies in Virginia, Maryland and Washington produced similar results, he said.
To better educate children, school construction in Delaware also must keep pace with population growth and make room for full-day kindergarten. But casting its shadow on the need to build is the high cost of construction materials, which have soared in recent years because of factors such as increases in energy costs and an economic boom in China that has driven up worldwide demand for materials such as steel and concrete.
-- Edward L. Kenney and Andrew Tangel San Francisco Schools Eager for Bond Vote-- San Francisco Chronicle California: July 27, 2006 [ abstract] San Francisco voters have never met a school facilities bond they didn't like -- a winning streak at the ballot box not marred by the discovery of unfinished construction projects, misspending of funds on salaries or even criminal conduct by a $1,000-per-day contractor responsible for program oversight. District officials are hoping that streak of public support won't end anytime soon. The San Francisco Unified school board is expected to put up to a $500 million bond on the November ballot to pay for upgrades, maintenance and disabled access at 60 public schools across the city. If passed, city residents would see an average $12.50 added to their annual property tax bill per $100,000 of assessed value for the next 20 years.
The bond measure would be the largest city residents have seen for San Francisco's schools. Since 1988, voters have approved four bonds and one parcel tax totaling $696 million -- all money to build or fix school buildings. Taxpayers are still paying the tab on each of those 20-year obligations, a total of $88 in property taxes per $100,000 valuation each year as well as a $32.20 parcel tax per single-family home, according to the treasurer.
Nonetheless, board members say the schools need more money. Many of the projects outlined in the new bond proposal are similar for the 60 school sites that would receive funding, including the installation of fire detection and sprinkler systems at each campus and upgraded or new electrical, phone, security and plumbing systems. Each site also would see better disabled access, improvements necessary to comply with a 2004 legal settlement requiring the district to comply with the federal American Disabilities Act. The settlement requires the work to meet a series of deadlines, with final completion by 2012.
-- Jill Tucker Charleston Schools' Mobile Fixtures-- Post and Courier South Carolina: July 17, 2006 [ abstract] They've become a fixture of schools today, as common as textbooks, tests and No. 2 pencils. Politically correct educators call them different names - "learning cottages," "cabanas" and "relocatable teaching stations." But anyone who's ever seen a double-wide knows what they are: mobile homes. No matter their name, mobile classrooms are school districts' answer to growth and the inability to build facilities fast enough to keep pace with burgeoning student populations. Every local district relies on them, whether its student enrollment is growing or shrinking. Educators work around the less-than-ideal accommodations to ensure the temporary classrooms don't hinder student learning.
During the summers, school maintenance workers dedicate themselves to renovating dilapidated mobiles while officials shift others among schools. The process requires months of planning, teams of workers and costs tens of thousands of dollars. The moving, adding and renovating of the units is a small part of the bigger story about districts' progress in housing their students. [See related stories: Eyesore, or Necessary Class Space?; Charleston County Trims Use of Mobiles; and District 2 Adds Portable Units.]
-- Staff Writer Mississippi Education: Facility Needs Require Bonds-- Clarion-Ledger Mississippi: July 16, 2006 [ abstract] In Jackson, the local school board revealed plans for a $150 million bond referendum to fund school renovation and construction, but the capital city is not alone in needing new taxes to fund operations. Earlier this year, Laurel failed to pass a $16.5 million bond for a new middle school with 58.64 percent of the vote (just shy of the arbitrary 60 percent approval the Legislature requires). Last year, Lamar County, after several tries, passed a $43 million bond vote by 64.76 percent for new elementary schools. The year before, DeSoto County passed the largest bond issue in the state's history, $115 million.
In Jackson, the needs are plain. Many of Jackson's 32,000 public school students are packed into 50- or 60-year-old buildings that need major facelifts. According to a two-year study of the district's 59 school buildings by Tallahassee-based MGT of America, JPS has immediate needs to abandon one building, replace four, add two campuses in south Jackson and extensively renovate five other schools. JPS has about $18 million in reserves. And there's the rub - a situation shared by districts statewide. Since inaugurated in 2004, Gov. Haley Barbour has steadfastly opposed state tax hikes, upheld by legislators who have consistently underfunded the state's basic funding, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. For 2005, Barbour insisted school districts reach into their reserve funds to pay for operations. The 152 districts did so. But reserves are usually used for building and maintenance - leaving districts like Jackson in the hole; 23 districts dangerously so.
Jackson's plan includes only the highest priority needs, renovating some schools, building new ones in high-growth areas and upgrades citywide. Even so, it could be a hard sell. The last school bond referendum passed in the Jackson was in 1991, for $35.2 million. Facility needs are an essential part of funding education. It now falls on the Jackson community to decide.
-- Editorial Detroit School District Weighs Use of School Facilities-- The Detroit News Michigan: July 06, 2006 [ abstract] Detroit School Board is seeking ways to market closed school buildings to developers. Nearly 30 public schools shut last year in Detroit due to shrinking enrollment and budget constraints. Many vacant school buildings have attracted vagrants, pilfering and vandalism. Charles Mitchell, chief of public safety for the district says that Officers patrol the buildings and respond to break-ins.
The elected school board, newly seated this year, is taking stock of the buildings, plus another 17 closed structures, to determine their possible use and seek opportunities for marketing them to community groups and developers. Most of the schools were closed by the previous reform board led by CEO Kenneth Burnley. School officials are planning to sell the former Wilbur Wright School to developers for reuse as loft condominiums and commercial. Mark Schrupp, Deputy Chief of Facilities, maintenance and Auxiliary Services, is urging the board to add a full-time staff position to next year's budget for the purpose of marketing the vacant schools for alternative uses.
Board member Marvis Cofield, chairman of the facilities committee, believes selling the buildings should be a last resort. "We won't be selling just because we're not using it," he said. "You want to own as much land and as much buildings as possible. In neighborhoods that show the promise of growth, schools could reopen, he said. According to real estate agents, the loss of neighborhood schools has made homes in some areas less desirable.
-- Catherine Jun California District Struggles to Keep Schools Safe After Hours-- San Bernardino County Sun California: June 23, 2006 [ abstract] Just like most public schools in America, "No Trespassing' signs are clearly posted at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. Others warn visitors to check in at the office upon entering the school and sign in under the watchful eye of administrators and staff. But it was after hours that 11-year-old Anthony Michael Ramirez was shot and killed while playing basketball on the playground at King Middle School. It is an example of the dilemma school administrators face in trying to keep campuses open to the public and safe at the same time.
School grounds are generally closed to the public while classes are in session to protect the children, said Linda Hill, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino City Unified School District. But after hours, most of its 65 campuses are accessible to the public, leaving school district administrators in a quandary over how to keep campuses safe. Locking the campuses up after hours would leave children in poorer neighborhoods without any public parks nearby, with no safe place to play. Under a joint-use agreement with the city, organized activities like public soccer and football leagues often use school fields under adult supervision. But most of the campuses are accessible and often used by the public when school is not in session, Brown said. "We have students who use the fields, and we have joggers running our tracks at 5 a.m.," Brown said. "It's one of those situations where you are caught between public use of public facilities and fencing."
Many of the older campuses lack gates and fences at all of their entry points, making them difficult to secure. Newer campuses typically have only one entry point, which is easier to secure, as opposed to older schools, which may have several, said Gary Underwood, chief of the district Police Department, in an earlier interview. Fences, however, are a moot point and generally fail to stop the intrusions. The public sometimes shows little regard for school property, leaving the campuses filthy or even damaged. Aside from broken fences and locks, vandals will sometimes rip out the wiring on the sprinkler systems. People who come onto campus often leave dirty diapers and other unsanitary or dangerous things like broken glass behind that school maintenance workers then have to deal with. But the answer, school board members said, is not to close the campuses.
-- Selicia Kennedy-Ross Elementary Schoolhouses-- Boston Globe Massachusetts: May 30, 2006 [ abstract] "Back to basics" is the message to cities and towns in the new draft regulations from Massachusetts School Building Authority. In the past, city and town officials with building ambitions beyond the structurally sound could sell the state Department of Education on the need for a swimming pool or field house at the local high school. That won't pass muster with the two-year-old state authority, which covers 40 to 80 percent of the cost of new or renovated schools. State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, who chairs the quasi-public authority, is taking the steps needed to reform a broken, over-budget system that kept hundreds of school projects lingering on waiting lists. Some communities will oppose new space guidelines for determining allowable square feet per pupil and balk at the state's refusal to pay local financing costs. But well-managed projects should proceed smoothly now that the authority has pledged to reimburse cities and towns for school construction costs as they accrue.
Towns that use school building s for multiple uses, ranging from recreation to town meeting, will need to adjust. The state will no longer reimburse towns for incorporating such uses into oversized schools. It's an inflexible stance, but justifiably so. A maximum of $2.7 billion in state aid for school buildings will be available for a five-year period starting in July of 2007. And future funding for new schools could be subject to the vagaries of sales tax receipts. Fairness dictates that available funds be used to ensure that the maximum number of communities be provided with modern classrooms, labs, gyms, and other essentials. Local taxpayers are always free to support fancy additions with their own money, although that will often mean a property tax override. The proposed regulations also offer sensible incentives to towns willing to build "green" schools or establish maintenance trust funds.
-- Editorial A Great School Garden Needs a Village-- Marin Independent Journal California: May 27, 2006 [ abstract] To have a truly successful gardening program that is integrated into the daily business of educating students is a challenge. No one person - no matter how dedicated - can meet that challenge. Administrators, teachers, students, parents and community members all play important roles. It literally takes a village to create a successful, viable school garden.
The first requirement for a successful school garden program is support from the administration and teachers. They must see the potential that a school garden has for enriching all aspects of the curriculum. A garden can function as a hands-on outdoor science or math lab, a creative haven that inspires arts and writing, the basis for a nutrition program, or a place for studying customs and crafts of world cultures. It can be a place that fosters personal relations and group processes, including problem solving, sharing and patience.
Second, it is extremely beneficial to have a paid garden coordinator responsible for the garden. School garden coordinators are responsible for planting and maintenance. They are there on a regular basis as a resource for teachers and students. They are the ones who get their hands dirty every day.
Third, a cadre of volunteer parents and community members is essential. Parent groups offer hours of back-breaking labor as well as participate in fund-raising activities from bake sales to grant writing. Often parents network with community organizations and businesses, bringing professional expertise and support to the garden project. Many local nurseries make generous donations of plants and tools. Organizations such as School Environmental Education Docents (SEED) and the Marin Art and Garden Center (MAGC) provide free plants and seeds appropriate for school gardens. Master Gardeners provide advice and help on when and where to plant. Students are, of course, the main players in the school garden program. Time must be allotted in the school day so that students and their teachers can work and explore in the garden.
-- Marybeth Kampman Bungled High School Sewer Line to be Probed-- San Diego Union-Tribune California: May 04, 2006 [ abstract] A citizens group overseeing $1.51 billion in taxpayer-funded school building and repairs will investigate a bungled sewer line replacement project at Clairemont High School that could cost as much as $140,000 to fix. The Independent Citizens Oversight Committee for Proposition MM established a task force to conduct the probe with the help of a construction consultant. Proposition MM was approved by voters in 1998 to benefit the San Diego Unified School District.
The project was done by a contractor hired in 2002 for $1.3 million, primarily for a paving job at Clairemont High and Linda Vista Elementary schools. The Clairemont High sewer line – about $300,000 worth of work – was done at the same time to avoid tearing up the pavement in the future to install a new pipe. But some buildings were not connected to the new system. The district spent $61,000 connecting the left-out buildings to the new system in 2004 and 2005. It will have to spend an additional $50,000 to $80,000 to replace blue pipes the contractor used. It's a code violation to use blue pipes for sewers because they are for water lines. Sewer lines are supposed to be green. Concerns were raised that using blue pipes for a sewer line could lead to accidental cross-connections in the future between water and sewer, but district officials said the chance of that happening is remote because sewer lines are distinguished by other features. Repairs were done in 2004, 2005 and, most recently, in March because the sewer didn't back up and leak out until months after the project was done, said Bill Dos Santos, the district's director of maintenance and operations.
-- Helen Gao Wyoming Voters OK Bigger Schools-- Star-Tribune Wyoming: May 04, 2006 [ abstract] Voters in two Wyoming school districts sent a clear message that replacement schools offered by the state School Facilities Commission are, in their eyes, inadequate. By approving $5 million and $3 million bond issues, respectively, voters in Uinta County School District 6 in Lyman and Fremont County School District 6 in Pavillion agreed to pay more in local property taxes to augment school buildings that will be constructed with state money. For the Lyman district, it means a stand-alone middle school with an auditorium and bigger and more classrooms. In Pavillion, it means a new elementary school will have a gymnasium and a preschool classroom.
This isn't the first time that voters in local school districts have opted to tax themselves to build more than the School Facilities Commission was willing to pay for. The Wyoming Supreme Court in 2001 moved the responsibility for school construction and maintenance from the local school district level to the state, but the court gave districts the option to use local money to pay for "enhancements" such as swimming pools or extra lab space. The School Facilities Commission won't, however, provide state funding to maintain the additional space. But neither Hillstead nor Clapp seemed concerned about their districts' ability to cover maintenance costs once the new facilities are built. "We're going to have less square footage than we presently have, the buildings are going to be better than the ones we have, and they'll be easier to maintain than the ones we presently have," Hillstead said. "The state has its guidelines, but most school districts have more square footage than the state will pay for, and they just do the best they can to take care of their buildings. "In our case, we're tearing down two buildings and replacing them with one," he added. "I don't think it'll have a big impact on our operational budget."
-- Chad Baldwin Infrastructure Implosion in Rhode Island-- Providence Journal Rhode Island: April 22, 2006 [ abstract] A disturbing report on the poor condition of Providence public-school buildings sounds yet another alarm that Rhode Island must change the way it handles public education. The exhaustive study, by the Gilbane Building Company, of 37 of the city's 55 public schools found that most are so outdated it would cost almost as much to renovate them as to build new ones. In other words, the cost of bringing the buildings up to snuff would be staggering. And, this being a tiny but urban state, all Rhode Island's taxpayers, including those in affluent suburbs, would get the bill -- made bigger by the foolishness of extreme deferred maintenance.
Ocean State taxpayers are in fact among the most generous in spending on public schools in America -- 10th in spending per pupil, according to the most recent Census numbers. The problem is that Rhode Island's school leaders are spending those tax dollars in unbalanced ways: Rhode Island ranked first in the percentage of per-pupil spending that went to employees' pay and benefits -- and dead last in spending on capital improvements, such as building and repairing schools. The state's politicians have simply put off the mundane business of maintaining school infrastructure -- preferring to use the money to reward their political allies and (understandably) avoid the unpleasantness of illegal teachers' strikes.
Needless to say, students benefit from schools that have proper wiring, heating, plumbing, air circulation, Internet access, laboratories, and athletic facilities. In this regard, the Providence students -- and taxpayers -- have suffered far too long from staggeringly short-sighted public policy. Now, with the effects of deferred maintenence becoming glaring, painful triage will be needed, to address the worst infrastructure problems in the appropriate order. At the same time, old ideas about how and where schools should be built, and how tax revenue should be allocated to pay for education, must be jettisoned.
-- Editorial 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 Political, Community Leaders Question Futures of Baltimore Schools Set to Close-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: April 18, 2006 [ abstract] Five years have passed since Baltimore's school system shut down six school buildings. Now Magna Baltimore Technical Training Center pays the city $1 a year to lease the old Northwest Baltimore school. Four of the other properties also remain under city control while one other has been sold. In the coming months, city officials will grapple with the problem of what to do with six more buildings.
As a cost-savings move, the city school board recently voted to close four buildings this summer and two more by 2008. Gary Cole, a city Planning Department official, said the future of the buildings is uncertain. If they are declared surplus, they could be sold. If they don't go on the market, they could be used as offices for city agencies or could anchor urban renewal projects. The city school system is shutting down the buildings to comply with a state demand that it operate more efficiently. Many city school buildings have high maintenance costs because of their age and condition. The system also has more space than it needs because student enrollment is declining.
Some political and community leaders are concerned about the effects of the building closures. A resolution calls for a moratorium on the sale of properties until city officials have a chance to appraise their worth. They want the properties to be sold at "fair market value," and the money redistributed back to the schools.
-- Brent Jones Large crowd attends public hearing on future of Kingsland School District-- Spring Valley Tribune Minnesota: April 05, 2006 [ abstract] Nearly 250 people filled the Kingsland High School gymnasium last Thursday night as the Kingsland School Board of Directors offered the public an opportunity to express its ideas and concerns as to which school building in the district should be closed, as per its 2004 resolution made to do so by the beginning of the 2006-07 school year. Board Chairman Mitch Lentz opened the meeting at 7 p.m. with a request for all in attendance to speak if they felt it necessary, but also to remain civil to one another in the face of an impending historic decision following nearly three years of declining enrollment and facility maintenance issues. Three failed referendums mark an impasse regarding whether the area’s taxpayers are willing to support different proposed school building projects, such as last year’s elementary school closure and relocation to a wing at the high school, and what the next step might be in light of the referendums’ failure.
-- Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy Idaho Senate Will Vote on School Construction Bill-- KTVB.com Idaho: March 20, 2006 [ abstract] The Idaho Senate will get to vote on a school construction plan crafted in response to a December 21st state Supreme Court ruling. The High Court says the state's system of funding school construction is unconstitutional and must be changed. The proposal that passed the Senate education hearing calls for using $5 million to pay for school maintenance next year. It creates a $25 million revolving loan fund to help fix unsafe or insufficient schools. It orders schools to put aside money maintenance money, increases state bond payment subsidies, and threatens superintendents of districts where voters don't pass school bonds with termination. Opponents including Stan Kress, superintendent of the Cottonwood School District and leader of the school districts that filed the lawsuit 16 years ago, says this solution misses the mark.
-- Associated Press School Maintenance Left Behind-- Statesman Journal Oregon: March 11, 2006 [ abstract] Does a student learning at a high school in disrepair have the same shot at success as a peer at a newly built high school? Representative Darlene Hooley wants to find out, and she is asking federal auditors to fund such a study. Speaking at Central High School, Hooley toured the school and found several classrooms using buckets to collect rainwater from a leaky roof. She also found a school that has grown in population -- but not in physical size. "While we're asking students to do more and schools to be more accountable, funds for school construction are going down," she said.
Hooley cited an initial study by the U.S. Department of Education that found students at modernized schools performed 4 percent to 17 percent better on standardized tests than students at older schools. Hooley said that if the federal government is going to demand more from students with the No Child Left Behind standards, it should make sure that no schools are left behind, either. Students shared their stories with Hooley about the clogged hallways, an outdated ventilation system and growing class sizes. They referred to some classrooms as caves -- where no natural light seeps in. The district, which has about 2,650 students, is preparing a bond measure aimed at addressing an estimated $13.5 million in deferred maintenance on the district's school buildings. By comparison, the Salem-Keizer School District, with about 37,900 students, has estimated its deferred-maintenance backlog at $18 million. The average Central district school building is 49 years old, while the national average age is 40 years, according to district officials.
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Hooley is hopeful to get the study funded soon. She has been joined by the top two ranking Democrats on the House Education and the Workforce Committee: California Reps. George Miller and Lynn Woolsey. Although she applauded the school staff for making the best of a less than ideal teaching and learning environment, calling their efforts heroic, Hooley would like to see how Central students would perform in a more ideal environment. "A learning environment like this really does put students at a disadvantage," she said. "We need to have adequate facilities in order to show respect for students. We have to give them the tools to succeed."
-- Dan De Carbonel North Carolina School Construction Money at Risk-- The Independent Weekly North Carolina: March 01, 2006 [ abstract] With Governor Mike Easley already backpedaling on promises not to use money from the upcoming state lottery to replace other state education funding, concerns have arisen on a new front: school construction. Representatives from the N.C. Association of County Commissioners met with the governor to express their concern that state money now pledged to the counties to build schools might be cut and replaced with lottery money--as was proposed by the governor, the state House and the state Senate in their budgets last year. The counties are responsible for the construction, renovation and maintenance of school facilities, so any money from the state is supplementary. According to the commissioners' association, last year the 100 counties combined spent $800 million on school construction, renovation and debt service. But that wasn't enough to meet their needs. Fears about school construction funding come after the Independent revealed last month that lottery money is already slated to replace appropriations from the legislature for class-size reduction and the More-at-Four program. Facing rising school enrollments, increasing construction costs and the need for additional construction to accommodate smaller class sizes, commissioners went to the governor to express their concerns.
-- Mosi Secret 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 Idaho Bill Tries to Fill School Funding Gap-- Spokesman-Review Idaho: February 16, 2006 [ abstract] Republican lawmakers proposed earmarking $25 million to $35 million for school construction and creating multimillion-dollar accounts for ongoing maintenance and building. The proposals come after a successful lawsuit by 22 Idaho school districts that argued the state has failed to provide students with safe places to learn. The Idaho Supreme Court agreed, ordering lawmakers in December to do more to pay for school construction. In their ruling, justices scolded lawmakers over past attempts to fix the problem. The justices placed the blame primarily on the state's only method for building schools – local bond levies. Idaho is the only state that provides no direct state support for public school construction while requiring two-thirds majorities to approve local construction bonds.
A competing measure from House Democrats would do more to appease angry school districts, giving $35 million upfront to help repair deteriorating schools and dedicating 5 percent of state sales tax revenues – about $55 million annually – to an ongoing school construction account.
-- Associated Press Spending on Underused Facilities Saps D.C. Schools, Study Finds-- Washington Post District of Columbia: February 07, 2006 [ abstract] The D.C. school system spends too much money on maintenance of underused buildings and too little on classroom instruction, according to a report issued yesterday that compared spending patterns in the District with those in 45 other urban school districts.
The independent study, commissioned by the D.C. school board, added momentum to a recent push by the board and the D.C. Council to close and consolidate underenrolled schools. Council members, who are scheduled to vote today on a measure providing an additional $100 million a year to modernize schools, have said they expect the system to shed its excess space. And the board responded last week by promising to get rid of 3 million square feet of underused space by summer 2008.
-- Dion Haynes Tests show levels of mold, asbestos are safe at school-- Contra Costa Times California: January 24, 2006 [ abstract] Air and material testing at Liberty High School in Contra Costa, California, have determined that portions of the aging campus are safe for students and staff after concerns were raised about the potential presence of asbestos and mold. English teacher Tanya Smith had taken two mold samples a few weeks ago and had them tested. The results came back positive for a toxic form of mold. An outside consultant conducted its tests after Smith and her students were moved out of the S-wing and determined that the levels of mold and asbestos posed no danger to students and staff. In its report, the consultant recommended that the district retain a roofing company to deal with the S-wing's failing roof draining system. They further stated that water intrusion from the roofing didn't appear to cause an airborne fungal condition inside the classrooms. The district is now repairing the leaks and will replace the roof this summer. Tanya Smith said that she and other teachers knew the testing results would be normal because the company performed tests after the maintenance staff had attempted to clean up the area. "It is great that the tests came back negative but that doesn't establish whether there was exposure to begin with," she said.
State Occupational Safety and Health Agency safety inspectors visited the campus several times after Tanya Smith filed a complaint. She would like to see the district develop an environmental plan based on the Tools for Schools model established by the Environmental Protection Agency.
-- Paula King Realistic Plan Sought for D.C. Schools-- Washington Post District of Columbia: November 14, 2005 [ abstract] After years of deferred maintenance, funding cuts, and mismanagement of capital programs, most of the D.C. school system's 147 schools are in desperate need of repair and renovation. The buildings average 73 years old, and many have leaky roofs, faulty plumbing, dimly lighted halls, and air-handling systems that leave classrooms too cold in winter and too warm in spring and summer. Everyone agrees that the needs are glaring. But a D.C. Council member's proposal to generate $1 billion in school renovation funds over the next decade through various tax increases has revived concerns about the scope and cost of a major renovation project.
Among the issues being debated by city officials, business leaders and education activists: How can the school system ensure that a bigger construction budget won't lead to cost overruns like those that plagued some of the earlier capital projects? What is the right balance between upgrading basic infrastructure and spending more to create state-of-the-art media centers and science labs? What is the appropriate scope of renovations in a system that is losing enrollment every year? And what claim do the city's fast-growing public charter schools have on the revamped buildings?
-- V. Dion Haynes Students Make a Smooth Return to School in Palm Beach County-- Sun-Sentinel Florida: November 07, 2005 [ abstract] The landscape on many Palm Beach County public school campuses has changed, but for the first time in two weeks, the kids are finally back. Since Wilma, district maintenance crews and construction contractors worked continuously clearing debris, patching roofs and drying out flooded classrooms, Chief Facilities Officer Joseph Sanches said. The storm caused an estimated $35 million in damage to Palm Beach County schools. After Wilma passed, just four schools had electricity. Many had roof damage, broken windows, and fallen trees. The district requires every school to be usable before any children are allowed back into its campuses schools. All schools have electricity or are using generators now.
-- Marc Freeman, Scott Travis and Lois K. Solomon Dade, Broward Schools Canceled; Power Outages, Damage Cited
-- Miami Herald Florida: October 25, 2005 [ abstract] Public school will be canceled at least through the end of this week in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, district leaders said Tuesday, raising issues about the length of the school year and the schedule of Florida's high-stakes standardized tests. Principals were still gauging hurricane damage to school buildings, but massive power outages and difficult road conditions convinced both districts to scrap the entire week. Initial damage reports were surprisingly light for a region that sustained massive trauma to homes and businesses.
In Miami-Dade, a wall collapsed at Henry H. Filer Middle School in Hialeah. maintenance offices in north Dade and Coral Reef sustained serious wind and water damage, which will slow repairs elsewhere. In Broward, Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach lost its gymnasium roof, Cypress Bay High School in Weston sustained major roof damage and eight new portables were severely damaged in Pembroke Pines.
-- Matthew I. Pinzur State-of-art Schools Tell Kids City 'Cares about Them'
-- Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia: September 22, 2005 [ abstract] The old M.A. Jones Elementary in southwest Atlanta had its share of problems. The roof leaked, flooding the bottom floor during hard rains. Teachers talked above the roar of window-unit air conditioners. The plumbing had badly deteriorated, causing constant maintenance headaches. Teachers, administrators and parents cheered when Atlanta Public Schools tore down the 65-year-old building in 2003 and replaced it with a new $14 million facility. The new Jones Elementary, which serves a low-income neighborhood west of downtown, boasts wireless Internet access throughout the building, a television station for student broadcasts, and enough classroom space to offer a parent resource center and a tutoring room. "It's been uplifting for the community as a whole to have a brand-new facility that's state-of-the-art," said the school's principal, Eunice Robinson. "It says Atlanta cares about them." Similar transformations are taking place at dozens of sites across the city as APS nears the end of a 10-year, $750 million effort to upgrade or replace most of the district's 86 schools. The school-building program is one of the biggest construction projects in the city's history, equivalent to building three Georgia Domes. Most of Atlanta's schools were built in the first half of the 20th century, when the city experienced a prolonged population boom. Like many big-city school systems, Atlanta didn't properly maintain the buildings, and many fell into disrepair. That's all in the past. The district's new and renovated schools wouldn't look out of place in the most affluent suburbs. The buildings are bright, airy and stuffed with the latest features, including science labs, teacher workrooms, computer labs, art rooms and spacious media centers.
-- Paul Donsky Louisiana Schools Awaiting Money Promised by FEMA
-- Times-Picayune Newslog Louisiana: September 21, 2005 [ abstract] Like many Hurricane Katrina survivors, the St. Charles Parish public school district is playing the waiting game. Since being cleared for $4 million in relief money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the school system has been eagerly awaiting a check. District officials have been given several different dates for when the money will arrive. Most recently, they said, they were told the money would be in their hands at some point this week. Before schools could be opened, more than $2.8 million in damage had to be completed. District officials hope the FEMA funds will replenish the money used for the recovery effort.
The $2.8 million in damage is expected to increase as the district identifies other storm-related damage not found in initial observations. The $4 million initially requested was an early estimate of total damage, and any remaining money will be returned to FEMA. Much of the initial estimate was for cleanup and disposal. The maintenance cost alone was $735,000. Several schools also sustained roof damage. One of the hardest hit schools was the newly built Raymond K. Smith Middle School in Luling, which had $400,000 in damages. Larry Sesser, executive director of plant operations for the district, said heavy, sustained winds took a lot of the trim off of the building. The wind was so powerful it ripped off a gymnasium door. "It's going to be a lengthy task," Sesser said about the repair effort. "The roofs are intact. They had an extreme test." New Sarpy Elementary School in Destrehan received some of the most severe roof damage in the district. Sesser estimated that $80,000 will be needed to repair the school. "We've repaired the roof, but we haven't had rain since then," Sesser said. The district's Satellite Center, which will house vocational programs for high school students, racked up $1 million in damages and delay costs. The district will not be reimbursed for any of those damages because it technically does not own the site. The site still belongs to contractor Aegis Construction. The completion of the Satellite Center will be pushed back another 20 days, officials said.
-- John-John Williams IV 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 Maryland Schools Seek More Funds for Buildings
-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: September 20, 2005 [ abstract] Hoping to catch up with a $2 billion statewide construction and maintenance backlog, the leaders of Baltimore and the state's five biggest counties asked Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. to spend $400 million next year to build and renovate schools statewide. The request competes with calls for tax cuts, state worker raises and more funding for state programs as administration officials decide what to do with the state's $600 million budget surplus. But the executives said they believe school construction is the best use for a large part of the money because it would address a growing problem and would do nothing to worsen the projected state budget deficits in the years to come.
School construction emerged as a major issue in last year's legislative session when Ehrlich promised to add an extra $100 million a year in funding if the legislature agreed to legalize slot machine gambling. His budget proposal allocated $155 million to school construction, a $55 million increase from the year before but still well short of the $250 million a year that a study commission had determined would be necessary to catch up on the state's $2 billion backlog. The legislature couldn't agree on a slots bill, but it managed to boost construction funding to $250 million anyway.
-- Andrew A. Green Baltimore School System Examines its Space
-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: September 16, 2005 [ abstract] Two problems - declining enrollment and old, decrepit buildings - affect scores of schools in Baltimore. Issues for years, they have at last reached the point where school system officials say they must act. The system has 87,000 students enrolled and space for 126,000. Baltimore has the oldest schools in Maryland, with its average building 45.6 years old, according to system figures. About 30 of 171 buildings are more than 75 years old. Fewer than half have air conditioning. And it would cost an estimated $1 billion to fix all the maintenance problems. In the past, proposals to close schools have run into opposition from parents and neighborhood activists who rally to save them. But over the next seven months, the financially strapped school system will take a hard look at its buildings. By April, officials say, they will have a plan to determine which schools to close, which schools to renovate and where to build new schools over the next decade. The system has hired a consulting firm for nearly $1 million. The firm will help community committees to determine the space needs of their neighborhood schools and how schools should be configured to meet modern academic needs. Most notably, the school system is asking the groups to consider converting conventional middle schools to K-8 schools.
-- Sara Neufeld Spruced-Up D.C. Schools Brighten Outlook
-- Washington Post District of Columbia: August 25, 2005 [ abstract] When school opens in Washington, students at more than 100 public schools will be greeted by spruced-up classrooms, thanks in large part to an extra $6 million that the mayor and D.C. Council budgeted for long-neglected maintenance projects. Across the city, walls have been plastered, lights have been replaced, restrooms have been deep cleaned and leaks have been fixed -- in some cases for the first time in years. In a system long plagued by aging facilities and bureaucratic bungles on opening day, this summer's performance has been encouraging, said some parents and organizations that monitor the schools. Still, many of the city's 147 public schools need major renovations.
-- Lori Montgomery Schools Moving to Greener Cleaning-- Journal News New York: August 21, 2005 [ abstract] Under a law that Governor George Pataki is expected to sign, New York state schools would be required to purchase, either on their own or through state contracts, environmentally sensitive cleaning products to maintain their facilities. Environmentally friendly cleaning products have been proved to perform just as well as their traditional, chemical-based counterparts and for about the same price, experts say. The so-called green cleaning products are more biodegradable, contain fewer toxins, are less volatile and usually require less packaging.
When he proposed the "green clean" law for schools, Pataki cited EPA statistics showing that, nationally, more than 32 million pounds of household cleaning products are poured down the drain each day and that indoor pollution costs more than $50 billion in the United States for health care, absenteeism, lost production and lost revenue. The new legislation would take effect Sept. 1, 2006, to allow schools to deplete their existing cleaning and maintenance supply stocks and implement the new requirements in the procurement cycle for the 2006-07 school year. Stephen Boese, the New York director of an organization called Healthy Schools Network, said that contrary to what many people believe, green cleaning is not expensive.
-- Greg Clary 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 Arizona Schools Fight for Repair Funds
-- Arizona Republic Arizona: July 16, 2005 [ abstract] Poor school districts statewide are struggling with leaky roofs, mildewed showers, and fire-code violations seven years after the state drew up a plan to ensure that they would receive equal funding for new buildings and the money to maintain them. The Students FIRST legislation in 1998 created a building-renewal fund to maintain buildings at minimum standards. Since 1999, the state has spent $2.4 billion building new schools and fixing up old ones. But school districts have received only a fraction of the building-renewal dollars they are required to receive. The Legislature cast aside a court-ordered funding formula laid out in the state Constitution and shorted school districts hundreds of millions of dollars they are due.
District officials and lawmakers agree on the reason for the lack of money: Legislators have raided the Students FIRST building-renewal fund, used for maintenance, to balance the budget and concentrated their efforts on such high-profile programs as all-day kindergarten or English-learning. This leaves districts with having to take money from other areas, such as salaries, to make up for not getting repair funds.
-- JJ Hensley Tainted Soil to Be Removed Next to Westchester School
-- New York Times New York: July 04, 2005 [ abstract] In what state health officials call the first cleanup of its kind in the state, a school district in Westchester County is planning to remove soil next to an elementary school in Yorktown Heights because the soil is contaminated by PCB's from caulking in the school's windows. Dr. Daniel Lefkowitz requested tests on scraps of caulk left after maintenance at French Hill Elementary School, where his son, Evan, is a student. The tests found PCB's at 350 times above the federal limit. The cleanup at French Hill Elementary School, which will cost the district about $100,000, was prompted by a parent who had scraps of the caulking tested and found PCB's at 350 times above the federal limit. Soil around the school also showed evidence of PCB contamination, though at lower levels. PCB's, or polychlorinated biphenyls, which were banned in 1977, have been linked to developmental problems in children. School officials have fenced off parts of the school outside near many of its windows and are seeking bids from contractors to clean up the contaminated soil. They hope the work can be completed by the time the children return in September. A spokesman for the State Department of Health said the cleanup was the first the agency was aware of involving PCB contamination from caulk.
-- Barbara Whitaker High School Will Get Turf Field
-- Washington Post Virginia: June 16, 2005 [ abstract] The Arlington School Board approved a memorandum of understanding with the county that clears the way for a synthetic grass field at the Washington-Lee High School stadium. The new turf, which lasts about 10 years and is more durable than natural grass, will allow for more use of the field and require less maintenance, officials said. The county will spend about $700,000 to install the turf and $225,000 to install "dark sky" lighting that will focus more light on the field and less on the houses that surround it. The school system will be responsible for maintaining the field.
-- Tara Bahrampour Providence Council to Consider Renewable Energy-- Providence Journal Rhode Island: June 02, 2005 [ abstract] Imagine solar panels on school roofs and city workers driving electric hybrid cars. A resolution will be submitted to the Providence City Council that will require the city to draw 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2010. If approved, the resolution would create an energy task force that would study ways to develop renewable energy in the city or buy it elsewhere. The initiative coincides with a plan to start an energy efficiency program in the School Department. By turning off lights, regulating heat and air conditioning, and educating teachers and maintenance workers about energy efficient practices, there are estimates the city will save $900,000 a year. Some of that savings can help pay for renewable energy, which is more expensive than fossil fuels.
-- Cathleen Crowley Voters Don't Buy San Antonio School District's Bond Proposal
-- The Express-News Texas: May 25, 2005 [ abstract] San Antonio School District voters rejected a plan to revamp eight high schools and expand prekindergarten classrooms, unwilling to swallow a price tag of $399 million and the highest tax rate in the county.
The district's most serious problem is that its aging buildings, which include the state's oldest schools, went for years without any serious maintenance or upgrades. Trustees hoped they had gained residents' confidence through two major successful construction efforts that were monitored by a citizens oversight committee. Supporters, including a coalition of parent groups, had argued that the bond would allow the district to take advantage of state funds that pay for about half of the school construction program. Opponents criticized the fact that some repairs weren't completed under the 1997 bond, which sought to address problems at 92 of the district's 94 schools. And the 2001 bond should have focused on bringing buildings up to snuff rather than adding music and athletic facilities.
-- Jeanne Russell Upkeep Upheaval in Wyoming
-- Star Tribune Wyoming: May 24, 2005 [ abstract] Under the state's new school funding model set by the Wyoming School Facilities Commission, districts must get their routine and major maintenance funds from a general pool. Funding for routine maintenance -- daily janitorial costs -- is based on square footage and is included in the "block grants" each district spends at its own discretion. "Major" maintenance -- those necessary upkeep fixes such as repairing foundations, reroofing buildings, anything that costs $200,000 or more -- is based on square footage and enrollment. For now, districts with "extras" say they are spreading the maintenance butter a little thinner, but still covering everything. They say the state should remain flexible as it transitions into the new funding models. [Part of a 5-part series on Wyoming's new school facilities system.]
-- Dustin Bleizeffer More Than the Minimum in Wyoming
-- Star Tribune Wyoming: May 23, 2005 [ abstract] Uinta County School District 6 is one of a handful around the state seeking local enhancements under Wyoming's school facilities laws. According to state law, the School Facilities Commission is responsible for setting minimum adequacy guidelines for school buildings and the state is responsible for funding construction and maintenance for those facilities. However, statute also allows local school districts to use a portion of their reserve funds or seek local bond issues to go above and beyond the standards. [Part of a 5-part series on Wyoming's new school facilities system.]
-- Jenni Dillon Wyoming 'Pipeline' Schools Get More
-- Star Tribune Wyoming: May 23, 2005 [ abstract] Park County School District 1 is getting a new high school, but it's not as big or as nice as it would have gotten before the Wyoming School Facilities Commission was created. For various reasons, including a clash with the Legislature's special committee on school capital construction over the costs of the new high school, the Powell project did not become a "pipeline" school and instead came under the school standards set by the School Facilities Commission. A "pipeline" school is a project that was started before the Wyoming Supreme Court mandated that school construction and maintenance is a state responsibility. [Part of a 5-part series on Wyoming's new school facilities system.]
-- Joan Barron Study: School Repairs Lagging in Colorado
-- The Denver Post Colorado: May 04, 2005 [ abstract] A recent Donnell-Kay Foundation survey found that school officials believe it would take $5.7 billion statewide to cover capital school construction needs. The Denver nonprofit last month completed two surveys that attempt to gauge the extent of unmet capital construction needs in the state's 178 public school districts, said Mary Wickersham, director of special projects. One survey was filled out by superintendents and facility managers from 72 districts. Data from a second survey, gathered through on-site visits at 16 schools across the state, found $121.8 million in capital needs, said Wickersham. The foundation estimates it would cost $13,790 per student, compared to the $268 currently provided, to meet all the needs around the state.
Donnell-Kay is also pushing to have the state legislature eventually create a system for assessing needs at each of the state's 1,700 schools and is advocating for a change to the way Colorado funds school-building construction and maintenance. The current system, which is based on property values, "is failing to meet the needs" of schools, she said. Districts can raise property taxes to pay for construction projects. But because the levies are based on property values, poorer districts can't raise as much as their wealthier counterparts.
-- Karen Rouse 14 San Diego Schools, Administrative Building Rooftops Get Solar Panels
-- San Diego Union-Tribune California: May 01, 2005 [ abstract] The rooftops of 14 schools and administrative buildings in the San Diego Unified School District are turning into solar energy generators. Under a public-private partnership with Solar Integrated Technologies and GE Commercial Finance Energy Financial Services, the district is getting solar panels that double as roofs at no cost. The private partners maintain the solar rooftops for free for 20 years and own the energy generated. In exchange, the district commits to buying the solar power. District officials expect the solar roofs to generate nearly $7 million in savings over the life of the agreement because of reduced electricity costs and costs related to roof repairs, replacement, and maintenance.
-- Helen Gao and Maureen Magee Seattle Schools Find $9 Million in Savings But Still Face Deficit
-- Seattle Post-Intelligencer Washington: April 28, 2005 [ abstract] Thanks to an influx of money from the Legislature, the sale of a piece of property, and lower-than-expected costs to repair water pipes, Seattle Public Schools will be able to save roughly $9 million next year, district administrators announced. But the district still must deal with a $25 million shortfall in its capital budget, which pays for school construction, renovation and maintenance projects, and upgrades. That's in addition to the projected $20 million shortfall for the district's operating budget.
-- Jessica Blanchard Chicago School Building Put on Hold
-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: March 31, 2005 [ abstract] About $220 million in Chicago school construction projects has been postponed indefinitely because of state funding cuts, officials announced at a City Council meeting. The 66 axed projects were planned for this year and next. They include everything from a $225,000 roof replacement to $18.3 million for a new school. But, officials warn, these cuts will be only the beginning if the city schools can't get more state money to close a projected $175 million operating deficit next year. That's because the schools won't have enough cash to make interest payments on money the district hopes to borrow for its capital programs. Next year, the district is predicting an additional $17 million in bond payments.
The district is also cutting $33 million that was earmarked for major maintenance projects--roofs, windows, boilers, electrical upgrades, plumbing systems and masonry repairs--while preserving tens of millions of dollars earmarked for non-emergency projects and construction related to Renaissance 2010 school reforms. The $13 million set-aside to expand Renaissance 2010 was not touched this year and is expected to remain a priority for next year. There's still $32 million committed for a new computer system in 2005. And the district still plans to spend $10 million this year to build new playgrounds, repair pools, expand green space for schools, repave parking lots, replace lockers, and renovate lunchrooms.
-- Tracy Dell'Angela Demand for Artificial Turf for High Schools is Growing-- St. Louis Post Dispatch Missouri: March 27, 2005 [ abstract] Some area high schools have turned to artificial turf instead of natural grass for athletic fields as usage demands and maintenance needs increase. The latest plan is in the Rockwood School District, where residents will vote on a bond proposal that includes $2.8 million for artificial turf at four high schools.
The artificial turf business is booming and high schools are major prospects. About 600 synthetic fields have been installed at high schools, universities, parks, and stadiums around the country, according to the Synthetic Turf Council. Installation of artificial turf increased by 18 percent last year from the previous year, the council reports.
-- Carolyn Bower Arkansas Senate OKs ‘Historic’ Facilities Bills
-- Times Record Arkansas: March 18, 2005 [ abstract] Four bills that would redefine how public schools are built in Arkansas passed the Senate almost unanimously, with one dissenting vote on one of the bills. The bills will set up a new division of Academic Facilities and Transportation at the state Department of Education. That division will oversee, approve, and reject building plans for all 254 school districts in Arkansas. The state boards overseeing that department will set standards. Failure by schools to meet those standards could result in state sanctions as harsh as removing the superintendent and consolidation.
One bill will require each district to write up a detailed 10-year master plan on facilities. Those plans, combined and prioritized, will make up the state’s master plan for where an estimated $50 million a year in facilities money will be spent after an initial investment of $150 million over the next two years to handle urgent projects. The state’s master plan will be submitted to regular sessions of the Legislature every two years for approval, and would also require school districts to set aside 9 percent of the money they get from the state under the state’s school funding formula for building maintenance.
-- Doug Thompson School Board, Baltimore Reach Agreement on Maintainance
-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: March 15, 2005 [ abstract] City agencies will begin managing the day-to-day maintenance of Baltimore's public school buildings under an agreement approved by the city's school board that also calls for the city to provide an infusion of $3 million. The agreement makes clear that nothing in the understanding "diminishes in any way the authority or responsibility of the Board in managing the school facilities."
-- Eric Siegel 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 Baltimore City, Schools Maintenance Deal on Hold Over Control
-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: March 11, 2005 [ abstract] Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley thought he had come up with an offer that the city school system couldn't refuse: The city would provide $3 million to spruce up school buildings and would assume maintenance responsibility for all school facilities. The additional $3 million is on top of the $207 million the city now contributes to the schools' annual operating budget; it would pay for a "blitz team" that would attempt to make immediate, visible improvements in bathrooms, on floors, and on school grounds, officials said.
The Baltimore School Board, however, has concerns that still need to be ironed out. The cash-strapped school system, which operates independently from City Hall, said it welcomes the city's help but wants to make clear that it has the final say. The city, however, is unwilling to commit additional money without being able to take charge of contracts and employees.
-- Eric Siegel New Orleans Maintenance Pact Under Fire Again
-- The Times Picayune Louisiana: March 10, 2005 [ abstract] Two years after a lucrative maintenance contract sharply divided the Jefferson Parish School Board, the contract is again stirring controversy as school officials investigate whether they can break the $10 million deal. A heating and air-conditioning firm that won the five-year contract for work at 33 Jefferson schools is coming under fire from some principals and board members who have assailed the company as unresponsive and its work as shoddy.
-- Rob Nelson Schools Benefit by Being Energy Efficient
-- The Times-Picayune Louisiana: February 25, 2005 [ abstract] Energy conservation has paid off for the St. Charles Parish School District. Board members were told that the district's efforts to shave its energy costs have resulted in a savings of an estimated $2 million in the past eight years. In 1995 the district pursued several contractors to determine the best methods for energy savings, finally contracting with Siemens Building Technologies Inc. for $75,000 annually to monitor the district's energy costs and perform maintenance duties. At the time, the district also spent $2 million to modernize lighting and climate-control systems. In a report to the School Board this week, Siemens calculated that the district has saved more than $2 million in energy costs since 1995, including more than $287,000 last year. Siemens' calculations are based on energy costs for the 1995 school year. At that time $1.5 million was budgeted for district energy costs. According to Siemens, 13 of the district's 21 facilities met the company's energy cost projections for 2004.
-- John-John Williams IV Miami-Dade District Gets $20 million in Construction Money
-- Miami Herald Florida: January 27, 2005 [ abstract] More than $20 million of frozen school construction money will be returned to the Miami-Dade County district next month, but nearly $11.5 million more is at risk of being forfeited early next week. A state-appointed oversight board voted to release the $20 million -- half of the $40 million it still controls --deciding the district's much-maligned facilities program has made significant progress. But the board held back releasing the rest of the money until it could determine whether the district had met targets the board set for reducing maintenance costs. Much of that remaining money was originally handed down from the Legislature for the 2002-03 school year, and by law it has to be returned to state coffers if it is not spent by February 1. The $8.5 million not due to expire was funded for the 2003-04 school year and will not revert until February 2006.
-- Matthew I. Pinzur School Building Projects On Hold; Chicago Makes Repairs Priority As State Funds Dry Up-- The Chicago Tribune Illinois: January 22, 2005 [ abstract] "Before we build new science labs, we must repair boilers," [Michael Scott] said. "Before we add more seats in overcrowded communities, we must fix the leaky roofs in existing buildings. With 900 separate school buildings--many of them 50, 75 or even 100 years old--our priority must be the maintenance and repair of our existing buildings."
-- Tracy Dell'Angela and Ana Beatriz Cholo Boise to Renovate and Rebuild Schools
-- The Times-News Idaho: January 12, 2005 [ abstract] It would cost $230 million to renovate or rebuild nearly every school in the Boise School District. More than half of Boise's school buildings were built before 1960 and need improvements. School officials say they may be able to pay for the renovations without raising taxes by issuing voter-approved bonds and drawing from their own maintenance budget. They hope rising property values in the district will cover the cost of bonds to be repaid through property taxes.
-- Associated Press School Officials Consider Solutions to Overcrowding-- The Republican Massachusetts: December 23, 2004 [ abstract] Since voters in November rejected a $5 million school construction and maintenance package that would have met classroom and maintenance needs at the Southwick-Tolland Regional School District's three schools, officials are now considering using portable classrooms, moving grade-four pupils, and converting space at both the middle and elementary schools to meet space needs for five to seven years. This option does not address the estimated $3 million in maintenance and repairs needed in the district.
The use of portable classrooms will be a temporary solution, and officials have a choice: purchase new portable classes at an estimated $475,000 or accept three used structures from Suffield, Connecticut, for $1 each and an estimated $80,000 cost to relocate and retrofit them for Southwick-Tolland. The district is awaiting information on whether the Suffield portables meet Massachusetts code requirements for school use. The plan to locate portable classes at the middle school is required, officials said, because there is no adequate location available at the elementary school. Also, the use of portables at the elementary would stress electrical, heating, and plumbing services at Woodland School.
-- Ted LaBorde $60,000 Worth of Damage Being Fixed at Maryland Elementary School-- The Baltimore Sun Maryland: December 16, 2004 [ abstract] State police estimated that vandals caused more than $60,000 worth of damage to Parr's Ridge Elementary in Mount Airy. The school, which is under construction, is scheduled to open next fall with about 440 pupils in kindergarten through second grade. Spray-painted nicknames and a distinctive drawing of the cartoon character Scooby-Doo scrawled across classroom walls, hallways, and other surfaces led police to five Mount Airy residents who are suspected in connection with the Thanksgiving weekend burglary and vandalism at the school.
School officials are assessing the damage in an effort to determine what can be salvaged and what must be replaced. According to Ray Prokop, facilities director for the school system, "The spray paint was on many different surfaces, and that's what we're struggling with now." Eighty percent of the school - including classrooms and corridors - has been affected to some degree. From the main corridor, one can see damage along the entire length of the hallway that leads to the classrooms. Erasing the damage isn't necessarily as simple as repainting all the surfaces. Prokop is awaiting word from the manufacturer of the damaged door frames because they were produced with a protective powder coating to make them maintenance-free. He is also waiting to hear from the manufacturer of the damaged cabinets to ensure that the paint can be properly removed without harming the finish. Crews have had trouble removing paint from some of the floor tiles, which will have to be replaced.
-- Gina Davis Maintenance Long Overdue at Schools, Providence Mayor Says-- The Providence Journal Rhode Island: November 22, 2004 [ abstract] The physical conditions at Providence's Mount Pleasant High School cited in a highly critical accreditation report have resulted from decades of neglect because school maintenance is chronically shortchanged, Mayor David N. Cicilline said. Earlier this year he commissioned a plan for the long-term maintenance and renovation needs of the city's 55 public school buildings -- something that hasn't been done in at least 20 years. The mayor said he visits one school a week and cannot fail to notice "a different kind of energy" in buildings that are new or newly renovated. Most of the school buildings are more than 50 years old, Cicilline said. "It's shameful that we've allowed these facilities to be ignored for so many decades." He acknowledged that financing the recommendations of the report will be a major challenge.
-- Gina Macris Failed School Levy Gives No Relief to Custodians
-- The Oregonian Oregon: November 11, 2004 [ abstract] Hillsborough voters rejected a four-year, $31.3 million local option school levy that would have raised money to reinstate positions that were cut, including custodial and maintenance staff. So with fewer custodians, tasks that would have been completed daily are being done weekly or not at all. And because fewer workers are cleaning more areas, some jobs are put off altogether, which could exacerbate health problems.
-- SOPHIA TAREEN Big Issue for NYC Council: Toilet Paper in the Schools
-- The New York Times New York: November 10, 2004 [ abstract] NEW YORK: At a hearing on school bathroom supplies, City Councilwoman Eva S. Moskowitz said she hoped to elicit a clear answer to a simple question: How can a school system with a nearly $14 billion budget not provide students with the most basic of services? Although Ms. Moskowitz has long contended that improper bathroom maintenance is one of the most frequent complaints she hears from parents, Department of Education officials testified that as far as they knew, there was no problem.
-- Elissa Gootman Consulting Firm will Evaluate Buffalo Public Schools Maintenance-- The Buffalo News New York: October 30, 2004 [ abstract] NEW YORK : Buffalo's school maintenance system is about to come under the microscope, and experts ultimately might be asked whether a private company can do the job better and more economically. A consulting firm is to examine a maintenance and cleaning arrangement that dates to the Civil War and which critics contend is secretive, costly, and antiquated. It provides the operating engineer at each city school with a lump sum of money to spend on maintenance and cleaning. They can keep what they don't spend.
-- Peter Simon Consulting Firm Will Evaluate Buffalo Public Schools Maintenance-- The Buffalo News New York: September 30, 2004 [ abstract] NEW YORK : Buffalo's school maintenance system is about to come under the microscope, and experts ultimately might be asked whether a private company can do the job better and more economically. A consulting firm is to examine a maintenance and cleaning arrangement that dates to the Civil War and which critics contend is secretive, costly, and antiquated. It provides the operating engineer at each city school with a lump sum of money to spend on maintenance and cleaning. They can keep what they don't spend.
-- Peter Simon N.Y. School Roof Collapse
Prompts Warning-- Education Week New York: September 08, 2004 [ abstract] New York state officials are advising districts to inspect the roofs of school buildings, following the recent collapse of an elementary school roof that is being blamed on faulty steel roofing joists. The massive structural failure was blamed on a particular type of steel joist and the fact that it had deteriorated because of a leaky roof.
National experts say the collapse is an extreme example of the need for routine structural inspections and maintenance for school buildings.
-- Joetta L. Sack Schools Not Worth Saving, W-H Told-- The Dallas Morning News Texas: August 23, 2004 [ abstract] Wilmer-Hutchins School District officials were told two years ago that nearly all their schools suffered from such poor maintenance that they should be abandoned and razed. The August 2002 report, prepared by the Texas Association of School Administrators, said only 6 percent of classrooms in the district met minimum standards, and some had significant safety problems.
District officials said they know Wilmer-Hutchins' schools are not in good shape, and they hope to address some of the problems with a $68 million bond issue that goes before voters in September.
-- Joshua Benton Janey Pledges Extra Effort to Fix Schools-- The Washington Post District of Columbia: August 21, 2004 [ abstract] New D.C. Superintendent Clifford B. Janey toured three schools that have been criticized for deteriorating conditions and maintenance problems. He described the problems as 'totally unacceptable' and vowed to open the buildings on time.
-- Manny Fernandez Schools Take Aim at Nasty Toilets-- Honolulu Advertiser Hawaii: August 19, 2004 [ abstract] Students who have complained about foul restrooms at Hawaii's public schools may soon get some relief. The state Department of Education plans a pilot project at four schools to find out how best to restore restrooms and hopefully keep them clean.
Students have reported broken fixtures, missing doors on stalls, and no soap and toilet paper. The state Legislature approved an additional $1 million this year for restroom supplies, and better restrooms are part of the DOE's broader repair and maintenance and classroom renovation plans.
-- Derrick DePledge Board OKs Building Plan Over Protests-- Philadelphia Inquirer Pennsylvania: June 02, 2004 [ abstract] Angered at a 23.6 percent proposed tax increase, more than 200 residents from the Coatsville area attended a meeting to oppose a $90 million school building project. The proposed building plan will close four elementary schools, build two new ones, and convert all elementary buildings to grades K-6 schools. Supporters of the plan said that it would lead to a better educational atmosphere and save money on maintenance and operations in the long run. Opponents of the new building plan argued that the proposed measures would cost taxpayers too much.
-- Dan Hardy Florida School Facilities Open to Residents-- The News Chief Florida: May 27, 2004 [ abstract] Polk County Commissioners approved an agreement with the school board to permit after-hours use of 41 elementary, middle and high school sites, thereby allowing residents to use school playgrounds and athletic fields. The commissioners hope this action will help alleviate the shortage of county parks and recreation facilities.
It will take about $267,000 in start-up costs to erect fences and purchase other equipment at some of the schools, and cost roughly $171,000 in annual maintenance costs. This money will pay for additional custodial personnel and for cleaning up any vandalism that occurs at the sites.
-- Kyle Kennedy Memphis School Improvement Funds Advance-- The Commercial Appeal Tennessee: May 27, 2004 [ abstract] Memphis city schools are in line to get $9.2 million to bring school buildings into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and perform the maintenance needed to address safety concerns.
-- Blake Fontenay School Facilities Cited as 'Inadequate'-- The Leavenworth Times Kansas: April 20, 2004 [ abstract] Some of the Lansing school district's facilities are inadequate and the board of education must develop an action plan to address these needs, according to a report from a facilities committee. Many require aggressive maintenance and upgrades, or short term repairs and near term replacement. There is not enough money in the district's annual capital outlay budget to address a majority of the needs, however, and it is evident that some type of bond proposal will be needed. Some of the existing facilities require aggressive maintenance and upgrades or short term repairs and near term replacement.
-- John Richmeier Chula Vista Panel Faults School District -- San Diego Union-Tribune California: April 11, 2004 [ abstract] According to a San Diego commission's report on the Sweetwater Union High School District, schools are not keeping up with the growth of the community and the quality of school facilities is inconsistent. "Great disparities are self-evident in the quality of maintenance, air conditioning, accessibility to technology, erosion of recreational space to relocatable classrooms, ratio of functional restrooms per student, and cafeteria capacity, to name some," the report said.
-- Amy Oakes $8 Million Missing From NY Public School Custodians' Funds-- New York Times New York: March 22, 2004 [ abstract] Auditors have found that New York City school custodians have been unable to account for how they spent more than $8 million in public school maintenance funds over the last 10 years, under a 19th-century system which dates to a era when custodians lived at schoolhouses and were given budgets to buy supplies and pay helpers, often family members.
Records of internal audits and disciplinary hearings show that custodians routinely fail to document the reasons for withdrawing cash entrusted to them under that system. Every two weeks, the city deposits money into bank accounts that are controlled solely by the school system's 825 custodians, who use it to pay expenses and, in lieu of a salary, keep whatever is left up to a maximum of about $91,000, depending on the size of the school.
-- Mike McIntire Wyoming Seeks Court OK for School Projects -- Billings Gazette Wyoming: March 12, 2004 [ abstract] With $1.1 billion dedicated to new schools, state attorneys asked the Wyoming Supreme Court to declare the state's school construction funding system constitutional and relinquish the court's oversight of the matter. Since 1998, Wyoming has spent $695 million on construction and major maintenance of schools, including $294 million appropriated in the budget session that ended last week. An additional $392 million is expected to flow into the state's school capital construction account through 2010 from coal lease bonus payments, paid by coal companies to obtain federal leases. Additional funds are expected from federal and state royalties.
As a result of Supreme Court opinions in 1995 and 2001, the state took responsibility for school construction from local school districts and a School Facilities Commission was created in 2002 to oversee local planning and building efforts and develop district construction guidelines.
-- Associated Press Wyoming Legislature: Fate of Old Schools Pondered -- Billings Gazette Wyoming: March 02, 2004 [ abstract] A little school in Granger, population 146, is the focus of an emotional question in the school funding debate: Should facilities that are costly to maintain but still functional be spared the wrecking ball? The Granger school has fewer than 20 students and is remote even by Wyoming standards, situated in a tiny desert town 30 miles west of Green River.
According to Representative Parady, "Two stories tall, built of brick and sporting a gleaming wood floor in its gym, the 50-year-old school deserves to be spared because it is the core of the community - and because its replacement wouldn't be better." Although Wyoming representatives voiced sympathy, they were ultimately unwilling to make large changes to Wyoming's court-ordered school finance system to enable school districts to continue receiving maintenance funds for schools, like Granger's, that are deemed surplus property.
-- Associated Press Voters approve schools levies -- Seattle Times Washington: February 04, 2004 [ abstract]
In yesterday's special election, unofficial returns showed overwhelming support for both Seattle's school maintenance and operations and capital levies.
The six-year, $178 million capital levy  a renewal levy  is intended to pay for nearly 700 projects, including new roofs, plumbing repairs and central-office computer systems, which were recommended by the consultants who investigated last year's budget errors.
Voters may have had concerns about past mistakes that plunged the district into financial crisis.
Poor oversight and sloppy budget management resulted in excessive spending and overly rosy revenue estimates in 2001-02 and 2002-03 that ultimately created a cumulative $36 million deficit.
To rebuild its reserves and repay the money it borrowed, the district is selling closed schools and office buildings.
-- Sanjay Bhatt Study of schools aims to determine space requirements for the future-- Buffalo News New York: January 26, 2004 [ abstract] East Aurora's four schools are squeezed for space, administrators say, and that could ultimately trigger a capital project proposal that would face a community referendum.
Superintendent Howard S. Smith said. "We really need to add classrooms in the schools. I think the way we're teaching has an impact."
District enrollment is not driving the space study. Instead, it's the different ways of teaching that are pushing the evaluation.
"The reason we're looking at space has nothing to do with enrollment [or concern about maintenance]," Brunson said.
School officials are cautious in predicting the upshot of an extensive facilities and space study just launched.
The effort doesn't seem focused on adding to existing buildings rather than building new schools.
-- KAREN ROBINSON 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 Law aims to clean up restrooms at schools-- The Sacramento Bee California: December 27, 2003 [ abstract] California schools that ignore broken toilets next year will be breaking the law.
Beginning 2004, SB 892 requires every campus to keep its restrooms fully operational.
School districts will be ineligible for some maintenance funding if they fail to correct deficiencies.
In an extensive survey of facilities, classes and programs at 52 Sacramento-area high schools last year, The Bee found wide-ranging discrepancies in restroom maintenance.
SB 892 is likely to cost the State Allocation Board at least $150,000 to administer.
To avoid a requirement that state government foot the bill, Murray included private schools in SB 892.
Los Angeles Unified school district unveiled a $10 million program in February to renovate, repaint and upgrade restrooms.
-- Jim Sanders Campaign Backs Bond for Schools-- Los Angeles Times California: December 19, 2003 [ abstract]
Education and business activists hope voters will pass a $12.3-billion March ballot measure to repair campuses and build new ones.
The bond measure, Proposition 55, will be on the same March ballot as a separate $15-billion bond to help pay off the state's current budget shortfall.
Voters who live within the boundaries of the Los Angeles Unified School District, meanwhile, will decide an additional $3.8-billion school construction and repair bond on that ballot.
Proposition 55 backers called their measure an investment in California's schoolchildren, many of whom attend dilapidated campuses with leaky roofs, faulty plumbing, broken toilets and other maintenance problems.
Opponents argue that the bond would increase the state's huge debt and make it difficult for government to respond to natural disasters and recessions.
-- Duke Helfand NYC Education Dept. Plans Nearly 500 Job Cuts-- New York Times New York: December 09, 2003 [ abstract] City education officials unveiled plans to lay off as many as 486 of the city's 830 school repair and maintenance workers and replace them with private contractors, saying the effort would increase productivity.
Currently about a third of the work is handled by private companies, and that number would soar to 85 percent under the new plan. Yesterday, union leaders testified that such an expansion would be a mistake, and would cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
William Lacey, chairman of the Civil Service Coalition of Building Trades and Municipal Unions, said that to the extent that productivity problems exist, they are the fault of management, not the union workers.
-- ELISSA GOOTMAN Districts employ healthful pest control methods-- The Arizona Republic Arizona: November 18, 2003 [ abstract]
The maintenance crew Kyrene del Cielo Elementary School successfully removed scores of scorpions without using pesticides sprays.
It's an example of integrated pest management, an effort to reduce pesticide use by relying on non-chemical methods to monitor and control bug populations.
A pilot program focusing on five schools kicked off this fall.
Kids face greater risk from pesticide exposure. They breathe more air per pound of body weight and they and their possessions, have more contact with floors and baseboards.
Pesticides are nerve agents, which can hamper children's development.
At the heart of the philosophy is the belief that, in most cases, bugs can be prevented by changing what people do.
By using simple techniques, bugs are kept out of schools.
"It's very basic, common-sense stuff," facilities supervisor Roy Morris said. "I think people like to make things more complicated."
"It seemed too easy," said Stan Peterson, facilities director for the district, who had been skeptical when entomologist Dawn Gouge and her team arrived and called for a halt to spraying.
-- Mary Jo Pitzl Miami-Dade superintendent, Merrett Stierheim, to step down-- The Miami-Herald Florida: November 06, 2003 [ abstract] Merrett Stierheim says he will step down as superintendent of Miami-Dade School District next year.
Stierheim said he accomplished many of the difficult revisions he targeted.
"I firmly believe this school district is on the right track" he wrote.
He rejected the notion that an educator should necessarily hold the job. He said the district's complexity demands an experienced chief executive officer, with a chief education officer as top deputy.
Stierheim carried out aggressive changes in the schools with the narrowest support from the board.
He was hired during a period of public pressure to bring credibility and transparency to the district, directing the system through revelations of shoddy construction, wasteful spending and poor business practices.
Since then, the Board has hired an independent company to run its maintenance department, created procedures to ban nonperforming contractors and hired an inspector general to investigate malfeasance.
-- MATTHEW I. PINZUR Harford County - School Vandalized-- Baltimore Sun Maryland: October 17, 2003 [ abstract] Classes at Aberdeen High School were canceled after vandals had discharged several fire extinguishers inside the school, requiring extensive cleanup of hallways and several classrooms.
Police found a white powdery substance from several emptied fire extinguishers covering large portions of the two-story school building.
Intruders turned over items in classrooms, but did not appear to have caused permanent property damage.
Once Aberdeen police finished their assessment of the damage, the school's maintenance crew was to begin the cleanup while insurance adjusters determined the cost.
Aberdeen High is in the midst of constructing a new building. Ninth-graders are attending classes at the nearby middle school, while upper grades are compressed into the campus' north building.
-- Hanah Cho Is Mold the New Asbestos?-- American School Board Journal National: October 01, 2003 [ abstract] Indoor air quality (IAQ) is often used as an umbrella term for many environmental-based health threats, man-made or nature-made.
In 2002, insurance companies paid $2.5 billion in mold claims, reports the Insurance Information Institute.
Increased attention to asthma has focused attention on whether such respiratory conditions can be exacerbated by poor IAQ at school.
Mold problems in schools are usually connected to other facilities management shortcomings such as construction specifications in need of updating; poor oversight of ongoing building projects; inadequate planning for crisis communication; and maintenance strategies that lack such mundane demands as inspecting roofs and ceilings regularly for evidence of leaks.
-- Craig Colgan Teacher, students say mold in Robinson trailer made them ill-- Fairfax Times Virginia: August 14, 2003 [ abstract] According to a teacher, students, and parents at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, Virginia, the air inside one of the school's trailers made the occupants nauseous, dizzy and sick. While the
maintenance engineer for Fairfax County Public Schools, who believes that the problem started with a roof leak, has taken steps to remove the mold, a teacher has retained counsel in order to prevent the county from conducting classes in the trailer in the future.
-- Frank Mustac Students help refurbish schools-- The Gazette Maryland: August 07, 2003 [ abstract] The Prince George's County Public Schools maintenance Department Summer Work Force program employs thirty area high school and college students to help rehabilitate 198 school buildings in time for the new academic year. Tasks include painting hallways and classrooms, changing locker combinations, and fixing electrical wiring.
-- Alexander Krughoff 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 District Details School Closings in City-- St. Louis Post-Dispatch Missouri: July 14, 2003 [ abstract] In a school consolidation action that would displace more than 3,000 students, the St. Louis School Board will be voting on closing 16 schools, mostly older underused elementary schools. The district's management team, trying to cover what it says is a $90 million cash shortfall, estimates it can save up to $15.3 million by closing the 16 schools. The management team hopes to gain $14 million more by selling 40 vacant school buildings, administrative offices and empty lots owned by the district. The management team's top criteria for recommending which schools should close were occupancy rate, followed by the physical shape of the building, whether the building is air-conditioned and academic achievement. Some of the elementary schools that could be shuttered are close to 100 years old, require more than $100,000 in maintenance and were less than half-full.
-- Jake Wagman Walls to come down in war against mold at Coral Springs grade school-- Florida Sun-Sentinel Florida: July 05, 2003 [ abstract] People have been sick since the $7 million Riverside Elementary School opened in 1988. Water that nurtures mold leaked through poorly constructed roofs and walls in 41 places, and it has been like that for 15 years. maintenance workers and construction company crews waged a losing battle plugging leaks, trying tar patches and caulking. The cafeteria and 30 classrooms flooded every time it rained, with rain pouring through fluorescent lights in the media center. Health problems have been extensive. One parent, whose child with infected sinuses endured antibiotics and antihistamines, CAT scans, allergy injections, and two surgeries, said "Our motto since day one has been if you can't breathe, you can't learn. How many children does it take to have surgery before they do something?" About 40 percent of the schools' walls are contaminated and this summer are being ripped open so that workers can yank out contaminated wallboard.
-- Bill Hirschman New Schools Eat up Funds for Repairs-- Miami Herald Florida: June 22, 2003 [ abstract] The Miami-Dade Public Schools system has routinely covered the signs of sloppy and incomplete construction by having its own maintenance force fix sweeping deficiencies in new schools, diverting dollars from aging campuses waiting for repairs and upgrades. maintenance crews have spent more than 708,000 hours at 36 schools that have opened since 1995 for work that cost more than $40 million. Almost 35 percent of the work was done before the schools were 2 years old.
-- Debbie Cenziper and Jason Grotto School district eliminates 96 custodial jobs-- Chicago Tribune Illinois: June 11, 2003 [ abstract] 96 custodial, maintenance, and grounds employees of District 230 in Illinois will lose their jobs effective June 30 in a maneuver the local school board hopes will save $2.9 million. The workers are being replaced by a private contractor. School officials and the workers' union had been in negotiations for a new contract but recently reached an impasse that prompted the union to decide Sunday to withdraw salary and other concessions that would have saved the district about $1.6 million, according to the union's estimates.
-- Joseph Sjostrom School Board to vote on long list of reforms-- Miami Herald Florida: June 04, 2003 [ abstract] After a series of mismanagement scandals plagued the district, the Miami school district appointed an oversight committee to monitor its business practices. As a result of this committee, millions of dollars were frozen and can only be released by the committee once the district shows improvement. The oversight panel wants the School Board to vote this month on 39 reform proposals, ranging from streamlining of the construction department's bureaucracy to experimenting with nonunion maintenance workers in schools. Oversight Chairman Ed Easton suggested his group would move to release about $75 million of state construction funds earmarked for projects that would improve facilities and relieve overcrowding if the School Board accepted some of the recommendations. Both sides are reluctant to compromise, but do say that the series of votes would at least advance months of repetitive debate.
-- Matthew I. Pinzur 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 Leaks, mold rampant in Broward school construction, grand jury finds-- Florida Sun-Sentinel Florida: May 13, 2003 [ abstract] The Florida state grand jury has issued an 89-page report that contends waste, confusion, and mismanagement still plague the Broward school construction program, even after warnings in a 1997 report. "Solving the problems ... will require more than the institution of new policies and procedures," the grand jury said. "There must be a change in attitude on the part of the School Board Facilities Division." Its central complaint is an inability to curb rampant mold and mildew in scores of schools where children and adults complain of illnesses as mild as the sniffles and as severe as an inability to breathe. Clean up costs have topped $1 million per school, and could have been much cheaper if preventative maintenance, other repairs, and mold clean up were done in a timely manner.
-- Bill Hirschman and Jamie Malernee 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.
Schools look anew at maintenance -- Greenwich Times Connecticut: March 30, 2003 [ abstract] In the 1990s, the Greenwich, Connecticut school board foresaw an enrollment increase in the future, prompting them to spend $75 million on school construction, renovations and additions, adding 132 classrooms and increasing school capacity by 2,500 students town wide. However, with the increased spending on construction came cuts to the maintenance budget. The district spent half as much money per year on maintenance than it had a decade earlier and abandoned a cycle of regular maintenance that ensured each school was renovated in a timely manner. As a result, the district has had to spend $100, to clean and inspect a school that stopped receiving regular preventative maintenance checks.
-- Ivan H. Golden 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 Schools to invest in preventative maintenance -- Palm Beach Post Florida: February 26, 2003 [ abstract] Palm Beach County, Florida school officials announced a plan to spend $2 million on preventative maintenance for air conditioning and other air filtration systems. An increasing number of parents have complained about indoor air quality in their children's schools over the past ten years. The district plans to spend $1.1 million to hire new technicians to regularly change air filters, clean coils and fix exhaust fans. The district hopes that increased preventative maintence will extend the life of their air conditioning units, which average 12 years in Palm Beach, when the national average is 25 years. The remaining $900,000 will go towards new contracts.
-- Mary Ellen Flannery Thousands of fire hazards found in Dade schools -- Miami Herald Florida: February 12, 2003 [ abstract] Despite repeated citations and warnings from fire marshals, principals, and school system inspectors, the Miami-Dade school system is lax on more than 44,000 fire and life-safety hazards in many district schools. Many of these repairs would have cost $50 or less if they had been promptly addressed. The district estimates that the cost to fix all the violations is $136 million. However, since 1988, the district has received almost $6 billion to build, repair, and maintain school buildings, but still deficiencies persist. The school board has set aside about $65 million through the end of this school year to address the most serious violations. The article lists a litany of violations and problems the district had in solving even the most basic of them. The tide seems to be turning, and many district officials credit Superintendent Merrett Stierheim who, after learning about the violations in a Miami Herald article last month, sent a letter to all principals, demanding the most basic violations, such as unlocking exit doors, be handled by individual schools. The superintendent hopes that if schools, inspectors, maintenance and construction workers, and other district officials work together, this problem that has been festering for nearly 30 years will be solved in a timely manner.
-- Debbie Cenziper and Jason Grotto Lawyer: AG investigating Everett schools contracts -- Boston Globe Massachusetts: February 06, 2003 [ abstract] The state attorney general's office is conducting an investigation into the way Everett school district Superintendent Fred Foresteire recently awarded construction and maintenance contracts. Administrative offices, Forestere's home, and a contractor's home were searched, and police confiscated computer hard drives and documents. Subpoenas have been issued to several district workers, ordering them to produce documentation for work spanning the past several years.
-- Michele Kurtz and Anand Vaishnav Weston's school's continuing mold problems frustrate parents -- Florida Sun-Sentinel Florida: January 17, 2003 [ abstract] Country Isles Elementary School in Westin, Florida almost did not open for students in August because of concerns over toxic mold in the walls. The school was able to open on time, however mold clean-up and extra construction is inconveniencing students and faculty in the area. Many classrooms and the library are still inaccessible and construction continues. The superintendent promises all repairs and maintenance will be complete by February 14. Country Isles' problems exemplify the headaches that dog the school district construction program as a state grand jury reopens its 1997 inquiry into whether waste and mismanagement persist. The problems also come as the district is fine-tuning plans for a 10-year, $2.5 billion school construction and renovation program.
-- Bill Hirschman NE School's Woes Leave Staff, Pupils Cold -- Washington Post District of Columbia: December 03, 2002 [ abstract] Students and teachers were forced to wear coats, hats, and gloves inside classrooms on Monday after a faulty boiler caused temperatures inside the building to dip into the fifties. Problems have existed at the school since September, and coupled with the long Thanksgiving weekend and a cut in weekend building services led to brisk indoor temperatures. Principal Enrique Watson said, "There is some heat...but it's not sufficient to warm all 400 students that we have here." Watson said he has reported the problem "countless" times to the D.C. public school system's central office, and that facilities management had been trying to make repairs to the boiler system as late as yesterday. The problem was exacerbated by at least five broken widows which allowed more cold air inside the school. Teachers brought some of their classes to the school's multipurpose room, where as many as 75 students at a time huddled to get warm. Recent cutbacks in overtime pay means that maintenance staff does not go to the schools on Sundays to warm up the boilers, which affects many school buildings on Monday mornings, but usually not to the extreme faced in this situation.
-- Yolanda Woodlee and Justin Blum Board calls for privatization of 27 schools' maintenance -- Miami Herald Florida: November 19, 2002 [ abstract] A state-appointed oversight board suggested privatizing maintenance workers at 27 public schools to save money. The board also stated that millions of dollars for school construction would remain frozen until some version of the plan is approved. The board, appointed by Governor Jeb Bush, has the authority to withhold the money until they feel the school system is being run properly. Local unions representing maintenance workers are surprised and angered by the announcement, who already conceded a step toward privatization by allowing a private management company to oversee union employees, but a full replacement of all workers is unacceptable.
-- Matthew I. Pinzur School Employees Blast D.C. System -- Washington Post District of Columbia: November 15, 2002 [ abstract] Six employees placed on leave after the District of Columbia Department of Health shut down the school's kitchen because of unsanitary conditions are claiming the school district's central office is to blame for the violations, not the school employees. Anthony Smith, Shaw's head custodian, and Chris Barnett, the school's cafeteria manager, said work orders were filed repeatedly to then central office to repair many of the conditions found in violation by the health department, but the requests were put off by the central office who prioritize orders according to their urgency. The school system will not hold Shaw staff members responsible for any problems that are determined to have resulted from equipment failures beyond the school's control, officials said. Union officials representing the employees said that budget cutbacks at the schools and in the central office have contributed to the difficulty of keeping Shaw and other schools clean. Central office maintenance staff has been reduced and is not able to fulfill a large backup of work orders, union officials said.
-- David Nakamura Norwalk voters reject levy for building repairs -- Des Moines Register Kansas: September 11, 2002 [ abstract] Norwalk voters turned down a levy for a special building maintenance and equipment fund Tuesday, leaving the fast-growing district without any money to pay for building improvements. The tax would have paid for such emergency repairs as fixing a malfunctioning fire alarm system at the middle school. The school district, whose residents pay one of the highest school tax levies in the state because of a lack of commercial property, wanted the authority to increase the physical plant and equipment levy from 67 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation to a maximum of $1.34 for the special fund.
-- Madelaine Jerousek Maintenance: Stretching Resources-- American School and University National: September 01, 2002 [ abstract] Building maintenance and cleaning budgets have been slashed significantly over the last 10 to 15 years. Schools are facing significantly greater cleaning challenges with substantially fewer resources. This article discusses the factors that led to the maintenance crunch and school uncleanliness and offers suggestions to both administrators and maintenace workers to run a more efficient system.
-- Bob Robinson Sr Columbus School Board Votes to Place School Facilities Bond Issue on November Ballot-- Columbus Dispatch Ohio: August 01, 2002 [ abstract] Today, the Columbus Board of Education voted 5-2 to place a 3.459 mill combination bond issue and maintenance levy on the November 5, 2002 ballot. If voters approve the measure the district will generate $391 million in local funds leveraging an additional $129 million in state matching funds. This first phase will allow the district to take a “worst first” approach and address the most urgent facilities needs in the first 7 years.
Private maintenance work pits School Board vs. unions -- The Miami Herald Florida: May 14, 2002 [ abstract] The Miami-Dade School Board will go head-to-head with its powerful employee unions this week over a state oversight board proposal to privatize maintenance work at 27 public schools, thereby cutting hundreds of jobs and saving millions of dollars.
-- Charles Savage Unions, students rally for 'clean, safe schools' -- District of Columbia: May 02, 2002 [ abstract] AFL-CIO President John Sweeney joined union leaders, college
students and a scattering of others at the School Without Walls for a rally
Thursday, urging District public school officials to increase funds for
school repairs and maintenance -- and for the people who perform the jobs.
-- Beth Cope Record Number of Districts Seek School Bond Funds-- The Mercury News California: February 15, 2002 [ abstract] Even with the state's economy still smarting from the dot-com meltdown,
California school districts are betting on a record pitch for bond money in next
month's election.
An unparalleled 74 school and college districts statewide are urging voters to
hand over more than $6 billion in bonds to fix hundreds of aging schools in need
of serious maintenance, school finance experts say.
-- Jessica Portner Detroit schools privatize repair-work management -- Detroit Free Press Michigan: January 17, 2002 [ abstract] Days after laying off 69 maintenance workers, Detroit Public Schools announced Wednesday that it would privatize management of the 3,000-worker maintenance operations department and work to unplug a backlog of 20,000 repair orders.
Private firm gets schools repair deal-- Michigan: January 17, 2002 [ abstract] Detroit Public School officials have signed a $78.5-million, 10-year contract with a private company to manage the district's maintenance department, at the same time they are laying off staff in response to a projected budget deficit.
Audit: School maintenance a cash drain (Florida)-- Miami Herald Florida: November 29, 2001 [ abstract] Miami-Dade County Public Schools' $113 million maintenance and Operations Department is plagued by wasteful practices, a huge work-order backlog and soaring overtime pay, an internal audit has found.
Contract Problems with Washington Gas (District of Columbia)-- Washington Post District of Columbia: April 23, 2001 [ abstract] Washington Gas recieved a no bid contract from the DC Public School to improve school energy efficiency. However, they have been basic repairs and maintenance activities, including carpet replacement and plumbing repair, potentially violating the terms of their contract. the US General Services Administration had begun an investigation into possible mismanagement and contract abuses.
New York Court Orders Restructuring of the State Education Financing System-- Education Week New York: January 12, 2001 [ abstract] By September, the New York Legislature must restructure the state education financing system and address equity funding issues prevalent in New York City Schools. The court outlined many problems with educational facilities that should be addressed - how their conditions are reported, overcrowding, deferred maintenance and lack of adequate labs, computers and books.
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