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NCEF News summarizes and provides links to news stories about educational facilities nationwide. Links to older articles may no longer be active.
September 2010
Squeeze Eased; New York City Adds 17,000 More Classroom Seats
Yoav Gonen, New York Post
September 02, 2010

NEW YORK: The city's 1.1 million public-school students will breathe a bit easier this school year with the addition of more than 17,000 classroom seats, Mayor Bloomberg announced. In one of the largest single-year unveilings of new school space, officials are opening 15 new school buildings for the opening of the new semester next Wednesday -- along with three new school annexes and eight new leased sites.

The new digs include the costliest school-construction project in the city's history -- a mammoth, 280,000-square-foot, four-school site known as the Mott Haven Educational Campus. The college-like property features multiple gyms and science labs, an Astroturf football field, several cafeterias and a 600-seat auditorium to be shared by all four schools.
"This used to be an abandoned rail yard with all sorts of issues and now it's the most beautiful building you can imagine," said Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, who joined Bloomberg at Mott Haven for the unveiling. "It transforms not just the academic and school community but the entire community here in the South Bronx."

While city officials approved the project back in 2004 at an initial cost of $129 million, the final estimated price has since ballooned to nearly $250 million. Officials said that's because the construction contract that went out for $160 million in 2006 didn't include "soft" costs such as furniture and equipment, construction supervision, inspections and design costs. The city also spent an additional $30 million making sure the soil beneath the buildings -- on which sat industrial shops as well as the rail yard -- was toxin-free.

West Virginia District Considers Removing Swings From All School Playgrounds
Bryan Chambers, Herald-Dispatch
September 01, 2010

WEST VIRGINIA: A state lawmaker is asking Cabell County Schools Superintendent William Smith to suspend the removal of swing sets from all elementary school playgrounds until he can bring involved parties to the table. Swings are scheduled to be removed from the 17 schools that have them by late December because of recent lawsuits and costs associated with meeting national standards for playground safety.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission sets playground safety guidelines. The current guidelines for swings require a protective layer of sand, pea gravel, wood mulch, wood chips or recycled rubber that equals twice the height of the swing in each direction. That means if a swing is 7 feet long, a layer of ground material is required 14 feet in front and 14 feet in the back. The safety standards also call for a depth of at least 9 inches.
Cabell County uses wood mulch on its playgrounds, but it is biodegradable and washes away when it rains, said Tim Stewart, safety manager for Cabell County Schools. That makes it difficult to comply with national safety standards, he said. The only other viable alternative is recycled rubber, but it has raised toxicity questions among parents across the country and is more expensive than wood mulch, Stewart said. He estimates it would cost about $8,000 to cover the ground around each of the 36 swing sets. That's a total of $288,000, a cost that would have to be repeated at least every seven years, he said.

Solar Power Is Money Saver for Montgomery County, Maryland Schools Using Unique Financing Approach
Cody Calamaio , Gazette
September 01, 2010

MARYLAND: Summer may be over, but students at Sidwell Friends Lower School in Bethesda will be still playing, and learning, using the power of the sun. The school teamed with Common Cents Solar to install 120 solar panels on the roof of the gymnasium funded entirely by $5,000 "solar bonds" bought by 25 shareholders, mainly parents and community members.
The bond program creates a new approach to financing large-scale solar installations by taking the burden of cost away from the school, said Kirk Renaud, general manger of Common Cents Solar, a Bethesda nonprofit co-op that promotes solar initiatives through community collaboration and education.

Solar installations help save money for private and public schools. The system will cover half of the gym's energy needs and save the school $4,000 annually in electricity costs, Renaud said. Sidwell Friends had an electric bill of about $450,000 last school year for all campuses. Solar panels save the Montgomery County Public School system about $30,000 annually because unused electricity generated by rooftop panels receives a credit from Pepco that is taken off the bill. In fiscal 2010, the school system spent about $27 million to power its more than 200 buildings, spokesman Dana Tofig said in an email.

Eight Montgomery County Public Schools have rooftop solar panel systems that are used to save money and create clean energy, said Sean Gallagher, assistant director in the school system's department of facilities management. Schools pay to use solar electricity generated by panels installed by SunEdison solar company, which is based out of Beltsville. Solar panels are installed based on the size and age of the building's roof, Gallagher said.
About 500 solar panels will be installed on the roof of the upgraded Carderock Springs Elementary School in Bethesda this fall, Gallagher said. Not all modernized schools are able to get solar panels because stormwater management laws may require a vegetated roof to be installed instead. Additionally, eight other county schools have one or two solar panels on their roof paid for by grants or fundraising efforts, and are used primarily to demonstrate the technology to students, Gallagher said.

The $200,000 system at Sidwell Friends was purchased by a group of shareholders who will make their money back over a 10-year period using funds the school would normally pay to Pepco in their electric bill, said Michael Saxenian, assistant head of Sidwell Friends School, a private school with campuses in Bethesda and Washington, D.C. "We're very excited not just for the potential to reduce our environmental footprint but also to demonstrate a model that might help others do the same," Saxenian said. The shareholders should make a 3 percent return on their investment, Renaud said. Several people bought more then one bond, and the solar panels should be operational next week.

Solar panels provide a tangible way to teach the concept of harnessing energy to young children, said Sidwell Friends science teacher Sam Francis. Students at the Lower School will be able to view the energy production of their solar panels using monitors installed inside the school, and Francis plans to incorporate it into the science curriculum. In addition to the economic and environmental gains, the solar installation is also a way to bringing the community together to make a difference, said Ketch Ryan, sewing teacher at Sidwell Friends Lower School and co-founder of Common Cents Solar, who spearheaded the collaboration.

After 10 Years, $197 Million Newton, Massachusetts High School Opens to Applause
Sarah Thomas, Boston Globe
August 31, 2010

MASSACHUSETTS: Students were first to cross the threshold this morning as the ribbon was cut to the new $197.5 million Newton North High School, the most expensive public school in Massachusetts history.
The building opens after a decade of controversy and soaring costs, as the project evolved from a $40 million renovation into an entirely new school featuring two theaters, two gymnasiums, vocational facilities, and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. To critics, it became a symbol of spending excess and the need to overhaul the way public schools are built.

Price thanked architects, builders, town employees, and both mayors for making the new school a reality. "I hope you take great pride in this project," Price told the crowd. Referring to the criticism the project received, Warren said that "one choice was for us to quietly sulk into this building ... but instead we publicly celebrate the opening of this building." "We are fortunate in a time of national crisis to give our children a world class education," he said. The new school "is a critical tool in that effort." The duty of the community now, he said, is to "get the most out of this building."

An analysis by the Globe in 2008 found that costs were driven up by several factors: buried demolition debris that made excavating the site difficult, design and management complications, hazardous materials, additional square footage for the cafeteria and kitchen, rising steel prices, and the cost of tearing down the old football stadium.

Nine months after leaving office, Cohen remains stalwartly behind the new high school, which he says will bolster property values and Newton’s reputation for academic excellence. It has been frequently overlooked, Cohen said, that Newton North’s new indoor pool, vocational facilities, outdoor fields and running tracks, and kitchen facilities will be used by the entire city, not just a small group of students.

What Does a $200 Million High School Look Like?
John Moroney, NECN.com
August 31, 2010

MASSACHUSETTS: [Video] It's not exactly your average back-to-school story in Newton, Massachusetts this week. Newton North High School, at $200 million, it is the most expensive school in the state. The new school features an art complex and athletic wing, with a swimming pool and climbing wall. The state contributed about $40 million to the project.

Solar Panels Powering Denver Public Schools
Lauren Lang, KUSA
August 30, 2010

COLORADO: This fall, the future is bright at several Denver Public Schools thanks to new solar energy panels. Five schools within the district started the year with fully functioning solar panels installed on the buildings, and by May, 11 more schools will be solar powered. It's all thanks to a public-private-partnership between Denver Public Schools, Boulder-based Namaste Solar, Denver-based Oak Leaf Energy Partners and MP2 Capital, all of which helped secure more than $3 million worth of grants from Xcel Energy and $2.5 million worth of federal funding for the solar panels.

The solar panels are expected to save DPS $1.1 million over the life of the program and according to MP2's CEO Mark Lerdal, the savings are immediate. "Denver Public Schools had savings on day one," Lerdal said. "They don't pay anything. They payed less for their electricity the second that we turned the project on. So for Denver Public Schools, it's a win right away."

Students at the solar powered schools are also benefiting. Namaste Solar is working with Denver Public Schools to create a curriculum that incorporates the science and economics of solar energy and will bring the curriculum into the classroom through individual monitoring systems that track energy output at each school.

Some Baltimore Students Return to School in State-of-the-Art Buildings
Liz Bowie, Erica L. Green and Joe Burris, Baltimore Sun
August 30, 2010

MARYLAND: The long-awaited first day of school arrived Monday as some students started the year in new state-of-the-art buildings like West Towson in Baltimore County. The city opened its first new school building since 1998, Violetville Elementary in Southwest Baltimore. City and state leaders will celebrate the new building with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. And students and parents marked on Monday the rebirth of the old Walbrook High School campus in West Baltimore and renovations to Hammond elementary and middle schools in Howard County.

Built to relieve the severe crowding at Towson-area elementary schools, the $22 million West Towson is modern, full of light and airy with a two-story atrium, wireless access and state-of-the-art technology in all the classrooms. There's even a roof garden to reduce storm-water runoff and keep the kindergarten rooms below cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, as well as low-flow plumbing fixtures that will reduce water usage by 40 percent in the 451-seat school.

Green School Blooms in Milcreek,Pennsylvania, Saving the District $50,000 Yearly
Valerie Myers, Erie Times-News
August 29, 2010

PENNSYLVANIA: Taxpayers in the Millcreek Township School District made an investment in the environment four years ago. The investment is beginning to pay off. Overall energy consumption and energy costs at Millcreek's James S. Wilson Middle School are down significantly since the district invested $2 million in environmentally friendly "green" improvements during a $25.3 million renovation and expansion of the school in 2007.
New geothermal heating and cooling, rooftop wells that catch and use rainwater, rooftop and tubular solar panels that help light the school and other environmental improvements: They all saved an estimated $50,000 in total energy costs at J.S. Wilson in 2009, the first full year the renovated school was open, compared with the last full year before renovations in 2006. "The building is actually outperforming what we expected," said Chris Coughlin, lead architect for the J.S. Wilson project. "We were very conservative with the numbers beforehand. It's exceeding those numbers and exceeding our expectations."
The school, and others in the Millcreek School District, opened for the 2010-11 academic year Wednesday. The first day of classes at J.S. Wilson included a reminder to the school's 592 students to protect taxpayers' investment in their school. "It took a lot of time and effort to make this building happen. Now we've got to take care of it," Principal John Cavanagh said.

J.S. Wilson's greatest savings has been in natural gas. Gas costs for the school were down 92 percent in 2009, to $8,445, from $102,145 in 2006. Geothermal heating is responsible for the savings, said Brad Dunn, the school district's maintenance supervisor. In a geothermal system, the earth heats or cools water flowing through underground pipes. A heat exchanger uses heat from the water to warm the building and chilled water to cool it. J.S. Wilson powers up its traditional boiler only on very cold days. The hybrid geothermal and conventional heating system saved the district the cost of drilling another 100-plus geothermal wells, said Coughlin, of Erie-based Hallgren, Restifo, Loop and Coughlin. "We originally designed the system with 214 to 220 wells but rebid it as a hybrid system that uses 107 wells and uses the boiler to pick up the heating on the coldest days," Coughlin said.
Water savings, like gas savings, have also been significant, by district estimates. J.S. Wilson has saved about 220,000 gallons of water, and $27,196 on water bills, since the renovated school reopened in March 2008. Rainwater collected in the rooftop wells flushes school toilets and urinals. The school still buys drinking water and water for use in the school cafeteria.

Taking all of the energy costs into consideration, including lower gas bills and water bills and higher electric bills, J.S. Wilson is saving the Millcreek School District about $50,000 a year, according to an Erie Times-News analysis of district records. Even with higher electric costs, overall energy and financial savings at the green school are significant, said Guy McUmber, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's sustainability coordinator for the northwest region. McUmber is also past chairman of the Northwest Pennsylvania Branch of the Green Building Alliance, a nonprofit organization that promotes the benefits of green construction. "The building uses less energy overall than it previously used. And the decline in energy usage is significant," McUmber said. "We have so few green buildings in this region. The school is a great model for northwestern and even western Pennsylvania."

Money for New Orleans School Construction Is a Giant Step for Our Recovery: An Editorial
Editorial Page Staff, Times-Picayune
August 27, 2010

LOUISIANA: The transformation of New Orleans public schools has been one of the brightest and most consequential developments post-Katrina. That’s why the Obama administration’s decision to fully pay for a citywide school construction plan is a momentous step for our recovery.
The total $1.8 billion in FEMA funds approved for school construction makes the award one of the largest recovery grants since the storm. The grant includes $700 million for school construction that FEMA committed last year and an additional $1.1 billion that had been in doubt until this week.
The total equals the projected cost of a citywide master plan the Recovery School District and the Orleans Parish School Board approved in 2008. That means education officials should have enough money to provide every school — charter and traditional — a new building or a substantially renovated one.
Just as important, FEMA agreed to lump the schools’ extensive Katrina damage into one large project. That will allow new schools to be built wherever needed, without being restricted to rebuilding pre-Katrina structures.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania School District Installs 'Green' Roofs at Three Elementary Schools
Brian Wallace, Intelligencer Journal
August 26, 2010

PENNSYLVANIA: When School District of Lancaster pupils return to classes at three elementary schools next week, they may be wondering: Who's gonna water the roof? That's because three of the schools — Lafayette, Wharton and Ross — installed "green" roofs this summer on new additions. The vegetated roofs, which are designed to reduce rainwater runoff and conserve energy, are the first ever installed at public schools in Lancaster County, said Mary Gattis-Schell of the county planning commission. Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster Mennonite School and a few local businesses have installed the roofs in recent years, but SDL is the first public school system to try out the green technology on a large scale, she said.

The roofs were funded with a portion of a $479,000 "energy harvesting" grant the planning commission received from the state Department of Environmental Protection. SDL received $118,710 for its two vegetated roofs at Lafayette and Wharton, each of which total 10,000 square feet. The district also received a $30,000 grant from the Lancaster Foundation for Educational Excellence for the 2,500-square-foot vegetated roof at Ross. The grants offset the higher cost — about $7 per square foot, or a total of $157,500 at the three schools — of the roofs, said Greg Collins, SDL's coordinator of capital projects.

A vegetated roof also weighs more than a conventional roof and requires beefed-up structural supports to handle up to 50 pounds per square foot of extra weight when wet. But green roofs can last up to twice as long as a conventional design, Gattis-Schell said, and they have multiple environmental benefits. Their extra insulating properties cut heating and cooling costs and reduce the "heat island" effect, the buildup of heat from idling vehicles, pavement and the flat black roofs common to urban areas. The vegetation also greatly reduces stormwater runoff and filters pollutants from the water that does end up in the sewage system.
SDL's green roofs will serve an educational purpose as well, Collins said. Science teachers plan to integrate them into the curriculum as environmental science learning laboratories.

What are the downsides? The roofs require some initial weeding and will need to be watered during droughts lasting more than four weeks. But that's about it for maintenance. The roofs are planted with sedum, a hardy plant that, like a residential lawn, goes dormant in the winter and rebounds in the spring. It also doesn't grow higher than a couple of inches, so there's no need for high-rise lawn mowing.

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Missouri Governor Visits School to Tout Stimulus Bond Funded Construction Projects
Claudette Riley, News-Leader
August 26, 2010

MISSOURI: A project to install air conditioning at Jarrett Middle School received a gubernatorial inspection. Gov. Jay Nixon visited the middle school on the second day of classes to see the progress -- cool air is expected to be blowing into classrooms by the spring -- and tout the value of no-interest bonds. "These bonds are enabling school districts like Springfield to finance construction projects less expensively, while bondholders receive full return on their investment," Nixon said in prepared remarks. "And these projects are creating real jobs right here in the community, and helping to save energy as well."

Early this year, 72 Missouri districts received more than $162 million in interest-free federal bonds from the state, made possible through the federal Recovery Act. The Qualified School Construction Bonds help school districts pay financing costs connected with projects paid for through voter-approved bonds. Districts had to compete for the help and Springfield was awarded a sizable chunk in part because voters had approved a $50 million bond issue -- to pay for air conditioning, construction, improvements and technology projects -- in November.
The assistance will help Springfield save $5.5 million in interest over the life of the bond. "It helped us quite a bit," said Superintendent Norm Ridder. Ridder points out that by leveraging the federal Recovery Act funds, the district was able to request the bond issue without increasing taxes.

New Orleans Schools Get $1.8 Billion for Katrina Damage
CNN Wire Staff, CNN
August 26, 2010

LOUISIANA: The federal government will award $1.8 billion to New Orleans schools damaged by Hurricane Katrina, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, said. A provision in an appropriations bill authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide a lump-sum payment for K-12 schools damaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. "The provision also reduced penalties for insufficient flood insurance and alternate projects, which yielded more than $500 million in savings for Louisiana schools," Landrieu's office said in a statement.

New Orleans schools are still rebounding five years after Katrina struck. The money gives "local leaders the ability to rebuild New Orleans' school system in a comprehensive and strategic manner, instead of using a uncoordinated and piecemeal approach," Landrieu's statement said. The Orleans Parish School Board and the Recovery School District are reducing the number of campuses from 127 to 87.

USDA To Award Schools $1 Million In Grants For Community Gardens.
Nanci Hellmich, USA Today
August 25, 2010

NATIONAL: Since first lady Michelle Obama planted a garden at the White House in the spring of 2009 and invited schoolchildren to help tend and harvest the produce, more school gardens have been sprouting up across the country.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will award $1 million in grants for eligible high-poverty schools to start community gardens. The goal: to teach students about gardening and nutrition and to provide fresh produce for school meals. Some of the harvest may also be given to students' families, as well as to local food banks and senior-center nutrition programs.

Improving nutrition in schools is part of the first lady's Let's Move! initiative to fight childhood obesity. School gardens "give kids exposure to where food comes from and encourages them to try foods they might not otherwise try," says Kevin Concannon, USDA undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services. They give teachers an opportunity to talk about soil, water, sun, health and science, and the gardens can be used for math and art programs, he says. Estimates suggest that about 15% to 20% of schools across the country have gardens, says Mike Metallo, president of the National Gardening Association, a non-profit group that provides gardeners and teachers with information and resources.

Schools Rethink Equipment After Playground Death
Justin Juozapavicius, Washington Post
August 25, 2010

OKLAHOMA: Some schools are pulling equipment off the playground as authorities try to determine if a 9-year-old Oklahoma girl died because of something that happened while she played on a teeter-totter-like structure. The girl was playing with several children at an elementary school playground on equipment known as the X-Wave, which has plastic hinges and moves up and down. She died after falling off and hitting her head on the turf.

What caused her death is still being investigated, and officials are considering that it may have been natural causes. But several schools around Oklahoma say the episode is enough to make them rethink having the set and other similar equipment in their schoolyards. Officials in at least six school districts - Moore, Edmond, Oklahoma City, Putnam City, Deer Creek and Norman - have either already removed the structures or prohibited children from playing on them.

Xccent Inc. is the private Minnesota company that makes the colorful X-Wave, the similar X-Wave2 and other playground equipment. Company officials have refused to discuss how their product functions on a playground or how many have been sold to schools across the country until authorities give an official cause of Alyssa's death.
Susan Hudson, education director for the National Program for Playground Safety, said her group had not heard of any other complaints about the X-Wave model. She said the group would not comment further until more information was available because of the questions about how the injury occurred.

New Mexico Middle School Gets Photovoltaic Solar System With Stimulus Grant
Jim Kalvelage, Ruidoso News
August 25, 2010

NEW MEXICO: The one-year old Ruidoso Middle School will move forward with generating some of the facility's electricity from the sun. The school district board approved establishing a budget to accommodate grant funding for the project. Earlier this summer the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) announced the middle school would receive $300,000 to purchase and install a 50-kilowatt photovoltaic solar energy system. The Ruidoso district was one of 15 around the state to receive a grant made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Before tapping into the funding, the district must first submit building plans and a request for school related construction with the state's Public School Facilities Authority and PED.

There is an educational component of the renewable energy system for students and teachers, involving installation to monitoring the energy and cost savings.
Governor Bill Richardson had said the state wanted the 15 projects to inspire students to pursue education and jobs in the state's green economy.

North Tampa, Florida School Design Focuses on Students
Courtney Cairns Pastor, Tampa Tribune
August 25, 2010

FLORIDA: Walking down the elementary wing at Hillel School, you might see children perched on stools with Macbooks, curled up on cushions with books, balancing on exercise balls or making a mess in a studio. Not only is that OK with teachers at the private Jewish school, it's encouraged. Thanks to donations and fundraisers, the second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms were overhauled during the summer to break students and teachers out of isolation and encourage them to work together or separately in hallways, common areas and labs. The result shakes up the traditional elementary school model where students disappear into classrooms and never interact with their peers or other teachers. It's an innovative design based on research about how students learn.

The windows are bigger, and glass doors leading outside show off Hillel's playground and shady trees. Glass doors also link the classrooms to the hallway, allowing light into what had been a dim corridor and letting teachers keep an eye on students working at laptop stations in the hall. The old computer lab is gone. In its place is the "Mercaz" – Hebrew for "center" – where laptops and iPads dot desks and book carousels fill the corners. A new exit to the library takes children out under a pergola and eventually will have patio furniture where they can read or use the wireless connection to browse the Internet. One wall in the Mercaz has an interactive Smart Board; another has a projector and screen, both of which can be hooked to computers so teachers can project lessons from their computers onto the wall. A spare classroom will become a video conferencing space, where Wasser hopes her students will be able to talk in real time with schools around the world.

The changes came about through a Hillel parent whose background merges design and school reform. Architect Prakash Nair co-founded Fielding Nair International, which bases its school plans on educational research. Its projects span five continents. Nair donated his time and designs to Hillel, and Hillel raised money for the construction and furnishings. The bill came to less than $200,000, Wasser said.

The structural changes offer the possibility of shaking up how teachers teach and students learn, Nair said. Some classrooms have partitions teachers can open if they want to teach two classes together. They can also go to the Mercaz for joint lessons or to two studios in the back, which offer a room for art and other hands-on projects, along with a math and science lab. Almost all of the furniture and storage carts are wheeled or lightweight enough to move, Wasser said. So teachers can take what they need, and students can arrange themselves to work individually, in small groups or large classes.

The School Name Game
Huma Khan, ABC News
August 23, 2010

NATIONAL: He has been in the White House 18 months, but President Obama already has seven U.S. schools named after him, far more than his predecessor George W. Bush and a designation that educators say bucks the trend.
Early U.S. presidents remain the most popular choice for school names, with George Washington leading the pack. John F. Kennedy is one of the most popular modern-day presidents when it comes to school names. Institutions honoring both President Kennedy and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, span from coast to coast. The name for the most expensive school in the nation, the $578 million Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles, was adopted with little objection. The new school is the site of the old Ambassador Hotel, where the senator and presidential contender was killed in 1968.

Overall, the trend in school names is moving away from people and presidents to natural elements. A 2007 study by Greene and the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research found that the number of U.S. schools named after a president had declined to fewer than 5 percent and a majority of school districts did not have a single school named after a president. In the past two decades, a public school in Arizona was almost 50 times more likely to be named after natural elements such as a mesa or a cactus than after a president, the study found. One of the reasons for the trend is that schools want to avoid the controversy that comes with adopting the names of presidents.

Some states and cities are also more restrictive than others when it comes to naming conventions. Arkansas law prohibits naming of any institution or monument while the person is alive. New Orleans doesn't allow schools to be named after U.S. leaders who had owned slaves, which has essentially barred Washington from that city.

America's Most Expensive Public School: What $578 Million Buys
Staff Writer, The Week
August 23, 2010

CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Unified School District is nearing completion of a new $578 million public school campus on the site it cleared by razing the storied Ambassador Hotel, where Robert Kennedy was assassinated in 1968. When it opens, the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools will be the most expensive public school in the U.S. — and one of the most controversial of the nation's so-called "Taj Mahal" schools.

What does $578 million buy you? The 24-acre RFK campus will include seven different schools that will serve 4,260 K-12 students. It also features a sizable park, a state-of-the-art swimming pool, underground parking, "talking" benches that recall the site's historical significance, and a marble memorial to Kennedy. The buildings will include restored or recreated sections of the 1921 hotel and the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, where artists like Frank Sinatra sang for Hollywood royalty.

What was preserved? A wall of the Cocoanut Grove, and the coffee shop, originally designed by noted architect Paul Williams and now used as a teachers' lounge. The auditorium is a recreation of the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, and the library is a modified replica of the Ambassador's ballroom.

Who's paying for the school? The school district (thus taxpayers), through a $20 billion construction bond approved by voters.

Why has it cost so much? The original $400 million estimate was thwarted by a 2006-07 spike in raw building materials, the school district says, and it had to pay $9 million in legal battles with preservationists who wanted the Ambassador kept intact and with Donald Trump, who wanted to build the world's tallest skyscraper on the site. Another $15 million went into historical preservation, and $33 million was needed to install a methane mitigation system.

New Belle Valley, Illinois School Building Designed To Be Eco-Friendly
Rickeena J. Richards, BND.com
August 23, 2010

ILLINOIS: This is the last year that starting a new school year means returning to deteriorating school buildings for Belle Valley School District 119 students. "We are just trying to take the existing buildings and make do for this year, because we know what's coming next year," said Superintendent Louis Obernuefemann. Next year, the new school year will mean a new school building that will be the first in the state to include the highest level of "green," or environmentally friendly, features.

"It's incorporated into every aspect about the construction of the building," Obernuefemann said of the features. He said District 119 is aiming for gold status Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification with the new building construction. The U.S. Green Building Council developed the certification system to provide a framework for taking a green approach to designing, constructing, operating and maintaining buildings of all types of buildings.
In efforts to qualify for the LEED program's gold status, the highest rank possible, Belle Valley's new campus will include three storm-water retention ponds that will collect rainwater, alleviate flooding in the area and be used for students' environmental studies; dual-flushing toilets that will conserve water; and energy-efficient equipment that will make the building 20 percent more efficient and reduce utility costs. Also, at least 10 percent of the building materials are recycled, at least 50 percent of the construction debris will be recycled instead of dumped in a landfill and construction crews are using materials that were purchased locally.

Obernuefemann said the new school will allow the district to provide its students with an even better educational experience. "It's going to give us the room and the facilities and the equipment we need to give them (students) an exceptional adventure," he said. "I already have the faculty that can do it. All I need is the building."

Los Angeles Unveils $578 Million K-12 School Complex
Christina Hoag, AP/HuffPost
August 22, 2010

CALIFORNIA: Next month's opening of the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools will be auspicious for a reason other than its both storied and infamous history as the former Ambassador Hotel, where the Democratic presidential contender was assassinated in 1968. With an eye-popping price tag of $578 million, it will mark the inauguration of the nation's most expensive public school ever. The K-12 complex [that includes seven schools] to house 4,200 students has raised eyebrows across the country as the creme de la creme of "Taj Mahal" schools, $100 million-plus campuses boasting both architectural panache and deluxe amenities.
The RFK complex follows on the heels of two other LA schools among the nation's costliest – the $377 million Edward R. Roybal Learning Center, which opened in 2008, and the $232 million Visual and Performing Arts High School that debuted in 2009.

Construction costs at LA Unified are the second-highest in the nation – something the district blames on skyrocketing material and land prices, rigorous seismic codes and unionized labor. James Sohn, the district's chief facilities executive, said the megaschools were built when global raw material shortages caused costs to skyrocket to an average of $600 per square foot in 2006 and 2007 – triple the price from 2002. Costs have since eased to $350 per square foot. On top of that, each project had its own cost drivers.

After buildings were demolished at the site of the 2,400-student Roybal school, contaminated soil, a methane gas field and an earthquake fault were discovered. A gas mitigation system cost $17 million. Over 20 years, the project grew to encompass a dance studio with cushioned maple floors, a modern kitchen with a restaurant-quality pizza oven, a 10-acre park and teacher planning rooms between classrooms. The 1,700-student arts school was designed as a landmark, with a stainless steel, postmodernistic tower encircled by a rollercoaster-like swirl, while the RFK site involved 15 years of litigation with historic preservationists and Donald Trump, who wanted to build the world's tallest building there. The wrangling cost $9 million. Methane mitigation cost $33 million and the district paid another $15 million preserving historic features, including a wall of the famed Cocoanut Grove nightclub and turning the Paul Williams-designed coffee shop into a faculty lounge.
Sohn said LA Unified has reached the end of its Taj Mahal building spree. "These are definitely the exceptions," he said. "We don't anticipate schools costing hundreds of millions of dollars in the future."

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One Third of Dallas Schools Undergoing Extensive Renovations.
Tawnell D. Hobbs, Dallas Morning News
August 22, 2010

TEXAS: Many Dallas students will return to class to more modern surroundings, cooler buildings and much improved restrooms. Nearly one-third of the schools in Dallas ISD have been under construction this summer, part of a first phase of improvements in the district's $1.35 billion bond program. Officials expect most of the work to be completed by the start of school, but they said some projects could carry through to November, as scheduled.
"When you're doing extensive work in 79 schools, you're going to have a couple to a few of them that are going to be close," said DISD spokesman Jon Dahlander. He added that the district doesn't expect the ongoing work to require moving students to alternative locations.

Several other area school districts, including Frisco and Highland Park, also have undergone major construction projects this summer. Highland Park ISD still has work left to finish, but officials there said the projects should not cause any disruption at campuses.
Construction projects in DISD this summer include new air-conditioning units, several dining room expansions, refurbished restrooms and technology upgrades at all the schools.
DISD's total $1.35 billion bond package includes three phases that are expected to be wrapped up by the summer of 2013. The package includes renovations at most existing campuses, 12 additions, and 14 new and replacement schools.

Charter Oak, California Puts Final Touches on Stimulus-Funded School Renovation Projects
Maritza Velazquez, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
August 21, 2010

CALIFORNIA: Construction crews are working to complete two renovation projects before classes at Charter Oak High School begin at the end of the month. Courtesy of $2.9 million in federal stimulus funds, the district this summer began upgrading the campus' main quad and installing artificial turf and track for its stadium. In addition, the district is replacing bleachers and installing energy efficient lights in the gym. The project will be completed after the start of the school year, Jouen said.
Charter Oak Unified applied for the Qualified School Construction Bond in November, he said. The money funded the full cost of the projects, he said. The bonds are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and are reserved for schools with "shovel-ready" projects.

At Charter Oak High School, the funding allowed the district to update areas of the campus that hadn't been modernized since it was built nearly 60 years ago, he said. In addition to the new turf field and track, district officials sought to make the quad a more inviting atmosphere for students to gather. The quad will have new sidewalks and planters that also serve as seating areas, he said. The main entrance to the school was also re-designed, he said.

Cleveland Saves $11M on High-School Renovation With Stimulus Incentives
Douglas J. Guth, Cleveland Jewish News
August 20, 2010

OHIO: A major renovation project at Beachwood High School just got a little less expensive for taxpayers, district officials say. A combination of federal stimulus incentives and the successful sale of $30 million in low-interest bonds will save Beachwood residents $11.4 million in construction and financing costs for the high-school facility improvement plan, the district announced.
stimulus incentives and bond sale combine to reduce the three-year renovation plan’s price tag from an original estimate of $50.6 million to $39.1 million. Beachwood voters approved the bond issue this past spring at a 2.5-mill rate. The payback period on the bonds will now be shortened from 30 years to 24 years, with the tax rate likely shrinking to between 2.2 and 2.3 mills, district treasurer Michele Mills told the CJN.

Voters approved the May bond issue by more than a 2-to-1 margin for renovation of the 54-year-old high school. Nearly three-quarters of the restoration addresses classroom conditions, technology, and infrastructure, including a new heating and cooling system, a library with two adjoining computer labs, and other upgrades.
While district leaders were hesitant to ask residents to fund the project in difficult economic times, the needs of the facility coincided with low interest rates, which meant lower bids for construction contracts and less expense for the school system, notes Mills. Holding off on the plans also meant possibly missing out on federal stimulus money. “We aggressively pursued funds to save the taxpayers money,” says Mills. “A savings of $11 million is nothing to sneeze at.”

Tornado-Hit Kansas School Opens, Greener Than Ever
Carla Eckels, NPR
August 18, 2010

KANSAS: School starts for nearly 300 students in Greensburg, Kan. It's remarkable there's a school there at all. Three years ago, a tornado with winds topping 200 miles an hour tore through Greensburg, destroying much of the small southwest Kansas town. But now a new countywide school is ready for students.
With its new interactive technology, including smart boards, wireless capability and natural lighting, the school is a welcome site to students and teachers alike.

High school freshman Mariah Charlton says she's glad to be out of the trailers and likes the new school. "The outside classroom and, like, the big windows ... not having to turn on the lights ... I think that will be cool, and just how they are building the school to be a LEED Platinum Green, and I'm excited for that," Charlton says.
The school is both sustainable and efficient to operate. "We have natural light that floods most of the spaces, [in] a lot of the classrooms, gymnasiums, offices, you don't have to turn a light switch on during the day, so that's a feature that helps us. ... We have our own wind generation. We have a wind generator — [a] 50-kilowatt tower — that supplies a portion of our electricity." And there's a recycling center, durable cabinets made out of wheat straw, plus hall lockers built from recycled plastic, something ninth-grader Charlton can't wait to get her hands on.

Holland, Michigan School District Will Save Millions With Stimulus Bonds
Peter Daining, Holland Sentinel
August 18, 2010

MICHIGAN: Holland Public Schools is finished selling and underwriting $73 million of bonds and is now interviewing contractors for rehab, expansion and building projects. Holland voters approved a tax increase in May to support several school projects; it took 60 days to sell and underwrite the bonds. The total interest rate for the bonds is less than 4 percent, said Tom Page, Holland Public School’s spokesman.

The school system will save $2.5 million from its good Standard & Poors rating, $2.9 million from Build America Bonds and $3.3 million from qualified school construction bonds. “We’re very pleased that the bond costs are going to be kept to a minimum,” Page said.
The board reviewed a prospective construction schedule, which shows much of the design work happening in 2010-11, with the bulk of construction in 2012-13. Page said some construction will begin in the spring.
The board expects to award construction contracts Sept. 20. The major contracts include about $40 million in renovations to Holland High School, as well as multi-million dollar projects for four middle schools, the Van Raalte Tech Center and New Tech Academy high school.

Preliminary Tests Find Elevated PCB Levels in 3 New York City Public Schools
Mireya Navarro, New York Times
August 18, 2010

NEW YORK: Elevated levels of toxic chemical compounds were found in the first three New York City public school buildings tested in a pilot study meant to assess the risks posed by PCBs, according to preliminary results. Officials of the city’s Department of Education said the study at first focused on cracked caulk, but that air sampling also pointed at a lighting ballast, a regulating device in fluorescent lights made with oil containing PCBs. Workers have been removing caulk and replacing light fixtures at those three schools to get them ready for students.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency, which is overseeing the pilot study, said that initial results found that the three schools tested this summer had PCB levels above federal health benchmarks. Mary Mears, an E.P.A. spokeswoman, said the agency was awaiting final results, but that the preliminary findings did not show PCBs levels high enough for “immediate cause for alarm.”

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are a class of highly toxic chemical compounds that were widely used in construction materials and electrical products in many buildings from the 1950s until they were phased out starting in 1978. With long-term exposure, they can cause cancer and affect the immune and reproductive systems.
Last year, the E.P.A. began a program to inform school administrators and building managers about the potential risks of PCBs in caulk and ways to minimize exposure. The agency also struck an agreement with New York City requiring school officials to conduct a pilot study in five schools to come up for a plan for cleanups and reduced exposure.

Rogers, Arkansas Schools Save With Innovative Lighting, Funded by Stimulus
Staff Writer, 4019tv.com
August 17, 2010

ARKANSAS: The Rogers School District is using $100,000 in stimulus money to upgrade its buildings' lighting to make the schools more energy efficient. The district and the staff from Clear Energy have been on a mission to save his district money one light at a time. "What we did was took those out and installed this reflector," said Clear Energy's Stan Green. Green's crew installed more than 3,000 reflectors in light fixtures throughout Rogers High School, reducing the number of lights needed from four to two per fixture to produce the same amount of light."They're installing sensors.
They went outside to our parking lots and installed compact fluorescents where we had HID fixtures in the parking lots," said Dan Caley, Rogers School District's "energy czar." Clear Energy also installed the same light reflectors in the school's gym.
Caley said the district paid $320,000 for theupgrades. Caley said at an annual savings of $85,000 per year, the upgrades will pay for themselves in three and a half years.

Billings, Montana School District Hopeful Voters Will Approve Federal Bonds for Fixing Deferred Maintenance
Rob Rogers, Billings Gazette
August 17, 2010

MONTANA: Available to the district if voters approve is $12 million in two federal, interest-free bonds. And the pressure is on — more than half the cost of the bonds will be paid for by federal stimulus dollars and state funds. If voters don’t approve the bonds, the money will become available to another school district in Montana.
The bond money is designated specifically for maintenance and construction projects, and the district has plenty. SD2 faces $123 million in deferred maintenance. District officials are eager to secure the money because the $12 million in bonds would only cost SD2 $5.5 million. “This is a deal that we cannot pass up,” Trustee Joel Guthals said.

The projects proposed by the district — projects SD2 will be locked into by law if the bonds pass — include replacing the 70-year-old boiler at Senior High, replacing the roofs at 10 schools and replacing windows at seven schools. Also included is fire alarm system updates at four of the district oldest schools. The projects were chosen specifically to help the district avoid “future catastrophic damage,” maximize utility savings and improve the learning environment for students at all its buildings across the city. The updates to roofs, windows and boilers would save the district $94,435 a year in energy costs. Officials see the energy savings and the bonds’ price tag as one of the main selling points. Under the program, the federal government would pay the interest on the bond and the district would pay back the principal.

Colleges Add Solar Power
Staff Writer, Environmental Leader
August 17, 2010

NATIONAL: From the east to the west coast, colleges and universities are either adding or expanding their solar power portfolios, helping them to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. A few of the latest additions include Cal State San Bernardino and the University of Delaware.
Cal State San Bernardino is adding a ground-mounted solar farm designed to meet more of the university’s energy demands, which should be operational by the end of August, reports The Sun. The fixed-axis, ground-mounted system, which will be installed by SunEdison on 3.5 acres of land, is expected to generate 750 kilowatts of electrical power. The school says the site will complement the installation of roof-mounted solar panels, which were completed this month on top of the university’s college of education building. The two projects, combined with existing solar panels on the roof of the physical education building and the roof of the health and physical education complex, will generate 28.8 percent of the 4,500 kilowatts of electricity that the university requires during its peak hours of daytime energy usage.

The panels are installed and owned by third-party investors and the university pays for the electricity generated by the photovoltaic system. Tony Simpson, senior director of facilities services told The Sun the cost per kilowatt hour is currently less than purchasing the power from the local utility company. The university says it has reduced 502.2 metric tons of greenhouse gases since the solar panel system on the physical education buildings has been activated.
Along with cost savings, Cal State San Bernardino has reduced its overall carbon footprint by 15 percent, which translates into a reduction of nearly 2,000 metric tons of carbon-dioxide emissions on campus. Cal State San Bernardino also has plans to install two wind turbines on campus, reports The Sun. One is currently under construction next to the observatory and the other will be installed near the university east parking structure. The turbines are expected to be functional later this summer.

On the other side of the country, the University of Delaware (UD) plans to install multiple solar arrays to support the university’s sustainable energy efforts. The university’s initial solar array will include more than 2000 panels to yield an 850-kilowatt solar electric system. Once completed, the solar system is expected to generate approximately 1035 kilowatt hours of electricity each year and cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 1,810,000 pounds annually. The array will be installed by Standard Solar and jointly developed, owned and operated with its joint venture partner Perpetual Energy Systems (PES).The solar system will be funded in part from its 2009 senior class gift, which was earmarked for solar initiatives on campus. The university’s research in solar energy has resulted in the development of 10 new technologies, eight of which are now patented, and 60 percent of these solar innovations have been licensed, all to U.S. companies.
The solar panels will be installed over three buildings throughout the school’s main campus in Newark. According to the university, the largest array of solar panels, which is planned for the Delaware Field House, will be the largest single rooftop installation in the state of Delaware.

The state of Hawaii also is seeing an uptick in solar projects, including six community colleges that are planning on installing solar panels. In April, The Ivy League, led by the University of Pennsylvania, topped the Environmental Protection Agency’s College and University Green Power Challenge that recognizes collegiate athletic conferences with the highest combined green power purchases in the nation.

Federal Stimulus Aids Lebanon, Pennsylvania School District With Renovations
John Latimer, Lebonon Daily News
August 16, 2010

PENNSYLVANIA: Lebanon School District and its taxpayers stand to save millions of dollars in the next two decades by taking advantage of a federal stimulus loan program to finance a portion of the renovations at the high school.
Brad Remig, a financial consultant for Public Financial Management Inc. of Harrisburg, explained the benefits of borrowing $15 million from the State Public School Building Authority Qualified School Construction Bond Financing Program to school directors Monday night. The board authorized Remig to move forward with the financing, although it will still have to give final approval when all the details are worked out with the state later this year.
The terms of the financing are as complex as the name of the program, Remig explained. But when boiled to down to its essence, the district will be able to borrow the money for less than 1 percent interest. By contrast, when the district borrowed the first $9 million for the project last year, it was at an interest rate of almost 4 percent. Nationwide, $22 billion in school construction bond financing was made available to the states through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Last month, Gov. Ed Rendell announced that 46 school districts across the state will receive more than $600 million in federal stimulus money to help pay for 101 construction projects. The state plans to do one single bond issue, which will save each district the cost of paying for bond counsel and underwriting. Each district will pay just a small portion of the one-time cost for the bond work.

Lebanon was eligible to receive a maximum of $15 million to put toward the $39 million renovation of the high school, which will begin in earnest after the construction contract is awarded in October. The timing couldn't have been better for the district, said bond counsel Paul Lundeen of Rhoades and Sinon. "Your project is ideal because you are pretty much ready to go," he said.

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The Nation’s Greenest Colleges
Mireya Navarro, New York Times
August 16, 2010

NATIONAL: One way to measure environmentalism on college campuses is to size up their efforts to cut energy use or to recycle garbage. In rankings just released, the Sierra Club’s Sierra Magazine anoints Green Mountain College in Vermont, which gets heat and electricity by burning locally sourced wood chips and methane from cow manure, as the nation’s greenest college.

The magazine based its list on responses to an 11-page questionnaire sent to 900 colleges and universities. (It said that 162 institutions responded.) The survey, the magazine’s fourth, found that some colleges have integrated environmental studies across the curriculum. Others have installed composting toilets and solar panels, and some, like Green Mountain College, aim to become carbon neutral.
More information about the survey and sustainability efforts on campuses is at www.sierraclub.org/coolschools

Asheville, Buncombe, North Carolina Schools Become Energy Efficient, Green
Nanci Bompey, Citizen-Times
August 16, 2010

NORTH CAROLINA: Students returning to Asheville High School will see some major changes to the 91-year-old building. There's a new heating and cooling system allowing rooms to be regulated individually, along with new ceilings making the building more energy efficient. About 300 windows were replaced, allowing teachers to bring fresh air and sunlight into classrooms. New energy efficient lights will help cut down on power bills.
Asheville City Schools spend nearly $1 million a year in utilities at its 10 schools, with the city high school accounting for about 35 percent of that. A $6 million renovation project that includes the improvements made this summer could save the high school thousands of dollars in energy costs. “We are really protecting the legacy of the building but also bringing it into the 21st century,” said Allen Johnson, superintendent of Asheville City Schools. “I think we have a responsibility to the children and the community to evaluate all opportunities.”

Energy efficiency improvements like the one at Asheville High are taking place across the city and county, from installing solar panels to building sustainable playgrounds to upgrading bathrooms. Evergreen Community Charter School is focused on creating a green campus. Buncombe County's two new intermediate schools will be LEED certified when they are completed next year.

In times of budget shortfalls, finding money to make improvements can be difficult. But a nearly $500,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will help Asheville City, Buncombe County and local charter schools implement even further reductions. The EPA Climate Showcase Communities Grant is one of 25 projects funded across the nation to demonstrate innovative community-based projects that can achieve greenhouse gas reductions. With the grant, project leaders hope to save 1,120 tons of greenhouse gas emissions and $500,000 in utility costs over two years with retrofits to school buildings, including upgrading heating and cooling systems and replacing light bulbs.
An energy audit of the Asheville City Schools system found more than 60 low- or no-cost projects that could save the school system more than $65,000 and save more than 880,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The school system has already installed switches designed to turn off phones and computers at night and further steps, like turning off the lights in vending machines could save the schools $135 a year per machine. Investments of about $500,000 for all the recommended projects, including larger capital projects, could save the school system more than $250,000 a year.

Sustainable School Set to Open in Green Comeback of Greensburg, Kansas
Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star
August 15, 2010

KANSAS: A new $50 million dollar LEED Platinum high school is opening in Kiowa County, Kansas. The town was "wiped from the map three years ago" by a tornado. "Many families moved away" after the tornado, but town leaders say that the new school will help increase enrollment, now at about 900 students, "down from the pre-tornado 1,400." The facility has motion-detecting lights that come on only when a room is in use. "Exterior walls are windows, reducing the amount of light needed during the day." In addition, "geothermal systems will allow the school to use the heat of the Earth, to heat in the winter and cool in the summer," and "a wind turbine near the football field will provide energy." With the new features, "the school expects to save 40 percent or more in utility costs."

Denver Public Schools Cuts Ribbon to Newest Campus
Jeremy P. Meyer , Denver Post
August 14, 2010

COLORADO: Denver's first new school building in four years is a sparkling showcase of the latest in technology, environmental sensibilities and creative architecture. The district officially cut the ribbon on the $43 million Evie Garrett Dennis Campus in Green Valley Ranch. The campus opens for classes next week and will be home to two new schools this year: SOAR charter elementary and the second campus for the Denver School of Science and Technology charter school for sixth- through 12th graders. The campus' namesake was the district's superintendent from 1990 to 1994.

"One of our biggest goals was to think about its design," said Kelly Leid, operations director for Denver Public Schools. "What does a 21st-century school look like?"
Every classroom has an interactive whiteboard, touch-screen TVs are scattered throughout the four main buildings, computer network jacks and Wi-Fi capabilities create a virtual campus, and even Wii game consoles are set up in an exercise room. The 35-acre campus was designed with four separate buildings to mimic a small college setting, including a student union and new regional sports complex. "We wanted to separate the buildings to emphasize that the outdoor environment is as important as indoor," Leid said. "Learning doesn't just happen in a classroom anymore."

Stained-glass pieces by Denver artist Lynn Heitler are displayed throughout the campus, as are inspirational sayings from Ghandi. A model rocket that will be used as a time capsule dangles from the ceiling in the student union. And a tower in the entryway will carry the name of every DSST high school graduate.
The Evie Dennis campus buildings are powered by solar panels, heated and cooled through an underground geothermal system and designed to take advantage of the natural daylight. Two of the four buildings are expected to be zero-energy facilities. The campus was funded through the $454 million bond — the largest school construction bond in state history — approved by voters in November 2008. The project was completed ahead of schedule and about $6 million under budget, allowing the district to add another school building to the complex. Vista Academy will be the district's second multiple-pathways center and is expected to be completed next year.

Superintendent Tom Boasberg said the district has logged $70 million in savings in the bond program because the sluggish economy has reduced construction costs. Overall, the district's projects are about a year ahead of schedule, Boasberg said. The savings is allowing DPS to move forward with building a third school in Stapleton, adding a preschool center in Montbello, purchasing the former Lutheran High School and making additions to classrooms around the district, he said.

Louisville, KY School Construction Projects Benefit From Bad Economy, Stimulus
Sara Cunningham , Courier-Journal
August 13, 2010

KENTUCKY: Crossroads and Roby elementary schools in Bullitt County are identical, except for their price tag. Bullitt County Public Schools paid $12.5 million to build Roby more than a year ago, but spent nearly a million dollars less for Crossroads, and the district has the depressed economy to thank.
“It’s a perfect example of what a difference a year and a lot more competition can make,” said Tom Rogers, the district’s project manager for new school construction. Ten companies bid on the Roby project, compared to a record 23 bidders for Crossroads, which helped lower the price, Rogers said.

And Bullitt isn’t the only district reaping the benefits. Across Kentucky, Indiana and the nation, the bad economy has been good for school construction projects, with lower costs resulting from more competition, lower prices for materials like steel and drywall and better bond rates.
The recession all but halted other construction, which has helped draw more competitive bids for school work, said Judy Marks, director of the National Clearinghouse for Education Facilities. “The material suppliers couldn’t charge as much as they had been and firms that had been designing and building hospitals, houses and commercial buildings were looking for work,” she said. “Even though school construction is down somewhat, it’s less down than other sectors, so all of a sudden everyone wants to compete for those jobs.”

Jefferson County Public Schools typically sees five to six bidders on school construction projects, but on most projects last year officials saw up to 14 bidders, said Mike Mulheirn, executive director of transportation and facilities. Examples of the way Jefferson County has benefited include Slaughter Elementary, where the district had estimated it would cost $4.1 million to build a new media center, install an elevator and improve the heating and air conditioning systems. The price after competitive bidding was $3.54 million, Mulheirn said. A similar project at Crosby Middle School cost $4.93 million, instead of the estimated $5.45 million, Mulheirn said. “Last year was just exceptional with us coming in under budget by 20 to 25 percent on some projects,” he said. “It really has been an ideal time to build.”

In addition to lower building costs, school districts are taking advantage of lower interest rates and new bonding options that didn’t exist before the federal stimulus legislation, Marks said. Nationally, about $22 billion was set aside for “Qualified School Construction Bonds” that allowed school districts to finance building projects without having to pay back interest, she said. Some schools also are using “Build America Bonds,” which are low-interest and don’t have the $22 billion cap, she said.

Jefferson County secured $55 million in Qualified School Construction Bonds, Mulheirn said. “On a typical bond of that amount, the district would have had to pay an a dditional $30 million back in interest,” he said. “That money has allowed us to take care of things that would have really been pushed off the list because there’s so much we need to do in terms of facilities.” For example, projects like a new gym and auditorium for Valley High School wouldn’t have happened for a long time if not for the savings, Mulheirn said.

Tennessee County Schools To Build For One-Third The Cost With Stimulus Bonds
Staff Writer, Dyersburg State Gazette
August 11, 2010

TENNESSEE: The Dyer County School System will receive $5.734 million to replace an old building and portable classrooms at Newbern Elementary School. The school system is one of 15 selected statewide during the second round of Qualified School Construction Bonds. The loan program is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The county can build both the Fifth Consolidated and Newbern Elementary schools for about one-third the costs, thanks to the Qualified School Construction Bonds, Hedge said. Normally, the county must share school construction funds equally with the Dyersburg city school system. Because the city could apply for its own loan through the recovery program, Dyersburg city schools will not receive a portion of the county's funding.
Hedge said it would cost the county close to $50 million to build the two schools and provide the city schools with a matching sum. With the recovery act funding, the costs shrivel to about $14 million.

New Kentucky Elementary School Is Nation's First Net-Zero School
Staff Writer, Daily News
August 11, 2010

KENTUCKY: When driving past Bristow Elementary School, it's difficult to notice a difference. The old school still sits near the road, blocking a new, state-of-the-art building from view. But students and faculty are adjusting to changes as they settle into the new school. The 81,000-square-foot building opened to students more than a week ago, offering more room, better technology and new amenities.
The $12.8 million building is designed to be net-zero -- producing more clean energy than it uses. School officials are waiting for a grant to install solar panels in the building, which will make it net-zero. Warren County Public Schools received $1.5 million in stimulus funds to install solar panels at Richardsville Elementary School, which is slated to be the nation's first net-zero school.

Bristow Elementary already is layered with solar tubes and ceiling prisms, which help naturally energize the building with sunlight. It also has geothermal piping, which uses water to heat and cool the building, eliminating the need for boilers and furnaces. It's a big step up from the former building. The oldest section of that school was built in the 1940s. It's a one-story building that lacked certain technological capabilities and was cramped.
"This is night and day," Principal Kim Wolfram said. "I feel like that (old school) was a cave and this is a grand hotel." The old building will be demolished -- that building sits on top of the new school's future parking lot, Wolfram said.

Department of Defense Facing $3.7 Billion Price Tag to Fix Deteriorating Schools Buildings
Travis J. Tritten , Stars and Stripes
August 11, 2010

INTERNATIONAL: After decades of neglected and deferred maintenance, more than three-quarters of all Defense Department schools are considered to be in poor or failing condition, according to records released by the Department of Defense Education Activity.
The majority of the department’s 191 schools worldwide have aged beyond repair and many others require significant upgrades, prompting the Pentagon to issue an urgent call to Congress for $3.7 billion for repairs and replacements over the next five years, officials announced. In all, 78 percent of schools for Defense Department dependents were rated as unacceptable, according to the results of a DODEA study. But in the current budget making its way through Congress, school officials are seeking only about 10 percent of the construction funds they will ultimately need, meaning only seven schools are likely to be replaced and two others will be repaired in the next fiscal year.

Many schools are deteriorating from the inside and local districts are left to cover the underlying problems with routine maintenance such as painting and the addition of buildings and temporary space, according to DODEA documents and recent interviews with officials. “Our facilities, the majority of them are over 45 years old and … the life expectancy of a school is 45 years,” said Russ Roberts, chief of logistics for DODEA. “So, that contributes a lot to the conditions, just the age alone.”

The agency said it is hoping for an unprecedented $3.7 billion funding windfall from Congress over the next five years to modernize 134 schools in the United States and overseas that suffer from deteriorating roofs, plumbing, electrical wiring, and heating and cooling systems. Many of the school facilities were built during the Cold War — some as long ago as the 1930s and 1940s — and would be more expensive to repair than replace, according to the agency surveys from 2008 and 2009.

DODEA officials have said that the widespread maintenance problems do not constitute a safety risk to students and teachers. Buildings adhere to federal and international building codes and are inspected twice a year, the agency said.
The first installment of redevelopment funding could come this fall in the National Defense Authorization Act, which will soon be finalized by Congress. In May, the House approved $345 million for school construction efforts in its version of the budget bill. The Senate version, expected to be voted on next month, contains $439 million.

Smart Phones Provide "On the Go" School Camera Access
Blayne Alexander, WRDW.com
August 10, 2010

GEORGIA: Richmond County Schools are rolling out some new technology to help keep your kids safe. Starting next week, some Richmond County school safety officers will be able to see the district's surveillance cameras using a smart phone. Several Sprint Android phones have been programmed to dial into school cameras, providing an "on the go" look at most middle and high schools.
The phones are helpful during the day, but the biggest advantage comes after hours or during a break-in, where they use the phones to help police track exactly where the criminal might be hiding. The phones will be distributed to school safety supervisors. Other officers will be able to dial up cameras from laptops in their patrol cars.
Because each school has almost 50 cameras, Maintenance and Facilities Senior Director Benton Starks it's almost impossible to keep them all dialed up at once, even with smart phones. They are working on more developments that would allow each phone to give a notification - like a text message or an email - every time something unusual shows up on a surveillance camera.

New Miami-Dade Schools Rely on Innovation and Renovation, Not New Buildings
Kathleen McGrory, Miami Herald
August 09, 2010

FLORIDA: Don't expect to see many new schoolhouses built from brick and mortar this year. Instead, when it comes to new schools, the Miami-Dade district is transforming existing spaces into technology-rich, innovative classrooms. The new offerings launching this month include: A state-of-the-art magnet school for biomedical sciences in the old Homestead Hospital building; a technology-driven high school for advanced and virtual studies housed in the School Board administration complex in downtown Miami; anew school for overage middle school students; two new schools-within-schools specifically for children with autism spectrum disorders; a new high school for international studies housed in a Coral Gables office building. The district is also opening a biotechnology and forensics magnet program at Miami Norland Senior High.
By contrast, five new facilities launched last year. There will be only one new physical building this year: a replacement school for Carol City Senior High.

The creation of a new medical magnet school in Homestead is part of an effort to bring top academic programs to the outer reaches of the county, Carvalho said. Students throughout Miami-Dade will be able to apply for admission. If accepted, they will take advanced course work in physical therapy, pharmaceutical services and biomedical studies. MAST at Homestead will be housed in the 100,000-square-foot building that was once Homestead Hospital. The school district purchased the facility for $7.4 million in 2007. It has since stood vacant because of cuts to education funding. Carvalho expects to invest another $8 million into rehabilitating the building -- an expense that has already been approved in the district's capital construction budget.

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Idaho Asking Schools to Harness the Sun With $2.75 Million Stimulus Funding
Staff Writer, KTRC.com
August 09, 2010

IDAHO: It's a bright idea for Idaho schools. The state is ready to dole out the dough if your school is ready to harness the sun. It's a program called "Solar Panels for Schools," and up to a dozen in the state could get them all expenses paid. "Solar does add value, and solar's adding value to our economy here in the state of Idaho," said Paul Kjellander, administrator for the Office of Energy Resources. "We're looking at getting into every school district in the state to actually perform more energy efficiency." Solar power, once the wave of the future, is being looked at as the primary source of energy for a few state schools.

The O.E.R. is ready to hand out $2.75 million in federal stimulus money, which would fund anywhere from six to 12 projects at schools around the state. "This is in tandem to a project that we've already launched with the support of Governor Otter, for the Energy Efficiency K-12 project, which we're fully moving forward with today," said Kjellander. Each of the state's six regions would get a fair share. "We can now go in, install some solar projects in those efficient buildings, and see what we can do to maximize the benefits for those schools," said Kjellander. Kjellander said the latest move would make these schools part of the power grid. "Those schools may even be able to see some form of a revenue stream to offset some of their energy costs," said Kjellander. "Every kilowatt of energy that we don't have to spend money on as taxpayers is a dollar of taxpayer money that we save forever."
To qualify, schools must already be energy efficient and must be positioned to maximize solar energy.

Incentives Bring Solar to Colorado Public Schools
Staff Writer, GetSolar.com
August 06, 2010

COLORADO: Renewable Social Benefit Funds, an alternative energy company dedicated to bringing solar power to hospitals, schools and low-income housing, will work with Jefferson County Public Schools to provide 30 local schools with clean, renewable solar power.
A combination of incentives from federal and state programs, as well as from Xcel Energy, will help the county meet Colorado solar and renewable energy standards, which require that 30 percent of the state's electricity come from renewable sources within 10 years.

The program will hopefully save the county's public schools around $1 million in energy costs and will provide a compelling educational opportunity to teach students about the benefits of renewable energy. RBS Funds will work with Colorado solar installer Golden Power Partners, Los Angeles, California solar installer Martifer Solar and Tecta America Colorado to build the systems.

Scottish Schools Focus on Outdoor Space
Gemma Mackenzie, Horticulture Week
August 06, 2010

SCOTLAND: Edinburgh City Council has adopted a curriculum-led planning approach, with a focus on the provision of external learning places, in its plans for a new school. The aim is to build the design around Scotland's new Curriculum for Excellence and to create special learning spaces focused on a several different subjects.

A briefing design document for James Gillespie's High School has highlighted the importance of outdoor space. It states: "External learning opportunities are critical to the success of James Gillespie's aims and the school is keen to see a strong narrative on how the external learning landscape will contribute to the design solution." The intention is to use areas outside for specific learning purposes through the creation of amphitheatres, horticultural spaces and outdoor terraces. The design document shows plans that incorporate habitat areas, nature trails, cycle trails and a reed-bed filtering system to improve the site's eco-footprint.

City council education leader Marilyne MacLaren said: "With this project, we are rewriting the rule book in terms of school design in Scotland. "While the budget is the same as that of a school built from a standard template, Gillespie's will be developed imaginatively around the principles of the Curriculum for Excellence."

School Upgrade Project Moving Fast With Help From A QSCB
Mike A'Dair, Willits News
August 06, 2010

CALIFORNIA: Things are moving fast with the school district's facilities upgrade project. The good news is financial mavens affiliated with Caldwell Flores Winters have, in effect, secured an additional $12 million for the building project due to quick movement in plugging in the 2009 Qualified School Construction Bond grant. According to CFW Vice President Greg Kato, "The cost to the district of borrowing the $18.2 million has to be paid back, in principal plus interest. But as a result of the Qualified School Construction Bond, in essence the federal government paid $12 million of the interest. In other words, $12 million of that QSCB was an interest payment paid by the federal government. As a result, the district was able to get more money today, and get more projects done sooner."
Planners have already laid out timelines for the project's $18 million Phase One. Surprisingly, some of the major portions of the project are now slated to begin construction on July 1, 2011, with completion scheduled for August 15, 2012.

The bad news is the two-story science building slated for construction at Willits High School will contain "modular" elements. "Some components of the science building will be built in a factory," said CFW Program Executive Scott Gaudineer. "It will be a permanent building, no question. But doing it this way takes off about a year from the construction time." Kato elaborated on the technology involved. "Instead of a wall being framed in and built on-site, what happens is that wall gets built in a factory and put in place on a concrete foundation. Doing it that way creates cost savings and also reduces the construction time." And CFW is now saying the refurbishing aspect of the project will be left up to the district.

Texas Schools Act on CPSC Orders to Repair Risky Light Poles
Debra Wood and Eileen Schwartz, Texas Construction
August 06, 2010

TEXAS: Schools all over Texas have inspected stadium lighting poles manufactured by Whitco Co. LLP of Fort Worth after 11 confirmed incidents occurred involving the 70-ft or taller defective The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission first advised school officials and municipalities in August 2009 to inspect the Whitco poles and on July 6, 2010, issued a recall to repair notice for the 2,500 poles produced by the company, which entered bankruptcy in 2006.

As the commission learned about the existence of more affected poles, Alex Filipo, spokesperson for the CPSC, says the agency came out with the second warning to say, “Hey, we really mean it.” The poles can fracture or crack, particularly at the base, and fall over, posing the risk of serious injury or death to patrons or bystanders from being hit or crushed, the CPSC says. The poles range in weight from 1 ton to 4 tons and range in height from 70 ft to 135 ft. The CPSC warns that the extent of pole damage cannot be determined by simply looking at it and needs an immediate evaluation by a qualified professional—an engineer or a Level II non-destructive testing technician. Non-destructive techniques such as magnetic particle inspection, dye penetrant or ultrasonic inspection techniques are recommended. The agency also suggests a design and stress assessment.
CPSC is urging facility owners to get a full inspection, including the lighting attached to and around the poles, Fillip says. “That extra step is really important. There have been some close calls. We don’t want people to die.” Most of the incidents occurred in Texas, where the poles were installed at about 150 locations from 2000 to 2006. The poles also were installed at 600 other locations, such as parks, sports centers, seaside industrial ports and Army bases, around the United States. The CPSC is not aware of any injuries.

New Orleans' Recovery School District Makes Long-Term Building Assignments
Cindy Chang, Times-Picayune
August 05, 2010

LOUISIANA: The Recovery School District has released a plan for where each of its nearly 70 schools will be located as it moves forward with a massive slate of construction and renovation projects. The challenges of rebuilding the New Orleans public school system after Hurricane Katrina are reflected in the school facilities themselves, many of which were damaged by the storm and levee breaches and were in poor condition to begin with.
As charter organizations took over existing schools and new schools sprang up from scratch, school leaders have struggled to find locations for their fledgling operations. Five years after the storm, many students are beginning the school year in modular buildings or in aging buildings that desperately need renovation. Some schools are in makeshift facilities far from the neighborhoods where they would like to be. At the same time, the student population of about 38,000 is a little more than half of the pre-storm total, so many school buildings -- including some now occupied by students -- will eventually be retired from active use.

The list of long-term building assignments is an attempt by the district to bring some predictability to a process that some have complained is opaque and arbitrary. For the first time, the district sets out criteria for how the assignments are made: whether a school is operating out of modular buildings, what grades the school serves, where its students live, the school's preferences and input from the community.

Historic Florida School to Become Arts and Community Center
Don Crinklaw, Sun Sentinel
August 05, 2010

FLORIDA: The historic Southside School went from a jewel to a derelict in half a century. Now it's on its way back. City plans for the school include renovating it into an arts center and a nest of administrative offices. And maybe a home for the Tarpon River Civic Association.

The building, built in 1922, sits like a petunia in the onion patch at the intersection of Southwest Seventh Street and Andrews Avenue just across the street from an abandoned Coca-Cola bottling plant. It holds a substantial chunk of local history, which is on city officials' minds now. A product of the Roaring 20s, the school bloomed when Fort Lauderdale did. Then the city expanded in another direction and the building languished. The county school district cast about for ways to keep the building going. It was a school for the handicapped for a time, then an office building. The county gave up on it in the 90s.
The city purchased the school from the county in 2004 and began restoring it. Last year, city commissioners applied for — and received — a $50,000 state preservation grant to assist with the restoration, which the city matched. Now the building's two stories, designed in an older mission style, gleams with fresh yellow paint and artful brown trim. Freshly-tended grass surrounds the building; so does an eight-foot fence.

School Security Projects Under Way: Replacing Doors and Installing Intruder Locks
Andrea Hughes, NorthJersey.com
August 05, 2010

NEW JERSEY: No new wings are being built onto Millburn's public schools this summer, but the buildings are still abuzz with projects in students' absence. The Door and Hardware Replacement Project, which will eventually be completed at all township schools, is now under way at Millburn Middle School. The estimated cost of the project, being undertaken by Allmark Door Company of Springfield, is $124,145.

At the last Board of Education meeting, Door and Hardware Replacement was added as part of the Board of Education's Long Range Facility Plan. Director of Buildings and Grounds John Van Teeckelenburgh explained that the project is part of the district's security plan. "It's a priority for the superintendent and a priority for security," he said. "We're adding intruder locks," said Van Teeckelenburgh. The new locks all open and close with one key, and the new doors can be opened and locked from the inside and outside. The locks are helpful in keeping out intruders, reducing panic and preventing teachers from being locked out of their classrooms.

California Announces $408M for Shovel-Ready School Construction Projects
Staff Writer, The Reporter
August 05, 2010

CALIFORNIA: The State Allocation Board announced that it has set aside $408 million for shovel-ready school construction projects across California. Green-lighted under accelerated funding rules approved by the SAB in May, these state matching funds will help pay for 78 school construction projects within 42 school districts and are expected to create more than 7,000 new jobs, SAB officials said in a press release.

The pilot program was created to give priority order to $408 million in available Proposition 1D funds, approved by California voters in 2006, to school projects that are ready to begin. In order to qualify, participating school districts certified that, within 90 days of receiving an apportionment, they would have local matching funds, usually 50 percent of the total project cost, in hand -- and at least half of their construction contracts in place.
School districts in financial straits were also able to compete for the priority-ordered funding to purchase sites or begin design work.
If a district fails to begin construction within 90 days, the state will not release funds for the project and the district will be required to move to the back of the line behind other districts that are awaiting state funding. If that occurred, it may cause the affected district to potentially wait months or years to receive funding from the state, noted Bryant, who oversees a policy-level board for programs administered by the Office of Public School Construction, which provides the staff and support for state financing of school facilities.

Funds for these projects are provided by bonds authorized under Propositions 1D, 47 and 55. The SAB is also responsible for determining the distribution of voter-approved school construction bonds, as well as the administration of the School Facility Program, the State Relocatable Classroom Program and the Deferred Maintenance Program.

Piece by Piece, Schools Make Room Using Permanent Modular Construction
Austin Danforth, Alexandria Times
August 05, 2010

VIRGINIA: Of the 160 or so construction workers bustling about the grounds of John Adams elementary school, only 12 were concerned with what could turn out to be the future of school construction in Alexandria. The West End school is the site of Alexandria City Public Schools’ first foray into permanent modular construction. At once less invasive and far quicker than conventional building, the technique can add much-needed space to the city’s crowding schools in a matter of weeks.

The technique was presented to the School Board last fall as one of several options to accommodate for the recent enrollment increases that are expected to continue. In a matter of months, permanent modular construction has gone from idea to implementation at John Adams and at James K. Polk elementary school. Polk is getting a new prefabricated gymnasium.

That the John Adams addition required only a dozen workers belies the audacity of the concept. Shipped from Ephrata, Pa., to Alexandria in 18 sections —12 feet wide and about 26,000 pounds — on the back of flatbeds, the modular rooms were then hoisted over the existing school and set into place by a 350-ton crane. The on-site construction was done at a record-setting pace for ACPS, Conrath said. The bulk of the John Adams project, part of the school’s $1.1 million effort to add space for the coming year, was completed in less than a week. Concrete foundations went in on July 24, the modular pieces arrived three days later and were all in place by last Friday. What remains is peripheral work to sync the new classroom space with the original school structure; because the portable pieces went into the school’s two courtyards, existing walls of windows were taken out to connect to the new rooms.

While the price is comparable to traditional building methods, the modular construction does offer similar “green” benefits and can be built to the LEED standards mandated in the city’s Eco-City initiative, according to Don Engle, general manager of NRB builders, the Pennsylvania company tasked with making the John Adams modules. And despite the seemingly hasty construction process — the Alexandria project began in April — the new additions are built to last. Their concrete-and-steel construction is a far cry from the makeshift classrooms — more accurately called trailers — that have dominated the modular construction industry until recently.

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New High School is Emblem of Hurricane Katrina Recovery
Andrea Shaw , Times-Picayune
August 05, 2010

LOUISIANA: The new L.B. Landry High School in Algiers was beautiful. But most important, it was back. More than 1,000 educators, elected officials, alumni, students and residents celebrated the school's reopening in a dedication ceremony. The crowd was standing-room-only in the auditorium, with some relegated to watching the festivities on a video screen in the gymnasium across the hall.

While alumni recognized the traditions of old, many in attendance said the $54 million behemoth represents a fresh start for the school that had been labeled as "academically unacceptable" by the state before the storm. They warned that the school will not be a success without strong parental involvement and community support. "This big and beautiful building would be nothing without all of you, all of us, the community," said student Jia Rovaris.
The 210,000-square-foot facility is environmentally friendly with its solar panels and ability to recycle rainwater to irrigate the plants and lawn. It boasts two gyms, a 650-seat auditorium, a school clinic, six science labs as well as media and vocational-technology centers.

Rating America's Greenest Colleges
Ariel Schwartz, Fast Company
August 04, 2010

NATIONAL: What makes a college sustainable? Does it need scores of rooftop solar panels and LEED-certified buildings or will a PETA-approved cafeteria menu suffice? The Princeton Review waded into that debate by releasing its 2011 Green Rating Honor Roll. Out of 703 schools that submitted environmental information, the Review gave just 18 schools spots on the list. The lucky recipients, which include Yale, Harvard, Northeastern, University of California, Berkeley, and West Virginia University, have three qualities in common: an overall commitment to environmental issues, a sustainability-minded curriculum, and students that are dedicated to all things green.

Beyond those basics, the programs on the list vary widely. Arizona State University at Tempe has the School of Sustainability, the first transdisciplinary sustainability degree program in the U.S. Harvard has 62 building projects working towards LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, along with a 55% recycling rate. Meanwhile the University of Maine provides free bikes for faculty, staff, and student use.

The Princeton Review's honor roll is far from the last word on college sustainability. Organizations such as the Sierra Club and GreenReportCard have also chimed in. Some of the ratings overlap--Evergreen State College, UC Berkeley and College of the Atlantic pop up on both the Princeton Review and the Sierra Club's lists--but many others do not.

$1.2 Billion Investment in Broadband Connections to Rural Schools, Students' Homes
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan , Press Release
August 04, 2010

NATIONAL: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's funding announcement of $1.2 billion for broadband infrastructure projects through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"Knowledge should have no boundaries and with broadband, educational opportunities can be available when, where and how students need them," Duncan said. "USDA's Recovery Act investment to connect communities, schools and homes with a broadband link to the Internet will create jobs today, while leveling the playing field for education in rural America.
"These investments will fund projects to improve connections to rural communities and Native American tribal lands, bringing broadband to more than 1,900 schools, serving 550,000 students, and many of the students' homes," Duncan added. "These projects will include more than 300 schools currently in unserved areas, providing the opportunity for a high-speed connection to 82,000 students for the first time."

$6.9 Million School Building Renovation Plan Could Cut Portland, Maine Utility Costs
Kelley Bouchard, Portand Press Herald
August 03, 2010

MAINE: School and city officials have questions about a $6.9 million school renovation plan that could save nearly $450,000 in annual utility costs and pay for itself in about 15 years. The proposal comes from Ameresco, a Massachusetts-based consulting firm that recently completed an energy audit of all city-owned buildings. Ameresco has offered to oversee $12.8 million in renovations to city and school buildings that it claims would save nearly $1 million in annual energy costs and pay off the initial investment in about 13 years.

The proposed school renovations range from a $15,000 heating-control project at Presumpscot Elementary School that would save $8,800 per year and pay for itself in less than two years; to a $623,000 roof-replacement project at Lyseth Elementary School that would save $2,690 per year and which Ameresco says would pay for itself in about 232 years. Jaimey Caron, chairman of the School Committee’s facilities subcommittee, said he wants to know how projects were included in the proposal and whether this is the best way to make capital improvements in Portland schools. “Some projects included in this proposal don’t have a clear payback period,” Caron said. “While some projects appear to be more viable investments, there are some that you cannot justify solely on the basis of energy savings.”
The city plans to borrow money for the renovations and pay off the 15-year loan with annual energy savings. Even after making annual loan payments, the city would net an additional savings of about $252,000 each year, according to an Ameresco report.
Portland now spends about $8 million a year to heat and light its city and school buildings. The bulk of savings would be generated by converting heating systems from oil to natural gas, installing energy-efficient lights and centralized controls for lighting, heating and refrigeration systems. Other proposed improvements include water conservation measures, solar water heaters and a solar photovoltaic system that would generate electricity at Portland Arts and Technology High School.

Editorial: More Cleveland Schools Will Have to Close
Editorial Board, Plain Dealer
August 02, 2010

OHIO: It should come as no surprise that the Ohio School Facilities Commission is recommending a smaller empire for the Cleveland schools, which have been losing youngsters. Cleveland's Bond Accountability Commission, led by Jim Darr, has been sounding that alarm for a few years now.
With enrollment shriveling to fewer than 50,000 students already, and a projection that it could slide to barely 35,000 by 2017, there's no need for the more than 90 schools currently in the system, according to a draft proposal by Bill Prenosil, a school facilities commission planner. The district's transformation plan, which is to go into effect next month, slashed 15 buildings this year. Prenosil wants still more on the chopping block, to bring the district to just 63 buildings.

Not all of the state commission's ideas make perfect sense. For instance, the state includes the former Margaret Spellacy Junior High on its closure list although it was recently renovated to accommodate the all-male Ginn Academy. Closing it now would be a waste of money and work. The district administration, which is to present its own plan this fall, should heed most of what Prenosil's suggests, though. The district should leave itself a little extra capacity, in case of an eventual rebound, but not much. It can't afford to maintain buildings it doesn't need. Indeed, if the school system hopes to encourage voters to approve new taxes for operations and a bond for construction projects, it will make the sort of hard, smart choices that will shore up its case.
And it must make those choices openly, including the public in its deliberations through meetings and forums at which parents and taxpayers can have a say. No one should doubt, though, that more closings lie ahead. It is impossible to refute the heart of the state's objective analysis: Fewer youngsters mean fewer schools.

Green Schools: Saving Energy is Earth-friendly Lesson Plan for Tennessee Students
Jonathan Devin , Commercial Appeal
August 01, 2010

TENNESSEE: The three R's of education stand for reading, writing and 'rithmetic, but at many elementary, middle and high schools in the Mid-South one might find students equally concerned about reducing, reusing and recycling. While student environmental clubs have been popular since the 1990s, students and administrators who are thinking about going green this year have one very specific issue in mind: saving energy. "Kids are more aware of what they do and how it affects our world, and they are real good leaders," said John Smith, director of facilities services for Shelby County Schools. "The environmental clubs have been around for quite a while, but the formal programs are just now catching up with what the kids have already been doing." Specifically, Smith was referring to the Green Schools Program, a two-year pilot program offered by the nonprofit Alliance for Saving Energy in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division.
Four county schools and four city schools are taking part in the program, now entering its second year, in which teams of students, teachers, administrators and custodial staff work together to audit the schools' energy use and make plans for reducing it.

Eco-Friendly Education
Caley Clinton, Wisconsin Builder
August 01, 2010

WISCONSIN: It’s the president’s great green hope. Barack Obama, determined to decrease the nation’s reliance on foreign fuels while increasing job creation for the millions of unemployed Americans, this year invested more than $80 billion in the next generation of renewable resources. In early July, the president announced another $2 billion for the construction of two solar power plants, emphasizing his support of “jobs and industries of the future.”

Whether the investments in sustainability pay off in long-term job creation remains to be seen, but schools across the country aren’t waiting to find out. Colleges and universities are expanding their environmental offerings, racing to keep up with the increased popularity of the sustainable market and preparing to churn out students equipped for jobs with a green hue. To catalog the growing focus on green education and environmental commitment, the Princeton Review and the U.S. Green Building Council this year released their first Guide to Green Colleges, a roundup of their picks for the nation’s most environmentally responsible campuses.

But how do this year’s picks translate to the construction industry? Wisconsin Builder took a closer look at the seven Wisconsin schools chosen — Lawrence University, Marquette University, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Northland College, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stevens Point — in addition to UW-Madison, which was not included on the list, to see how these institutions are shaping the next generation of construction industry workers.

Burlington, Vermont Schools Consider Surveillance Camera Policy
Molly Walsh, Burlington Free Press
August 01, 2010

VERMONT: The Burlington School Board is considering a policy that would clarify the use of surveillance cameras in the school district, including details of who can see the tapes and how long they would be kept. Many cameras have been installed in the schools without the policy.

Numerous school districts across Vermont have surveillance cameras on entrances and in parking lots. A statement of purpose accompanying the proposed Burlington policy says video surveillance “will act as a deterrent to a wide variety of misconduct, assist in law enforcement on school property, aid in student management, and protect property.” Under the policy, access to the video recordings would be granted to the superintendent, his or her designee and police, among others. Monitors or screens that display the video would be located in “secure areas,” and the recordings would not be actively monitored. Recordings would be retained for at least 30 days. No surveillance cameras would be installed in bathrooms or locker rooms, according to the policy, and signs would be posted at the entrance of buildings notifying the public that cameras are in place.

Are Washington Schools Earthquake-Safe? Pilot Project Aims to Find Out
Staff Writer, Ear to the Ground
July 30, 2010

WASHINGTON: With more than 1000 earthquakes every year in Washington, Department of Natural Resources geologists and other state agencies believe it’s time we asked, are all of our schools safe enough? DNR geologists completed field testing this month for the School Seismic Safety Pilot Project, which will assess the seismic vulnerability of schools in the Walla Walla and Aberdeen Districts.

Earthquake vulnerability is based on both a building’s structure, and the types of rock and soil beneath its foundation. In an earthquake, soil type influences how much shaking occurs at the surface. Without looking underground, the picture of seismic risks posed on schools is incomplete. The reality is that two structurally-identical buildings could face very different risks depending on their locations. Seismic engineers and building officials also have a role to play in this pilot project. After geologists look at the potential for ground shaking at each site, engineers and building officials will estimate how fragile each building is by inspecting schools to note conditions and irregularities.

Computer hazard software will use these data to simulate earthquakes for each school site. These simulations will estimate how much damage buildings might sustain at different levels of ground shaking. The hope is that this pilot project will lead to a statewide assessment for all Washington public schools, which would prioritize schools based on seismic “risk.”
This effort is being coordinated through the Washington State Seismic Safety Committee and the Washington State Emergency Management Division. Assessing the safety of school buildings has been a priority of the Seismic Safety Committee for many years, according to Dave Norman, (DNR) co-chair of the committee. Funding for the pilot project has been provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

NJ Governor Releases Millions More in School Construction and Maintenance Funds
John Mooney, New Jersey Spotlight
July 29, 2010

NEW JERSEY: 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.
Christie had essentially halted projects in January, saying in his first months of office that he wanted to review the operations of the Schools Development Authority and its checkered history of waste and mismanagement. The Governor pitched much of the latest round in economic development terms. He said the projects would provide 6,000 new construction jobs, and the vocational projects specifically would help in job training.
But the pace has been slower in urban districts, for which the school construction program was first created in 2000 by order of the state Supreme Court. These districts receive 100 percent of their construction funding through the state, with the state overseeing the entire project as well, and their progress has come in fits and starts. SDA executive director Marc Larkins said this spring that he first wanted to review the existing capital plan for the 30 qualifying urban districts, completed in 2008, to ensure all the projects were still needed. He said in early June that it would take four months. Agency spokesman Larry Hanover said that it will now be the end of October before that review is completed. Advocates for the urban districts reacted with frustration and some anger at the timeline, saying it seems to creep longer and longer while projects first proposed nearly a decade ago continue to wait.

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Independent Schools in Pennsylvania Get Solar Panels with State Grant
Blair Meadowcroft, Main Line Media News
July 28, 2010

PENNSYLVANIA: In an effort to save money and energy, Paoli’s Delaware Valley Friends School (DVFS) joined forces with four other local independent schools to pursue grants through the Philadelphia Area Independent School Business Officer Association (PAISBOA) to have solar panels installed. July 7 it was announced that their efforts paid off.
DVFS was one of only five Pennsylvania independent schools to be approved for a grant to install solar panels at their facilities. The grant was awarded through Pennsylvania’s Solar Energy Program, which provides financial help to help promote the use of alternative energy in the state. The grant money, in the amount of $124,740, will be used by Blue Renewable Energy LLC to buy and install a rooftop solar photovoltaic system at DVFS.
The benefits of such a project are financial, environmental and educational.

Oregon District Turns To Grants, Donations To Fund Construction Projects, Leveraging Stimulus Bonds
Denise Ruttan, Statesman Journal
July 28, 2010

OREGON: At a time of funding crises and recession, school districts have been putting extra focus on grant writing to sustain programs and to pay for building projects. In the past two years, through in-kind donations and grant awards, the district has raised $600,000 to $700,000 for a variety of projects.

In the last three months, the district used an interest-free loan through the federal Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) program to fund an outdoor classroom at Stayton Middle School; facilities for a new teen parent program; an ADA-accessible bathroom at Stayton High School off the football field; new libraries at Stayton Elementary School and Mari-Linn School; and resurfacing of the Stayton High School track. The district was able to leverage that bond money to get grants through other foundations, Hack said. Grants and donations through Lowe's Foundation, Roth's Foundation and Slayden Construction also funded the outdoor classroom at Stayton Middle School. Grants through True Value Foundation and Lowe's Foundation funded the elementary school libraries. The Stayton High School Booster Club awarded the district with $20,000 for resurfacing the track. The district was awarded $5,000 with the Community 101 program through the Oregon Community Foundation for Stayton High School; $1,000 of that money goes to the school, and $4,000 goes to the community. High school students serve as grant reviewers. The district has also been ramping up partnerships with businesses and organizations in the community like Friends of the Family, Santiam Family YMCA, Stayton Cooperative Telephone Company (SCTC) and Slayden Construction.

New Austin Charter School Could Be Forced to Move: Office Tenants Don't Want Students in Their Building
Melissa B. Taboada , American-Statesman
July 28, 2010

TEXAS: With less than a month before school starts, a charter school with an emphasis on media arts and civics education now needs a new place to teach its students. School officials last spring spent $100,000 in renovations on its downtown campus, the entire fifth floor of an office building. It's a sprawling glass-walled space with desks and computers positioned so that students get views of the Capitol a block away.
But the 303 Office Condominiums Owners Association, which has control over how the building is operated, has filed for an injunction to keep iSchool from opening.In court filings, the association said housing a school there could cause insurance rates to go up and will be a nuisance to other businesses in the building. To date, there have been no insurance premium increases attributable to the school, according to court documents.

Campus director Michael Lopez said Responsive Education chose the location because of its proximity to the Capitol. Students would get an up-close look at how government works, and school officials would have easy access to state officials to establish government and other internships. The curriculum calls for students to focus on project-based learning and to be involved in service projects, such as identifying a problem or issue in their communities and working with an organization to tackle those issues.

State funds help traditional public schools build and pay for facilities, but charter schools get no such aid and lack the taxing authority of public school districts. Last week, the State Board of Education voted to dedicate $100 million of the Permanent School Fund, created in 1876 as a public school endowment, to developing and leasing buildings for charter schools.

Wisconsin School District Will Benefit from Low Interest Rates and Stimulus Bonds
Teresa Stowell , Watertown Daily Times
July 27, 2010

WISCONSIN: Members of the Watertown Unified School District Board of Education clapped and cheered after the approval to borrow the final funds of the referendum project. The applause came when board members learned the district will see a $4.5 million savings in interest. “The final amount the district will have borrowed is $20,856,000,” Doug Linse, district business services director, said. “That is $4.5 million less than what was projected at the start of the referendum.”
Linse said the savings is due to favorable interest rates and the advantage of receiving $2 million in Qualified School Construction Bonds, which are federal dollars borrowed to the district at zero interest. The two resolutions approved included $1 million in Qualified School Construction Bonds at zero interest and another at $529,000 in general obligation notes.

Arkansas University Restores Old School From 1960s
Associated Press, Texarkana Gazette
July 26, 2010

ARKANSAS: Alumni of the elementary and high schools once housed in Peabody Hall are watching with interest as the University of Arkansas spends about $8.5 million to restore the structure. Peabody Hall was finished in 1913, the first building on the campus built with private money, a $40,000 gift from the George Peabody Fund. It was built as a new home for the College of Education. An elementary school was established on the bottom floor of the three-story brick structure, a high school called University High School on the second floor and professors offices and college classrooms on the third floor. The schools were intended as training sites for young teachers. Student teaching in public schools wasn’t an option at the time. It wasn’t unusual to have six, seven or even eight student-teachers in the classrooms with the regular teachers, all of whom were college professors, Duell and Johnson said. The schools closed in the 1960s. The high school shut down in 1962, followed by elementary school, or training school as it was called by some, in 1966.

At least one room will be furnished with historical furniture. And, Peabody Perks, a popular coffee shop, will again open in the building. The restoration will attempt to return Peabody Hall closer to its original appearance. Some 180 windows will be replaced. Once completed in August 2011, the curriculum and instruction department will move back in.

Overbey said Peabody is one of two buildings being restored under the campus preservation master plan. The other is Davis Hall on the corner of Garland Avenue and Maple Street. “Peabody will be a very handsome building when it’s finished,” Overbey said. An elevator will be installed, and other details to make it accessible will be incorporated. The building is registered to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certification when completed. It is a third-party verification process for environmentally conscious construction. The building has undergone some changes over the years, but the original footprint of the building remains the same, Overbey said.

Detroit Public Schools Touts $60M in Renovations at Three Schools
Marisa Schultz, Detroit News
July 26, 2010

MICHIGAN: Detroit Public Schools officials hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking for about $60 million in renovation work set to start this summer at Western International, Henry Ford and Denby high schools. The schools will be upgraded by fall 2011 to modernize classrooms, enhance security and install new technology to benefit nearly 4,000 total students. The work is part of the $500.5 million Proposal S bond program that voters approved in November to renovate or rebuild 18 schools.

Robert Bobb, the district's emergency financial manager, outlined the improvements at the schools, such as sustainable technology labs, security fencing and new exercise facilities for student and community use -- services often described in top-performing school districts, he said. Under Proposal S, the school district has a rigorous time frame to build seven schools and renovate 11 others by September 2012 to comply with guidelines for federal stimulus-funded bond projects. So far 10 construction projects for $180 million have been announced this summer.

Student Ideas for Green Roof Make School a Teaching Lab
June Q. Wu , Boston Globe
July 26, 2010

MASSACHUSETTS: Take Boston Latin School, and pack on top of its building a weather station, a greenhouse, two outdoor classrooms, a cafeteria, and a garden. Then add solar panels, wind turbines, and the outdoor elevator. It’s a 70,000-square-foot, $6.2 million green roof dreamed up by Boston Latin students, and it’s becoming a reality.
“It started out as a simple request for how the school can reduce its carbon footprint," said Gail Sullivan, the architect who has been working with the students free of charge. “But then the students said yes, yes, and yes to all the different features."

Unfazed by the hefty price tag, students from the school’s Youth Climate Action Network have been raising money and applying for grants over the past year to make their green wonderland a reality, piece by piece. A 28-solar panel array and 350 trays of sedum, a flowering succulent plant, have been installed on the school’s roof. Up next are the outdoor classrooms and elevator, a $2.7 million project to be completed in fall 2011, according to Sullivan, who works for Studio G Architects. Sullivan said she expects to finish the project in five years, but said the timeframe depends on when the students can raise the money.

Last week, students in the Youth Climate Action Network were helping 30 Boston area teachers, 15 from Boston Latin, to develop a middle school and high school sustainability curriculum to be piloted this fall at their school. Eventually, classes will be held on the roof. Students can measure the wind velocity from the rooftop turbines or test how much energy the solar panels generate. English and art classes can find inspiration from the rooftop orchard and garden. Other schools can plan a field trip to the top of Boston Latin, which has grades 7 to 12. The possibilities are endless, students say.

Led by eighth-grade US history teacher Cate Arnold, the network launched a campaign in 2007 for sustainability education across the state. The students hope to see the project completed when they graduate. While several schools in the state have installed green roofs — two in Boston public schools — Arnold said that from talking with other educators and school officials, Boston Latin’s green venture appears to be the most complex, student-driven project with a heavy emphasis on integrating sustainability education.

Buildings Totaling $568 Million Under Construction at UC San Diego
Mark Larson, San Diego Business Journal
July 26, 2010

CALIFORNIA: Low-interest university bond funding, high demand for construction at down market prices, easy term financing, and cash reserves are enabling UC San Diego to construct six more buildings, promising it a new, modernized skyline. The school's $568 million worth of construction under way includes four student apartment complexes, adding 2,600 beds to the campus as it tries to meet a pent-up demand for more student housing. Meanwhile, a cardiovascular center and medical education/telemedicine center are also being built. The last of the projects will be finished by mid-2011.

It's a revved up economic engine for the region, providing an estimated 5,500 on-site construction jobs in the next year or so to a San Diego industry that has lost 26,000 jobs during the last three years. While the timing has worked well, yielding low construction costs because of tough times in that sector, Cunningham says there was no intentional timing involved. "I'd love to tell you we saw the market shift," he said. "A lot of good luck came to us. We're looking at the lowest costs in well over a decade." That has enabled the university to add value into its new buildings, such as certified, environmentally friendly features promising LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, gold and possibly platinum ratings.

Amid Economic Bust, a Building Boom at University of Massachusetts
Robert Gavin, Boston Globe
July 25, 2010

MASSACHUSETTS: At the University of Massachusetts Medical School, excavation has begun on one of the largest building projects in New England. The $400 million science center is expected to create hundreds of construction jobs, attract millions of dollars in federal research money, and provide another catalyst to the state’s vital health science industry.
The science center is just one of several projects the UMass system is undertaking across its five campuses, and another sign of its growing impact on regional economies. Underpinned by rising enrollments, burgeoning research grants, and an increasingly entrepreneurial culture, UMass is doing what few other institutions or businesses are these days: building, buying, and expanding.

Over the past year, UMass Lowell has bought a failing downtown hotel, taken over a city arena, and begun construction of a $70 million emerging technologies center, its first new academic building in 35 years. UMass Boston recently snapped up the struggling Bayside Exposition Center at a bargain price, and in the coming year, will see construction begin on two new buildings at its Dorchester Bay campus. At its flagship Amherst campus, UMass has completed more than $300 million in construction projects over the past two years, and has $375 million more in construction underway.

This building boom comes as major projects from other organizations have been delayed or canceled, including Harvard University’s Allston expansion, the Filene’s redevelopment in downtown Boston, and Columbus Center in the South End. Needless to say, UMass is providing relief to a construction industry only beginning to recover from a recession that destroyed one in four of its jobs.

Texas State Board of Education Adopts Charter Facilities Investment Plan
Associated Press, Austin American-Statesman
July 23, 2010

TEXAS: The State Board of Education adopted a plan to dedicate millions of public school endowment dollars to finance charter school facilities. The proposal, which is contingent on a legal opinion from the Texas attorney general or action by the Legislature, is to invest $100 million of the $23 billion Permanent School Fund into developing and leasing Texas charter school facilities.
The Permanent School Fund is an endowment created in 1876 to benefit Texas public schools.

The board's investment adviser, Rhett Humphreys, said estimating the risk for a charter school investment is "very tricky business" because there is no performance history for such an investment. The NEPC analysis put the expected return at 4.75 percent with a high risk level.

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Carrollton, Georgia To Use Stimulus Bonds To Fund $8 Million School Renovations
Rachel Lane, Times-Georgian
July 23, 2010

GEORGIA: Carrollton High School’s gym and restrooms are a step closer to renovations following the school board’s unanimous approval of the Qualified School Construction Bond (QSCB) Projects resolution. During a special meeting, the board entered into an agreement with the Carrollton Redevelopment Authority to be the financial agent for the school system’s $8 million bond projects. The money will be used for two projects, building a sixth-grade wing at Carrollton Middle School and to renovate the gymnasium and restrooms at the high school.
“This is not the typical way to do construction,” said Superintendent Dr. Kent Edwards.
There are typically two ways for school systems to get money for construction projects, the most common of which is to use special purpose local option sales tax funds, approved by voters. The second manner is through bonds, sold to investors.

Steve Spofford, chief operating officer for Carrollton City Schools, said the QSCBs are no-interest bonds loaned to states through the American Recovery Reinvestment Act, part of the federal stimulus program. The school system can decide when to start repayment of the loans and put the money into a fund that cannot be touched until the full amount is paid. The interest the account earns is placed in the account toward repayment of the loan, thereby helping to lower the total cost to be repaid, he said. Because it is a federal program, the construction projects must be bid out based on Davis-Bacon Act guidelines, which can increase the cost of labor and the total cost of construction, he said. The possible increase, however, has been factored into the projects. Construction of a two-story sixth-grade building will cost about $5.5 million, and renovations to the high school gym and restrooms are expected to cost $2.5 million.

California Schools Paying Millions Too Much for New Roofs
Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle
July 23, 2010

CALIFORNIA: California public school districts are spending too much annually to replace or repair hundreds of school roofs by employing a practice that restricts cost-saving competitive bidding and makes taxpayers pay up to double what they otherwise would spend, an investigation has found. Statewide, the practice costs school districts $30 million to $125 million extra each year, taxpayer money that shouldn't be wasted at any time, but especially not in the middle of a recession, said California legislators who are investigating the practice.

In San Francisco, for example, the district will spend $60,000 more than it perhaps should this summer on a new elementary school roof because the bidding process limited competition by specifying a precise kind of roof sold by a particular manufacturer. While that job is locked in place, the district over the last couple of years has amended its procedures to include more open bidding processes. Another roofing project this summer that was bid under the new system is costing the district about half as much. But the kind of noncompetitive bidding that led to the expensive roof in San Francisco is in play at school districts across the Bay Area and state. It is the product of aggressive marketing techniques by roofing manufacturers, a tendency of districts to stick with manufacturers hired by previous administrations and a convenient reliance by district officials on the manufacturers to write project specifications, the legislative inquiry found.
State law requires competitive bidding in public projects, including schools, but there's little enforcement, industry experts said. State law allows public agencies to specify a particular brand name product, but also must include an "or equal" clause that allows alternative manufacturers to be considered. The noncompetitive bids get around that clause by listing product requirements that are so specific that no other manufacturer could qualify.

New Colorado School Facility to Be Saturated with Science and Technology
Adam Goldstein, Aurora Sentinel
July 22, 2010

COLORADO: The lessons at the Cherry Creek School District’s Institute of Science and Technology will begin before any student reaches their classroom.
Prime numbers will steer the design and layout of a plaza on the lawn, and the mathematical Fibonacci sequence will be a guiding design principal for the windows on the building located between Overland High School and Prairie Middle School in Aurora. The 58,000-square-foot school is set to include an “energy dashboard,” a visible meter that will allow students to track the building’s power consumption. A column at the school’s main entrance will be in the double helix shape of a DNA strand, and the ceiling will bear the celestial star patterns of the night sky.
It’s all part of the district’s push to stretch instruction in STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — beyond the classroom. It’s also part of a bid to make the subjects more accessible to a broader range of students.

“There’s a lot of technology here — it requires learning about science, technology, engineering and math,” said Todd VandenBurg, project architect for the district’s $14-million school set to open in a little more than a year. “It’s a practical application of the curriculum.” It’s a bold approach, one that Cherry Creek officials say could represent a new direction in offering specialized and accessible instruction. Funded through the bond issue approved by voters in 2008, the IST will offer engineering, health sciences, technical communications, computer science and mathematics courses for students from Overland and Prairie. Elementary students from Prairie feeder schools will also have access to specialized STEM instruction.
“We’re providing STEM to all the 4,000-plus students on this campus,” VandenBurg said. “These are spaces where small groups or large groups of students can get together. We’ve designed formal and informal classrooms in this building.”
The school’s distinctive curved walls are slowly taking a solid shape at the dusty construction site tucked neatly between Overland and Prairie, and district officials are already looking at the IST’s larger impact in the district, the city and the state. “It’s our first dedicated STEM building in our district. It’s really going to set the tone for how we approach learning and a lot of the curricular components,” said Richard Charles, director of STEM for CCSD. “It’s going to be pretty important for us to get this right, because STEM is not going to go away ... We’re hoping to be able to help in providing a solution to the nation is facing around science and technology.”

Bricks From Razed Detroit Public Schools To Be Preserved
Cecil Angel, Detroit Free Press
July 22, 2010

MICHIGAN: Bricks from the old Cass Tech, Finney, Mackenzie, Mumford and Chadsey high schools -- all slated for demolition -- will be preserved and restored for sale to the public to raise money for the Public Schools Foundation, Detroit Public Schools officials said.
“We think this is an important program to honor the legacy and history of these schools, while also acknowledging that students deserve facilities that support 21st Century learning and aiding schools by providing needed funding for supplemental programs,” said Chacona Johnson, foundation president and CEO. “We hope the alumni and the dedicated faculty and staff who taught and provided services in these buildings will participate in this fundraising effort.”
Two entry arches and other items from Cass Tech also will be preserved, officials said.

Give Students a Say on Their School Design
Michael Carlson, Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce
July 22, 2010

WASHINGTON: The bonds have passed, the architect is selected and a committee is formed to provide critical input on the needs and culture of the school. Who is on the committee? Most of the time it’s composed exclusively of adults. Occasionally you will find an enlightened school that includes a student or two on the committee, but their participation is often marginal at best. Why is it that we are creating schools whose primary purpose is to engage and stimulate kids, but we spend so little time actually engaging them while we are creating their learning environments?
Admittedly the adults on these committees are extremely knowledgeable and committed, but can they really represent the perspective of a 5-year-old on her first day of school? For the past 20 years I have been exploring that question and searching for ways that kids’ voices can influence the design of their school.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned over the years: Renovations are absolutely the best projects to engage kids: They know their school intimately and have a personal relationship with it daily. They can tell you what works, what doesn’t, what’s cool and what sucks. Start with playgrounds: If you are having difficulty deciding where to start, playgrounds are the slow pitch. Kids need very little prompting when you ask them to draw their dream playground. Believe me, they have ideas! Make activities age appropriate: Ramp up the intellectual content for older kids, you’ll be amazed at the insight and sophistication of their ideas. Get pictures: Encourage all students, even the older ones, to draw and color for you. Let them know that it’s not important that the drawings are pretty. I often show some of my rough sketches to illustrate messy work. My favorite incredulous comment was, “Someone paid you to draw that?” Make it optional: Not all schools and all teachers have the time and interest. Don’t press too hard, you can get their input in many other ways. Be entertaining: This may be the hardest part for us naturally dull architects but there is nothing that deflates the ego faster than to have a second-grade class lose interest. A microphone is a great prop when soliciting comments — you can pretend you are Oprah! Interpret creatively: Be open and flexible in your thinking. You have to believe there is a message or theme in there somewhere!

Cleveland Schools Plan Would Scrap More Buildings, Cut Back Construction
Thomas Ott, Plain Dealer
July 21, 2010

OHIO: A plan for completing the Cleveland schools' state-funded construction program calls for the district to scrap many more schools than it builds or renovates. The proposal, drafted by Ohio School Facilities Commission planner Bill Prenosil, is a "work in progress," according to district building official Gary Sautter, and would be subject to approval by the school board.
But the plan illustrates the tough choices Cleveland school officials face as they adjust the construction program to fit declining enrollment and shrinking piles of state and local tax money.

Even after closing 16 buildings in June, the district operates more than 90 schools. Prenosil's plan calls for reducing the number of new and renovated schools to 63, well below the 111 envisioned when work began in 2002. Prenosil based the building count on a forecast that Cleveland will have 35,059 students in 2017, when the final projects should be winding down. The original plan projected that enrollment would bottom out at 72,450 by the time the construction program was completed, but the total is already less than 50,000.

The state pays two-thirds of most Cleveland school construction expenses, but the bottom line will be based on how many students are served. According to Prenosil's calculations, the cost of work jointly funded by the state and district will in the end total less than $1.2 billion, a decrease of almost $348 million.
Cleveland can keep as many buildings as it chooses, paying for replacement or repairs with its own money. But that would be difficult; the district doesn't even have enough to pay its share for all the construction, renovation and demolition the state is willing to help fund. In 2008, the school board responded to decreased enrollment with a plan that called for 76 new and renovated buildings. But the board also left a number of other buildings in limbo, referring to them as "maintain only." The school board recently voted to borrow $55 million, the last of $335 million in debt voters approved for construction in 2001. Officials have discussed asking voters to extend payments on the bond issue, but financial distress might force them to first seek a property-tax increase for operating expenses.

If officials follow Prenosil's plan, they would still have more than 40 projects to complete after the local tax money runs out. The projects, mostly demolition, are estimated to cost nearly $200 million. Sautter expects to present a finished construction plan to the school board in late summer or early fall. Even that document could be changed before the program wraps up, with state funding cut deeper if enrollment falls more than expected. The money could increase if enrollment stabilizes.

Make Sure Your Community Has a Green School Advocate
Heather Clancy, SmartPlanet
July 20, 2010

NATIONAL: Okay class, your assignment for the summer recess is to read as much as possible about why and how we as adults can and should act to make school buildings greener — and why this isn’t just a great thing for operational efficiency, it’s a great thing to teach “Generation G.” Before you start protesting that this just isn’t a priority given all the other things the public education system needs, consider that addressing basic things like energy efficiency or climate control doesn’t just help schools save money it helps promote an environment that is more conducive to learning. Seriously, how much can a child be expected to focus on the lesson plan if he or she is about to pass out from heat or poor air circulation? If we have any hope of moving to year-round schedules in the future, we can’t expect kids to sit in stifling classrooms.

The U.S. Green Building Council estimates that attention to green details in schools — notably through energy efficiency and water consumption habits — can save the average school $100,000 annually. That’s the equivalent of being able to hire two new teachers or invest in approximately 200 computers. If every new school construction project or retrofit took green concerns into account moving forward, the impact of energy efficiency alone could save $20 billion over the next decade.
The challenge, of course, is that school buildings are different from commercial buildings and the best practices for applying something like the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program to schools are still evolving when it comes to school architectures and buildings.

Clark County, Nevada School District Turning to Solar
James Haug, Las-Vegas Review Journal
July 20, 2010

NEVADA: Solar power used to be thought of in the same way as organic produce: healthy but pricey. Costs, however, have dropped because the recession has depressed demand while there is a growing supply of photovoltaic panels, which convert solar radiation into electricity. As a result, the startup costs associated with solar power are now so affordable that even the cash-strapped Clark County School District is going on a summer spending spree.

The district plans to invest $4 million in rooftop solar panels for as many as 20 schools. The photovoltaic systems could provide about 25 percent of the schools' power and save the district $190,000 a year for the next 20 years, based on current energy prices, said Paul Gerner, associate superintendent of facilities.
Officials are not counting on energy savings to pay for the investment in startup costs, but they do expect a return on the investment in solar energy because of NV Energy's rebate program and other government incentives. The school district has to pay for the startup costs, but it will receive $1.44 million in federal stimulus funding once the first five schools are outfitted as solar farms. In addition, the district will receive $1.2 million for the same five schools in the form of one-time rebate checks from NV Energy, the local utility. The district will receive additional rebate checks as more schools are completed. The goal is to finish the project by November. The school district could get as much as $5 million in rebate checks if all 20 schools hook up the solar power systems, which would be more than enough to cover the initial investment and any financing and design costs.

Tom Axtell, general manager of Vegas PBS, looks at school rooftops as an energy asset, much like a river or a ray of sunshine. Because many district schools share the same design, there would be economies of scale in planting solar farms on school rooftops across the Las Vegas Valley. "You have a single property owner that has large expanses of flat roofs, that all have the same exact designs because you have cookie-cutter schools. It really allows for the efficiency in the planning and the installation of solar farms," Axtell said. "You do it for one high school, there's probably 10 others that have the same footprint. So you don't have the same expense of engineering."

$1 Million Stimulus Projects on Track at Jamestown, North Dakota Schools
Ben Rodgers, Jamestown Sun
July 20, 2010

NORTH DAKOTA: About $1 million in construction projects at Jamestown Public Schools will be wrapping by Aug. 13, said Bob Toso, superintendent. The funds came from stimulus dollars. The bulk of the work is being done at Gussner Elementary, where six classrooms in the northwest corner of the building will be enclosed, Toso said. Other projects like new windows at Roosevelt Elementary and new doors at Washington and Lincoln schools will save the district money by increasing energy efficiency, he said. Baffle pads were also installed at Jamestown High School to improve the sound system in the pool area.
Gussner also had a hole in a water main. Instead of replacing the pipe for around $20,000, a plumber was able to install a sleeve for between $2,000 and $3,000, he said. The money came from the general building fund. “It’s kind of been a mess up there,” Toso said of the lawn at Gussner. He said he expects the dirt to be leveled and seeding to begin soon. All projects will be completed before school starts.

Illinois State Budget Woes Not Stopping Local School Construction
Scott Cousins, Suburban Journals
July 20, 2010

ILLINOIS: Even though Illinois continues to face a major budget crisis, local universities and school districts keep on building. Plans in the pipeline include a new high school in Mascoutah, renovations in the Columbia School District and $18 million in new projects on its Edwardsville campus.
With so much planned and money so tight, it begs the questions: Why do officials keep building? And why can't they move money around to cover costs in other areas instead of laying off workers? The reason, school officials say, is that districts and universities operate using several funding streams, only one of which is for construction. The rest are for day-to-day operations, transportation, bond payments and other expenses. There's just one catch: The funds are locked in and can't be switched. Major school construction projects, for example, are usually paid through bonds that are paid off over time and are less impacted by yearly budgets issues. The result is that hard times in one area may have little to no effect in another.

That can become troublesome at a time like this, when the state owes local school systems millions of dollars. Many times, the money is for operations, which means construction projects are left untouched. For example, the state owes the entire SIU system - which includes campuses in Edwardsville, Carbondale, Springfield and Alton - about $84 million. Because of that, there have been concerns about SIU's payroll since December. But that does not directly affect the construction projects, which include a $920,000 renovation of locker rooms at SIUE's Vadalabene Center; a $14.3 million Art and Design Building expansion; and $2.8 million to replace windows in the Peck Building.

The Mascoutah School District is currently building a new $38 million high school, which voters approved in November 2008 and will be finished in fall 2011. The Columbia School District is completing work renovating the district's original school building, creating Eagleview Elementary School. Most of the $6 million cost is being paid for through a restructuring of bonds issued in 2003 to build the district's new middle school following a fire at what was the new elementary school. That project is expected to be completed by the start of school in August.

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Editorial: New Los Angeles Schools are Gorgeous, But Who's in the Classroom Matters More
Sandy Banks, Los Angeles Times
July 20, 2010

CALIFORNIA: When you're dueling with mogul Donald Trump over real estate, you'd better prepare to empty your wallet. That helps explain the $578-million price tag on Los Angeles Unified's most recent school construction project.
District officials spent 20 years battling Trump, conservationists and neighborhood groups to build a school complex on the site of the famed Ambassador Hotel. A school construction project that began with a $50-million outlay became one of the most ambitious in the country, with three campuses on the site. But that's nothing new for L.A. Unified. When it comes to building schools at least, the district is tenacious.

A few miles away stands the $400-million Roybal Learning Center, built to relieve overcrowding at nearby Belmont. Roybal was also a 20-year project. Many districts would have given up, but L.A. Unified was undeterred by discoveries of an earthquake fault, methane gas and toxic soil beneath its site. Remedying those problems made Roybal the most expensive public high school in the nation, and it was six blocks from the nation's second-most expensive school.
Second place goes to L.A. Unified's $232-million arts high school downtown. It doesn't have a formal name or a final enrollment plan, and it's on its second principal in two years. But it does have floor-to-ceiling windows, an outdoor atrium and three dance studios with sprung maple flooring.

Three "world-class" campuses in one struggling school system. If only the district would be so dogged about staffing them with world class teachers. Don't get me wrong. I think it's great that inner-city students are finally getting new buildings. I spent years as an education reporter watching aging campuses decay, as children were bused to far-flung neighborhoods or crammed in on year-round schedules.
It's hard to focus on learning when loose ceiling tiles dangle above your head or you can't hear the teacher over a portable fan's din. These new campuses send a message, with their spacious art studios and high-tech labs: Your education matters. You are worth the best.
But a building doesn't drive academic progress. New campuses are sprouting like weeds in parts of Los Angeles where student test scores are still stuck in the mud. It's no secret that the most important factor in student success is an excellent teacher. And research shows that exceptional teachers are especially important for low-income students since poverty can undermine educational efforts.
Maybe all these shiny new buildings will attract teachers, what with their underground parking, lesson-preparation centers and lunchrooms with stone ovens for making pizza. After all, studies of new teachers who leave the profession suggest that they do so almost as much because of inadequate facilities as because of large class sizes.

San Antonio's First Green School Completed
Elizabeth Allen, Express News
July 19, 2010

TEXAS: Cibolo Green Elementary, in the North East Independent School District, is one of the first green schools in San Antonio. Built by Satterfield and Pontikes to meet LEED Silver standards, Cibolo Green features recycled building materials and energy-saving lighting throughout the school.
Built on a steeply graded site, the new school also features learning centers throughout the facility and viewing windows into the mechanical rooms and infrastructure, allowing students to see such building components as steel columns, insulation, piping and wiring. It also has an emphasis on multiple colors and natural light in the atrium, common areas and classrooms.

Massachusetts Towns Turn to School Mergers
Peter Schworm , Boston Globe
July 19, 2010

MASSACHUSETTS: Under growing pressure from state officials, small public school systems across Massachusetts are discussing potential mergers, defying the state’s staunch tradition of local schools and hometown identity in a quest for greater financial stability. For the first time in nearly a decade, several towns recently joined ranks to create new regional districts, linking Ayer and Shirley, Berkley and Somerset, and three vocational schools north of Boston. From a host of small Berkshire towns to Chatham and Harwich on Cape Cod, another three dozen districts are considering teaming up with their neighbors or expanding existing unions. Even Hull and Cohasset, Thanksgiving Day rivals with a decided class divide, are courting.

But many towns are deeply conflicted over the idea, uneasy with the prospect of relinquishing local control, particularly on tax and budget issues, and fond of their schools the way they are. Many parents blanch at the idea of sending their children out of town for school, while older residents feel nostalgia for their alma maters.

Governor Deval Patrick’s administration has pushed small districts to consolidate or regionalize over the past two years, believing that larger districts are decidedly more cost-efficient. More than one-third of the state’s school districts have fewer than 1,500 students, and sharing costs could save tens of millions while offering students a wider range of classes and programs, educators say.

Some districts are looking into regionalization on their own accord, hoping it will provide long-term stability. But most are bending to pressure from the state, which since 2008 has more generously reimbursed districts that merge for school construction and renovation costs, like a dowry for an arranged marriage.

L.A. Unified's Faulty Vision for Schools on Ambassador Site
Christopher Hawthorne, Los Angeles Times
July 18, 2010

CALIFORNIA: Along one edge of the old Ambassador Hotel site, where the Los Angeles Unified School District has been building a controversial collection of schools, there is a new park dedicated to the life and work of Robert F. Kennedy. Created by artists May Sun and Richard Wyatt and running parallel to Wilshire Boulevard, the park includes a series of quotations from Kennedy, who was shot and killed inside the hotel on a June night in 1968, and a few others.
Among the lines by Kennedy is one that seems tailor-made to address the controversy that has followed the LAUSD's attempts, adamantly opposed by the Los Angeles Conservancy and other preservationists, to knock down Myron Hunt's 1921 hotel complex and replace it with a new campus costing more than $578 million, a streamlined but conservative piece of work by Pasadena firm Gonzalez Goodale Architects.

[The conversation with the Conservancy] led to a solution that was tone-deaf architecturally: After failing to reach any common ground with the Conservancy, the district directed Gonzalez Goodale, in designing a new high school building, to match as closely as possible the size and shape of the old hotel. Other elements of the historic campus, which included contributions from Paul R. Williams and Gordon Kaufmann in addition to Hunt, have been re-created in ersatz fashion, including the old Cocoanut Grove nightclub, which has been reborn as a kitschy auditorium.

L.A. and its cultural guardians, in other words, had the decisiveness neither to save the original hotel complex as a school nor to make a clean break with the past by building an ensemble of entirely new buildings. Instead the LAUSD settled on an architectural path — confused, expensive and a little macabre all at the same time.

For all the constraints the firm had to work with, certain elements of the Gonzalez Goodale design, collectively known as the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools, show initiative and strength. Among them is the decision to flatten much of the site's rolling topography and knit the schools into the street grid of the surrounding blocks.
Given that the campus is really a collection of neighborhood schools that most students will reach on foot, that change makes a good deal of sense. It is also an implicit recognition of how this part of Los Angeles has changed since the hotel's heyday. No longer a glamorous and essentially suburban outpost removed from the life of the city, the school site now sits in the middle of a diverse, crowded mid-Wilshire residential district whose families had been sending their children on long bus rides to other LAUSD schools.

As a mediating presence between past and future, the Gonzalez Goodale design manages well enough, and a collection of public art woven into the campus effectively engages the hotel's complex history without having to mimic its architectural forms. The new construction, for the most part, is confidently contemporary and free of ornament, if also decidedly risk-averse. The dominant formal gesture is a series of oversized entryways wrapped in zinc.

Kentucky Schools Get Upgrades in Notification Technology
Natalie Jordan and Jeff Beach, Daily News
July 17, 2010

KENTUCKY: The Bowling Green and Warren County schools systems have upgraded their ability to keep parents informed with a system that can do mass distributions of e-mails, phone calls and text messages and also target smaller groups within the schools. Both districts have contracted with Alert Now, a notification system that allows a school system to send up to 2 million messages every hour. The Warren County school system put the Web-based service in place last year, but only purchased the emergency notification portion, with only a handful of administrators given access. Hendricks said the notification was only used once and that was a test. There was no way to determine how effective it was.
For Bowling Green Independent, the system replaces the One Call system, which had been used only within the high school. The new system expands to e-mails and phones and, in the case of emergencies, text messages to all schools in the district. Principals and other representatives from the schools will be trained on the system this week.

Alert Now allows users to customize the system, to reach parents in the entire district, individual schools, or specific groups - such as parents with children in a specific grade level, extracurricular activity or on a particular bus route. If the system reaches a busy number or no one answers, it will attempt to call back within a three-minute time span. Because it is Web-based, notifications can be made from anywhere with Internet access.

County schools were prompted to make the upgrade at least in part by a parent survey that showed a need for better communication, especially among parents of middle and high schools students. Nine Western Kentucky University students from a marketing class, approached the school system about doing a market research project. The study - which focused on safety, technology, the district’s website, quality of education, quality of teachers and communication - was done in March. “We felt like there was a need, but we wanted to support that with the survey on parent perception,” Hendricks said. “You cannot enhance communications enough, and this system will let parents feel like they are the local experts at their child’s school.” There were 16 of the 18 schools represented in the findings. Under the area of communication, results showed 41 percent of parents were satisfied with communication between them and the schools and 30 percent were very satisfied. However, that perception differed by grade level.

Report Identifies Problems With Shreveport, Louisiana District's Aging School Buildings
Nicole Blake Johnson, Shreveport Times
July 17, 2010

LOUISIANA: Caddo Parish hasn't seen a new public school since the mid-1980s, and many of the district's aging buildings need repairs — including replacing outdated library equipment and worn sewage systems. Cracked exterior walls, inadequate space for school clinics and buildings that don't meet the Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility guidelines were among the issues addressed in a 5,165-page report detailing the physical conditions, educational adequacy and technological needs of 79 schools and sites.
Houston-based Parsons Commercial Technology Group began the 5-month, $1 million study last year as part of the district's Vision 2020 plan to reshape schools. The plan includes results from a recent community survey and a review of national best practices. Recommendations, based on these findings, will be made to the board July 27. Schools Superintendent Gerald Dawkins said the community will have a say in the matter, and it may be several months before the plan is finalized.

The average age of Caddo schools is 17 years beyond the national average and 22 years beyond the southeast region of the country, according to the report. And there are significant deficiencies in storage and fixed equipment in administrative, science, kindergarten, computer labs, performing arts, arts, music, physical education and remedial spaces. Clinics are almost non-existent and do not meet guidelines, and many schools have temporary buildings.

The total estimated cost to raise the conditions of all schools to a good rating is between $548 million and $803 million. Identifying immediate and long-term projects are under way now. The district will look at all funding options, including bond issue, private and public partnerships, grants and joint agreements. "I think it will be some of the most intense conversations that we've had because schools are at the heart and root of local communities and neighborhoods," Dakwins said.

The ABCs of Wasteful Spending
L.A. Daily News Opinion, Press-Telegram
July 15, 2010

CALIFORNIA: What's more valuable in a high school: Talking benches or teachers? Art installations and marble memorial walls? Or a few trees so it's actually cool enough for kids to play outside? A state-of-the-art swimming pool or functioning science labs? The sensible answers are pretty obvious, right? Not to the Los Angeles Unified School District, which chose to spend $572 million to build elaborate - no, lavish - schools out of the former Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard. Artificial turf soccer fields, historic replica spaces and public art sculptures helped push the per-student cost of the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools to $135,000, nearly 40 percent higher than the average school built in the central Los Angeles area over the past two years. When the completed campus opens this fall, students will be met by a shocking incongruity. They'll enter the most expensive school ever built by the LAUSD and find fewer teachers, older textbooks, larger classes and a shorter school year.
Yes, school construction is paid from one pot of voter-approved bond funds and school operations are paid from another pot of state budgeted funding, so the district isn't laying off teachers to pay for the expensive school. But, the district is still playing with precious taxpayer dollars. LAUSD has sought bond after bond to pay for school construction, even as enrollment was decreasing, and for big-ticket items, such as the RFK schools and the $230 million performing arts schools downtown. Meanwhile, older schools could use some rehab.

There's nothing wrong with spending money to build nice schools. These facilities become homes away from home for children from the time they enter kindergarten at age 5 until they graduate at 18. Having a bright, clean, inspired environment helps instill a sense of pride and enthusiasm in their school and, by extension, their education. Who wants to spend eight hours a day in a dump?
There is also value in historic preservation. Los Angeles has a sad track record of demolishing landmarks, and the school district has done an admirable job of recreating elements of the Ambassador Hotel, which was a center of historic Hollywood nightlife and was the site of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination in 1968. The fight over historic preservation unfortunately added to the expense of the school.

But somehow good intentions spun out of control. Nobody questioned how much is too much to spend on a school construction project. And nobody seemed to recall that previous LAUSD board members had pledged to find private funds to pay for the pricey additions of a park, soccer fields (for which groups will have to pay fees to use), art installations and the aforementioned talking benches that commemorate the historical significance of the Ambassador Hotel.
Worse, district leaders don't seem particularly bothered by this outlandish price tag. Their comments seem to imply that building lavish, expensive schools in traditionally underserved communities makes up for decades of neglect. It does not. Nor do swanky amenities provide what students so desperately need: Quality teachers, smaller classes and high expectations, to name a few.

Salinas, California First to Receive Eco-Friendly Modular Classrooms
Janette Rizk , PR Newsire
July 15, 2010

CALIFORNIA: The first-ever Gen7 modular classrooms will be delivered to the Bolsa Knolls Middle School in Salinas, Calif. These new, eco-friendly Gen7 schoolrooms for sixth- and seventh-graders feature a high amount of recycled and recyclable materials, low- and zero-VOC interiors, and learning-enhancing acoustical design. Eco-friendly insulation within the classroom's walls and roof serve as sound insulation and minimize heat/cooling loss. Innovative smart lighting with natural daylight harvesting and energy-efficient mechanical and electrical systems ensure that each classroom is highly energy-efficient, exceeding California Title 24 Energy Code by more than 30 percent.

In approximately two months, AMS custom-built six Gen7 modular classrooms, designed to meet and exceed the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) criteria for learning environments that are healthy, comfortable, resource-efficient and easy to maintain. These will be the nation's first modular classrooms to receive CHPS verification for a new school on an existing campus.
Why green schools? Sarich added, "Not only do green schools enjoy 20 percent higher test scores, fewer absences, lower healthcare costs and higher teacher retention, these eco-friendly, low-maintenance classrooms save money for the school districts -- both in installation costs and energy savings -- up to $100,000 per year in direct cost savings and long-term savings of more than 30 percent." The six Gen7 classrooms at Bolsa Knolls are the first of a two-phase project. Eight additional Gen7 buildings and a boys and girls restroom facility are scheduled for delivery on the new campus late fall 2010 and will be ready for use when the students return from winter break.

Design Challenge for Minimalist Schools in Haiti
Paolo Zambon, CELE Exchange
July 15, 2010

HAITI: In an effort to inspire learning through a real-world situation, students from around the world have been challenged to create innovative and sustainable designs for small single-room schools that can be constructed across Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Natural disasters have increased the need for successful and thoughtful design of temporary shelters, and over the past five years, these have grown from a niche design element to a necessary aspect of the architecture profession. Needs range from transitional housing and intensive community planning sessions in the American Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina or the need for entirely new villages built following the tsunami in Thailand, The earthquake in Haiti on 12 January 2010 has yet again put the spotlight on temporary shelters and good, quickly built structures to accommodate thousands of homeless families and replace collapsed schools in Port-au-Prince.

Numerous organisations and individuals have invested time and effort to develop infrastructure for the nearly 600 000 homeless in Port-au-Prince. However, without social areas such as community centers, schools and libraries, the city of Port-au-Prince will struggle to bring displaced individuals back to the city center. It has been estimated that of the 4 616 schools surveyed in Port-au-Prince, 80% are damaged and approximately 431 teachers and 4 000 students were killed. An additional 250 000 schoolchildren are now displaced.

Autodesk and the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) both strive to provide architecture students the skills and tools needed to succeed in their chosen profession. In an effort to inspire learning through a real-world situation, AIAS and Autodesk have challenged students from around the world to create innovative and sustainable designs for small single-room schools that can be constructed across Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with limited materials and minimal construction experience. Using the Autodesk building information modeling (BIM) portfolio, students were invited to submit their designs for review from peers and juried professionals.
Submissions have just been reviewed by peers in a People’s Choice category as well as by a prominent group of judges in the Juried category. The winners and the winning designs from each category are as follows: People’s Choice: Elana Willey, San Joaquin Delta College: “Ji Lekol, the Little Haitian School that Juice Built.” Juried: Ian Siegel, New Jersey Institute of Technology: “Aluminum Disaster Relief Schoolhouse.”

San Diego Charter School To Occupy Two Floors of New Downtown Library
Maureen Magee, Union-Tribune
July 15, 2010

CALIFORNIA: It isn’t collecting swatches and paint chips yet, but the San Diego school district is preparing for an innovative interior design of the charter school that will occupy two floors of the long-awaited downtown library. After committing $20 million to lease space in the library, the San Diego school board voted Tuesday to spend another $10 million to design and outfit the urban campus. A charter high school will occupy the sixth and seventh floors of the library, 71,800 square feet of learning space with killer views of San Diego Bay, the San Diego-Coronado Bridge and Petco Park.
Construction is set to begin on the library this month. The San Diego Unified School District is already thinking about how to design this nontraditional campus to take full advantage of its venue. But any firm decisions probably will come after a charter contract is awarded, said Jim Watts, San Diego Unified’s planning director. “This is clearly going to be a unique school by any district standards,” Watts said. “We certainly want it to be a really excellent design.”

Most school design projects are routinely sent out by administrators to preapproved architecture firms the district has contracted with, similar to law firms that are put on retainer. But because of the buzz surrounding this school, a special process may be established to attract top firms and creative designs. School trustee Katherine Nakamura, who has been a vocal advocate of the library charter, is hopeful the school will have a “wow factor,” a design that reflects its urban venue and innovative academic focus. “There is a flood of possibilities,” she said. “This will not look like every other school.”

Charters are publicly funded and independently operated schools that often infuse a theme into the day-to-day academics. The district will use $10 million in redevelopment funds from the Centre City Development Corporation to design the school interior, including architect fees, furniture and equipment. Of that money, $200,000 to $500,000 will be spent to make custom changes to the construction of the space, such as duct work to accommodate science labs, a staircase to connect the two floors, and an elevator stop and door from the underground parking garage. San Diego Unified receives about $5 million annually in redevelopment funds for capital improvement projects at schools in and around the city’s downtown core. In April, the school board approved a 40-year, $20 million lease to take over the sixth and seventh floors of the library. The investment revived the languishing library project that was virtually dead and desperate for funding. The library is set to open in July 2013, but it’s unclear when the charter school would open its doors to students.

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Changes Funded by Stimulus Bond Should Help Wisconsin School Save Energy
Staff Writer, LaCross Tribune
July 15, 2010

WISCONSIN: New windows and upgrades to heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment this summer should help lower energy costs at Onalaska High School, Superintendent John Burnett said. The $500,000 project is being funded through no-interest Qualified School Construction Bonds the district received in August 2009. The high school is almost 50 years old, with several additions. “We looked for items that lent themselves to being funded over longer periods of time — energy saving-type projects,” Burnett said. The district also learned in June it is eligible to borrow an additional $1 million in the no-interest bonds.

San Diego, California District Factors in Sunny Weather for Energy Solutions
Regina Ip, San Diego News Room
July 14, 2010

CALIFORNIA: Schools in San Diego County are taking advantage of the sunny weather to save money, become energy efficient and spark students’ interest in science. In the San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD), located in the Encinitas area, two schools—Canyon Crest Academy and La Costa Canyon High Schools—are installing solar energysystems to generate about 70 percent of each school’s energy usage. The solar panel project is expected to save more than $10 million in energy costs over 15 years. And since the solar panels generate energy without producing greenhouse gases, the district will reduce its carbon footprint by 2,200 metric tons.
With a $25-million budget from the district, the project is expected to cost about $12 million. The district will use school construction bonds, federal subsidies and $4 million in grants from the California Solar Initiative to fund the project. The rest will be offset to San Diego Gas and Electric.

The project consists of installing 4,000 three-by-five foot solar panels at each school site. The two-megawatt panels, which absorb and convert the sun’s rays to electricity, are placed on top of shade structures in the parking lots of the two school sites. SDUHSD chose shade structures based on results from neighboring districts like Poway Unified School District, which had security problems with panels mounted on the ground, and other districts that also had security issues with mounted panels on roofs.

With the district’s help, Canyon Crest Academy student government is raising funds for a JumboTron LED display that will show statistics and updates on the project and its progress as well as interesting facts about solar energy. Funds will also come from the California Solar Initiative grants, since the project will be part of the solar facility. As a site of green innovation, Addleman says, the project provides educational opportunities to students who will get a chance to be part of the construction planning. So far, the projects have generated interest from both students and teachers.

Neighboring San Diego Unified School District’s (SDUSD) solar panel project started in 2000 and spans across 30 sites. Instead of being placed on shade structures, the five-megawatt panels are placed on top of roofs. The estimated savings of the project are about $37 million in roof replacement, maintenance and electricity costs over 20 years. Currently, the project in its third phase and is considered the largest school district photovoltaic installation project in the country.

Lower Cost Bids For Construction Projects Mean Big Savings for Fairfax County, Virginia Schools
Kali Schumitz , Fairfax Times
July 14, 2010

VIRGINIA: A local construction industry still hungry for work continues to add up to big savings for Fairfax County Public Schools. Renovation projects that were, a couple of years ago, slated to begin in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 could begin as soon as fiscal 2013, Chief Operating Officer Dean Tistadt told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
"We're getting 13 to 14 bids on every project we do now," he said, leading to lower average costs and freeing up funds for additional work.

In 2007, it cost as much as $172 million to renovate an elementary school, while bids for similar projects coming in this year were around $120 million -- up slightly from the $110 million average cost last year. With the savings, there now are 11 school addition and renovation projects in the design phase and nine other projects are proposed to move up in the renovation queue.

Stimulus Bond Option Could Save Catawba County, North Carolina Money
Larry Clark, Hickory Record
July 14, 2010

NORTH CAROLINA: Catawba County commissioners thought the means of funding school projects was in place until Finance Director Rodney Miller offered a potential money-saving alternative. It's a federal program that pays state and local governments for a portion of interest payments on construction costs. Commissioners have already approved a new Newton-Conover middle school and renovations at Arndt Middle School, Hickory High School and Catawba Valley Community College. The board is prepared to spend up to $32 million for the work.

Monday night, commissioners examined ways to pay for the projects. The county has been saving for school capital expenses, first setting aside 2 cents of the 53-cent property tax rate, and then adding another 2 cents over the past several years. Commissioners, with Miller and the finance department doing the preparation, expected to use the money they set aside, lottery receipts, and Qualified School Construction Bonds. The QSCBs are part of the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The purpose of those bonds is to sell them at zero interest. However, according to the county, transactions involving QSCBs in other counties have been financed at 2 percent interest. County officials were prepared to try selling the bonds at zero interest that would have saved $4 million over the 15-year life of the loan. The county also was ready to fund the rest of the expenses at 4 to 4.5 percent interest.

Monday, Miller told the commissioners about Build America Bonds. "We would borrow against our credit rating, which is double-A," he said, "instead of using traditional collateral." "The federal reimbursement could mean a less expensive loan."
According to the Internal Revenue Service, the Build America program "authorizes state and local governments to issue Build America Bonds as taxable bonds in 2009 and 2010 to finance any capital expenditures for which they otherwise could issue tax-exempt governmental bonds. "State and local governments receive a direct federal subsidy payment for a portion of their borrowing costs on Build America Bonds equal to 35 percent of the total coupon interest paid to investors," the IRS Web site states.

Miller wants to plot all possible combinations of financing to produce the least cost to the county for the school projects. Commissioners approved his request, giving him and County Manager Tom Lundy the authority to use Build America bonds if they prove to be a viable option. Reassessing the means of funding the projects will not delay construction or renovation. Whatever financing plan emerges must be approved by the Local Government Commission, a state agency that evaluates large expenditures by county and municipal governments to ensure affordability.

Lawsuit Asks State to Make Rules on N.J. Urban School Districts Taking Over School Construction Projects
Jon Whiten, Jersey City Independent
July 14, 2010

NEW JERSEY: A statewide nonprofit group has filed a lawsuit to compel two New Jersey agencies to adopt rules that would potentially allow the Jersey City school district and other urban school districts in the state to plan, design and construct needed school construction projects in their communities. The action, brought in the state Superior Court’s Appellate Division by the Newark-based Education Law Center (ELC), looks to force the state Department of Education (DOE) and Schools Development Authority (SDA) to set into motion a long-promised process that would allow some of the 31 urban school districts governed by the SDA to directly plan and construct their own projects while being supervised by the agency.

Initially, all school construction projects in the SDA districts could only be managed by the SDA, but in 2007 the legislature amended the law in an effort to both cut costs and increase the level of local involvement in the school construction process. Under the amendment, the DOE was required to establish rules that would determine if a district generally had the capacity to undertake the construction projects, and the SDA was required to establish rules that would determine if a district had the capacity to undertake specific approved projects.

But despite a deadline of August 6, 2008 to adopt the rules, there has been little action from either agency, according to ELC. Meanwhile, the SDA’s new executive director Marc Larkins is reviewing the agency’s 2008 capital plan, which covers 52 projects in urban districts, including several projects — like the much-needed School 20 improvements — in Jersey City. The EDC’s suit asks the court to impose a strict timetable for publishing and adopting the required rules.
“After careful deliberation, the legislature decided to allow capable districts to manage school projects in their own communities and, at the same time, reduce costly state bureaucracy,” ELC executive director David Sciarra says in a statement. “The DOE and SDA are flouting the will of the Legislature by not putting this process in place.”

$59M Savings in Construction Costs May Fund 2 Wake County, North Carolina Elementary Schools
T. Keung Hui, Cary News
July 14, 2010

NEW YORK: Wake County school board members will have to decide whether the best way to spend $59 million in school construction savings is on building two elementary schools. Administrators have recommended using the $59 million to build two new elementary schools that could open in 2013. Administrators have identified three sites.

"We've got the money and we're dealing with potential crowding," said Joe Desormeaux, Wake's assistant superintendent for facilities. He said the $59 million was accumulated from projects coming in under budget from the district's ongoing $1.056 billion construction program. Although the national recession has delayed some projects, the school system has completed most of the work funded by a record $970 million school construction bond issue approved by voters in 2006. Despite budget cuts resulting in layoffs and some classes being eliminated, the construction savings can only be used for other capital projects such as building and renovating schools and buying land. Staff looked at where crowding was the greatest and where the school system could quickly begin building. At a cost of $25 million per elementary school, the savings covered the cost of two schools.

New York City Finds Space For New Schools in Closing Schools' Buildings
Sharon Otterman, New York Times
July 14, 2010

NEW YORK: The Department of Education and the city teachers’ union announced a solution to a math equation that had been plaguing them since this spring: how to fit 16 new and expanding schools into space occupied by 19 existing schools. Those 19 schools had been slated to close because of poor performance, but a successful lawsuit from the United Federation of Teachers and the N.A.A.C.P. last March gave them a reprieve, at least for another year. The problem was that the city had already promised space in the closing schools’ buildings to the new schools, which were left in a kind of limbo.

Under the terms of the agreement, 9 of the 16 schools will open in the promised locations, alongside some of the saved schools. In exchange, the union pledged to not sue the city for placing new schools in the closing schools’ buildings, a matter that was left undecided in the lawsuit that could have been challenged.

Five of the schools found new locations, including the Manhattan Academy for Arts & Language, which will lease space at the union’s headquarters in downtown Manhattan. The city will pay for the space, but “at below market rent,” said Michael Mulgrew, the union president.

The city has repeatedly vowed it would try again next year to close all 19 schools that were saved by the lawsuit, by repeating the process required to close them, which two courts found was not in compliance with the law governing mayoral control of the city schools.

Univ. of Pennsylvania Turns a Paved Area into A Green Sustainable Site
Staff Writer, Almanac
July 13, 2010

PENNSYLVANIA: A University of Pennsylvania project designed to turn a set of aging tennis courts into an urban park called Shoemaker Green has been selected as a pilot for the nation’s first rating system for green landscape design, construction and maintenance.
The Sustainable Sites Initiative will pilot more than 150 projects in the United States, Canada, Iceland and Spain to evaluate its new rating system for sustainable landscapes, anticipated to be analogous to the US Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building ratings. The Initiative is a partnership of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden.

Shoemaker Green was chosen as a pilot project based on its numerous environmentally friendly elements. Plans by Andropogon Associates, a Philadelphia-based landscape architecture design firm, call for green space to replace the paved tennis courts that now lie in a 3.75-acre site off 33rd Street surrounded by the Palestra, Franklin Field and the David Rittenhouse Laboratories. The site is classified as a grey field—previously urbanized land—where storm water drainage is a major issue. This project, while creating a new open space for the campus, will also improve water quality, minimize runoff, restore biomass to the site and increase local biodiversity with habitat planting and use of living soils. By replacing paved surfaces with landscaping, it will also reduce the urban heat island effect.
The proposed design demonstrates the Penn’s commitment to sustainable site management as one of the goals of its Climate Action Plan (Almanac September 29, 2009). It establishes the framework for introducing sustainable practices into Penn’s campus and tying these practices into the living and learning environment. Shoemaker Green, as one of the campus’s open spaces, will provide a key link between the University’s core and Penn Park.

The Sustainable Sites Initiative plans to use feedback from the pilot phase of these selected projects to revise its final rating system and reference guide by early 2013. The US Green Building Council, a stakeholder in the Initiative, anticipates incorporating the guidelines and performance benchmarks into future iterations of its LEED Green Building Rating System.

Students Want Colleges To Show Them the Green
Brittany Anas , Colorado Daily
July 13, 2010

COLORADO: The University of Colorado's law school has solar panels on its roof and an electric-car-charging station where a donor to the school can be spotted juicing up his Tesla electric sports car. A recently made-over dorm -- Andrews Hall -- just got news that it received a "gold" rating for its features like low-flowing shower heads and smart sensors that suspend heating and cooling systems when windows are open. And, come the holiday season, students can buy earrings crafted from recycled beer caps at a green-themed expo in the student center.
From a college recruiting perspective, green is gold. "I appreciate CU's environmental outreach," said CU student Rena Goldstein. "Many of my friends and family members recommended this school as one of the country's leading eco-friendly hot spots." She said she's been impressed with the dual-flush toilets around campus that save water and the amount of recycling receptacles on the campus.

An increasing number of students say they want a college that has a good report card when it comes to environmental issues. The Princeton Review in 2009 found that 68 percent of students, and 59 percent of their parents, value having information about a college's commitment to the environment -- which is a 4 percent increase from the previous year.
There are now a hodgepodge of publications and organizations interested in scoring universities for their environmental efforts, but they have wildly varying criteria. Dave Newport, director of the Environmental Center at CU -- a campus that was rated the No. 1 green school by Sierra Magazine -- expects that the "Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System" will emerge as the uniform standard in coming years. Newport said CU has made a name for itself as a green school: The university launched the nation's first student-led environmental center in 1970, and in 1976 became the first in the country with a student-led recycling program.

In its College Sustainability Report Card, the Sustainable Endowments Institute reports found that 69 percent of colleges and universities are weaving messages about sustainability into student orientations, according to Rob Foley, senior research fellow. That compares to 27 percent of schools that gave the green pitch at orientations last year.

At CU, barbecues for new students attending orientation are zero-waste and students are given reusable black-and-gold bags. Last year, the school -- using a grant for sustainability projects -- installed four filtered water stations outside of its "grab-and-go" food outlets, complementing similar stations in the residence halls. Sales of water bottles at the food shops declined by 15 percent, said CU dining director Amy Beckstrom. Dining services also gave more than 200,000 gallons of fryer grease to a local biodiesel company last year to be turned into fuel. And, more than 200 tons of food waste last year was diverted from the landfill and instead composted, Beckstrom said. CU student Kate Sandler said that she's wowed by environmental efforts at CU, chiefly the number of students she sees voluntarily plucking recyclable items out of trash bins or encouraging their peers to recycle. She thinks sustainability efforts need to be the standard at schools. "When looking for colleges, most students focus on majors and cost and things like that," Sandler said. "Greenness isn't usually broadcast as much. But going here really brings the eco-friendly issue to the front of what people think and care about."

Reflections on Modernizing and Expanding a Historic School
Sean O'Donnell, PreservationNation blog
July 12, 2010

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Now that summer has arrived in earnest, Washington, DC’s School Without Walls Senior High School (“Walls”) has become unusually quiet. This 440-student public school just enjoyed its first year back at its newly-modernized and expanded campus, giving me a chance to reflect on how well this learning community has settled back into its home.
The renewed facilities – a combination of a 19th century school house and a 21st century addition – have had a dramatic impact on learning. Test scores and applications to enroll in the school have both risen dramatically. The fourteen juniors who enrolled in the first full year of the Early College Program are taking dual credit courses at the neighboring George Washington University toward an associate’s degree.

In a roundtable conducted by the American Architectural Foundation, teachers remarked that the building greatly enhanced communication among the faculty. New distance learning technologies have further enhanced collaboration with students attending schools in Ghana and Nigeria, and the facilities have enhanced the sense of pride among the Walls community.

Walls provides tangible evidence that if you can look past the daily experience of the current problems beleaguering many of our older school buildings and truly assess their potential, many are capable of meeting contemporary educational needs with the proper investment. And when considered within a broader context of educational and societal goals, they may even exceed the performance of a new “green field” school.

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Higher Ed Sets Power Goals: Switching from Coal to Cleaner Fuels
Housley Carr, GreenSource
July 12, 2010

NATIONAL: The “greening” of U.S. colleges and universities is presenting opportunities for engineering and construction firms.
Increasing numbers of schools that for decades have depended on coal-fired plants for steam and electricity are working to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions by shifting to natural gas and biomass, says Kim Teplitzky, coal campaign coordinator for the Sierra Student Coalition, an adjunct of the Sierra Club. About 60 colleges and universities currently burn coal, she said, but several already are planning to switch to other, cleaner fuels. For example, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May announced that it plans to phase out coal of its co-generation plant by 2020.

Ball State University, Muncie, Ind., started a $70-million, five- to 10-year plan to swap four existing coal-fired boilers for a geothermal system. The University of Wisconsin in Madison this summer will begin a $250-million conversion of its Charter Street steam and powerplant to natural gas and biomass from coal. The UW project—which includes two new gas-fired boilers, another fueled by wood, agricultural waste and other biomass, and a 22-MW steam generator—grew out of a 2007 plan by Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) to phase out coal at all state-owned institutions, says Troy Runge, director of the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative.
Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group, Lynchburg, Va., says it recently won a contract to design and supply a new biomass-fired, bubbling fluidized bed boiler for the University of Missouri. The 150,000-lb-per-hour boiler in 2012 will replace an older coal-fired boiler of similar output, says Karlan Seville, university spokeswoman.

Building Maryland Schools
Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun
July 11, 2010

MARYLAND: School construction is one of the biggest responsibilities of state government, along with other major capital projects such as highways, roads and bridges. Over the last four years, Maryland has poured more than $250 million annually into school construction and renovation projects that have both enhanced the educational opportunities for its students and produced thousands of jobs for its residents. Gov. Martin O'Malley's pledge last week to continue funding school building projects at the same level over the next four years if he is re-elected in November signals he understands the importance of such efforts as an investment in Maryland's future.

No one doubts that the key to a quality education is a good teacher in every classroom. But classrooms and the buildings that house them also play a vital role in creating an environment in which students can learn. Studies have consistently shown that up-to-date science and computer labs, well-lighted and well-equipped classrooms, libraries, media centers and athletic facilities all have a measurable positive impact on student learning, attendance and graduation rates. At the same time, the lack of such facilities has just the opposite effect: students who attend classes in crumbling, ill-equipped buildings, with inadequate heating, cooling and ventilation, soon get the message of how little society values their education.

Mr. O'Malley suggests that the $1 billion commitment he is making to school construction and renovation will generate more than 9,000 jobs. Job creation is a short-term benefit that his proposal shares with other large capital projects, and in an economic downturn like the present one every one of those jobs is sorely needed. But the long-term benefits of improving existing school buildings and creating new ones are even greater because Maryland's future depends on a well-educated workforce capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century. For that the state will not only need dedicated, highly motivated teachers and principals, but also modern, well-equipped facilities that inspire children to excel.

California Law Exempts Most School Remodels From Fire Sprinklers
Sharon Noguchi and Mark Gomez, Mercury News
July 10, 2010

CALIFORNIA: Three years before a fire ravaged San Jose's Trace Elementary this week, the school underwent a major remodel to upgrade classrooms and expand space. But the $3 million renovation didn't include a safety feature that fire officials have long sought California to require in classrooms: automatic fire sprinklers.
And when the school is rebuilt this summer, school officials probably won't include sprinklers this time either. That's because state codes that require fire sprinklers in new schools — and starting Jan. 1, in new homes — for the most part don't apply to existing schools or even to brand-new buildings on old campuses. And unless the state requires sprinklers, insurance companies won't cover the cost to install them — even when rebuilding a burned-down school like Trace. "We had Gardner, we had Pioneer and now Trace," said literacy coach Therese Beaver, who lost 14 years of work in Monday's fire, and recalled recent fires at San Jose Unified schools. "There seems to be a history here. I just hope maybe they would look at the number and maybe determine that it would be worth it to put in sprinklers."

That California mandates sprinklers in schools at all is the result of a vigorous campaign by firefighters after 60 children narrowly escaped their burning classrooms in 1997 at Green Oaks Academy in East Palo Alto. The lobbying helped produce the Green Oaks Family Academy Elementary School Fire Protection Act, enacted in 2002.

But ironically, Green Oaks itself, a K-4 school in the Ravenswood City School District, was rebuilt without sprinklers after the near-tragic 1997 fire and subsequent blazes in 2001 and 2003. Its namesake law exempted Green Oaks as a "modernization." San Jose's Gardner elementary was rebuilt after a 2003 fire without classroom sprinklers. The lack of a broader law frustrates officials of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District who responded to the Green Oaks fires and note that if a student walking out of his classroom hadn't noticed smoke and flames — the 1997 fire had disabled the alarm system — dozens of children might have perished. "We came as close as we can to losing 60 kids," said Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman. "How much closer do you have to get?"
Three more far-reaching bills were vetoed by ex-Gov. Pete Wilson and by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The education lobby opposed the bills because they would add to the cost of construction, Schapelhouman said. Competing with the demand for new computers, classrooms and cafeterias, fire sprinklers don't rise high on educators' wish lists. And opponents point out that there has never been a fatal daytime classroom fire in California. "In an ideal world, if I had millions of dollars, we would absolutely" install sprinklers, said Veronica Grijalva Lewis, president of the San Jose Unified school board.

The process of determining when schools needs sprinklers isn't an exact science. Districts remodeling schools must submit plans to the Division of the State Architect, which ensures that the plans meet code. Sometimes the results are surprising. About five years ago, the Oak Grove School District in San Jose sent in remodeling plans for identical schools — Sakamoto and Del Roble — and was told that it needed to add sprinklers at one school but not the other. "Now they are insisting we put fire sprinklers in both schools," said Assistant Superintendent Chris Jew. This summer, the district is installing those sprinklers, which have added $2 million to the cost of each 38,000-square-foot pod, Jew said. Oak Grove is paying for them with bond money. But Sakamoto school parent Danielle Contreras said she felt fortunate. "I would love to see sprinklers in all the schools, for a safety measure," she said. "You'd think it would be more cost effective than to rebuild."

Omaha Public Schools Green Plans Blooming
Michaela Saunders, Omaha World-Herald
July 10, 2010

NEBRASKA: The Omaha Public Schools is ready to show that Kermit the Frog was wrong: With commitment, it is easy being green — and it's saving money. The district's relatively new Green Schools Initiative already is paying off. Eight of the district's newest or recently remodeled schools have been recognized as Energy Stars. Running an Energy Star school costs about 40 cents less per square foot than a building with average efficiency. That means those eight OPS schools save the district a total of more than $300,000 a year in utility costs.
“The more efficient a building is, the more cost-effective it is to run,” said Craig Moody of the local stainability consulting firm Verdis Group. “This initiative is very much financially driven. Our goal is to make our schools as efficient as possible.”

OPS has had some green building standards for the last 10 years, said buildings and grounds director Mark Warneke. In all OPS buildings built or remodeled in the last decade, the restrooms have automatic lights, toilets and faucets. The buildings also have heat pumps that allow for individual classroom climate control. Those standards helped make the Energy Star schools as efficient as they are. Twenty OPS buildings use geothermal heating and cooling systems and many — including the Energy Star schools — have a building-wide energy management system, in which a computer monitors and controls everything from temperature to lighting and indoor air quality, room by room. The Green Schools Initiative will build on current district standards. The goal: Increase energy efficiency to save money and shrink the district's environmental impact.

Administrators and school board members say they want OPS to lead by example with environmentally friendly practices. And education — for staff, students and the community — will be a major component of the effort. When finished, Moody said, the district's green plan is likely to include everything from establishing public gardens to standardizing ways to cut carbon use in buildings and vehicles. When finished, the Green Schools Initiative plan will outline equipment efficiency options so the district is armed with information when everyday upgrades are necessary. For example, the district will know the cost and energy benefits if it decided to repair or replace a boiler or add a skylight when a roof is replaced. And it will try to spread the best programs under way at individual schools around the district, such as recycling and reducing food waste. “There's a real desire for this to be a leading-edge program nationally,” Moody said. “We're doing some really fun stuff.”

Virginia School Board Votes to Close Town's Only Elementary School and Community Centerpiece
Michael Alison Chandler, Washington Post
July 09, 2010

VIRGINIA: The Fairfax School Board voted to shut down Clifton Elementary School, following months of intense resistance from residents seeking to save the town's only school and a community centerpiece. Board members cited the outsize cost of renovating one of the county's smallest public schools, particularly during an economic downturn.

Clifton Elementary has stellar test results but a faded brick facade. It is not attached to a public water supply, and its wells have tested positive for contaminants. Officials said the cost of upgrading the 58-year-old building on the hilly 14-acre property would be about $11 million, roughly the same as building a larger school elsewhere. At the same time, they project Clifton's enrollment to dip below 300 by 2015, down from 369 this year.
Parents in the tiny picturesque town and its pastoral environs said the school is an integral part of their community and a crucial gathering place for families. In an emotional rally and at a hearing, many said they would rather make do with a pared-down renovation than have no school at all.
Some Clifton neighbors are seeking a historic designation for the 1950s-era building, which would make it eligible for federal and state grants to offset rehabilitation costs. A few agencies, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, wrote letters to the School Board to support restoring the neighborhood school.

University of Colorado Scales Back Vacuuming, Paint Jobs, Cleaning Amid Budget Cuts
Brittany Anas , Daily Camera
July 09, 2010

COLORADO: Paint jobs, vacuuming in offices and stairwell cleaning at the University of Colorado's Boulder campus will be less frequent because of budget cuts that have reduced the school's custodial staff. Last year, amid budget cuts, the university told employees they needed to take out their own trash. The elimination of the school's office trash pick-up service is saving the campus about $122,000 a year, according to CU officials.
Beginning this month, CU custodians will scale back vacuuming service from once a week to every other week and only clean stairwells two times a week, instead of three times. Painting will be "significantly reduced," according to the school's Facilities Management. Together, the newest reduction in custodial services will save CU about $202,000 a year, according to CU spokeswoman Malinda Miller-Huey. The university, in its latest round of budget cuts, eliminated six vacant positions that were responsible for office vacuuming services, stairwell cleaning and painting.

"When identifying budget reductions, Facilities Management's overall objective is to minimize the impact to the campus's core mission of instruction, research and public service," John Morris, director of Facilities Management, said in an e-mail to building proctors. "Also of great importance is ensuring that there are no impacts to the health and safety of the campus community."

46 Mayors Team Up for Green Schools
Wendy Fry, Union-Tribune
July 09, 2010

CALIFORNIA: Mayors in three South Bay cities are joining a green schools coalition. Cheryl Cox of Chula Vista, Ron Morrison of National City and Jim Janney of Imperial Beach announced their participation in the Mayors’ Alliance for Green Schools at Chula Vista High School. The alliance is a coalition of 46 mayors nationwide who will work with the U.S. Green Building Council to promote the building of environmentally sustainable buildings at public schools and to encourage green renovations in South Bay campuses.
Wednesday’s event was held in front of the construction site for Chula Vista High School’s new creative arts multipurpose building — a $9 million LEED Gold structure approved by South County voters as part of Proposition O in November 2006. Speakers praised the 25,729-square-foot building as setting the standard for future projects. The building includes a 700-seat theater, large dance studios and rooms for choir, mariachi and band. The music rooms feature acoustic panels made from recycled materials. The hardwood flooring in the dance rooms is made of lumber cut in sustainable forests. Construction is scheduled to be complete in the first quarter of 2011. Though obtaining a LEED Gold certification is quite a challenge, some of the extras, like the carbon dioxide sensors in the green classrooms, impressed visitors. If levels are too high, air conditioning units will automatically circulate more fresh air in the room.

“Studies show students learn better; they’re less likely to fall asleep when there is the correct amount of fresh air in a room,” Jaime Ortiz, the district’s program manager, said. “I think that’s about the coolest aspect of all the high technology we’re implementing in every room.” Also scoring high are the eno boards in every classroom. Eno boards are like typical white boards that can be marked by teachers with a dry-erase pen, but anything written on the board is automatically stored electronically in a computer. The boards are made from recyclables. The building also has solar panels.

PCBs Will Be Removed from University of Massachusetts Residence Complex
Sydney Lupkin , Boston Globe
July 08, 2010

MASSACHUSETTS: The University of Massachusetts Amherst has less than two months to remove toxic PCBs from one of its residence complexes, but officials said they are confident the work will be complete before students return.
The Southwest Residential Area, where the polychlorinated biphenyls are located, houses 5,500 students in five high-rises and 11 low-rises during the academic year, which begins Sept. 7. It was erected in 1966, when PCBs were an ordinary part of the construction process because they were not flammable, had high boiling points, and were chemically stable, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website. PCBs were banned in 1979 but remain in some old buildings. Now considered an environmental and health foe, PCBs are believed to harm the immune and reproductive systems, among others. Studies have linked them to cancer, according to the EPA.

People who have been in the area in the past 40-odd years can rest easy, however, according to Kim Tisa, the EPA’s PCB coordinator for the region. Tisa said humans can come into contact with PCBs in three ways: touch, hand-to-mouth, or inhalation. Because PCBs were mostly in the caulking of the concourse of the UMass complex, not the rooms, the likelihood of PCBs making their way into students’ systems is slim, she said. Tisa said PCBs are not volatile like gas, but they do tend to “migrate’’ to items surrounding them such as the concrete and granite touching the caulking. Blaguszewski said soil has been tested and contaminated granite will be removed and cleaned off-site.

Illinois Suburban School Districts Invest in Wind Farm to Save $2 Million a Year
Editorial Board, Daily Herald
July 08, 2010

ILLINOIS: What do you get when you cross a school funding crisis with a clean-energy initiative? Officials with three suburban school districts hope the answer lies in a downstate wind farm that could save them $2 million in a year in electric bills. And we think they are on to something.
It's natural for tension to accompany new ideas that have such public impact, but we have been impressed with the way Carpentersville-based Community Unit District 300, Keeneyville Elementary District 20 and Prospect Heights District 23 have brought about their plan to build a 19.5-megawatt wind farm in Stark County, 140 miles southwest of Chicago. The electricity generated will offset energy bills, perhaps leaving money that can fill gaps caused by the state budget mess. Put in perspective, a wind farm that size could provide electricity for about 5,000 homes annually. Three years in the making, the proposal had to be reworked again and again as school officials sought a financial model that would comply with state laws and protect taxpayers from losses.

The breakthrough came in legislation sponsored by state Rep. Fred Crespo, a Democrat from Hoffman Estates. It allows school districts to form consortiums that can issue bonds and opens the way for schools to fund renewable energy projects. Now the school districts can proceed. They plan to use a federal grant, tax credits and cash from the sale of the electricity to pay off private investors and bond holders.

In the coming weeks each district will vote on formalizing the consortium. We urge officials to forge ahead on what appears to be a promising effort. Risks are inherent in any new venture, and any savings from this project wouldn't be realized right away. But with Illinois still far from financial solvency, longer-term solutions make good policy for schools.
The legislation was designed to push this particular project along, but it's certainly not limited to the school trio. School officials throughout the suburbs should be watching closely. This experiment is one way we'll begin to determine whether these forms of renewable energy and intergovernmental cooperation are solid options for the future.

Improving School Facilities Has More Effects on Education Than Just Giving Schools Nicer Classrooms
John Crace, The Guardian
July 08, 2010

ENGLAND: Michael Gove risks self-inflicted injury after cancelling the Labour government's £55bn Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme and suspending projects in 715 schools. For Gove might just find attainment levels slip and pupil behaviour gets worse.
Last year the government's favourite auditor, KPMG, published a report on the effects of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) – a key component of many BSF programmes – on educational outcomes. The headline findings were that the rate of improvement in student attainment was 44% higher in PFI schools than in conventional schools and that unauthorised absences were decreasing in PFI schools and increasing in conventional ones.
The KPMG report backs up a 2002 study in the US conducted by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities. Its report, Do School Facilities Affect Academic Outcomes?, found that spatial configurations, noise, heat, cold, light and air quality obviously bear on students' and teachers' ability to perform. This can be achieved within the limits of existing knowledge, technology and materials; it just requires adequate funding, competent design, construction and maintenance.

Chris Husbands, dean of faculty at the Institute of Education, is rather more reluctant to make a direct causal link between new school buildings and student performance. "The available research is variable and often of poor quality," he said. "We do know that bad school buildings impact negatively on learning: what we don't know is just how much good buildings improve the quality of learning. "However, it's not difficult to hypothesise that the quality of the school environment must have an impact on student achievement. Back in the 60s and 70s, most school buildings were of a higher standard than the homes of their students. This sent a clear message about the importance society placed on education. "By the 80s many school buildings were a great deal worse than the homes of their students – something the Labour government tried to put right when it came to power in 1997. It would be disastrous to return to the levels of capital funding of the 80s and 1970s." Husbands also points out that, though research also suggests a good teacher can offset an unsatisfactory classroom with good pedagogy, there's been no studies done on the average teachers who make up the vast majority. "Again, it's not hard to imagine that an average teacher is going to be less effective taking a lesson in a classroom that's no longer fit for purpose than in one that's modern and fit for purpose. At the very least, you have to say Gove is taking a gamble on student attainment."

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Arizona School District Saves $292,000 in Energy Costs By Lowering Energy Use
Susan Randall, Arizona City Independent
July 07, 2010

ARIZONA: Kelty said the district lowered its energy use by more than 1 million kwhs between June 2008 and May 2009, saving roughly $70,000 in energy cost over the previous year. It did this by completing an energy audit; developing an energy management policy; installing basic energy-management equipment at three campuses that did not already have them; changing from single-campus, dial-up systems to a districtwide, Web-based system of control; upgrading the energy management software on some campuses; and creating control zones for gyms, administrative areas, music rooms and other areas.

Between June 2009 and May 2010 the district reduced its energy usage by 3.4 million kwhs, saving $222,200, even with rising energy rates. It did this with equipment upgrades: replacing classroom units and piping at Casa Grande Middle School; replacing the evaporative coolers on the CGMS auditorium with energy-efficient air-conditioning units; retrofitting 40-watt magnetic ballast lighting with 32-watt electronic ballasts and bulbs; installing energy management control upgrades at the rest of the campuses; installing variable-speed drives on all large motors districtwide and on the air-conditioning units at Desert Willow and Evergreen schools; and installing a pulse meter at Saguaro School to help regulate demand usage. It will be a pilot for possible installations at all the schools. “It has the potential to save a lot of money,” Kelty said.
The district also changed to large-team summer cleaning to shut down multiple campuses when not being cleaned, saving $40,000 last summer. It established after-hours settings in zones for evening cleaning and is refining a large-team approach for daily cleaning.

Kelty said that during this two-year period, the district added square footage and energy use at the transportation and administration buildings and the gymnasiums at Cholla and Cottonwood schools and still saved “considerable amounts of energy.” “Our EPA Energy Star average rating has increased from 12 to 41 on a scale of 1 to 100. Seven of our buildings are now at or exceed the national average of 50 for schools.” Board President John J. Klein Jr. said energy savings will free up more money for academics.

Kentucky School Districts Use Stimulus Dollars to Hire Energy Managers
Jim Warren, Herald Leader
July 07, 2010

KENTUCKY: With 92-degree heat pushing up electrical demand, officials from Kentucky school districts met in Lexington to start working on ways to help their schools cut energy costs. The session opened three days of orientation and training for 35 newly hired school energy managers who will be charged with helping up to 130 Kentucky public school districts use energy more efficiently, and incorporate energy conservation into student curriculums. The effort could reach more than 1,000 schools, officials said.

The energy managers — most of whom are starting work this week — were hired with federal economic stimulus dollars funneled through the Kentucky School Boards Association and the Kentucky Department of Energy Development and Independence. Some of the managers will work for individual districts, but most will work with multiple districts. Officials hope school districts will continue the effort after the initial $2.5 million in federal funds runs out in two years.

John Davies, state deputy commissioner of energy development and independence, said the program will allow Kentucky to manage school energy use on a comprehensive basis for the first time. The need is critical, Davies said. He noted that Kentucky schools paid about $183 million to transport, heat, cool and provide lighting for students in 2008, about $93 million more than in 2000. Overall, he said, the state's schools now spend about $272 per student, per year on energy needs.

Stadium Lighting Poles Recalled; Many Defective Structures Along School Playing Fields
Eric Dexheimer , American-Statesman
July 06, 2010

NATIONAL: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a nationwide recall of stadium lighting poles manufactured by Whitco Co. LLP, the Fort Worth company that designed and sold about a dozen of the giant towers that have crashed without warning during the past three years.
Most of the accidents occurred at public schools in Texas; two, in Hays County and in Round Rock, were in Central Texas.

The federal agency's recall follows the American-Statesman's reporting last year linking the now-bankrupt Whitco to defective poles across the country. In addition to the poles that have toppled, nearly 100 more were found to have developed potentially dangerous cracks at their bases, most only a few years after their installation.

No one has been hurt because of the faulty towers, although there have been several close calls. In March 2009, when a 125-foot pole at the Hays school district's Bob Shelton Stadium toppled and slammed onto a high school gymnasium, about 60 people were in the stadium at the time, waiting to watch a soccer game. The Whitco pole that fell a month later at a playing field in Uniontown, Pa., crushed bleachers and crashed across a field that, if it were not for bad weather, would have been bustling with school children.

The product safety commission's announcement follows a warning it issued in August, recommending that owners of stadiums with Whitco poles should have them checked for cracks. Tuesday's recall, for poles 70 feet and taller made by Whitco, states that "consumers should immediately stop using recalled products until they are inspected and repaired. "The poles can fracture or crack and fall over, posing a risk of serious injury or death to patrons and bystanders from being hit or crushed." In a news release, the agency estimated the recall would involve more than 2,500 poles. Many Texas school districts have already checked their athletic field light towers and, where necessary, removed or added support to their Whitco poles.
Whitco's poles have toppled in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Mississippi and South Dakota. A few fell at minor league baseball stadiums. But many of the defective structures were located along playing fields at Texas high schools.

Because Whitco is defunct, the school districts and other stadium owners have had to bear the cost of replacing and repairing the one- to four-ton towers themselves. Hays County spent nearly $700,000 replacing its light poles and repairing damage from the fallen tower. The Carroll school district in Southlake, outside of Dallas, spent nearly $300,000 inspecting and replacing its four Whitco poles.
Forensic reports delving into the cause of the poles' failures have reached different conclusions. While several have cited rapid vibrations caused by winds, others have blamed design or welding flaws.

Historic Designations Sought for Dozens of Detroit Schools
Marisa Schultz , Detroit News
July 05, 2010

MICHIGAN: Nearly 90 Detroit Public Schools buildings are nominated for the National Register of Historic Places, an honorary designation that can lead to tax credits for redevelopers but may do little to prevent the demolition of some of the vacant structures. The effort to preserve the schools was led by Detroit's Historic Designation Advisory Board, whose planners spent $33,000 and more than a year surveying all the city's schools built before 1960 and cataloging their histories.

The state Historic Review Board approved 88 of the schools for the national register and will submit the nomination to the federal government as soon as this week. Federal officials are expected to finalize the designation this summer. The designation comes as nearly 150 Detroit Public Schools have closed since 2003, the result of thousands of students leaving the district each year. Some of the nominated schools are ones that are to close this year, such as Cooley High, built in 1927, and Hanstein Elementary, built in 1918.
Janese Chapman, a city planner who is part of the effort, hopes the designation will spark greater appreciation of the buildings and their potential uses. Instead of demolishing the community anchors, Chapman hopes the conversation will turn to: "How can we repurpose them?"

England's School Buildings Redevelopment Scheme Scrapped
Hannah Richardson, BBC News
July 05, 2010

ENGLAND: Hundreds of school building projects are being scrapped as England's national school redevelopment scheme is axed by the government. Education Secretary Michael Gove said 719 school revamps already signed up to the scheme would not now go ahead. A further 123 academy schemes are to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. His department has been reviewing Labour's Building Schools for the Future scheme since the election. It concluded that all local authority schemes that have not reached financial close would not go ahead, saving "billions" of pounds. This means 706 schools in the existing BSF programme which have reached financial close will continue, but officials will see how savings can be made within them. Another 14 projects in local authorities further down the BSF priority list would be considered to see if a small number of revamps could be brought forward.

Some 180 schools have been rebuilt or revamped since the programme was introduced by Labour in 2004. And building is about to start in 231 schools. But 1,100 schools have already signed up to the scheme, investing time, energy and money into drawing up plans for redevelopment, but have not reached financial close. Originally all of England's 3,500 schools were to be revamped by 2023. The plan was to replace out-dated buildings with facilities that suit modern education.

Garden Becomes Classroom
Lindsay Vanhulle, Record-Eagle
July 04, 2010

MICHIGAN: The idea that students learn at a desk in a classroom is hard to break. American children have learned that way for centuries, since the days of one-room schoolhouses. Some educators today believe the practice is antiquated. What would happen, they wonder, if students left the school building to apply their knowledge in the real world?
Administrators in Traverse City Area Public Schools plan to install a community garden this summer at Traverse Heights Elementary with the hope it will do that. Ideally, it would generate fresh ingredients for school meals and serve a curriculum that weaves throughout students' subjects. "It's a complementary relationship," school board member Gary Appel said. "The garden is strengthened by the classroom knowledge."

Creating school gardens goes beyond a traditional field trip. It borders on immersion, with students involved in planting and cultivating. Rotary Charities of Traverse City awarded the district a one-year grant worth $5,000 to develop its plans. Students attending a Traverse Heights summer camp likely will help with the setup. Additionally, administrators met with the North Traverse Heights Neighborhood Association to discuss the possibility of providing garden plots for residents. At least 30 percent of the 450 residences in the neighborhood are rentals, said Larry Gerschbacher, the association's president. "This would give them the opportunity to have a garden," he said. "Everyone said it's a good idea."

District administrators in May outlined a three-phase plan when applying for the Rotary grant. The first phase, to start this summer, involves preparing the site. A school curriculum would be developed in the fall or winter. And efforts to include neighbors in the project will be ongoing. Rotary has supported other school gardens, including one at Concord Montessori and Community School near Alba in Antrim County. It is about the length of a football field and roughly 70 feet wide, school Director Steve Overton said. In TCAPS, vegetables could be sold or used in school meals to add fresh produce to students' diets, said Kristen Misiak, food service director. Organizers haven't decided what to plant, since students are on vacation during much of the growing season.

But the academic benefits are what Appel is most eager to see. He thinks a garden can help students understand ecology, the water cycle and the scientific method while incorporating Michigan's grade-level content standards.

Missouri School District's Repairs Financed with Interest-free Bonds
Don Norfleet, Fulton Sun
July 02, 2010

MISSOURI: 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.

Last month Thomsen said North Callaway had received authority to issue $1.12 million in interest-free Qualified School Construction Bonds. Then Thomsen learned the state also had approved the remaining $1.38 million of the $2.5 million bond issue in another interest-free plan known as the Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) program. Both bonding plans allow school districts to apply for an allotment of bonds on which the federal government pays for all or nearly all of the interest.
Thomsen said North Callaway is eligible for the QZAB program because it has more than 35 percent of its students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. The QZAB program also requires qualifying districts to provide a 10 percent match from a business or non-profit partner to prepare students for college or the workforce. Thomsen said North Callaway was able to meet this federal qualification by placing a value of at least $138,000 in contributions and services provided to the district by the North Callaway Booster Club.

British Gas to Give 15 Million Pounds Sterling of Free Solar Panels to British Schools
Staff Writer, PR Newsire
July 01, 2010

ENGLAND: British Gas unveiled an unprecedented 15 million pounds Sterling investment in solar technology for the nation's schools. The company will donate and install solar panels - worth between 20,000 and 40,000 pounds per school - in up to 750 schools. Each school will be able to generate its own free, green electricity, cutting as much as 20% off its annual electricity bill.

The energy produced by the panels is anticipated to create around 1.3m pounds per year for the next 25 years. This will be reinvested in installing solar panels on yet more schools. This means that, in the next five years alone, British Gas could install free solar panels on a total of 1,100 schools. The panels will also help the selected schools to meet their carbon reduction targets, reducing emissions by up to 1,400 tonnes per year, equivalent to taking almost 400 cars off the road.
The schools receiving solar panels will receive a British Gas smart meter, offering real time information so pupils can see the difference their solar panels are making. Specially created Generation Green lesson plans will help teachers engage their pupils in learning about renewable energy, and schools will be able to track their performance against others and share tips and advice via a specially designed website.

Based on a formula created by the University of Bath's Centre for Research in Education and the Environment to measure the impact that teachers can have beyond the classroom, up to 1.8 million parents and family members could learn about renewable energy as a result of the initiative.

A New Crop of School Gardens
Krista Simmons , Los Angeles Times
July 01, 2010

CALIFORNIA: While most schools sit like dormant ghost towns during the summer, a few are breaking up the asphalt, planting seeds that will be sprouting edible gardens come September.
It may seem counterintuitive to start new programs in this economic climate. Summer school was canceled at many campuses this year, the $1.7-million California Instructional School Garden Program grant to the Los Angeles Unified School District has expired, and the budget crisis has left countless teachers unemployed. But this groundswell, largely sparked by parent and community interest -- and perhaps some inspiration from Michelle Obama's White House garden -- is finding support in all the right places.

Ben Ford, chef-owner of Ford's Filling Station, and Akasha Richmond, chef-owner of Akasha, both restaurants in Culver City, spearheaded the recent work day at Farragut where parents, grandparents, children, chefs and politicians worked to lay the ground for a green space for students.
The organizers at Farragut hope they'll soon be able to tap Alice Waters for an Edible Schoolyard (ESY) certification, which will bring not only publicity but a seasoned veteran's perspective. Waters' ESY program is known for her implementation of seed-to-table gardens within the Berkeley school district, and has recently gone national, helping schools throughout the country execute curriculum-based gardens and locally sourced school lunch programs.

This summer, the Garden School Foundation, led by master gardener Nat Zappia, hopes to change that. On the first garden cleanup day, dozens of community members, former students from Food From the Hood, teachers and volunteers from Starbucks showed up to re-till soil, planting the seed for the soon-to-be student gardeners returning in the fall.
Bill Vanderberg, dean of students at Crenshaw High, plans to use the garden as a vehicle for learning within the newly created Smaller Learning Communities (SLCs). He hopes the Business SLC will be able to model off the Garden School Foundation's 24th Street School garden, where the fifth-grade children have struck a deal with Pitfire Pizza Co. to trade their herbs for pizza.

It appears that Angelenos from all walks of life are interested in lending a hand to advance the school garden movement, regardless of tough times. The Environmental Media Assn. and Yes to Carrots have partnered with LAUSD to sponsor 10 new school garden projects, one of which will be at Saturn Elementary in L.A.. Actor Jake Gyllenhaal will be their mentor, and architect Rogerio Carvalheiro, who worked on the Getty Villa and Union Station, will work pro bono on the design. Once completed this fall, they hope to add a "scratch kitchen," where children will prepare the food they grow.

Connecticut Law Ensures Green School Playgrounds by Prohibiting Pesticides
Eileen FitzGerald, News Times
July 01, 2010

CONNECTICUT: Public and private schools across the state that have children in eighth grade or lower will no longer be able to use pesticides on their lawns or playing fields, in accordance with a state law that took effect July 1. The law, passed this winter by the General Assembly, expanded the prohibition of pesticides on school grounds to the playing fields. It says, "No person shall apply a lawn care pesticide on the grounds of any public or private preschool or public or private school with students in grade eight or lower." The law would allow pesticide use to eliminate an immediate threat to human health.

Bethel schools took steps three years ago to eliminate pesticides. "We made the switch a number of years ago," Superintendent of Schools Gary Chesley said. "It's a big deal. You don't want to introduce poisons to the children. We follow the regulations to the letter, and we have a company we respect doing our work." The park and recreation departments in Danbury and Brookfield maintain the grounds of their schools and have been updated about the new policy. Newtown Superintendent Janet Robinson said her district has been free of pesticides for about three years. "We knew it was inevitable," she said. "The law requires us to keep a list of students whose parents must be notified if you use a pesticide, and it alerted us to a future ban of pesticides. We've been paying attention."

Nancy Alderman, president of the advocacy group Environment and Human Health, said the bill prohibited pesticides on school grounds, but it's taken years to make it effective on school playing fields. "It's important that the park and recreation departments that take care of the fields, and for PTAs that monitor what goes on in schools, to know about the law,' she said. "This is ground-breaking legislation."

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School Gardening Project Makes Every Day Earth Day
Harold Egelna, Brooklyn Daily Eagle
July 01, 2010

NEW YORK: Getting back to the garden and to the roots of natural beauty and bounty is the mission of “Nature’s Classroom at P.S. 102,” a one-school-year-old gardening project that brings learning and fun to students at the “grassroots” level. “Transforming the school garden into ‘Nature’s Garden at P.S. 102,’ a name chosen by a school-wide vote, has been a highlight of the school year,” said Parent Coordinator Margaret Sheri. The garden project started last September with 15 parents and developed through weekly parent meetings. The fenced-in garden is on the 72nd Street block between Ridge Boulevard and Third Avenue on the east side of P.S.102. There is a flagpole in the garden’s center and school play yard behind the garden. “The children really love their time in the garden, and it’s exciting to see them take ownership of it,” Sheri said. “Almost all of them have a memory of planting a bulb, seed or earth-box, passing around a sprig of mint leaf to smell, reading the unusual names of cactus plants, letting butterflies go, or finding a favorite garden spot to read.”

The project is affiliated with the Green Thumb and Green Bridge programs and became a certified nature sanctuary through the National Wildlife Foundation. It is funded in part by a Parents As Arts Partners (PAAP) grant from the nonprofit Center for Arts Education, achieved with the help of art teachers from the Socrates Sculpture Park Annex in Astoria. “Our third graders are growing edible vegetables in ‘earth-boxes’ thanks to ‘The Growing Connections’ program of the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization, which gives the garden international flavor and support,” said Sheri.

During the past year there were not only fundraising events, she said, but also outdoor readings, walk-through garden observations, an Earth Day celebration, and the planting of 450 bulbs by third graders last fall. The garden includes herb, native plant, butterfly and cactus gardens, as well as nature-inspired artwork by third graders that adorns the garden gate. Future plans, Sheri said, include planting vegetables and joining the School To Café program, now awaiting application approval, that would bring wholesome edible vegetables to the school’s cafeteria lunches.

Bourne, Massachusetts Ponders Sale of Unused Historic Schools
Heather Wysocki, Cape Cod Times
June 30, 2010

MASSACHUSETTS: A town committee is proposing the sale of two vacant school buildings because they have been unable to identify a suitable public use for the historic structures. Earlier this month, the town's capital outlay committee recommended the sale of the Ella F. Hoxie School on Williston Road and the Coady School on Cotuit Road, said chairwoman Mary Jane Mastrangelo. Both schools have been in Bourne for around 100 years. "We just haven't identified a municipal purpose," Mastrangelo said. The committee believes the town won't benefit from keeping the buildings if they don't have a specific purpose, she said. The Hoxie School has been vacant since fall. The Waldorf School of Cape Cod, which had operated out of the Coady School building, has not renewed its lease for next year, she said.
"It costs money to keep these vacant buildings open," Mastrangelo said, noting that the town paid to heat the Hoxie School over the winter even though it wasn't used.

The schools are residentially zoned, meaning businesses couldn't use the properties without a zoning law change. But they could be used by nonprofit agencies or possibly for affordable housing, she said. Jack MacDonald, a member of the town's historical and community preservation committees, said the schools' histories make them worth keeping. "They've got beautiful craftsmanship, they've got a history, and they're unique," he said. MacDonald said both schools are eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, and the Coady School nomination has already been submitted.

Detroit Schools Boost Security Year after Shooting
Nicquel Terry, Chicago Tribune/Associated Press
June 30, 2010

MICHIGAN: Since a shooting incident a year ago, Detroit police have been working to mitigate the violence that has extended from the streets into school hallways. And while officials say in-school violence is decreasing, some students and parents say the safety changes haven't been enough. "I feel safe at school," said Emmanuel Gannaway, who will be a senior at Cody High School. "But we do need more security."

That need may be partially met this year. The district plans to invest $41.7 million in upgraded security equipment, including new surveillance cameras and alarm systems at schools. Each high school will get 100 cameras placed in stairwells, hallways, parking lots, entrances and other parts of the school, the district said. K-8 schools will get 32 cameras each and elementary schools, 24 cameras. Enhanced surveillance is a tactic to keep outsiders from entering the school to start trouble, said Detroit Public Schools Police Chief Roderick Grimes.
The alarm systems, he said, will send a signal to officers when a door is breached. "That will give us somewhere to start the investigations on who got into our buildings unauthorized," Grimes said.
The district also has increased the number of metal detectors at school entrances, and Detroit police boosted patrols in some school neighborhoods.
Improving school safety is an issue for districts across the nation. Chicago recently unveiled a plan to spend $25 million in federal funds on school safety programs.

School Construction Bonds Could Save a Wisconsin District Taxpayers $6 Million
Alex Ronallo, WJFW.com
June 30, 2010

WISCONSIN: Bonds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act could save Rhinelander taxpayers 6-million dollars. The Department of Public Instruction recently awarded the Rhinelander School District permission to issue 10.4 million dollars in interest-free or low-interest bonds. These are a combination of Qualified School Construction Bonds and Qualified Zone Academy Bonds, both provided under the ARRA. The bonds will help fund the 13.7 million dollar school district project voters approved in and April referendum. That project includes facility improvements at several schools throughout the district.
Superintendent Roger Erdahl says this with less and less support coming in from the state government, qualifying for these bonds will be a huge relief for the district and taxpayers.

High School Construction Project A Boon to Nearby Diner
Jim Holt, Rocky Mount Telegram
June 29, 2010

NORTH CAROLINA: One local restaurant is experiencing a significant increase in food sales due to the advent of a major construction project a half-mile down the street. Four years ago, the owner of Hoppin House Grille at 1005 West Mount Drive never thought such a large influx of customers would be at her business’ doorstep with money in hand. But that’s what owner Beth Winstead encountering regularly due to the new Rocky Mount High School going up at Old Mill and Bethlehem roads. “We haven’t really advertised,” said Winstead. “Most of the (construction workers) up the road heard about it through word-of-mouth.” Winstead said that because of the increased sales and the expectation of more sales once students are in closer proximity, the restaurant is looking to install a drive-thru at its only side window.

School Districts Get Interest-Free Stimulus Loans
Ann Marie Ames, Gazette
June 28, 2010

WISCONSIN: Three local school districts will get almost $4 million in interest-free loans created as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Elkhorn, Parkview and Sharon school districts were awarded Qualified School Construction Bond Program loans, according to a news release from Gov. Jim Doyle’s office. The program makes loan money available for school renovation or new construction. The federal government pays all the interest costs from the loans. The Department of Public Instruction administers the loans. In Wisconsin, 56 school districts were approved for $120.5 million in loans.

Districts will borrow the money to repair roofs, add classroom space, do remodeling, pay the interest of a construction loan for a new school, and do security and energy upgrades. Nine other districts earned $23.4 million through a similar program. The Qualified Zone Academy Bond program provides money to districts where 35 percent or more of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.

New Hampshire School May Be the First Closed by the State for Building Violations
Lynne Tuohy , Boston Globe/Associated Press
June 27, 2010

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Unity Elementary School is braced to make history -- as home to the first school ever closed by the state for life-threatening building violations. Two members of the state Board of Education will tour the school ahead of a vote next month on whether to shutter the 55-year-old school. The 120 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade would likely be transported to Claremont, about 10 miles away, if the school is closed.

The school has remained open for two years on conditional approval by the state to allow time to correct fire code violations that include "dead end" corridors with no exits, a lack of fire-resistant partitions and classrooms that do not have two exits. Local officials estimate the cost to make the repairs is more than the $5.9 million needed to build a new school. Several state school board members, at their June 9 meeting, expressed outrage that residents twice soundly defeated proposals to build a new school, with one calling it "deplorable." Board members made it clear they were ready to close the school.

The one-story school house built on a slab has numerous doors posted as "Not an Exit." Two classrooms can be accessed only by walking through another classroom. The nurse's office has no heat or running water. A small cafeteria doubles as a gymnasium. A quaint kitchen looks like it belongs in a hunting camp, not a school. "It's a tired old building that was built on the cheap, added onto on the cheap and now they're paying the costs," Baldwin said. "This is an opportunity for this town to rally and support a new school. It really is the most prudent solution."

School Construction Could Boost Business Growth
Staff Writer, KNDO.com
June 25, 2010

WASHINGTON: It took years to pass the bond to replace Eisenhower High School. Now, School District leaders are drafting plans and looking to better the entire community in the process. What does a 114-million dollar school bond get you? A new high school, some remodeling and possibly an economic boost.
"When our community steps up and supports levies or bond that's a really strong signal and when we can tout that as a result of that two new schools. That's definitely a signal we're moving in the right direction," said Dave McFadden, New Vision.

Since the bond passed with a majority approval, the school district has been busy creating plans for the new Eisenhower High School. "We've had a lot of public comment periods and in addition we have a Web site that allows any member of the public to comment and I think at last count we had over 30 thousand hits on that Web site," said Dr. Elaine Beraza, superintendent, Yakima School District. Dr. Beraza said the old school is 225 thousand square feet, the new school will be larger at 320 thousand square feet. Ike's athletic space will double and the school will feature modern technology. "And we're really looking for something the public looks at with pride, but doesn't feel as if their money was wasted so we're look for really strong infrastructure," said Beraza.
"You know one of the first questions we ever get from a company is just what's the quality and quantity of your local labor force, well that's wholly dependent or mostly dependent on the quality of our local schools," said McFadden.

Teaching Students Carbon Consequences
Karin Rives , Press Release: America.gov
June 24, 2010

NATIONAL: Three years have passed since students at Redmond High School near Seattle set out to measure their school's carbon footprint. They looked at the school's electricity and water consumption, how much waste it produces and where it goes, how students and teachers travel to school - and at every other school activity that generates greenhouse gas emissions. Today, the school in the northwestern United States is saving some $30,000 in annual electricity costs, compared with power costs three years earlier. Waste costs have dropped by $10,000. Carbon dioxide emissions, meanwhile, are down by 200,000 pounds annually. That means Redmond High has beaten the goals set by the Kyoto Protocol, the international climate treaty. Not bad for a school with 1,400 students. So how did they do it?
"We're educating the kids that climate change has some pretty simple solutions," explained Mike Town, Redmond High's environmental science teacher, who pioneered the now-national Cool School Challenge ( http://coolschoolchallenge.org/index.aspx ) initiative, a call for students and schools to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. If they turn off the lights in a classroom for one hour they save the school district 4 cents in electricity costs," Town said. "But when you show them that they also save half a pound of carbon dioxide, then it means a lot more to them. The actions that the students perform have a carbon consequence and that's what we're trying to teach them."

Redmond High is part of a rapidly growing green school movement that is marshalling hundreds of schools and thousands of teachers across the United States to press for better environmental practices and instruction during school hours. Earth Day Network, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental group, is playing an important role in this effort through its Green Schools ( http://earthday.net/greenschools ) initiative. Green Schools offers grants and education curriculums to schools that want to go green, along with practical assistance for projects such as garden design and construction and implementing recycling programs. Earth Day Network, with the Clinton Foundation and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), launched Green Schools in 2007. Since then, 300 schools have been certified as "green" in accordance with USGBC's stringent LEED standards for energy-efficiency (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). More than 1,700 schools are in line to be certified.
Building what Earth Day Network calls a "green generation" of children who grow up to be environmentally conscious citizens "takes a long time, and we're still in the early stages," said Sean Miller, the group's director of education. "That's why we've defined this generational change to take 25 to 40 years. Within that time frame, we're looking to see a complete transformation of school building standards as well as our school curriculum."

State Court Upholds Columbia Campus Expansion Plan
Charles V. Bagli, New York Times
June 23, 2010

NEW YORK: New York’s highest court handed Columbia University a major victory for its $6.3 billion plan to build a satellite campus in Harlem, ruling that the state could seize private property for the project. In a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling that prohibited the state from using eminent domain to take property in the 17-acre expansion zone west of Broadway, known as Manhattanville, without the owners’ consent. The ruling held that the courts must give deference to the state’s determination that the area was “blighted” and that condemnation on behalf of a university served a public purpose, two ways that the project could qualify for eminent domain under state law.

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School Construction Pumps $873 Million Into Denver Area Economy
Nelson Garcia , 9News
June 22, 2010

COLORADO: On Election Day in 2008, voters agreed to let their property taxes go up in exchange for the largest renovation project in the history of the Mile High City. "You can't underestimate the responsibility we feel for the trust they place in us to actually agree to tax themselves," David Suppes, chief operating officer for Denver Public Schools, said. In 2008, voters approved a $454 million bond issue for work at every single school building in the district. It is the largest bond issue passed in Colorado's history.
Neighboring districts Aurora and Cherry Creek also had their respective ballot initiatives approved. The three districts combined create school construction projects totaling $873 million over a five-year period. "This summer alone, we've got about 200 projects," Suppes said.

Out of the 200 projects in the works, almost all of them have to be completed in the time from when students leave for summer vacation to when they return in the fall. "We have approximately 45 working days," Katheryn Zeeb, construction project manager for DPS, said. "Efficiency and organization are the two keywords." Zeeb says the construction needs are saving and creating jobs in the Denver area. "We've got crews that are willing to work every day that we've got good weather," Zeeb said.

Suppes says the combined school construction projects around Colorado are providing a major boost to the local economy. "I've seen it estimated at for every dollar that we spend on a bond program, it could create $5 worth of spending in the city," Suppes said.

With all the school construction in progress, some may wonder how the school district can spend all this money while cutting programs and eliminating jobs at the same time. By law, bond money can only be used for capital expenses and construction costs. He says the district will likely spend up to $70 million less than the initial projected expenses. DPS also plans on finishing all the construction within four years instead of five.

Green Bay, Wisconsin Schools to Save $3.3 Million in Bond Interest With Federal Programs
Staff Writer, FOX11
June 22, 2010

WISCONSIN: The Green Bay Area Public School District expects to save more than $3 million in interest on bonds through a pair of federal programs. School leaders said of the $16.7 million voters approved in an April referendum, $16,571,000 will be interest-free. The district was allowed to borrow $8,521,000 in federal Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZAB) and $8,050,000 in Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCB) at zero percent interest. Combined, the two bonds are expected to save $3.3 million in interest.

To qualify for the QZAB program, districts must have 35 percent of more of their students eligible for free or reduced-price school meals under the National School Lunch Program. The Green Bay Area Public School District is at 54 percent. The QCSB program is open to all school districts, regardless of size or poverty levels. Top priority went to school districts that have passed a referendum or have a board-approved resolution to issue non-referendum debt, school leaders said.

Small New York City High Schools Found to Boost Achievement
Karen Matthews, Washington Post/Associated Press
June 22, 2010

NEW YORK: They were known as dropout factories: big high schools in poor neighborhoods where only a quarter to a third of students graduated. New York City under Mayor Michael Bloomberg has systematically shut down large, failing high schools and replaced them with small schools, many pegged to themes like the fashion industry or the business of sports.
A new study funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - which has invested more than $150 million in New York City schools - suggests that the small schools have succeeded in boosting graduation rates for the city's most academically challenged students.

Proponents say small schools can provide one-on-one support to struggling students, and the specialized programs are supposed to improve students' motivation by enticing them to apply to schools that match their interests. "This shows the strategy is working," said New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, who since 2002 has shuttered more than 20 large high schools with as many as 4,000 students each and replaced them with 216 small schools with names like the Academy of Health Careers or the Law, Government and Community Service Magnet High School.
The study by the education think tank MDRC examined students at 105 of the new high schools with 550 students or fewer. It found that by the end of their first year of high school, 58.5 percent of students at the so-called "small schools of choice" were on track to graduate in four years, compared with 48.5 percent of the students at other schools. By the fourth year, the small schools had an overall graduation rate of 68.7 percent compared with 61.9 percent for the control group. Both numbers were much higher than the graduation rates at the closed schools.

Smart Schools
Wayne Engebretson, Reed Construction Data
June 21, 2010

NATIONAL: Hearing the term “high performance schools”, one might construe it in a purely academic sense, given news headlines about Race to the Top funding and other results-oriented legislation that focuses on student and teacher performance. For the AEC community, “high performance schools” carries a much different meaning: literally building an improved learning environment through carefully planned design and construction. The idea is sustainability with an aim not only to conserve energy and expense, but to facilitate a better academic environment through design and structural innovations that affect lighting, air temperature, humidity, noise levels, and other factors that can affect a school’s learning environment.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has delineated several characteristics of a high performance school, including the “usual suspects” in a “green building”: possessing good indoor air quality; thermally, visually and acoustically comfortable; energy efficient; material efficient; water efficient; built on an environmentally responsive site that conserves existing natural areas, minimizing water runoff and controlling erosion. Other notable characteristics are listed that seem specific to a public learning environment, including the building itself serving as a teaching tool, where the sustainable components of the structure can serve as a lesson on energy conservation; use as a community resource; and on an aesthetic note, the school being architecturally stimulating, creating a visual highlight for the community.

A misconception is that high performance schools cost more to build. This is not the case — the key is to plan early and thoroughly, taking an integrated systems approach to the building’s design. A variety of factors must be considered: the size of the school, its location and the climate, all of which contribute to specific needs for HVAC, lighting, building envelope, water systems and energy supply. A site-specific, tailored plan is necessary. Additionally, the cost of high performance schools is most accurately looked at with long-term operating and maintenance costs in mind, using life cycle costing as an estimating methodology.

Governor Signs Off on Alaska Rural School Grant Program to Build and Repair Schools
Christopher Eshleman , Daily News-Miner
June 21, 2010

ALASKA: Alaska will employ a grant program to build and repair rural schools after Gov. Sean Parnell signed the plan into law. The program will steady an often-inconsistent flow of school-construction dollars going to rural, unincorporated communities, linking that spending to the amount promised to organized boroughs and cities. Proponents had cited, as justification, court cases that found Alaska has failed to give villages and rural communities “adequate or equitable funding” for school construction. “This is a significant step forward for education,” Parnell told an audience.

The measure also extends in perpetuity the state’s promise to cover 70 percent of school construction debt in Fairbanks, Anchorage and other municipalities’ school districts. The Legislature had previously had to renew the promise every few years.
Funding for rural grants will be calculated by formula: For every dollar the state spends to help repay bond-funded school construction in organized areas it will also make money available for rural grants. The result this year would have meant over 3 cents in grant funding per Rural Education Attendance Area student for every dollar of outstanding bond debt.

The bill, pushed hard by Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel and co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, also includes a clause that will force the state to build schools to high energy-efficiency standards. The House’s Finance Committee added the clause during debate in April, which Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage, said improved a “groundbreaking” bill that improves equity in funding for education in urban and rural areas.

Indiana Governor: Law Should Force Districts to Transfer Closed Schools to Charters
Andy Gammill, Indystar
June 19, 2010

INDIANA: Gov. Mitch Daniels took aim at public school districts, urging state legislators to pass a law requiring the districts to transfer their empty buildings to charter schools seeking property. Daniels said public school districts are standing in the path of new charter schools by refusing to sell them unused buildings.
Forcing charter schools to use tax dollars to buy or build new schools when old ones already paid for by taxpayers sit empty is a waste of money, he said. "People say they should sell them," Daniels said in remarks at a charter school conference. "Sell them? . . . They should give them away. The public already paid for them."

Representatives of Gary Community Schools and Indianapolis Public Schools denied they're discriminating against charters or trying to block them. IPS is using nearly all of the facilities it has, spokeswoman Kim L. Hooper said, and it offers charter schools a fair chance to buy them when schools are sold. The argument made by Daniels and charter school proponents just doesn't hold up, Hooper said. "They make it sound like just because a school district closes a school, it should automatically be given to a charter school, which I think is ridiculous."

Special Education School Earns A+ for Going Green
Staff Writer, PRNewswire
June 18, 2010

TEXAS: The Monarch School, a national leader in special education programs for children with autism / Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD and other neurological differences, is celebrating the A+ earned recently by its new Chrysalis green building. The environmentally cutting-edge, 100% green powered building is the first LEED (R) Gold certified and 'Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR(R)' certified special education school in the United States.

Monarch's Executive Board President David Matthiesen said, "We wanted to build green but we thought LEED and ENERGY STAR would cause exorbitant costs. Ultimately, we took a fact-based leap of faith, and learned firsthand that building green is economical, practical, meaningful and relevant to students, particularly ours with autism / Asperger's, attention deficit and hyperactivity, and other neurological disorders."

Shelly Pottorf, the project's lead architect with Jackson & Ryan said, "Being in a sustainable environment provides a significant advantage to the development of children with special education needs, like Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), the prevalence of which has soared from 1 in 1000 (1990) to 1 in 100 children (2010). The Monarch School's results suggest that learning and playing on a green campus in sustainable classrooms would reasonably benefit all children, families and even faculty." Pottorf added, "Daylighting, outdoor views and better air quality – possibly the most critical green building strategies for healthy buildings – have been shown to improve students' health, attendance, test scores and overall productivity.

The new special education facility is also serving Monarch as a teaching tool about sustainability and the environment. Green Building Services' Senior Consultant Amanda Tullos said, "Monarch's gung ho, green students are the ones earning the school an A+ for going green. They've even interviewed Mayor Annise Parker about her plans for greening Houston." Science teacher Richard Klein added, "Monarch's curriculum integrates sustainability and clean tech with science, mathematics, engineering and technology (SMET) and other disciplines via several hands-on activities that teach leadership, entrepreneurship, neighborly respect and hospitality, as well as resource conservation for the great outdoors."

Dairy Farmer Donates Composted Manure to 40 NYC School Garden Programs
Alyssa Sunkin, Times Herald-Record
June 18, 2010

NEW YORK: It's hard to imagine a vegetable garden on a slab of concrete in a New York City public school, but it's a sight a Warwick dairy farmer helped make possible. The American Dairy Association donated 300 cubic yards of composted manure from Tunis Sweetman's Warwick dairy farm to PS 295 in Brooklyn and about 40 other city schools for their gardens.
PS 295, an elementary school, got the first batch of the composted manure, a nutrient-rich fertilizer. Students filled the raised beds inside the courtyard with the fertilizer, and met with Sweetman and a week-old dairy calf. "It was a very inspirational experience," Sweetman said. "These students were thrilled to put their hands in the soil."
Fertilizer deliveries will be made to the other schools this month. They all participate in the Garden to School Cafe initiative, which allows schools and their students to create their own gardens and use the produce in school lunches. PS 295 started its first garden three years ago, said school librarian and program coordinator Susan Weseen. The courtyard garden is the third and largest. All 400 students can use it. Students will plant produce next week. Weseen, some students and parents will keep up the garden during the summer, with a large harvest event planned for the fall. Sweetman said the garden is giving city children a chance to learn about agriculture they otherwise wouldn't have.

New York City Opens East Side’s First New Public School Building in Fifty Years
Stephen Ceasar, New York Times
June 18, 2010

NEW YORK: East Side Middle School, on 91st Street between First and Second Avenues, is the first new public school building on the Upper East Side in nearly 50 years. By all accounts, it is a welcome upgrade from the school’s old home on East 78th Street. “Now, if I spread my arms out, I don’t touch both sides of the hallway,” said Gilliam Madans, 13, a seventh grader. Upper East Side campuses are overcrowded, with many students on waiting lists to attend schools in their own neighborhoods.
The 80,000-square-foot building, also known as Middle School 114, has room for 190 more students. It includes space for a special education program, and should help remedy overcrowding, school officials say. It also has a full-size gym.

The building was made possible through the city’s Educational Construction Fund, a partnership between the city and private developers who build and pay for the school. In return, the developers are allowed to build on part of the land, said Jamie Smarr, the fund’s executive director.
In this case, the developers, the DeMatteis Organization and the Mattone Group, added a residential and retail building with more than 120 apartments. The city leased the land for 75 years to the developers, whose annual payments offset the $45 million construction cost.

“This would be a great building if we had to pay for it, but for free, it’s off the charts,” Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Partnerships that combined schools and development boomed in the 1970s, but slowed and eventually came to a halt. East Side Middle School is the first privately financed public school building in New York City since 1980, Mr. Smarr said. He plans to use such partnerships to build schools in other overcrowded areas. Ground has already been broken on East 57th Street for two public schools and more than 100,000 square feet of retail space and about 350 apartments.

School’s Walk Would Link Eco-systems and Campuses
Staff Writer, Sag Harbor Express
June 17, 2010

MAINE: The land behind Sag Harbor Elementary School, which currently hosts a storage container and tennis courts, will soon take on a new face thanks to a group of Sag Harbor parents and British designer Sam Panton of the environmentally friendly landscape architecture firm, Terra Design.
Their plan? The Sag Harbor “Eco-Walk,” an educational outdoor walkway that is designed to connect Sag Harbor Elementary School to Pierson High School, and aims to teach children the benefits of having an “edible backyard.”

When completed, the proposed Eco-Walk, which will rely on the Sag Harbor community for both labor and funding, will provide schoolchildren the opportunity to cultivate their own food and beautify their surroundings, while simultaneously creating a greater sense of community within the whole of Sag Harbor. And indeed, what could be a more symbolic example of community-building than joining Sag Harbor’s two public schools? The group’s committee is hoping to have a pathway extend directly from Sag Harbor Elementary School across Jermain Avenue to Pierson High School, and is working with other parties to ensure the walkway is paved and efforts are made to slow traffic and make both schools more accessible to pedestrians. The students in Sag Harbor Elementary School and Pierson High School will collaborate to plant, grow, harvest, and compost the project’s yield, creating what Sag Harbor Elementary School science teacher Kryn Olson refers to as “a full cycle” of both agriculture and community.
In an effort to expedite the process and drive home the theme of community building, the Eco-Walk, with an estimated budget of $100,000, will be created with “community labor, and most importantly, solely with community money.” Most of the materials, including trees and the solar panels for the classroom, have been donated by supporters of the project, and hopes are high for continued donations from local designers and small business owners.

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Wisconsin School Districts Can Access $144 Million in No-interest Bonding Authority
Press Release, State of Wisconsin
June 17, 2010

WISCONSIN: Governor Jim Doyle and State Superintendent Tony Evers announced that 65 school districts will benefit from two programs that pay interest costs on bonds used to fund construction, renovation, and improvement projects in schools. To qualify for bonding authority, school districts submitted proposals to build, rehabilitate, or repair school facilities and obtain equipment for those facilities.
Created in 1977 and expanded with funds from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the Qualified Zone Academy Bond program will provide $23.4 million in bonding authority to nine Wisconsin public school districts. To qualify for this bond program, districts must have 35 percent or more of their students eligible for free or reduced-price school meals under the National School Lunch Program.

Another 56 districts have been approved for $120.5 million in Qualified School Construction Bonds. This tax-credit bond program was created as part of ARRA for all school districts, regardless of size or poverty levels. Bonds can be issued for school renovation or new construction. As with the Qualified Zone Academy Bond program, the federal government will reimburse 100 percent of interest costs associated with Qualified School Construction Bonds.

The Department of Public Instruction set priorities for an external panel of reviewers to evaluate Qualified School Construction Bonds proposals. Top priority went to school districts that have passed a referendum or have a board-approved resolution to issue non-referendum debt. Reviewers also considered proposals with projects for science, technology, engineering, and math; early childhood and 4-year-old kindergarten; Green and Healthy Schools; or Safe and Healthful Schools.

New Model for Urban Schools: Replace Concrete With Grass,Flowers, Edible Gardens
Opinion Writers, Daily News
June 17, 2010

CALIFORNIA: Sometime in the last century, the design for public school campuses became set in stone in Southern California - or, more accurately, set in concrete: Unremarkable but functional school buildings surrounded by acres and acres of hard top used for parking, for large gatherings, for lunch time and for recreation. That model might have made sense 50 or 30 years ago, but the concrete fields that became the staple of 20th century schools are no longer considered ideal learning environments. And in the high temperatures of the San Fernando Valley, the blacktop yards are about as desirable as sun-scorched mall parking lots.
The parents and community members of Calvert Elementary decided these "seas of concrete" at their school had to go. They got together, raised half a million dollars and created a project called Calvert Green, in which organized volunteers replaced the concrete with grass, shrubs, flower beds and eventually an edible garden.
Officials at the Los Angeles Unified School District ought to be commended for stepping back and allowing the gardenifacation of Calvert. But we'd like to challenge the district to do more than just step out of the way when it comes to its 21st century campuses.

The school district has the perfect opportunity to innovate a new model for urban schools that employs native foliage and green spaces into design for educational, aesthetic and environmental reasons. Still in the middle of a construction spree, the district could lead the way for the next generation of schools, particularly those in more urbanized areas that already have a severe dearth of green spaces. Forget the blacktop - that is so 20th century. Instead, school and facilities officials ought to look to Calvert as inspiration for a LAUSD Green program.

LAUSD Green would ideally be an interactive program, with students participating in maintaining their school's gardens as part of their education and recreation activities. LAUSD Green would make sure every campus had vegetable gardens - if not for producing actual food for the cafeteria, then for teaching students about good nutrition, how food grows, basic biology of life as well as the rich agricultural history of both the country and the San Fernando Valley.

Missouri District Sees Savings on High School Site Contract
Jonathon Braden, Columbia Daily Tribune
June 17, 2010

MISSOURI: During the weeks before the April election in which voters passed Columbia schools’ $120 million bond issue, administrators bragged about how a slow construction market would help the district get lower bids for its projects. So far, their hypothesis appears correct.
The winning bid for site excavation and site utilities for the district’s third high school was at least 30 percent under what the district had planned on spending. District administrators said the market is proving to be as weak to contractors and as favorable to buyers as expected.
If the trend continues, they said, the district could spend millions of dollars less than it had planned on spending, leaving cash available for other projects.

More than 77 percent of voters supported the district’s $120 million bond issue, one of the largest bond issues proposed by a school district in the history of the state. The district plans to build a $75 million high school among its other projects planned. The district has the $120 million to spend, plus $18 million left from a 2007 bond issue.

Murals Spice Up School Gardens Planted With Native American Crops
Staff Writer, NorthJersey.com
June 16, 2010

NEW JERSEY: New murals in Ringwood have been catching the attention of passers-by. The murals, attached to the Robert Erskine and Peter Cooper schools, depict images from the borough's Ramapough Mountain Indian community. They were created to bring attention to the rich culture that the Native American community offers to the area and its schools.
The murals provide the backdrop for native gardens that have been established at both schools. Faculty, students and parents have planted crops such as corn, blueberries, squash and wheat in these gardens to undergo the same tending and harvesting rituals that Native American communities experienced centuries ago.

Indiana Schools Save Money on Energy Use with Conservation Program
Tom Lange , Elkhart Truth
June 16, 2010

INDIANA: At the end of 2009, as it became increasingly clear schools would need to do more with less, area districts began looking for ways to cut back on energy costs. To accomplish the cuts effectively, several area districts partnered with Energy Education Inc. A Texas-based company, EEI works intensively with organizations to help them reduce their energy consumption. It's too early to know the total savings the partnerships will yield, but officials are encouraged by the results so far.

Elkhart's energy conservation program began last fall, and a key move for the district was hiring Ted Foland as its energy education specialist. Foland spends most of his time in Elkhart's buildings at all hours looking for ways to reduce energy consumption and avoid waste. To measure the cost savings Foland uses a computer program called EnergyCAP. The software, which does not come from EEI, analyzes the utility cost information for the district. For Elkhart, that amounts to readings from more than 170 meters for electric, gas and water/sewage use. The software then calculates the district's energy savings compared with the baseline year. ECAP also takes external factors such as weather into consideration.
From January through March of this year Elkhart saved $223,767, or 18.8 percent, compared with those three months in 2009. "We're encouraged by the numbers we see here," Foland said. There's still more work to do before Elkhart will know its full savings potential. Foland will spend the remainder of the year finding the balance between keeping buildings comfortable for students and teachers and operating efficiently. He'd like to see the district reach and maintain a 20 percent energy savings.

EEI has played an active role in helping the district find ways to cut energy costs. Foland meets with energy management people at least once a week for several hours and consults with workers with experience in areas like electric and boiler operations. Elkhart pays EEI monthly and performance fees, and if the district's savings goals are met this year they will ultimately pay EEI $500,000. Hasler he thinks the district will save more than enough to cover the EEI expenses, as well as Foland's position and the one-time cost of the ECAP software, which is just under $12,000. Hasler said Elkhart is obligated to pay EEI for four years but believes the district will still net energy savings during that time. After that Elkhart will continue to consult with the company free of charge and will only be responsible for the cost of Foland's position. Energy savings generated by the district will most likely benefit the capital projects fund which pays for the majority of Elkhart's utility costs, Hasler said.

Massachusetts’s $150 Million Qualified School Construction Bonds Beat Build Americas
Brendan A. McGrail and Allison Bennett, Business Week
June 16, 2010

MASSACHUSETTS: Massachusetts sold $151 million of Qualified School Construction Bonds at a yield almost half a percentage point below more popular Build America Bonds. The Massachusetts School Building Authority’s debt, rated third-highest by the three major credit companies, was priced to yield 5.47 percent, or 44 basis points below the average yield for Build Americas, according to a Wells Fargo index. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. In April, Los Angeles schools sold similar obligations at 8 basis points below the benchmark.
The school issue, the third-largest of such securities this year, was encouraged by the popularity of Build America Bonds, said Evan Rourke, a portfolio manager with Boston-based Eaton Vance Corp. Both of the taxable securities were created under the U.S. economic stimulus last year. “BABs helped pave the way” for qualified school bonds, said Rourke, who helps oversee $8.3 billion in municipal holdings. “They evolved into a product everyone understands and created a strong buyer base.” Build Americas, with issuance totaling $111 billion, are the fastest-growing part of the $2.8 trillion municipal market.

The Massachusetts offering boosted year-to-date issuance of so-called QSCBs to $1.9 billion, compared with $2.7 billion in all of 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Issuers from Nevada to Ohio plan to sell an additional $160.4 million of the school bonds this week.
The federal government subsidizes as much as 100 percent of the interest costs on the school debt and a fixed 35 percent on Build Americas. Since March, the school bond subsidy, formerly offered to investors as a tax credit on interest paid, is paid directly to the issuer, as is the case with Build America Bonds.

The building authority, created in 2004 by the third- wealthiest state per capita, can fund as much as $500 million in new construction and repair projects annually through a dedicated portion of the state sales tax, according to Fitch Ratings. Underwriters led by Barclays Plc marketed the securities.

A School Desk that Revolutionizes Classroom Design
Cliff Kuang, Fast Company
June 16, 2010

NATIONAL: IDEO and Steelcase have just announced what might be a revolution in classroom design, a school desk that seamlessly adapts to whatever happens in class.
If you've spent any time in a schoolroom in the last 15 years, you're familiar with the high pitched whine of metal scraping against linoleum, as students rearrange their chairs and desks to whatever activity is going on. It seems like a minor annoyance, but it's a serious design problem: School furniture was largely designed 50 years ago for static, face-forward teaching. It isn't suited to the myriad forms of teaching that take place in the modern classroom.
Contrast that with the Node chair, which was designed by IDEO and produced by Steelcase, a Michigan-based furniture company. The details betray a remarkable thoughtfulness: The seat is a generously sized bucket, so that students can shift around and adapt their posture to whatever's going on; the seat also swivels, so that students can, for example, swing around to look at other students making class presentations; and a rolling base allows the chair to move quickly between lecture-based seating and group activities.

In group activities, the proportions are such that the chairs and integrated desktops combine into something like a conference table: And finally, there's storage underneath the seat--but off the ground--for backpacks, while the armrests themselves have a subtle flair that allows them to become strong, convenient hooks:

EPA Introduces Green Competition
Staff Writer, Green Building News
June 16, 2010

NATIONAL: Fourteen buildings across the county will compete head to head in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s first national energy efficiency contest. While trimming kilowatt hours off is their bottom lines, the business will also save money and help fight climate change. Nearly 200 applicants were received for the EPA’s National Building Competition, and the 14 finalists will be judged on their energy performances from Sept. 1, 2009, to Aug. 31, 2010. The energy use of each building is monitored with the EPA’s Energy Star online energy measurement and tracking tool, Portfolio Manager. The building that sheds the most energy waste on a percentage basis will be declared the winner on Oct. 26.

The competition website will provide profiles of each contestant and chronicle their progress as well as feature advice for contestants from the EPA and leading building-efficiency specialists. Each building will also participate in midpoint and final contest “weigh-ins,” and the results will be posted on the website.

EPA National Building Competition contestants include: Crystal River Elementary School, Carbondale, Colo.; Morrison Residence Hall at UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C.; Tucker Residence Hall at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.; and Van Holten Primary School, Bridgewater, N.J.

Audit Questions New Jersey School Construction Program’s Priorities
Jon Whiten, Jersey City Independent
June 15, 2010

NEW JERSEY: An audit is raising new questions about the 2008 master plan for New Jersey’s multi-billion school construction program, saying that some of the school projects in the plan “may not have been most critically needed.” The state auditor’s report, which covered the time period of July 1, 2007 to Feb. 28, 2010, finds that two rules in particular gummed up the works — one that gave priority to projects already underway, and one that made sure each eligible district had at least one project included.
“Since program needs far exceed available state funding, it is imperative that the SDA districts with the most critical needs receive priority with respect to new schools,” the audit reads. “The methodology used to formulate the 2008 Strategic Plan was not completely effective in achieving this goal resulting in some less critical projects being funded.”

The Schools Development Authority (SDA) was authorized by legislation in 2008 to issue billions of dollars in bonds to pay for dozens of school construction projects in urban districts, including five in Jersey City. Most projects haven’t yet begun, and the Christie administration’s new SDA leader is currently reviewing the 2008 plan. Meanwhile, Jersey City school officials continue to wait.

The SDA responded to the audit with a three-page statement. “SDA management remains committed to insuring that the most critical projects across the state advance,” SDA director Marc Larkins writes. “The SDA acknowledges that school districts’ comparative needs may shift with the passage of time, and, therefore in part, the SDA is pursuing an updated review of the 2008 Capital Plan.” Earlier this month, Larkins told the SDA board that it could be another four months before the review is completed and projects could start again.

The report also briefly details the costs of the plan. While saying “the effectiveness of the SDA’s budgetary process … cannot be evaluated at this time” since “the majority of the projects have not reached the construction phase,” the audit details sunk costs of more than $26 million for eight suspended or replaced projects.

Many Hands Help School Gardens During Summer
Marta Hepler Drahos, Record-Eagle
June 15, 2010

MICHIGAN: When school ended, Chef Gene Peyerk and his Glen Lake Community Schools culinary class walked away from their garden, leaving behind rows of heirloom vegetable plants and boxes of fragrant herbs. For the next few months, the garden will be maintained by the Glen Lake 4-H Kids Club, an after-school and summer educational child care program for kids from 5 to 12. And when school starts again in September, the tomatoes and cucumbers, peppers, onions and squash will be ready for harvesting by another culinary class for use in school lunches. "They're eating pretty good here," said Peyerk, who incorporates the herbs and vegetables in healthy soups and salads, entrees and desserts. "Probably 85 percent is from scratch." The 3-year-old garden is a collaboration between Glen Lake students and teachers, from the preschool and elementary classes that plant seeds in trays each spring, to La Fresca culinary students who tend them in the hothouse, prepare the garden and put up the harvest, to the summer Kids Club.

The 15-foot-by-100-foot garden behind the school kitchen is as attractive as it is practical, with its handcrafted sundial, bird bath and stepping stones — all the result of senior projects. It's also a model for other schools in the area looking to create gardens for health and education.The garden is a project of Scharp's environmental science class, which focuses on local sustainable economy. The money to start it came from a raffle of quilts made with the students' recycled shirts. Families and businesses donated wood for the beds, windows for cold frames, tools and hoses. A bus driver pitched in with top soil. Now a special education teacher is raising money for a greenhouse.

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Burke County, North Carolina: From Six Schools to Three
Steve Welker, Hickory Record
June 14, 2010

NORTH CAROLINA: As soon as Burke County students left school for the start of summer vacation, teachers began packing personal items and classroom furnishings in the first step toward this year's consolidation of six schools into three. The district will spend approximately $750,000 for one-time capital improvements on the way to reducing annual expenses by an estimated $1.4 million.

This year's budget shortfall accelerated the decision to consolidate schools and reduce costs. Stellar repeatedly has warned the school board that the looming loss of federal stimulus funds will force more hard budget decisions next spring. Although a consultant recommended developing a master facilities plan before deciding on school consolidations, which might have delayed any decision until January, the board went along with the administration's recommendation to start saving money by merging schools this fall. Burke County Public Schools needs to reduce expenses because the state and federal governments base much of their support on enrollment. Burke County Public Schools' enrollment peaked at 14,600. It has fallen every year since 2002-03. At the end of 2009-10 it was about 13,400, down more than 8 percent in eight years.

What attracted less public attention was Evergreen's statement that "capital construction costs to accomplish the consolidations are estimated to be $2.32 million." Some school board members appeared blindsided by the cost of preparing for consolidation. Assistant Superintendent Tony Cox asked for approximately $750,000. Transportation Director Doug Setzer — who will take on many of Cox's responsibilities when the assistant superintendent's contract ends June 30 — described those costs in detail. He also showed pictures of worn carpets reduced to a rumpled patchwork, leaking hot-water units, cramped office spaces carved out of former storage facilities and storage space cribbed from classrooms and libraries. The tab for renovation, replacement, moving costs and other expenses — board member Tim Buff warned, "You never know what you'll find when you get inside (older buildings)" — is $281,000 at Drexel, $146,500 at Hallyburton and $254,000 at Hillcrest

Massachusetts School Hailed for Green Work
Steven Fletcher, Gloucester Times
June 14, 2010

MASSACHUSETTS: The Manchester Essex Regional High School green team — led by Eric Magers, a foreign language teacher — want their facility to stand as the "greenest school in America." The school has received a state "Green Difference" award that placed them in the state's top three green schools, recognizing MERHS's efficient design, recycling, composting and waste reduction programs.
Sarah Creighton, school building committee chairwoman, said the $49 million school facility received the highest level of pre-certification under the Massachusetts high performance schools program. The facility requires efficient lighting, air quality controls, efficient materials and conserve materials, resources and energy. The new high-school also maximized the National Grid and Keyspan utility rebates. The school's construction, Creighton noted, includes high-efficiency lighting that dims depending on sunlight, low-flow faucets and toilets, a 30kw photovoltaic (solar) power system that provides 40,000 kilowatt hours of clean electricity. Morrison mentioned that district received a new start along with the new building.

"It's not just the construction," said Paul Murphy, MERHS assistant principal. "It's the people inside." In conjunction with the environmentally sound design, the high school created a "green team" of committed students and faculty one year ago. The group, which comprised of 100 students and 25 faculty district wide, promoted several green initiatives within the school, ultimately reducing MERHS' waste output by 85 percent. The team, led by Magers, Morrison and Cavollano, instituted single-stream recycling, composting and electronic waste disposal in the school, and stainless steel compost bins stand as a common sight in school halls. The team also introduced what Magers called "terracycling" measures — designed to reuse wrappers, expo markers, and pens, among other refuse — and Nike-Grind, a national service that turns athletic shoes into athletic surfaces. According to Magers, the waste disposal efforts saved the school $1,000 over the course of 2009-2010.

The green team's latest endeavor placed a 7,000-square-foot, raised bed, garden on the school property. With the garden, the team hopes to provide a percentage of produce, radishes, tomatoes, squash, beans etc., to district schools — though, Sheila Perisian, MERHS food service director, the garden won't supply everything. The school cafeteria serves as a barometer for building wide recycling efforts. The kitchen alone produced eight bags of trash every lunch period before the green team initiative, Magers said; by the end, it was generating only two. The cafeteria staff began using recyclable bowls and compost-worthy plates made of sugar cane and cups made of corn starch. The materials cost a great deal more than Styrofoam flatware, but the food services staff believe they are worth the expense.

Making a Better Place to Learn
Bruce Lieberman, San Diego Union-Tribune
June 13, 2010

CALIFORNIA: For more than eight years, educators in Rancho Santa Fe have sought a new public school campus with modernized classrooms and more space. The school district finally has that place. This fall, a new campus for 700 students in kindergarten through eighth grade will open at the site of the former 52-year-old R. Roger Rowe campus. The school, completely re-imagined for up to 850 students, is a compact addition to the Rancho Santa Fe Village. “I think we’ve maximized use of our funds to make a focal point for the community for years to come,” said Lindy Delaney, superintendent of the Rancho Santa Fe School District.

The school is styled after the Spanish colonial architecture that characterizes the area. The campus is dominated by two-story stucco classroom buildings topped with red tile roofs. The school cost $37 million to build. A total of $2.5 million in construction aid has been held up by the state, requiring a handful of scaled-back plans — at least temporarily. The project has been funded by a $34 million bond measure that voters passed in February 2008, plus $3 million left over from a bond measure voters passed in 2004 to renovate the R. Roger Rowe campus. San Marcos architect John Trittipo designed the school, but Delaney said the school district worked hard to incorporate suggestions from many people in the Rancho Santa Fe community. Construction began in May 2009.

The front of the campus, facing La Granada, is centered by a two-story administration building, flanked on each side by two-story classroom buildings that include science and technology labs. Directly to the right of the administration building sits the campus library. Second-story walkways connect classroom wings, allowing students to circulate from class to class above ground level. Courtyards and outdoor amphitheaters, meanwhile, will provide places for students to congregate.
The most prominent structure on campus will likely be the multipurpose room, which is being built to be used also as a performing arts center that seats between 300 and 350 people. Designed with theater acoustics, enhanced lighting and a loft for theater performances, the performing arts center is expected to be a community focal point for musicians, dancers and actors. While a multipurpose room was budgeted to cost $3.5 million, a community campaign has raised an additional $1 million to outfit it as an arts center. Another $1 million is still needed to complete it, Trittipo said. As portable classrooms are removed this summer, more space for a new parking lot and blacktop space will be available.

Ohio Colleges Get Stimulus Funding for Energy Efficiency Projects
Staff Writer, Business First
June 11, 2010

OHIO: Five schools in and around Central Ohio are receiving millions of dollars in federal stimulus funding through a program aimed at energy retrofits and other emissions-cutting projects. Gov. Ted Strickland announced 14 winners of $10.7 million in funding through the $2.7 billion, stimulus-funded Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program. Ohio has been cleared to spend up to $84 million in stimulus dollars for the initiative.

The following schools are among those receiving grants through the latest stimulus round: Ohio Wesleyan University of Delaware, which received $375,000 to conduct a campus-wide energy audit and draw up a conservation strategy; Ohio University, which received two awards, A $1.09 million grant to add new hardware to a food waste composting facility and $432,000 to install a solar electric system at a heating plant building: Hocking Technical College of Athens County, which received a $444,777 grant to upgrade heating and cooling systems; Antioch College of Greene County, which received $289,887 to retrofit its ecology institute with new energy-efficient features and install a heat pump.

Leading the Way to a Greener School
Janene Holzberg, Baltimore Sun
June 11, 2010

MARYLAND: At 17, Jacob Esposito may seem too young to have left a legacy behind. But at Long Reach High School, the 2010 graduate has done just that. The Elkridge resident was named to the All-America Service Team, a group of 15 high school students from across the country who are changing their communities through service. Esposito conducted research in environmental sustainability, assisted a contractor in reducing energy costs at Long Reach and expanded the school's recycling program. The first-ever service team was jointly selected from more than 200 eligible applications by the syndicated news magazine Parade and The League, a national youth service organization based in New Jersey. They will be awarded medals in a White House ceremony led by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Esposito was a natural for this honor, his English teacher Heather Johnston said. "Jake really feels strongly about the possibilities of living green in the future," she said. "He's altruistic about making the world a better place, and I'm certain he'll go on to do great things." Ken Roey, the school system's director of facilities, said Long Reach "took a real hard look and made behavioral changes as well," so much so that the school has the lowest energy cost of all comparable high schools in the county, including River Hill and Wilde Lake. The Long Reach project, which Roey said allowed Esposito to develop leadership skills, has spurred a similar one with another contractor at Reservoir High School in Fulton.

Some Educators Question if Whiteboards, Other High-Tech Tools Raise Achievement
Stephanie McCrummen, Washington Post
June 11, 2010

NATIONAL: Under enormous pressure to reform, the nation's public schools are spending millions of dollars each year on gadgets from text-messaging devices to interactive whiteboards that technology companies promise can raise student performance.
Driving the boom is a surge in federal funding for such products, the industry's aggressive marketing and an idea axiomatic in the world of education reform: that to prepare students kids for the 21st century, schools must embrace the technologies that are the media of modern life.

Increasingly, though, another view is emerging: that the money schools spend on instructional gizmos isn't necessarily making things better, just different. Many academics question industry-backed studies linking improved test scores to their products. And some go further. They argue that the most ubiquitous device-of-the-future, the whiteboard -- essentially a giant interactive computer screen that is usurping blackboards in classrooms across America -- locks teachers into a 19th-century lecture style of instruction counter to the more collaborative small-group models that many reformers favor.

Subterranean Schoolhouse Blues
Allie Shah, Star Tribune
June 10, 2010

MINNESOTA: At Central Public elementary school in Norwood Young America, school is already out for the summer. And as early as next week, the school itself will be outed, too. Workers will start removing thousands of cubic yards of dirt that cover the roof and are bermed around the building's sides. It's believed to be last earth-sheltered school in Minnesota.
Come next fall, the school's 430 students will see something different -- windows, 44 in all, letting in natural light from the outside that was absent from classrooms since the school was built in 1982. And this winter when the snow falls? No more sliding off the school's roof. The nearly $2 million unearthing is expected to kill a growing mold problem and add a new roof to the school district's one and only elementary school.

When it first opened, Central Elementary was a source of pride for the young community. School and community leaders chose an earth-shelter design that was all the rage for energy conservation. "That was the new thing," recalled Mary Wilson, a librarian who was working in the school district when Central Elementary opened to much fanfare. "Everybody just loved it. It was a beautiful building." The school even won a building design award from the American Association of School Administrators. But when the roof started to leak a few years ago, and concerns about mold surfaced, public love for the quirky building faded. Last December, voters passed a referendum to pay for school construction projects, including digging out the school.

Community Bids Farewell to Nevada City, California Elementary
Michelle Rindels, The Union
June 10, 2010

CALIFORNIA: Elsie Sharpe's most poignant memory of Nevada City Elementary was the day she walked across the stage to receive her eighth-grade diploma. That was 1937, the first year the school opened. Sharpe had no idea she would come back a few years later as a teacher, then finally as principal of NCE. “NCE has always been very special,” Sharpe said. “It's hard to think of the doors being closed.”
A committee of representatives from both Gold Run Elementary and NCE spent the spring researching options for school closures as a way to cope with the district's rapidly declining enrollment and a widening budget gap. Nevada City School District board members decided in May to close NCE, since the newer Gold Run School has more space for growth, better traffic flow, is closer to the district's two other schools and costs less to run.

Schoolchildren romped on the downtown Nevada City property long before the art deco NCE campus was completed in 1937 — the Victorian-style Washington School was built in 1868. “There were no buses, no lunch programs, and all kids walked to school,” said Sharpe, who attended the Washington School before NCE was built. As the three-story, wooden school aged and became a safety hazard, Nevada City applied for funding through President Franklin Roosevelt's Depression-era Works Progress Administration, according to research by NCE parent and art historian Kristanne Heaton. When city officials won the funding, they demolished the Washington School building to make way for the new structure. The transition was just as emotional as today's, according to the Nevada City Board of Education

Two Flint, Michigan Elementary Schools Prepare to Shut Down, Neighborhoods Lament Loss
Khalil AlHajal , Flint Journal
June 10, 2010

MICHIGAN: Students will board the last buses leaving Williams and Wilkins elementary schools next week when the two schools close for good. The closures will make 12 total schools shut down by the Flint district in the last five years. The closures have been part of a plan to shrink the district down to a size more appropriate to enrollment.
“I sincerely hope that this is the last round (of closures),” said Superintendent Linda Thompson. She said the two schools are the last to be closed under the district’s current plans to address budget concerns, but added that continued declines in enrollment and other factors could conceivably change that in the future. “It’s hard to tell... But as I see it now, no, we’re not going to be closing any more buildings,” she said.
At its peak, Flint Community Schools once boasted over 46,000 students. Today, enrollment is around 12,000.

5 Midland, Michigan Elementary Schools Ready To Close
Staff Writer, WNEM
June 10, 2010

MICHIGAN: As students prepare to say goodbye to each other during the final day of classes in Midland, school officials and the community are saying goodbye to five of the district’s elementary buildings. The Midland Public Schools system will officially close Chippewassee, Cook, Longview, Mills and Parkdale once the final bell rings Wednesday afternoon. School officials said budget constraints and declining enrollment led to the closures.
More than 1,000 students currently attend classes at the schools. Those students will transfer to the district’s remaining seven elementaries next school year. The district is expected to save nearly $400,000 per school -- not including the additional savings from cuts in teaching staff eliminated in the closures.

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Maryland School Construction's Strong Foundation
David Lever, Baltimore Sun
June 09, 2010

MARYLAND: A recent report by the American Civil Liberties Union has highlighted the large backlog of school facility deficiencies in Baltimore City. However, Baltimore's challenges should not obscure the vast facility needs of other school districts throughout Maryland, or their requirements for state funding assistance.

Maryland joins a handful of other states in recognizing that school construction is a statewide responsibility. By allocating $1.9 billion for school construction since 2005, including $1.3 billion allocated in the four years of the O'Malley administration, the state has demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to education during a time of economic hardship.

Despite these historic increases, our statewide needs still vastly exceed our resources. To equitably allocate scarce state funds, the Interagency Committee on School Construction, the body charged by the state Board of Public Works with management of the state's Public School Construction Program, bases its recommendations on a far broader set of factors than those addressed in the ACLU report.

A recent Sun editorial left readers with the misleading impression that Maryland's school construction funding is not equitable or based on need. On the contrary, the Interagency Committee and the Board of Public Works have promoted a process that — far from being "broken" or ignoring "different jurisdictions' needs or ability to pay," as stated in the Sun editorial — actually gives ample voice to the facility needs of individual school districts and the financial condition of local governments, and has over time resulted in an exceptionally equitable allocation of funds.

Cleveland Schools Students Say Farewell as 16 Buildings Reach End of Line
Thomas Ott, Plain Dealer
June 09, 2010

OHIO: For some of the 16 Cleveland public schools that close today, their demise comes almost mercifully. Others were jolted by the decision, even if risk factors like academic failure and declining enrollment were plain.
A.B. Hart Elementary, in the Slavic Village neighborhood, was on everyone's list of predictions as district officials sought to cut costs and pursue "transformation." The former high school and junior high housed 300 students in a building that could accommodate 1,000, and double-digit percentages were absent most days. The building was so empty, the third floor was mothballed. Test scores long failed to meet standards. For years, staff heard downtown was set to pull the plug.

New South High Principal Erik Thorson thought he was making headway, reducing security problems and improving on a 40 percent graduation rate. The relocation of ninth-graders to the Washington Park Horticulture Center in Newburgh Heights helped. But it was too late.
Perhaps the most pushback came from Alexander Graham Bell Elementary, both a neighborhood school and regional center for the hearing impaired. Yes, Bell had 380 students -- about a fourth of them hearing impaired -- in a building that could hold double that amount. But teachers said the test scores had fared better than at surrounding schools and the culture was positive.

The district has placed 13 of the buildings on a demolition list but says it will entertain credible offers to buy. Seven buildings are protected by city landmark designations or have applications that are pending.

Federal Stimulus Grant Helps North Carolina Schools Install Energy Efficient Lighting
Roger Bell, The Daily Herald
June 09, 2010

NORTH CAROLINA: Better lights, lower cost. Thanks to a grant through the state’s energy office, schools in Roanoke Rapids will be saving money and improving lighting for students and staff starting in August. The $167,195 grant comes from the federal economic stimulus measure, but is disbursed by the state’s energy office. The grant, which the district received earlier in the year, is designed to improve lighting systems in buildings.

The technical aspects are fairly simple — the current lights, which are T-12 fluorescents, will be replaced with T-8 fluorescents. The T-8s, according to Miller, put out the same amount of light and, perhaps more importantly, handle power differently. Miller said the way the current lights power up, all the power flows into the bulbs at once. In some cases, that causes overload and wear on T-12 magnetic bulbs. The new lights, which are electronic, gradually introduce the power into the bulb, which causes the lights to brighten more quickly while using less energy and putting less stress on the bulbs. The new bulbs also can restrike more quickly, meaning once they’re off, they can be turned back on more easily.

Miller feels pleased by the opportunity the grant affords the district. “Energy management is one of the few controllable aspects of our budget,” he said. Miller also feels the grant lets the district set a good example for the community by lowering energy costs. “We need to set as much of an example as we can,” Miller said. “We want to spend the taxpayers’ money as wisely as possible.”

Closing of One-Room School Ends 157-year Napa Tradition
Hudson Sangree, Sacramento Bee
June 09, 2010

CALIFORNIA: A one-room schoolhouse has stood in the Wooden Valley since the early 1850s, educating the children of the isolated farming vale beneath the Vaca Mountains. Nearly 160 years of history will come to an end. After graduating its last class of fifth-graders and hosting a community barbecue, the Wooden Valley Elementary School will close. Officials with the Napa Valley Unified School District decided the school could no longer be sustained in an era of multimillion-dollar budget cuts, and they felt its students would be better served at larger schools in town.
To residents, the closure represents the waning of a rural way of life. The one-room schoolhouse has been the center of the community for generations – a place where children learned in much the same way as their 19th century forebears.

John Hill, director of the National Rural Education Association in Indiana, said the fate of Wooden Valley is shared by hundreds of rural campuses across the nation as schools consolidate. "If you take away the school, usually the community dies pretty fast," he said. "For the people who live there, it's an emotional, not an economic, issue."

The first school in Wooden Valley, a classic one-room wooden schoolhouse, was built about 1853 and served students for a century. Today, it sits in a vineyard, neglected and rotting. The current tan-and-green school dates from the 1950s. Tall windows look out on a creek lined with bay trees and blackberries. Quail dart across country lanes beneath jagged peaks. Rows of grape vines grow yards from the swing set and basketball court. Inside, six grades share one large classroom. They say the small setting provides a learning environment geared toward each student's abilities and is free of the misbehavior and bullying at larger schools. Ohlandt said the education at Wooden Valley is similar to that of hundreds of one-room schools in California in the 19th and early 20th century.
State Department of Education officials don't keep exact tallies but say that as of 2008 there were about 130 multi-grade schools with fewer than 30 students. Some of those schools have one classroom.

Governor Announces $4.5 Million to Fund 15 Solar Projects at New Mexico Schools
Press Release, State of New Mexico
June 09, 2010

NEW MEXICO: Governor Bill Richardson announced that $4.5 million in federal stimulus funds are now available to 15 school districts for installation of solar photovoltaic electric systems. The projects will create jobs and allow schools to invest in energy-saving technology.
"These new solar systems will not only create jobs and help these schools reduce their utility bills, but the entire process – from installation to monitoring the energy and cost savings – will serve as an invaluable educational tool for both students and teachers, Governor Richardson said. "We want these projects to inspire students to pursue education and jobs in New Mexico’s emerging green economy."

The 15 school districts were selected through a competitive application process and include: Belen, Carrizozo, Corona, Dulce, Elida, Gallup, Hatch, Los Alamos, Los Lunas, Moriarty, Peñasco, Portales, Rio Rancho, Ruidoso, and Taos. Funds will be used to purchase and install a 50-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system at a school in each of the 15 districts.
The program will be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment State Energy Program administered by the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.

$120,000 Federal Grant for School Community Gardens Across Vermont
Press Release, Vermontbiz
June 08, 2010

VERMONT: Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has announced that $120,000 has been awarded to establish community gardens at 40 schools throughout Vermont. “This project addresses two major issues confronting not just Vermont but the entire nation,” Sanders said. “It will help students learn the importance of good nutrition and a healthy diet. It also will broaden the school curriculum and help make learning fun.” The grant to the Vermont Community Foundation was secured by Sanders from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Working through the Friends of Burlington Gardens, the hands-on educational program will provide material and supplies such as topsoil, compost, raised beds, fencing, hoses, rakes, hoes and trowels.

Each school will be linked to the Vermont Master Gardener program at the University of Vermont with experienced and trained gardeners to provide expert advice and assistance. Students will learn about growing food and where food comes from. There will be lessons about diet and the benefits of fresh food compared to processed snacks. Student gardeners also will learn about Vermont’s rich agricultural history and, in the process, strengthen bonds between schools and their communities, and between schools and the sustainable agriculture producers and networks in Vermont.

Students will plant seeds and then nurture, cultivate, water and weed the fruit and vegetable gardens. At the end of the summer growing season, they will harvest what they have grown. Then salads, soups and healthy snacks made from the freshly-picked produce will end up on the menu for school lunch programs. The practical gardening experience will be augmented by classroom lessons on healthy diet practices. The current epidemic of obesity in America, and childhood obesity in particular, is directly related to diet. By growing their own food, students will be more likely to eat smarter and ask their parents to serve more fruits and vegetables at home. “It is my hope that this project will prove to be a successful pilot and eventually help bring school community gardens to every school in the nation,” Sanders said.

Walmart Foundation Funds School Solar Project
Melissa Hincha-Ownby, Kansas City Star
June 07, 2010

MISSOURI: The Walmart Foundation, Walmart's philanthropic organization, announced a $1.2 million donation to the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED). These funds will allow 20 schools in five U.S. cities to install solar panels, reducing the school's carbon footprint and saving money on annual energy costs.
"The Walmart Solar School program will help educate the next generation on the opportunities and benefits of using more renewable energy," said Margaret McKenna, president of the Walmart Foundation. "This program aligns perfectly with Walmart's sustainability commitment to involve our communities and customers in our environmental and social efforts."

The 20 schools are located in the following cities: Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Seattle. The installations will generate about 150,000 kilowatts of electricity annually, reduce energy costs by more than $15,000 annually, and prevent more than 100 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere each year.

The recent economic crisis has severely impacted state budgets in many areas and unfortunately, education has been the target of many of these cuts. Although the environmental impact of the solar installations is noteworthy, the financial savings that the schools will realize from this project will make an immediate impact on students and families in the district.

Chicago Teachers Using City Codes on Overcrowding to Challenge Hike in Classroom Sizes
Azam Ahmed, Chicago Tribune
June 07, 2010

ILLINOIS: Chicago teachers union President Marilyn Stewart announced a new tack to prevent the school district from raising class sizes next fall. The union plans to file a lawsuit arguing that a proposed increase in class size would violate city municipal codes by creating overly crowded classrooms. The response comes days after school board officials sent the union a letter stating its intention to raise class sizes to as many as 35 students per class in light of a massive budget deficit. Stewart said that in addition to posing a safety hazard, the move would jeopardize children's ability to learn. Class sizes currently range from 28 to 31 in city schools.
The code states that classrooms should have 20 square feet of floor area per person. "More than 90 percent of our schools have classrooms with at least 700 square feet if not more," said schools spokeswoman Monique Bond. "We will meet any requirements, and we will never compromise students' safety." Fire officials said a recent review by the school board determined that classrooms could handle the proposed number of students, said spokesman Larry Langford. The Fire Department did not independently verify the review, he said.

Missouri School Districts Get Help with Construction Projects from Stimulus Bonds
Alaina Busch , Southeast Missourian
June 07, 2010

MISSOURI: Despite a failing economy, construction and financial experts continually told the Cape Girardeau School Board the time is now to pursue construction projects, in part because of low interest rates. One of the components of what experts deemed a perfect storm kicked in when Gov. Jay Nixon announced the latest round of no-interest construction bonds awarded through the stimulus package. Low-interest bonds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and low interest rates were selling points for some districts that turned to voters in the past year for construction projects. "We talked to them about the fact that with this program and the fact that a lot of people are looking for work, this is your perfect storm," said Mike Kiehne, superintendent of the Richland School District. Voters of the Stoddard County school district approved a $750,000 bond proposal in November.
Richland is one of five Southeast Missouri school districts collectively receiving $9.08 million of the $146 million in interest-free Qualified School Construction Bonds announced by Nixon. Bloomfield, Cape Girardeau, Pemiscot County and Ste. Genevieve school districts were also on the list, the second round of bonds awarded through the program.

Last year, the state awarded $141 million of the interest-free bonds. Districts are also pursuing other low-interest bonds through the stimulus package including Qualified Zone Academy Bonds and Build America Bonds. As area administrators begin tackling construction projects, they said their districts will begin to see immediate savings from the programs. Some districts will do more renovations, set lower tax rates or pay off projects sooner because of the bonds. With Qualified School Construction Bonds, bondholders receive federal tax credits in lieu of interest paid by school districts.
Kiehne said the recently awarded bonds will help increase the scope of the district's project, which will fund heating and air conditioning upgrades and window replacements. "This will give us a great shot in the arm," he said.

Future University of Michigan Buildings to Meet Tougher Energy Efficiency Guidelines
Tina Reed, AnnArbor.com
June 07, 2010

MICHIGAN: All future University of Michigan major construction projects will have to be built to a widely recognized standard meant to increase energy efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of buildings, the university announced. U-M is officially adopting building standards that will meet LEED Silver Certification guidelines. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, was created by the U.S. Green Building Council and is widely regarded as the standard for environmentally friendly and energy efficient buildings. Several levels of certification can be achieved by using certain building techniques, such as efficient design, use of sustainable materials, using water-saving technology and building close to public transportation.

In fiscal year 2004, U-M began systematically monitoring and reporting environmental progress. In the past five years, U-M has decreased its energy use by 19 percent and its per-capita water use by 7.1 percent. U-M says it has the largest alternative energy fleet of any university with 596 vehicles that run on biofuels. Campus bus ridership is up 56 percent to 6 million riders since 2005.

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Recovery Act Funds Jewell School Lighting Project
Staff Writer, Daily Astorian
June 07, 2010

OREGON: Last fall, the Oregon Department of Energy awarded Jewell School District $5,600 in federal funds for installation of new energy-efficient lighting in the school's gymnasium, auditorium and parking lot. The project was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act awarded through the State Energy Program. These funds are designated for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in public buildings. The U.S. Department of Energy administers the funds, approves the projects and reviews the state's progress.

Jewell School District contracted with Inland Electric for the installation work, following a public bidding process. The new lighting is expected to result in annual energy savings. Brian Gander, Jewell School District Superintendent, said, "The new lights will not only save the school money, they have really brightened up the gym, auditorium and parking lot. Over time, we hope to trade out all the less efficient school lighting." "We are pleased to have made this award to the Jewell School District," said Shelli Honeywell, manager of the Oregon Depart of Energy ARRA team. "Not only will students and staff enjoy a learning environment with better lighting, but the funds provided work for a local contractor."

Hamilton: Green Schools Program Money Well Spent
Tyler Hamilton, The Star
June 07, 2010

ONTARIO, CANADA: It is $20 million well spent. That’s my initial impression of a government initiative that aims to equip more than 150 of the province’s schools with clean technologies from Ontario-based companies. There are more than two dozen Ontario clean technology ventures participating in the program, which is being jointly spearheaded by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Research and Innovation.

I say the $20 million is well spent because these projects are designed to demonstrate Ontario-based technologies that lack a solid track record of deployment. Without that track record, it’s tough for these companies to go out into the global marketplace and convince others to take a chance on their products.

But not every dollar devoted to “greening” our schools need be given away. Last April, for example, the McGuinty government earmarked $550 million for energy-reducing “renovations and retrofits” of schools. A month later another $50 million was announced for renewable energy projects – solar, geothermal, micro-wind and other clean energy systems that generate electricity, heating or cooling.

I applauded the financial commitment at the time, and to an extent still do, but looking back I wonder whether just throwing the money at schools was the right approach during a time when provincial budgets are under intense stress. It’s well established that energy-efficiency retrofits offer the biggest emissions-reduction bang for the scarce public buck. Energy savings of between 15 per cent and 30 per cent can be achieved with proven and widely available technologies. Sure, such retrofits can cost a lot up front, but compared to solar or geothermal, the payback is often less than two years – as opposed to a decade or longer. That being the case, why not just loan the money to schools and other public institutions, and then have these institutions pay back that loan – and maybe 2 or 3 per cent interest – from the energy savings that result?

18 Detroit Schools Off Closure List, but 32 Others Will Be Shuttered
Marisa Schultz , Detroit News
June 07, 2010

MICHIGAN: Eighteen Detroit Public Schools won't be shutting after this year while several others were added to the district's school closure list. That left 32 schools and one support building slated to be closed this month, Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb announced. Parents and students at the soon-to-be-shuttered schools were saddened their efforts to save their buildings didn't help, while others cheered their buildings were spared closure at least another year.
The closures are fewer in number than the original proposal by Bobb in March to close 41 school facilities, marking the largest school closure plan in the nation and adding to the nearly 100 closures since 2005. Community feedback and further planning for the school construction bond program helped shape the final decisions. But for students at schools on the list, the news was hard to take and marked confusion and fears over where they will be next year.

On top of the closures this month, nine more schools will shut next year and four more in 2012 for a total of 45 schools over three years as part of Bobb's master facilities plan. The closures are needed to downsize the number of facilities due to shrinking enrollment, save the deficit-ridden district $28 million annually for three years and to transfer students out of crumbling schools to ones that are slated for upgrades, DPS officials say. "The reality is that schools must close, but we have done our best to ensure that in every case children will benefit from our decisions," Bobb said.

An extensive period of community feedback shaped Bobb's decision. More than 40 local community meetings and nine town hall meetings have been held since the list of candidate schools for closure was announced in March. The final decision was to have occurred in April, but Bobb hadn't cemented his list until now. Factors considered in closing include enrollment, building condition, academic performance, cost of operation and the demographic trends of the neighborhood. DPS, still the largest district in the state, has been hard-hit by continuous enrollment declines throughout the decade, plummeting from about 150,000 students five years ago to about 87,000 today. District officials predict enrollment will drop to 79,000 next year and continue to fall to below 57,000 by fall 2014. It also faces a budget deficit of $317 million.

Bobb's five-year facilities plan calls for $500.5 million in investment in the first phase, funded through the Proposal S bond measure voters approved in November. The second phase would be another $500 million bond measure that he hopes voters will take up in the future.

Florida High School Opens With New, Improved Design
Jeffrey S. Solochek, St. Petersburg Times
June 06, 2010

FLORIDA: Fivay High School looks like no other school in Pasco County. The brand new $49 million school, which has about four times more indoor space than a Publix grocery store, takes the best of past designs along with the lessons learned from other recent new high schools.
The result has principal Angie Stone and her team giddy with enthusiasm. "I would describe it as a small college campus," said assistant principal Erik Hermansen as he toured the school, which remains under construction until mid June. It's two stories, with a brick-lined courtyard filled with trees at the center of the classroom buildings. And it features many of the improvements that several principals recommended as necessary to avoid known future expenses. The bus loop, student/staff parking and visitor lots don't share common entrances, for instance, in an effort to avoid the traffic entanglements that snarl other high schools. The hallway double doors have removable center bars to make it easier to move furniture around.
To speed up serving time, the cafeteria has six serving lines instead of four, as most other high schools have. Assistant principals have reception and meeting spaces in their offices, so students don't have to stand awkwardly outside while waiting for attention.
The classrooms even have built-in storage space and, to the delight of teachers coming from bunker-like Hudson High, windows. "Just about everything we gave them, they've improved in this design," Stone said. More than that, the school also enjoys the latest top-of-the-line equipment, plus some extras.

Hermansen was particularly enthralled with the culinary arts classroom and kitchen, which looks so professional that the cafeteria manager wondered whether it was the cafeteria kitchen. It's part of the school's planned culinary and hospitality learning community, which is slated to become its first career academy.

Assistant principal Matt McDermott, a former coach and athletic director, pointed to the school's many sports facility upgrades — built-in batting cages and ample storage under the football bleachers among them — as highlights. The field also includes a discus and shotput cage, and women's restrooms with almost three dozen toilets to get rid of long lines.
The school's media center is larger than those in other schools, and it's attached to a large television production studio complete with a green-screen wall. The center even has a tiled area where the school will have cafe tables and a coffee bar, to give it more of a Barnes & Noble feel. "We want the media center to be inviting," Stone explained. "We want kids to want to be there."
The indoor common areas have LCD projectors with screens for announcements and presentations, similar to other new schools. They've got extra lighting on the lower floor and glass block windows on the upper floors to allow more natural lighting, too.
The restrooms also feature a privacy upgrade. To discourage mischief, most high schools have private stalls but no main door on the restroom, so passersby can look right in. Fivay also has open doorways, but the stalls are tucked around a corner, out of public view. The boys' locker room has individual shower stalls rather than group showers, too.

Carrollton, Georgia Schools to Use $8 Million Stimulus Bond for Construction Projects
Rachel Lane, Times-Georgian
June 06, 2010

GEORGIA: Despite cutbacks in its budget for 2010-2011, the Carrollton city school system did receive good news in the form of an $8 million bond approval, to be used for construction and renovation projects. Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCBs) are no-interest federal bonds loaned to states that do not need to be repaid immediately and cannot be repaid early, according to Steve Spofford, chief operating officer for Carrollton City Schools. According to the Department of Education, QSCBs are bonds the government subsidizes by allowing bondholders “to receive tax credits approximately equal to the interest that states and communities would pay holders of taxable bonds.” As a result, issuers are responsible for repayment of just the principal. States may directly issue the bonds on behalf of eligible schools or they may suballocate authority to issue the bonds within the state. The program also allows schools to wait until the economy improves before repaying the loans.

Construction of a two-story sixth-grade building will cost about $5.5 million, and renovations to the high school gym and restrooms are expected to cost about $2.5 million. Carrollton Schools Superintendent Kent Edwards said the money can only be used on those three projects. Carrollton was one of only 12 school systems in the country to receive the full funding that was requested.

Contractors will be pre-qualified, based on which companies have the experience needed to complete the projects. That process will take about a month, and projects will then be open for bids. “It doesn’t matter if its one penny; the lowest bid will win,” Spofford said. The condition of the federal bonds, however, requires the projects to be bid out based on prevailing wage, which could mean a possible increase of 10 to 15 percent. “We knew the conditions of these bonds when we applied,” Spofford said. “We factored it [wage conditions] in, but I don’t expect to have any money left.”

Wave of School Closings in Twin Cities Is Biggest Since Early 1980s
Allie Shah and Emily Johns, Star Tribune
June 05, 2010

MINNESOTA: Not since the early 1980s has the end of the school year brought such a large wave of schools in the Twin Cities area that will not reopen next fall. Thousands of students and teachers in at least 20 schools are packing up their desks and their memories and heading to new buildings next fall. Two of the state's largest districts -- Anoka-Hennepin and St. Paul -- are experiencing their largest downsizing ever. The shutdowns are due to a combination of demographic and economic forces, and a greater choice of schools.

Most acutely affected are those two big districts and Minneapolis, where fewer students have created "excess space" in some buildings. That slack, coupled with the bleakest education funding forecast in a generation, has left districts with little choice but to close schools and to expect more shuttering of buildings in coming years. The situation hasn't happened on this scale since 1982, when scores of Minnesota schools closed due to a significant drop in student enrollment and very tight budgets. Today's school closing wave is concentrated in the three largest school districts -- Anoka-Hennepin, St. Paul and Minneapolis. Unlike three decades ago, it reflects a more pronounced effect of competition from charter schools, open enrollment and other school choices. Funding pressures figured prominently in the timing of closing decisions in Anoka-Hennepin, St. Paul, Minneapolis and St. Louis Park. "In some cases, they're closing them a little earlier than they probably would have because of the funding shortages. That's accelerating the decision," said Scott Croonquist, head of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts.

Typically district leaders will postpone closing buildings as enrollment numbers fall because the decisions are so painful and unpopular, Kyte said. But when a financial crisis such as the state budget deficit hits, they can no longer avoid closing schools, he said.

Demographic trends show the youngest members of the baby boom echo have now graduated from high school. State demographer Tom Gillaspy said last year's graduating class was the peak of that generation. In Minnesota and nationwide, secondary school populations are starting to decrease. Primary enrollments are rising. Enrollments have been for the most part relatively flat to declining this decade across the state," he said. "Some districts are growing a bit and other districts are declining a bit."

Pennsylvania to Get $602 Million in Federal Stimulus for 101 School Construction and Energy Efficiency Projects
Tom Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
June 04, 2010

PENNSYLVANIA: The federal stimulus program is providing new benefits for Pennsylvania, funneling more than $600 million to help pay for construction projects in many of the state's school districts, including 13 districts in Western Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell said. The largest single amount going to southwestern Pennsylvania is $50.5 million for the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Pittsburgh Public Schools spokesman Craig Kwiecinski said the district -- one of 46 in the state to get funding -- will apply federal money to increasing energy efficiency at Perry, Oliver and Langley high schools and expanding pre-kindergarten space at Pittsburgh Northview PreK-5. "Obviously, we are very pleased with the award," he said.

Across the state, $602 million will be available to help pay for 101 construction projects. Other school districts receiving funding include McKeesport Area, which will get $15 million. The same amount will be going to East Allegheny, New Castle Area and Sharon. Washington, Pa., will get $20 million in stimulus funds, and South Fayette, $16.8 million. Washington School District will use most of the money to renovate its high school, while lesser amount will be used for energy conservation projects and renovations at the elementary school, district business manager Rick Mancini said. Federal funding is also going to Big Beaver Falls Area, along with Cornell, Duquesne City, Farrell Area, Jeannette and Peters. Money has also been set aside for districts in the Altoona/Johnstown area and Erie.

Pennsylvania is getting the sixth highest amount in the nation. The federal money will be used to pay interest on bond money that will be borrowed to finance the projects, as well as for bond underwriting and counsel fees, Mr. Rendell said. Each school district will pay off the principal of the loan. Three kinds of construction projects are involved: those making school buildings more energy efficient or reducing water consumption; those providing facilities for early childhood education programs; and those building labs for science, technology, engineering or math courses. "These funds will help put people to work on vital construction projects, save energy costs and help improve education programs," while saving taxpayers in the school districts the amounts they would have had to pay for debt service on the bonds, said Mr. Rendell.

Mr. Rendell said the stimulus program already has provided many jobs in manufacturing and construction in the state. The stimulus program is also providing $2.7 billion to balance this year's $27.8 billion state budget, he said. "The stimulus program has been a godsend for Pennsylvania," he added.

With Last Day of Classes, 21 Kansas City, Missouri District Schools Fade to Memory
Joe Robertson, Kansas City Star
June 02, 2010

MISSOURI: Lynn Nemeth stayed behind, motionless in her seat, as the rest of the crowd left with the overwhelming news of Kansas City’s plan to close schools. Her school — McCoy Elementary — was on that list. “It was the last time you knew you would be normal,” the principal recalled. She knew then that this day would be coming. Today, 21 buildings will watch children pass through their doors out into summer for the last time.
It’s not an easy thing, telling a school goodbye.The schools range from 17 to 101 years old, most of them older and tired. They are elementary schools, middle schools and a high school. Their communities and their district faced storms of economic change, racial politics and down-spiraling enrollment.
But the children and teachers leaving them today will take indelible memories with them, same as the generations before them. “The school is their social community,” said Carolyn Barber, assistant professor of educational research and psychology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. “School is where their friends are. It’s where many of the adults are who are important in their lives.” Closing any one of them, on its own, would be noteworthy. It’s frightening to close so many at one time, knowing what’s at stake, said former City Councilman Bobby Hernandez.

Thirty schools were named on the first closings list in February. It was pared to 26 before the board voted in March. Two more came off in May to make it 24. That included two schools already phased out before today and an adult classroom building. The choices were difficult and pragmatic.

School closings strike deep, said education researcher and author Diane Ravitch. Kansas City’s plan, closing 40 percent of its schools, is particularly stunning in scope, but not a lone action. Many districts are closing schools, sometimes as the ultimate punitive measure for poor performance, other times driven by starving budgets. “It seems that some superintendents boast of how many schools they close,” Ravitch said in an e-mail to The Star. “School-i-cide doesn’t improve education, and it destroys social capital.” While Kansas City considered a school’s academic performance when making its list of closings, the overarching reason was a looming budget crisis. But that is small comfort, Ravitch said, to communities preparing to lose their anchors. “When schools are closed because of underenrollment,” she said, “it is a matter of sad necessity.”

ACLU Criticizes Inequitable and Inadequate School Construction Funding in Baltimore, Maryland
Liz Bowie, Baltimore Sun
June 02, 2010

MARYLAND: The ACLU is calling on state and city leaders to address a $2.8 billion need for renovations to Baltimore schools by developing a more creative and equitable way to fund school construction across Maryland. In a report, the American Civil Liberties Union says that despite state increases in school construction dollars in recent years, many city schools are still deteriorating and at current funding levels it would take 50 years for them to be in good condition. Subpar schools negatively affect student achievement, discourage middle-class families from remaining in the city and bring down neighborhoods, the report said.

The report argues that because the state does not take into account each district's needs and ability to fund projects locally, school construction funding lacks equity. While the need is greatest in the city and Prince George's County school systems, according to the report, those districts get about the same amount of money from the state as the other largest school systems. From 2007 to 2010, for example, the state gave wealthy Montgomery County $174 million vs. $162.6 million to Baltimore City.
Most counties are able to use their local revenues to significantly increase the amount of money they spend on facilities. But over the past three years, the total spending on school buildings, including state and local funds, in Montgomery County was $931 million, compared with $239 million in Baltimore.

David G. Lever, executive director of the Maryland Public School Construction Program, says there is equity in the state funding. Every school system has complex needs, and nearly every school system has a gap between its need for school construction dollars and what it gets, he said.

Editorial: Building Equality
Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun
June 02, 2010

MARYLAND: Maryland's Bridge to Excellence Act of 2002, known as the Thornton law, revised the state's formula for funding school districts to direct more money to the state's poorest jurisdictions, where the need was greatest. Within a few years, the results were evident: In Baltimore City, test scores have been rising every year since the law was enacted, as have enrollment and graduation rates. At the same time, the city's dropout and absentee rates have fallen.
The Thornton formula was devised to eliminate the disparities in instructional funding among the state's richest and poorest school districts, which in some cases amounted to thousands of dollars per pupil. But it did not directly address the issue of capital funding for school repair and construction. While wealthy districts have a variety of means of funding school capital projects, Baltimore, for example, has neither the wealth nor the capacity to raise the approximately $2.8 billion needed to modernize more than 100 schools in various states of disrepair.

Baltimore's problems with old, dilapidated and potentially unsafe school buildings are thus on a completely different order of magnitude than those of Maryland's big suburban counties. Yet state funding for repair, renovation and new construction has never been focused on the city's schools in a way that is commensurate with those challenges, according to a new report from the Maryland ACLU. As a result, the disparity has only grown wider over the years, leaving thousands of city students struggling to learn in buildings that lack even the basic amenities of functioning heating, electrical and ventilation systems. The ACLU rightly calls such disparities unacceptable under the Maryland Constitution's provision for the establishment of a "thorough and efficient system of Free Public Schools." The group points to a number of court decisions that have interpreted that clause to mean that an adequate education requires school buildings that protect safety and health, and that grossly inadequate facilities, such as those found in many Baltimore City schools, deprive children of their basic right to an education.

The report leaves little doubt that Maryland's current system of funding school construction is broken. Despite a process that is supposed to prioritize the state's needs, and in spite of significant increases in state school construction funding in the last few years, too often decisions about which projects get funded come down to political choices made with little regard for different jurisdictions' needs or ability to pay. No matter what steps the state has taken to bring a semblance of objectivity to the process, officials have used school construction money as just another bargaining chip in Annapolis.
That can't continue if Maryland is to have any chance of building the kind of public schools that can support academic curriculums equal to the demands of the 21st century. The ACLU was a driving force in the process that resulted in the Thornton Commission school funding program, which showed what can be accomplished by concentrating school operating and instructional funds in the areas of greatest need. Clearly, the time has come to start doing the same thing with school construction funds as well.

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1-Year Suspension In New Hampshire School Construction Aid Approved
Staff Writer, WBZTV/Associated Press
June 02, 2010

NEW HAMPSHIRE: The House and Senate have passed legislation that suspends New Hampshire's school construction aid for a year. The bill calls for suspending aid starting July 1 but makes exceptions for health and safety reasons. The bill allows a waiver for schools to get aid when part of a school building is dangerous to occupants. A study committee returns in the fall with recommended changes to the cash-strapped aid program.

Dollars Don't Measure Controversial New Newton, Massachusetts North High School's Full Cost
Dan Atkinson, Wicked Local Newton
June 02, 2010

MASSACHUSETTS: With little fanfare, the city took ownership of the new Newton North High School. What started out in 2000 as a $39 million renovation mushroomed over the years to a $197.5 million new building that includes mold-free rooms, natural light instead of windowless halls and an HVAC system that actually circulates air. While the new North will open to students in the fall, it will take two decades to pay for the project. But money accounts for only part of the building’s cost.

In the decade between its conception and construction, the new North caused rifts between neighbors. It was also responsible for coalescing a new generation of political activists while ending the career of one of the city’s most popular politicians and altering the paths of several others. “I don’t think there’s any question that the project was divisi