Describes ten creative financing methods that can be used to create an energy-smart school, and includes three case studies. 4p.

Reports on the decrease in schools named after presidents or people in general, and increase of schools named after natural features. This shift from naming schools after people worthy of emulation to naming schools after hills, trees, or animals raises questions about the civic mission of public education and the role that school names may play in that civic mission. Statistics from seven states, representing 20 percent of all public school students, illustrate the decline. The causes for the shift in school names may include broad cultural changes as well as changes in the political control of school systems. Includes 8 references. 9p.

For the most part, funding for the construction and repair of California's school facilities is separate from funding for operations. The bulk of capital costs are paid for through public bonds. This describes the major sources of facility funds: general obligations bonds; developer fees; facility districts; maintenance funding; and obligations under the Williams settlement.

Summarizes the attributes of statewide school facility funding programs in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming. These programs, typically created as a result of lawsuits, are designed to distribute more school construction funding to low-property-wealth school districts. 3p.

This issue brief on school facilities financing policies discusses the obstacles that impair efforts to build and maintain schools that are conducive to learning, including state funding systems that rely heavily on local bonds and provide incentives to build schools cheaply and defer maintenance, and state policies that limit funding specifically for their facilities. This also addresses rising facilities costs, inadequate schools in urban and rural districts, and recent court rulings. 4p.

Milwaukee's school district is selling naming rights to everything in sight, from rooms and hallways, to gyms. School administrators think it will be easier to enter into marketing agreements with companies than raise more money from taxes. Marge Pitrof of member station WUWM reports on who might buy these rights, and why.

Describes local, state, and federal funding options for school facilities in California. Local funding sources described includes bonds, school facilities improvement districts, developer fees, community facilities districts, parcel taxes, redevelopment areas, certificates of participation, and lease-lease back. State funding sources include the School Facilities Program, State Emergency Repair Program, State Relocatable Classroom Program, Deferred Maintenance, Facilities Hardship, Pre-School Modernization, and Library Bonds. Federal sources include Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZAB's), E-Rate funds, and brownfields cleanup funds. 13p.

A fundraising consultant shows school leaders how to move away from labor-intensive, bake sales and car washes, and into the world of major fundraising. Following the model used by colleges and universities, the author presents practical strategies for supporting school finances by pursuing grants and gifts from corporations, foundations, the government, and individual donors. 208

This textbook on educational facility planning and design covers conceptual, descriptive, and applied aspects of the development of educational facilities. The 17 chapters are organized in eight parts entitled: Educational Architecture: History and Principles of Design; Educational Facility Planning, Planning, Programming, and Design of Educational Learning Environments; School Construction and Capital Outlay Activities; Management, Maintenance, and Operations of School Buildings; Legal and Financial Issues in Developing Educational Facilities; Research on the Physical Environment; and Models, Examples and Applications. How-to examples, step-by-step procedures, case studies, and learning activities are included which encourage unconventional thinking, and an applications toolkit includes a procedure for forecasting student populations, supported by accompanying online content containing student population forecasting programs. 437p.

Discusses the inadequacy of even the largest school bond revenues in addressing rapid growth in North Carolina school districts, advising instead that districts employ cost-effective construction, renovation, and maintenance solutions that are taxpayer-friendly and enhance educational opportunities. Public-private partnerships to finance new construction, adapting and reusing buildings, rethinking design standards, revising financing policies for stadiums and sports facilities, building modular schools, and using virtual schools are discussed, as are innovative project management techniques. 22p.

Provides policy guidance and recommendations to officials and administrators at the state, local, and school district level to improve facilities funding. Policy recommendations cover long-term funding sources, the scope and form of funding relationship between state and local school districts, funding allocation for school building improvements and/or new construction and alternative financing methods. Best practices examples and a list of resources are also provided. 19p.

Provides a national directory of private nonprofit and public providers of funding and financing for charter school facilities. Based on research and interviews with over 50 charter school stakeholders, the survey includes descriptions of financing products and geographic markets for the 21 private nonprofit providers currently active in the sector. The report also describes two public-private partnerships that have recently been developed in Indianapolis and Massachusetts. Public initiatives are also detailed, including explanations of and awardee information for two federal grant programs, three federal tax credit/bond financing programs, and an listing of state-level funding, loan, and credit enhancement programs currently authorized in the 41 jurisdictions with a charter law. The report includes available web site and statutory references, with active links in the electronic version. 24p.

This paper is a primer for school boards and management. It provides a basic overview of the key issues, considerations and options associated with the use of debt by private schools to address facility financing needs. In addition, for a school which has decided to pursue debt financing, it provides basic guidelines for the choice of debt modality and structure depending on that school's finances, type and amount of financing sought and the financial environment at the time of the planned borrowing. The paper discusses tax-exempt and taxable debt, bank loans, publicly-offered and privately placed bond issues and the use of derivative product (interest rate swaps, caps, etc.) in school financings. 34p.

Briefly discusses creative use of school bond funds, public/private partnerships for school construction, prototype schools, and the value of design services in school construction. 3p.

Describes a community ownership non-profit lease model for purchasing and renovating an existing building for a 400-student school. This paper by the project manager, parent co-director, and architect illustrates the collaborative approach to community development, and suggests lessons for community facilities in other settings. It describes organizing the school, searching for a site and funding, transforming the building, and lessons learned. 8p.

The purpose of this booklet is to serve as a guide to the Kansas statutes relating to the issuance of school bonds and the construction of school buildings. Statutory citations are provided. Samples of forms that may be used to develop a school bond program are included. 46p.

This table illustrates the breakdown of total capital outlay spending for education facilities from 1919 to 2000. It includes figures on: 1) Capital Outlay; 2) Interest on School Debt; 3) Capital Outlay as a % of total education spending; 4) Interest on School Debt as a % of total education spending; and 5) Capital Outlay & Interest as a % of total education spending.

This report outlines innovative ways school districts are meeting their facilities needs outside the traditional sources of facilities financing. Non-traditional funding strategies include private development of public school buildings, partnerships with employer-based schools, direct borrowing on the private market, and sale or lease of existing school facilities. Cost-saving solutions include space-sharing with community agencies or with higher education, and educating outside the school building using community resources or distance learning. New institutional solutions include establishing real estate trusts and intermediaries. Included are specific examples of how districts are implementing these strategies, and a list of additional readings on these topics. 16p.

"This bill establishes the Maryland Public Education Facilities Act to: 1) encourage the use of alternative financing mechanisms, private capital, and other funding sources for the construction and improvement of public school facilities; 2) accelerate and improve the financing for qualified education facilities; and 3) provide public and private entities with the greatest possible flexibility in contracting with others." Includes descriptions of the provisions concerning issuance of tax-exempt municipal bonds, procurement methods, use of surplus land, and model procedures and recommendations. 6p.

Examines a variety of options for public-private partnerships in school facilities financing. Methods of structuring the debt and partnering for construction are illustrated with case studies. Issues with state and local governments are cited, along with ideas for creative occupancy partnerships and the prudent management of facilities created by these partnerships. 23p.

Massachusetts' School Building Assistance program is designed to help communities undertake important school building projects by having the state assume a significant portion of all costs associated with the construction of new buildings and the renovation of (or major additions to) existing buildings. This describes the law and regulations, provides reimbursement rates, a priority list, and administrative advisories. Includes a series of informational items.

Advises school board members on a variety of school condition and construction issues, including the impact of facilities on student achievement, how to get started with capital improvements, new construction versus renovation, project management, selecting design professionals, key components of school design, "green" construction, financing, and typical legal problems of school construction. 186p.

This study examines the facilities experiences of charter schools in fourteen states and the District of Columbia, jurisdictions that house 75 percent of the nations charter schools. The findings substantiate and detail the belief that facilities are the number one hurdle for charter school developers. Researchers conducted over 100 interviews with representatives of public schools, including charter schools and charter school networks; federal, state and local public education officials; representatives of public school advocacy groups, partners, and resource centers; and representatives of the real estate and finance communities. This report documents the shared experiences of charter schools with innovative financing mechanisms, private sector involvement in facilities financing, and the use of instructional revenue for the repayment of debt. It also offers recommendations for public and private sector participants. [Authors' abstract.] 68p.

Describes the state's difficulty building schools, due to bureaucratic delays and regulations that drive up construction costs. A plan for reform is proposed that includes exemptions from the state's Field Act, a single-payer system which provides grants to districts, reduction of Field Act staff and consultants, conversion of administrative facilities to classrooms, elimination of class-size reduction requirements, year-round schooling, no universal preschool, encouragement of developer-built schools, elimination of prevailing-wage laws, encouragement of home schooling, expansion of charter schools, and school choice. 57p.

Presents an outline of alternative school funding, including a description, pros, and cons for each. The methods described are impact fees, excise taxes, sales taxes, proffers, grants and donations, lease/purchase arrangements, performance-based contracting, public-private partnership, commercial development schools. Also included are descriptions, pros, and cons of the five project delivery methods: Construction Management, Construction Management At-risk, Design-Build, Job-Order Contracting, and Finance-Design-Build. 10p.

The North Santiam School District stretched $350,000 into $1.2 million to upgrade antiquated school buildings by implementing energy-saving lighting, heating, and control projects, thereby qualifying for Oregon's SB1149 public purpose funds, and by using a tax credit pass-through option, made possible with a partnership with Nike, an Oregon-based shoe, apparel, and sports equipment manafacturer. 5p.

This discusses several innovative ways to fund school construction using public-private partnerships, including municipal/capital lease plans, operating lease plans, a service contract structure, and a satellite concept. This is section of the "School Director's Handbook" which addresses a range of issues of interest to school directors, teachers, and parents and are intended to promote discussion about educational alternatives. 6p.

This is a compilation of resources and contacts for school districts and public building officials to refer to in the process of greening their facilities. The incentive programs are organized by the following media: energy, water, materials efficiency, siting, green building, landscaping, and transportation. Addiitonally, programs within each media are alphabetically organized by their sponsors in the following order: Federal, State, Local, Utility, and Private. 14p.

This book addresses funding for school facilities. Contents of section 1, "Overview and Scope of the Problem," are: (1) "Unmet School Infrastructure Funding Need as a Critical Educational Capacity Issue: Setting the Context" (Faith E. Crampton); (2) "Financing School Infrastructure Needs: An Overview across the 50 States" (Catherine C. Sielke); (3) "Canadian Approaches to the Financing of School Infrastructure" (Vivian J. Hajnal); and (4) "Financing Captial Facilities in Higher Education" (Mary McKeown-Moak). Section 2, "Current Challenges to Funding of School Infrastructure," contains the following chapters: (5) "Capital Needs and Spending in Urban Public School Systems: Policies, Problems, and Promises" (James G. Cibulka and Bruce S. Cooper); (6) "Funding School Infrastructure in Rural America" (Jeffrey Maiden); (7) "Infrastructure Funding Considerations and Students with Disabilities" (William T. Hartman); (8) "School Finance Litigation: One Strategy To Address Inequities in School Infrastructure Funding" (David C. Thompson and Faith E. Crampton); (9) "Funding Technology versus Bricks and Mortar: Can We Have It All?" (Faith E. Crampton, Janis M. Hagey, and Kathleen C. Westbrook); and (10) "Should Principals Be Involved in School Renovations?" (Brian O. Brent and Marie Cianca). Part 3, "The Future of School Infrastructure Funding," contains the following chapter: (11) "Striking a Balance in School Infrastructure Funding" (David C. Thompson). 270p.

This report is the result of research investigating school facility issues, assessing the scope of the problem, and making recommendations to the membership of the Association of School Business Officials International. Each of the following three areas are examined: the construction of new facilities and the renovation or expansion of existing one; payment for accumulated deferred maintenance in existing facilities and adequate maintenance of facilities in the future; and financing of the future depreciation of existing and new school facilities and equipment. The report recommends changes in policies, statutes, regulations, and laws in order to properly address all three areas, including specific proposed actions for the states. Concluding comments suggest that the school districts with the lowest taxing abilities are the ones with the highest levels of deferred maintenance and that facilities continue to be predominately a local concern. The report acknowledges that while there is not enough money to improve all the schools within a state, school business officials must be more creative in their search for financial mechanisms to help solve the problems, coordinate their efforts, and lobby effectively. (Contains 17 references.) 16p.

A debt policy is a formal document governing when, how, for what purposes, and to what extent school districts (or other government agencies) may issue debt. A sound debt policy offers many benefits to schools that want to better manage their capital improvement programs. Districts should engage in competitive bidding for the actual building and site as well, but instituting an effective debt policy can save a school district literally millions of dollars. This describes a set of debt policy elements that are remedies to costly problems, government regulations, or are Wall Street requirements.

This policy report reviews the history of the six-year debate over the federal role in school construction that continues to be centered on the details for various tax credit proposals, including whether or not Davis-Bacon wage requirements would apply to these projects. This also discusses the difficulties charter schools have accessing facilities financing due to their brief operating histories, length of charters, and a high risk factor. This report makes two suggestions: 1) break the link between charter facilities aid and school construction and fund the so called Carper-Gregg initiatives, which authorize federal funds to serve as credit enhancement and to match state charter school facilities funding; and 2) establish State or Regional Infrastructure Banks as a broad federal approach to school construction. 6p.

Describes three non-traditional methods of funding school construction: 1) construction/leaseback, where developers build schools and lease them to the school system, but retain ownership; 2) local incremental sales tax option for schools (LISTOS), where local jurisdictions levy a sales tax, with a portion of the revenue being contributed into a fund for needier jurisdictions which lack the sales base for such a program; 3) innovative partnerships, where systems join with other community or commercial interests to create learning spaces. 8p.

A small federal program piloting tax credit bonds to support school construction, the Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB), has existed since 1997--providing evidence of how tax credit bonds could work. This paper analyzes the results of QZABs to date. The report concludes that, in the absence of more substantial federal assistance, QZABs play an important role in helping needy districts build and maintain school facilities, even though they are not the most effective long-term solution to the problem. The report recommends that the QZAB program, with some modifications, be continued while encouraging Congress to enact a more robust, durable school construction program focused on flexible and accessible initiatives. For example, state infrastructure banks, a promising remedy to the core problem of capital access for public schools, should be explored to replace current tax credit bond programs. 10p.

This manual is intended to be used by parents, teachers, school administrators, students, community organizations and residents as a guide to identifying, planning, implementing, and maintaining large- and small-scale school improvement projects. Its sections address: (1) key terms and concepts; (2) types of school improvement projects; (3) creating the school improvement partnership; (4) planning a school improvement project--getting started; (5) planning a school improvement project--design; (6) school improvement project implementation; (7) marketing and promoting a school improvement project; (8) findings funds and volunteers; (9) school improvement project tools (preliminary school assessment tool, consensus tool, site selection tool, implementation planning tool, fundraising plan tool); and (10) case studies of a small project (Bladensburg High School sign) and a large project (Shadyside Elementary School master plan). 24p.

The OECD Programme on Educational Building and the Spanish Ministry of Education organized an international seminar in Toledo, Spain, from February 22-25, 2000, devoted to the procedures for financing educational facilities. The participants came from a number of OECD countries and for the most part play an active role in the provision and management of educational facilities. This report examines how investment in educational facilities raises questions of financing which can lead to privatization and to increased decentralization in management and planning. For example, in Mexico, financing school infrastructure is defined in an environment of federalism. In Quebec, preschool as well as primary and secondary education regroup the public and private sectors. In France, financing educational building was transferred to the regional and local authorities, giving them increased responsibility. Finally, the European Investment Bank presents its experience in the areas of financing and evaluation of educational infrastructure. 204p.

This describes how performance contracts and tax-exempt lease-purchase agreements may offer practical solution when no money is available for energy efficiency projects. It provides clear financial reasoning and cost modeling, as well as some case studies. 11p.

This PowerPoint presentation contains summary materials from a presentation by Wye River Capital, Inc. of Annapolis, Maryland, on capital financing for independent private schools. The main sections of the presentation address: (1) overview of the capital financing process; (2) tax law considerations for tax-exempt financings by private schools; and (3) key quantitative considerations in a capital financing for a private school. 39p.

This paper explains that California school districts are charged with significant and varying responsibilities in both the requirements they must follow to adopt the amounts of Statutory School Fees and/or Alternative School Fees, as well as accounting for and reporting detailed information regarding the Reportable Fees they actually collect. It provides guidance in fulfilling these requirements and suggests that although the individual processes can seem overwhelming, each process should be approached and undertaken separately, while keeping in mind the overall purpose of the combination of the processes and requirements. In addition, enlisting the assistance of consultants and legal counsel will assist in satisfying the applicable requirements, although school district staff should remain highly involved in each process. Similarly, coordinating with consultants to prepare the Fee Justification Studies, School Facilities Needs Assessments, and related updates may provide school districts with the opportunity to incur less consulting costs, while school district staff may primarily rely on internal efforts to complete the Annual Reporting and Five-Year Reporting requirements. In this manner, all school districts may strive to more easily comply with all applicable reporting requirements in an efficient, thorough, and timely manner. 20p.

This report describes a provision in a tax bill implemented in June 2001 that allows towns and cities to build public school facilities faster, better, and less expensively by forming public-private partnerships with qualified real estate investors and developers. Private sector investors can fund construction, then lease the facilities to public school systems at annual costs below the costs communities would incur if they built the schools themselves. Benefits of public-private partnerships include more timely school construction, lower costs through competition, and savings through maximum use of school facilities. Communities benefit from off-hour use of school facilities (e.g., for day care services, supplemental education programs run by private organizations, adult education programs, civic events, and religious events). Because the concept of public-private partnerships for school construction and ownership is flexible, various other innovative subcontracting arrangements could be devised to help address a community's educational and service needs (e.g., using the partnership approach to acquire state-of-the-art music facilities, to upgrade cafeteria kitchens, or to improve sports facilities). The report presents experiences with such partnerships in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It describes partnership schools as alternatives to smart growth restrictions. 10p.

This paper discusses the policy and political issues surrounding school construction, and it illustrates how infrastructure banks would work to address this challenge. The paper explores the problems of overcrowding and crumbling schools, details the struggle many communities and States have in expanding their efforts to solve these problems, and reviews the policy and political issues within the current school construction debate. The author argues for the establishment of State or regional school construction infrastructure banks to help capitalize and leverage State and local resources and ensure customization and flexibility for the variety of schools that exist. The paper also explains how school infrastructure banks are the most efficient vehicle that the federal government can use to empower States and communities to address their new facilities issues. The report includes 14 endnotes. 12p.

This publication describes the creation of a new school building for James F. Oyster Bilingual Elementary School in Washington, DC. Despite the success of its academic program, the school's 70-year-old building had become unsafe and unsuitable for teaching and learning and was threatened with closure in 1993 because of the district's fiscal crisis. This publication discusses how the 21st Century School Fund, working with the Oyster Community Council (the school's PTA), the local school restructuring team, the principal, and neighborhood residents, formed a public-private partnership that saved the school and increased city revenue. The District of Columbia agreed to divide the school property in half to make room for a new school and a new residential development. They also agreed to dedicate property taxes and revenue from the sale of the land to repay a revenue bond. In exchange, LCOR, the private developer of the new 211-unit apartment building, agreed to design and build a new school and repay the Oyster revenue bond. 8p.

This book is a succinct overview of public school finance, blending theoretical concepts and factual information. The information on basic school procedures includes the budgeting and financing of school facilities. One chapter covers the concepts of adequacy and equity. 144p.

This report examines the relationship between philanthropy (gifts and grants provided by private foundations and business concerns)and public schools in five states -- Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The study describes how much support goes to public schools; how it is distributed; who gets the money; for what types of activities; which are the most active grant makers and what are their characteristics; and the role SEDL can play in providing research-based information or other services for philanthropic organizations. The study found that philanthropy for K-12 public education is growing, but also that the realities of grant makers' priorities, varying philosophies, and charter restrictions establish a context in which the distribution of funds is erratic, dollars don't necessarily flow to districts that have high concentrations of impoverished students with poor academic performance, and anomalies can have unintended consequences. Further, it appears that schools are most successful in gaining philanthropic support from local donors for coherent, strategic initiatives and/or when the schools have staff with assigned responsibility for fund-raising.

This document examines three locations that schools have utilized in partnership with private enterprises to help ease school overcrowding: downtown areas, airports, and malls. The downtown model serves students whose parents work in a downtown area. The mall model targets high school students who want an alternative education with job training. The airport model provides a school with space on airport grounds so that students of airport employees can attend school. These initiatives help local school districts save funds that would otherwise be used to construct facilities, freeing up resources for other district needs. Students benefit from smaller class sizes and unique educational opportunities afforded to them by the school location and interaction with local businesses. Students and parents also benefit from the creative scheduling that the schools offer by working around the parents' schedules. 19p.

The purpose of this paper is to provide information regarding the financing of Georgia school facilities in the past, the current method of financing needed school facilities, and possible alternatives for providing the financing needed for school facilities in the future. The methods used and the level of state funding for school facilities in other states allow a comparison of Georgia's Capital Outlay Program to the capital outlay programs available in other states. The responsibility for financing school facilities in Georgia has been shared by the state and local boards of education, using both state and local revenue sources. An examination of the appropriate balance between state and local obligation for capital expenses is a focus of this paper. Additionally, since local school systems vary in their ability to finance school facilities with local revenue sources, alternative formulas are considered for taking that variation into account in the distribution of state capital outlay funds. 32p.

This strategy brief presents general principles and strategies for financing facility improvements and highlights five examples of innovative strategies, including: (1) accessing school construction dollars; (2) using grants and donations; (3) accessing low-cost debt; (4) engaging partners to jointly develop facility improvement projects; and (5) generating revenue through the tax and building codes. These strategies illustrate the importance of thinking broadly and creatively about the range of resources available in the community, combining financing strategies appropriate to project objectives, engaging a variety of public and private sector partners, leveraging funds from non-traditional sources, and persevering through long and intensive planning and implementation processes. 20p.

This document provides summaries of each state's activities to address their shortage of school buildings by supporting school construction. It reveals that 11 state subsidize, reimburse, or match local funding for construction projects; 10 states have an established formula for determining the amount of stat funding each school district receives; 6 states have established a new agency to oversee school construction with the state; 5 states provide low-interest loans for low-income school districts to help support their school construction efforts; and 4 states require the Governor and the state legislature to approve all school construction projects prior to state funding being made available. Contact information for each state is included. 15p.

This document presents a 50-state estimate of the need for school modernization in the United States along with recommendations. Key findings show the total funding need for public school modernization is $321.9 billion; and that total funding needed for public modernization varies dramatically across states, ranging from $50.7 billion (New York) to $333 million (Vermont). Recommendations offered for addressing the problem include some states using their current budget surpluses for immediate, productive investments in school modernization; more federal assistance to modernize; adequate funding for teacher education to take full advantage of technology; and state level need assessments and action planning. Appendices provide data tables, a school modernization needs assessment questionnaire, data collection matrixes for school modernization needs assessment, calculation of unmet funding need for education technology, descriptive statistics, and state assessments of school infrastructure and education technology and related materials. (Contains 62 references). 64p.

This booklet examines the Federal government's Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZABs) system for helping school districts carry out needed school renovations and repairs, discusses why QZABs are good ideas for school districts, highlights eligibility criteria, and provides basic funding information along with state allocations for 1998 through 2000. A school deputy superintendent and a financier provide their perspectives on using QZABs, followed by profiles of QZAB programs to illustrate how school around the country are utilizing QZAB funds. Final sections list state contacts where information related to QZAB issues can be found; a list of cities, counties, or other areas that contain Empowerment Zones or Enterprise Communities; and responses to frequently asked questions. 69p.

A General Accounting Office report examines how states and local school districts have been dealing with the issues facing their public school facilities: (1) the trends since 1990 in elementary and secondary school construction expenditures and how these expenditures were divided between land, buildings, and equipment; (2) trends since 1990 in the amount of expenditures for elementary and secondary schools construction by type of school and type of construction; and (3) the amounts and mix of state and local funding for elementary and secondary school construction. Data show a 39 percent increase in elementary and secondary school construction annual expenditures. Most of the increase was for new buildings; expenditures for equipment such as heating and air conditioning systems only slightly increased during the 8-year period. It also reveals most of the construction expenditures was for construction of primary schools and high schools, and most of the contract spending for new facilities and additions to existing facilities, with less being spent on renovations. Fifteen states provided little or no funding in 1998-99. Appendices provide the scope and methodology of the research, statistical tables, and comments from the Department of Education. 33p.

This paper was prepared as an outgrowth of a Getty Center symposium sponsored by New Schools Better Neighborhoods (NSBN) and its partner organizations in May 1999. The subject of joint use, generically meaning the development of K-12 education facilities in combination with other facilities such as parks or libraries, was broached at the Getty Symposium as one of several means of accelerating and enhancing new school construction. Accordingly, a working group was formed under the guidance of NSBN with the charge to research, evaluate, and formulate recommendations regarding joint use. This is the first in a series of products prepared by the Joint Use Working Group. The paper is an overview of the subject and a point of departure for further study. It discusses the benefits of joint use, such as additional student housing, cost savings, and community enrichment programs and services, as well as its constraints, such as conflicting or non-aligned goals of the partners, operations and maintenance issues, and regulatory constraints. Also explored are themes of joint use, such as the school district as community developer, leveraging community goals, and adaptive re-use of existing structures. 7p.

This guidebook assesses the feasibility and potential impact a specialized lending program might have on the capital needs of community-based child and family services. It explains the need for quality facilities and how physical space can affect child care quality and the program's impact. Also described are the problems associated with capital loans for these services and examines how facilities loan funds directly improve access to credit and how they can have broader indirect impact on the level of capital investment in community programs. Types of loan funds are examined, as are the characteristics of a lender's capital structure, lending policies, several start-up strategies, and capitalization loan strategies used by other institutions. 34p.

This guide explores key points in the development and execution of estate strategies for institutions of higher education, including discussions on the benefits of an estate strategy; a list of self- assessment questions to consider; a breakdown of the strategy process, roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders; and the estate strategy format. Use of working groups and consultants is discussed as are the responsibilities of external partners and collaboration between institutions. The examination of the estate strategy format includes sections on strategic objectives; estate data; performance assessment; future requirements, problems, opportunities, and proposals; options evaluation; and implementation. Appendices provide a sample estate strategy, advice on measuring practice, a list of the Higher Education Funding Council for England's estate strategy advisory group, estate strategy development frameworks, and technical estate data. 63p.

To address the growing demand for high-quality child care, many communities are seeking to develop specialized child care facilities funds to build new, and improve the quality of existing, child care programs. This toolkit is designed for policymakers, nonprofit leaders, child care providers, and others interested in increasing access to high-quality child care through the development of a child care facilities fund. The kit is organized around six sections. Following an introductory section, Section 2, "Why Start a Child Care Facilities Fund?" presents basic information about how child care facilities funds can help meet the growing demand for high-quality child care. Section 3, "Getting Started," describes some of the initial steps needed, including convening a committee of stakeholders, understanding the facility needs in the community, establishing goals and priorities, and identifying potential partners. Section 4, "Designing Your Facilities Fund: Structure, Funding, Products, and Services," lays out some of the design considerations for starting a child care facilities fund and includes a list of funding sources, information regarding fund administration, eligibility considerations, and what types of expenses should be funded. Section 5, "What Can You Do?" describes some options that stakeholders can use to support, promote, or lead efforts to start up, design, and operate a child care facilities fund, including specific suggestions and examples for government agencies, elected officials, banks, philanthropies, parents, providers, and others. Section 6 provides a list of publications and organizations that may be helpful in starting a facilities fund, including a brief description of facilities funds from around the country. A glossary of child care and facilities financing terms is included. 39p.

While the condition of rural school facilities varies across the country, most rural school districts face similar issues as they consider new facility construction, renovations, or additions. These issues are how to gain public support for funding, how to make the best use of local resources, how to design buildings that meet a variety of community needs, and how to design facilities that optimize instruction and use of technology. This book contains seven edited papers presented at the National Working Conference on Improving Rural School Facilities, held in Kansas City (Missouri) in March 1998. The papers are: (1) "Trends and Issues Affecting School Facilities in Rural America: Challenges and Opportunities for Action" (Sarah Dewees, Glen Earthman); (2) "Financing Facilities in Rural School Districts: Variations among the States and the Case of Arkansas" (Mary F. Hughes); (3) "Preserving Heritage While Restoring and Improving Facilities: A Rural Community's Experience" (Burton Edward Dickerson); (4) "Creating Technology Infrastructures in a Rural School District: A Partnership Approach" (Dennis Jensen); (5) "Gaining Rural Community Support for a Bond Issue: A Superintendent's Experience" (Stephen Dean Bohrer); (6) "Maintaining Respect for the Past and Flexibility for the Future: Additions and Renovations as an Integrated Sequence" (Dan Swedberg); and (7) "Managing the Rural School Facility Construction Process" (Angelo Passarelli, Wade Goehring, Anne Harley). 128p

This report reviews the method and level of funding for special education facility needs in California and recommends modifications. It begins by summarizing special education programs, describes classroom needs, and finally discusses past and present facilities funding methods. A discussion of various options for funding special education facilities follows, along with a recommendation for funding new construction and modernization projects. The review found that local authorities should be given the responsibility to provide the facilities required to educate all of their pupils while minimizing state and local administrative costs; that the grant levels adequately address special education facility needs except for special day classes; that classification of special day class pupils as "severe" and "nonsevere" does not accurately reflect the facility needs of the population; and that a reasonable methodology is needed to provide for new construction and modernization to Medical Therapy Units. Based on the review, the legislature is urged to: (1) establish a uniform facility grant for all pupils; (2) establish a separate facility grant for county offices of education; and (3) require county offices of education to provide local matching funds except in financial hardship cases and establish a revolving loan fund to assist county offices in providing local matching funds. 17p

This describes financial barriers to feasible early childhood facilities such as low fees and subsidy reimbursement rates and the high costs of child care facilities. The article discusses the California model of housing-leveraged facilities financing as a means of filling the child care equity financing gap. 3p.

This digest examines the problem of upgrading rural school facilities, focusing on specific rural issues, conditions that interfere with teaching and learning, and new funding approaches. Almost half of U.S. public schools are in rural areas and small towns. Close rural school-community relationships may make it easier to make decisions, communicate with the community, and raise funds for facilities improvement. On the other hand, many rural districts have financial disadvantages: low enrollments, which diminish available construction money; lower property values, which lower the potential to borrow money; and high poverty rates. About half of rural and small-town schools report at least one facility problem. In addition to deterioration because of age, many rural schools must cope with new requirements for teaching and learning. These include laboratory classrooms, flexible instruction areas, multimedia centers, adequate space to accommodate parent involvement and an array of social and health services, electrical wiring and conduits for computers and other technology, accommodations for special needs students, and mandated removal of hazardous building materials. Fixing these problems will be costly, and despite increased school construction nationwide, rural districts have not kept up with urban areas. In 1997, Congress authorized Qualified Zone Academy Bonds to make school renovation funding more accessible to poor school districts. (Contains 18 references.) 4p.

Explores efforts made and lessons learned by the Chicago, Illinois, public school system in rebuilding its public schools. Chapter one examines the connection between the quality of school facilities and learning, and how new ideas about school design may improve the quality of education. Chapters two and three examine Chicago's experience in repairing its school buildings and alleviating overcrowding. Chapter four and the conclusion look at the extent of the school building crisis, national enrollment trends, and what state and local governments have been able to do to solve their problems. Chapter four also includes case studies on how some of the nation's fastest-growing school districts are dealing with the need to fix their schools, and the innovative financing options that have been tried around the country. Appendices contain statistics on Chicago's public school system and a bibliography. 137p.

This outlines new ideas for school construction in North Carolina and describes a model for implementation. Ideas include frugal construction, permanent modular construction, private ownership of new public school buildings, contracting out ownership and management, schools in the workplace, virtual schools on the web, and selling naming rights to sports facilities, 22p.

In an address to the House Ways and Means Committee on the Revenue Provision in the Year 2000 Budget, Gery Chico, President of the Chicago School Reform Board of Trustees, discusses four basic characteristics of a good school modernization funding plans and offers observations and recommendations on the two funding proposals currently before the Committee. Attached are photographs renovation work resulting from the Chicago Public Schools Improvement Projects. 9p.

Federal financial support for public elementary and secondary schools has traditionally been minor compared to state-local support; is usually targeted to the disadvantaged, the disabled, system support, and the federally impacted; and does not influence taxpayer choice among capital facilities for different public services. This report addresses the state of public school facilities in the state- local sector and the use of tax-exempt bond proposals that would adjust the current tax treatment of state-local debt to increase federal financial support for school construction. Each proposal is described and its effect on the share of the debt service costs borne by state-local taxpayers. Additionally discussed is each proposal's targeting compared to the targeting of federal on-budget spending for elementary and secondary education. 8p.

There is a growing number of proposals to develop a federal school construction program that shares the financial burden with local governments for renovating their obsolete school facilities or building new ones. This report examines public school construction today; the efforts to make school construction a federal responsibility; alternatives to federal and state borrowing, and the advantages and benefits of private-public partnerships in school construction in the United States. Concluding comments examine the federal role in school construction and the legislative direction, as well as the risks inherent in establishing such a role. 19p.

This report presents findings from investigations of seven public/private partnerships between school districts and the private sector. The report reveals that in all seven cases, school districts encountered significant problems and complications that appear to far outweigh the benefits that these projects' proponents promised to the school districts. Evidence suggests that the Los Angeles Unified School District joint venture operation in particular, being largely unsupervised and virtually unaccountable, engaged in irresponsible, and possibly illegal, behavior by consistently misrepresenting basic facts in order to gamble public funds on highly speculative projects. The report indicates that these abuses have misdirected and squandered millions of taxpayers dollars intended for instructional programs and the rebuilding of the public education infrastructure. 145p.

This report outlines 14 recommendations to the Washington State Legislature for speeding up and streamlining the financing of local school construction. Recommendations include directives to improve investment options for the state's Permanent School Fund; change the state standard for construction cost per square foot to reflect actual construction costs; allow school districts the option to acquire facilities with lease/purchase agreements. Compliance with the state's smart growth objectives and reconsidering the state's reliance upon revenues from the timber trustlands to fund K-12 construction.

This paper addresses how rural school facilities are financed. It provides an overview of school facilities funding in the United States as summarized by the literature, a mini study of school facilities funding in Arkansas, and comments from practitioners and researchers on the issues presented. It argues that the same equity issues raised on expenditure per pupils and equal educational opportunity should be raised in school facility funding too; and educational quality, including that of school facilities, should not rely on the wealth of the local community. Arkansas, one state that does depend on local wealth for the quality of school buildings, is examined in terms of its great diversity between quality and ability to support school facilities. 32p.

This publication identifies the major decision points for policymakers addressing this issue and the key questions to consider, and provides examples of strategies used by other states. Primary decision points examined are whether the condition and funding of school facilities need attention and the indicators supporting this, how state school facility needs can best be determined, and what the state and local role in paying for school facilities is and through what funding mechanisms. Appendixes list how the various states have funded their school facilities. 15p.

Describes and evaluates four alternatives to planning and budgeting for higher education facilities capital reinvestment. The purpose is to help facilities directors, budget officers, and other senior decision makers understand the basic rationale of each alternative as well as the complexities, strengths, and drawbacks. The four approaches to planning and budgeting for facilities renewal reviewed are physical plant auditing, depreciation-based, percentage of current replacement value (CRV), and facility sub-system modeling (also referred to as life-cycle modeling). The paper evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of each approach against three essential criteria: 1) Does the method provide convincing justification for funding facilities renewal? 2) How accurate is the method? 3) What is the cost and effort to implement and maintain the approach? 14p.

The following information summarizes state and district policies for capital construction and debt service in 1993-94, with definitions of several options, including "pay-as-you-go" financing, reserve funds, general obligation bonds, state/local sharing, flat grants, equalization aid, state loans, and lease-rental financing. A table summarizes state-by-state capital outlay and debt service programs.

This report argues, using Arizona as an illustration, for a market-based school funding paradigm characterized by per-pupil allocations that follow each student to the school of their choice. The report explains what is wrong with the current system, compares the market-based approach to others that have been proposed, and demonstrates how per-pupil funding works in the real world. It argues that the absence of a link between school facilities and educational quality has led to undisciplined costs that will ultimately lead to unsustainable debt. The debate over standards should focus on dollars, not facilities, with the role of the state being as fund provider and letting public school officials to make decisions about facilities. It suggests that the best way to establish the per-pupil dollar standard is to determine how much funding it takes to entice private providers of public education to enter the market. It argues that this dollar amount would allow the vast majority of existing school districts to build new facilities and renovate old ones on a pay-as-you-go basis. Finally, it suggests that public schools should be allowed to seek funding beyond the state provided amount on a voluntary basis. 28p.