WASHINGTON METRO AREA: As the economic outlook grows increasingly bleak, school systems in the Washington region are delaying construction and even considering shuttering schools, moves that could force wide-scale shuffling of students among campuses and disrupt deep connections that students and families have to neighborhood schools.
This month, Prince George's County's interim superintendent, William R. Hite Jr., proposed closing six under-enrolled schools and parceling out those students to other schools. Prince William County is considering putting plans for a badly needed high school on hold, a decision that would result in shifting students to balance enrollments. Loudoun County is facing delayed construction of schools planned for fast-growing neighborhoods and the prospect of closing a handful of under-enrolled schools. The budget crunch is hitting schools in many ways, forcing increases in class size and cutbacks in staff and programs, but the possibility of uprooting students could be among the most painful for students and their families. Boundary changes can cause heartache and outrage as students are plucked out of one school and dropped in another, separating them from their friends, teachers, sports teams and clubs. Families that settled in neighborhoods based on the local schools could find that they will be sending their children somewhere unexpected. The changes can be especially hard at the high school level.

OKLAHOMA: The MAPS for Kids tax is ending, but work on the projects is far from over and is expected to continue for another four years. With some of the biggest projects now finished, work will speed up, said Terry Wolfe, senior facilities officer for Oklahoma City Public Schools. About 30 to 40 projects haven’t started yet. Most of those are renovations or additions to schools, Wolfe said. Those take less design and construction time, he said. The last projects should start in 2010 and finish by the end of 2012. "The pace of the work is going to be much faster,” Wolfe said.

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said the city can’t get distracted by other big improvement projects such as the Ford Center improvements. "I want people to understand that since I’ve been in office, MAPS for Kids has been our No. 1 priority,” Cornett said. "It’s the largest project and initiative this city has ever undertaken, and I would argue it’s the most important.” One of the big goals of MAPS for Kids was removal of portable classroom buildings, Wolfe said, and now that many of the additions and renovations have started, the portable buildings will begin to cycle out. Some portable classrooms are stored at the district’s service center to address emergency needs, he said.
Construction of two new schools also remains. Cesar Chavez Elementary School will be built on Grand Boulevard about a mile east of Shields Avenue. Officials likely will seek bids in the spring. Another new elementary school is planned for the downtown area. District officials are looking for a location.

MAPS organizers have had to pay close attention to projects as construction material prices have increased in the past year, Wolfe said. In most cases, administrators have substituted materials to get the projects done while maintaining quality, he said. "It is an amazing pressure on the budget these days,” Wolfe said. The renovation and addition at Wilson Elementary School was about $1 million over estimates, said Kirk Humphreys, Oklahoma City School Board chairman. Prices have started to come back down and in most cases, there was contingency money to handle the increases, he said.

NATIONAL : The battle over whether to build Bayyari Elementary School and the subdivision that surrounds it here was fought for the usual reasons before the school opened in 2004: Neighbors worried about sprawl and crime, and the city worried about dust and noise. No one considered whether high levels of toxic chemicals might be in the air. No law told them they should. Had parents, school officials or regulators checked pollution reports from area companies on file with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, they might have noticed that the school sits in a section of the city where the air appeared to be tainted by toxic chemicals such as chromium and nickel. "Nobody mentioned that to us," says Ronnie Bradshaw, an assistant superintendent of Springdale's schools. "If we thought there was an issue, we would have looked before we bought the property. If something's going to hurt kids, we'll address it."

The newspaper identified 435 schools in locations where the air outside appeared more dangerous than at an Ohio elementary school that was shut down three years ago after officials found the air there saturated with carcinogens 50 times higher than what the state considers acceptable. At least 43 of the 435 schools — or about 10% — opened in the past decade, USA TODAY found. Some of those 43 schools are in new buildings. Others — primarily charter and nursery schools — opened in existing schoolhouses. Very few are in places where officials are required by state law to consider the potential hazards before the schools opened. To identify schools where dangers appeared to be the greatest, USA TODAY used an EPA computer model created to trace the potential path of toxic chemicals released by industries. USA TODAY used it to compare the nation's 127,800 public, private and parochial schools with one another, based on the chemicals likely to be in the air outside. The model's most recent version uses emissions reports that 20,000 industrial facilities filed with the agency in 2005. That means it reflects a snapshot in time: Some of the schools or companies may have closed since the government collected the data; others may have opened.

Children are especially susceptible to toxic chemicals, which can cause respiratory illnesses, cancer or other diseases if exposures last for extended periods. The health effects might not be evident for years, even decades. Environmental regulations typically require builders to examine the effect that a structure might have on the surrounding ecosystem. But in most states, USA TODAY found, neither school officials nor factory owners are required to consider their proximity to one another before construction begins. Close proximity to potential hazards is common

OHIO: Through ongoing and new construction scheduled in 2009, residents all over the Hamilton City School District will see their tax dollars at work. Four elementary schools are scheduled to open in 2009; four more in 2010. "Given the excellent level of planning and design that has gone into these buildings, the taxpayers and students are getting an excellent value for their investment, time and money," said Jim Boerke, district director of planning, operations and construction management.
The top priority for new construction in the district is to improve the learning environment for student success, officials say. "When we open all of these new buildings, it's not going to be the same old thing," said board President Dr. Glenn Stitsinger. "Structure of the new buildings is very important but how and what students are taught is more important. "The curriculum is going to be vastly improved due to technology and new expectations for both students and staff." State-of-the-art science and computer labs and media centers will be obvious to students and parents visiting the new schools.

What may not be as obvious is a number of energy cost cutting initiatives, which include an HVAC system with high efficiency mechanical systems. Energy recovery wheels which allow for heat and cooling energy to be recovered as air is expelled from the building and that energy that is recovered is able to treat the fresh air required for ventilation, which reduces energy required to treat outdoor air by 70 percent. Demand ventilation, which will allow officials to limit the ventilation air to only what is required for the present occupants. Occupancy sensors, which control lighting in all spaces and turns lights off when there are no occupants. A daylight harvesting system — which maximizes the access to daylight and minimizes the need for artificial light — will be provided in all classrooms. It includes sloped ceilings to introduce natural lighting deep into space, and daylight sensors and lighting fixtures that dim automatically according to the amount of natural light. "All of which creates an excellent learning environment," Boerke said.

NEW YORK: Modernizing and renovating our aging K-12 and public higher education facilities, and constructing new ones, will meet your stated goals of short-term job creation while laying the foundation for future growth, opportunity and prosperity, and should be included as a central component of any infrastructure investment program. In New York State, we have a combined need of 982 “ready-to-go” school projects totaling more than $3.6 billion at K-12 and public higher education facilities. Many of New York’s K-12 public schools are cramped, outdated, run-down, and unable to accommodate new computer technology. More than 4,000 schools are in need of renovations and/or new construction. In total, New York State has 737 “ready-to-go” K-12 school modernization and renovation projects, totaling $966 million. We also have identified 245 “ready-to-go” investments at higher education facilities, totaling $2.64 billion. Of these, $2.06 billion are “green,” either energy saving or LEED-certified.

OHIO: Some Columbus children will get renovated schools sooner than expected, while others will have to wait longer for new classrooms, under a scaled-back version of the school district's construction schedule. Columbus City Schools significantly altered the timeline to renovate and reconstruct several schools because of a combination of limited funding, crowding, deteriorating historic buildings and the project to reform Linden-McKinley High School.
In November, voters approved a second round of funding for the more modest form of the district's construction schedule, which was implemented in 2002 and eventually is expected to upgrade all school buildings. However, some of the new $164 million bond issue will pay for new buses, technology and textbooks, leaving fewer dollars for school buildings. The original plan funded 26 schools in this round. That was reduced to 18 after the district closed some schools. Now, just 11 are due improvements. The district plans to complete the renovation or rebuilding of five elementaries, two K-8 schools, two middle schools and two high schools by August 2012.

CHINA: China's top legislature has set stricter construction standards for schools after thousands of poorly built classrooms collapsed in May's massive earthquake, killing many students, state media reported. The new law passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress says that all schools must now be built to higher earthquake standards than other public buildings, Xinhua News Agency reported.
School safety has become a major concern in China after May's 7.9-magnitude quake killed nearly 70,000 people in Sichuan province and brought down 7,000 schools. Often schools were the only buildings in the area to fully collapse.
The new law — which takes effect next May — also requires schools to teach students about earthquake safety and response, Xinhua said. The report did not say what penalties would be imposed if the laws were broken.

On Friday, the China Daily newspaper quoted a government official saying many of China's elementary and middle school buildings were structurally unsound, with as many as 20 percent in one province considered unsafe. The school collapses have become a sensitive political issue, with parents — many of whom lost their only child in the quake — staging protests demanding investigations. Many of the parents say they have also been subjected to intimidation and financial inducements in attempts to silence them

CALIFORNIA: San Mateo County school districts are seeking information from the state about their buildings' seismic safety, but the nation's severe economic downturn casts doubt on how much they can tackle any needed fixes. Since September, the state has contacted all districts at least once about a list of nearly 8,000 public school buildings at risk of collapsing during a major earthquake. At least 500 districts have so far responded and asked for an inventory of their buildings, according to Liz Gransee, a spokeswoman for the Division of the State Architect. The increased interest in that list managed by the division follows a San Mateo County Times investigation revealing that only about 100 of the state's 1,052 districts had requested the inventory.

Assembly Bill 300 created the list that in 2002 named the school buildings statewide possibly in danger. These schools, built between 1933 and 1978, are seen as urgently needing evaluation. If they fail a review, districts need to either retrofit or demolish the buildings. "Seismic retrofitting is very expensive," said Enrique Navas, chief business officer for the Jefferson district. "If districts don't have the funds available (to address earthquake issues), we have other priorities." Right now, state funding for campus renovations in general is very much up in the air. Earlier this month, the state Pooled Money Investment Board decided to freeze funds designated for school projects across California because of the ongoing budget shortfalls. Consequently, "the School Facility Program will not be able to release funding for the foreseeable future," Rob Cook, executive officer for the state Office of Public School Construction, told California's education leaders in a Dec. 22 letter. "School districts cannot rely on state bond funds to proceed with projects." The office plans to contact districts about projects that recently earned approval for funding from the State Allocation Board, Cook also said in the letter.
The office will ask about construction costs incurred on projects under way, expenses from a work stoppage and legal concerns arising from a shutdown or contract cancellation, he said. Gransee didn't know if the frozen money will hurt districts' ability to strengthen their schools against an earthquake. But as it is, districts are "hard-pressed to provide the minimum amount of education," Navas said. Seismic work and finding money for it "will add to the burden of districts."

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: D.C. School Chancellor Michelle Rhee gets all the fawning features in the national press because of her willingness to blast the foundations of education dogma, but the person who has actually blasted the foundations of school buildings and done the most for students and teachers in the nation’s capital in 2008 is Allen Lew. When Mayor Adrian Fenty begged Lew to take over his Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization two years ago, Lew already had managed construction of the city’s new convention center and the National’s baseball stadium. He took a quick tour.
“The schools looked like prisons,” he tells me. “There were gates and cages and bars everywhere. I asked one principal: ‘Why are there bars on the fourth-floor windows? Are you expecting Spider-Man?’” Kids expecting to use the bathrooms in many schools faced busted toilets. Parents expecting their children to be warm in the winter worried about broken boilers. Teachers wanting cool rooms in the summer laughed. Despite the challenges of pleasing parents and dealing with skeptical council members, Lew took the job. His reward was a list of 1,200 work orders going back decades.

What made him most proud? Replacing the athletic fields at all but one high school? Painting and buffing up every school last summer and opening schools on time? Repairing old heating systems? Renovating a half-dozen schools? Fixing the toilets, stupid. “I think we’ve turned the corner,” he says. “Broken bathrooms and water fountains are not the norm anymore.”

Before Lew and his crew took over, at the core of many depressed and downtrodden neighborhoods in D.C. was a rundown school. Take Sousa Middle School. Lew gutted a busted-up building that looked like a correctional facility and turned it into a warm and welcoming place to learn. It still sits amid public housing projects along Benning Road, but Sousa is now a pathway to college rather than a prep school for prison. Lew and his staff of 50 have been working out of trailers in the shadow of RFK Stadium. His crew says he uses the “Attila The Hun School of Management.” They also say Lew, 58, survives with his sense of humor. When Fenty appointed him to oversee building projects for the parks and recreation department — as well as the schools — Council Chair Vince Gray asked why. Lew responded: “The mayor said we weren’t busy enough.”
Lew and his staff expect to finish renovations in three schools this summer: H.D. Cook and Addison Elementary; and School Without Walls, a high school on the West End. Wilson High’s pool, dry for 12 years, should be up and running. “We are pressing contractors to use the best green technologies and save money at the same time,” he says

CHINA: Government officials have acknowledged in the most definitive report since the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province in May that many school buildings across the country are poorly constructed and that 20 percent of primary schools in one southwestern province may be unsafe, according to a description of the report published by the state media. The Ministry of Education report is a rare government admission about substandard-school construction. The issue has been a sensitive one since May, when an earthquake in Sichuan province killed 88,000 people, many of them children crushed in the rubble of shoddily built schools. The report called on the central government to quickly fund the reconstruction of vulnerable schools, especially those in rural areas and western parts of the country that are seismically unstable.

Speaking about the report, Lu Yongxiang, vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, said in an interview with the China News Service that Beijing would increase construction subsidies by 25 to 150 percent, depending on the region. He added that 90 percent of these schools are in rural areas and the earthquake-prone west of the country. The China News Service report singled out Yunnan province, just south of Sichuan, as having some of the most structurally faulty schools. It said 20 percent of the province's primary schools and 11 percent of its middle schools were structurally unsound. In Sichuan, many parents of students killed in May continue to press their demands for an investigation into the widespread school collapses. Earlier this month, a group of parents whose children died at a primary school in Fuxin filed a lawsuit against government officials and a construction contractor. The suit, filed Dec. 1, asked for $1.1 million in damages and a public apology. But last week a judge at the Intermediate People's Court in the city of Deyang rejected the lawsuit, saying the court was hamstrung by a government directive from on high. The parents said they would pursue the case to the nation's highest court.

CHINA: Government officials have acknowledged in the most definitive report since the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province in May that many school buildings across the country are poorly constructed and that 20 percent of primary schools in one southwestern province may be unsafe, according to a description of the report published by the state media. The Ministry of Education report is a rare government admission about substandard-school construction. The issue has been a sensitive one since May, when an earthquake in Sichuan province killed 88,000 people, many of them children crushed in the rubble of shoddily built schools. The report called on the central government to quickly fund the reconstruction of vulnerable schools, especially those in rural areas and western parts of the country that are seismically unstable.

Speaking about the report, Lu Yongxiang, vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, said in an interview with the China News Service that Beijing would increase construction subsidies by 25 to 150 percent, depending on the region. He added that 90 percent of these schools are in rural areas and the earthquake-prone west of the country. The China News Service report singled out Yunnan province, just south of Sichuan, as having some of the most structurally faulty schools. It said 20 percent of the province's primary schools and 11 percent of its middle schools were structurally unsound. In Sichuan, many parents of students killed in May continue to press their demands for an investigation into the widespread school collapses. Earlier this month, a group of parents whose children died at a primary school in Fuxin filed a lawsuit against government officials and a construction contractor. The suit, filed Dec. 1, asked for $1.1 million in damages and a public apology. But last week a judge at the Intermediate People's Court in the city of Deyang rejected the lawsuit, saying the court was hamstrung by a government directive from on high. The parents said they would pursue the case to the nation's highest court.

NATIONAL : Teachers groups and school administrators, citing state budget shortfalls that are strangling local school districts, are continuing an end-of-the-year lobbying push to ensure education funding is part of the 2009 stimulus package.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), sent a letter Tuesday to members of Congress and President-elect Barack Obama in which she detailed the AFT’s priorities for inclusion in the package. Weingarten said the legislation should provide fiscal relief to states, investment in infrastructure and measures to increase college access. Weingarten also called for a $3 billion temporary fund for school districts to pay for activities already authorized under the No Child Left Behind Act (PL 107-110) or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA - PL 105-17). “Even in these tough economic times, it is imperative to reinvest, not disinvest, in education, for the long-term health of our economy,” Weingarten said. Weingarten’s letter reiterates calls for investment in schools and infrastructure that the education community has been making for months.

In October testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel said investing $20 billion over a five-year period in school repair and maintenance would support 50,000 jobs annually. “When we build or modernize schools, we’re not just buying bricks and mortar,” he said. “We are investing in [our] children’s future.”
Mary Kusler, a lobbyist for the American Association of School Administrators, said the organization is seeking money for school infrastructure in the stimulus, along with a one-time grant to be awarded directly to school districts. The grant would be intended to address budget shortfalls in order to prevent school districts from eliminating staff positions, among other potential budget cuts. Kusler said key members of Congress have taken an interest in the idea of providing direct aid to schools. “School districts are in a tough spot given the recession, in that they are not allowed to run a deficit,” Kusler said. “We have seen several years of school district cuts; we are past the point of them cutting easy targets.”

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, at least 20 states are cutting K-12 and early education due to budget problems. Florida, Georgia, Maine and South Carolina have each cut aid by at least $95 per student.
Obama has said repeatedly that funding for school infrastructure would be included in a stimulus package, though it is unclear how much and whether any of it would come in the form of direct aid to schools. During a Dec. 7 appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, Obama said that rebuilding schools and making them more energy efficient would be “down payments on the kind of long-term sustainable growth that we need.”

INTERNATIONAL: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called for more concerted action to make school buildings around the world safe following the collapse of thousands of schools this year, many of them deadly, due to earthquakes, cyclones and other causes. “Whether caused by poor construction or natural catastrophes, school collapses invariably have disastrous effects on children,” UNICEF Global Chief of Education Cream Wright said “Schools must be safe places where children can learn and thrive.” Schools are unlikely to topple when natural disasters strike if they have a strong structural design, their construction is closely monitored and they undergo regular maintenance, UNICEF noted.

A devastating earthquake in China’s Sichuan Province on 12 May is estimated to have killed thousands of children, damaging more than 12,000 schools, or 40 per cent of all those in the province, and another 6,500 in neighbouring Gansu Province. In Myanmar more than 4,000 schools still need to be repaired or rebuilt to provide permanency and security to affected children following the 3 May cyclone. In Pakistan the earthquake that hit the north-eastern areas of Balochistan province on 29 October damaged some 300 schools in the worst-affected districts of Ziarat, Pishin and Harnai – 85 per cent of schools in these areas – as well as 124 schools in the neighbouring Quetta district. More than 31,000 students were affected. In Haiti more than 90 children and teachers perished on 7 November after their school collapsed because of poor infrastructure. Hurricanes and tropical storms that pounded the country in August and September damaged nearly 1,000 schools.
Safe construction is an essential component of child-friendly schools and learning spaces, UNICEF noted. “Safe schools don’t just save children’s lives, they can also serve as temporary shelters for communities in times of disasters,” Mr. Wright said

CONNECTICUT: Killingly will vote next month on whether to ask residents for roughly $3 million to install green technology in the new high school. The Town Council set a Jan. 13 public hearing date on an ordinance that would appropriate $3.3 million for fuel cell technology and to place a natural gas line to service the $81.2 million school building. After grants and state assistance, taxpayers could be responsible for up to $1.7 million of the bill, Town Manager Bruce Benway said. He estimated it would take fewer than 10 years to pay off the expense while the system would provide considerable long-term energy savings. “The town’s portion could be paid off in nine years, but we’re talking about putting this technology into a building expected to be used for 40 years,” Benway said.

Nearly $1.7 million of the bond would be used to design, construct and install a 300-kilowatt fuel cell and booster pump, expected to save $494,000 in school heating and electric costs annually. Benway said he’ll recommend postponing any referendum on the bond until additional funding options are explored, including approval of a $990,000 subsidy from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. The ordinance also includes approximately $1.5 million to run a gas line from Route 101 to the high school, under a proposed contract with Yankee Gas.

NEVADA: Job performance is based on results. Take St. Nick for instance. Tonight is the one night that his job performance is rated, despite the other 364 days and nights of planning, preparation, and personnel (elf management). Then there’s Mike Mitchell, the soon-to-be-retired director of operations for the Carson City School District. Mike has been working magic and miracles for Carson City’s children, parents and taxpayers for 16 years. Trained as an architect, and gifted with communication skills and common sense, Mike had what the school district needed to remodel its facilities and build credibility with taxpayers. If you think it’s hard to deliver toys to the children of the world in one night (and not just any toy will do) then you know Mike Mitchell and Santa Claus have a lot in common.

Mike has delivered every day for Carson City’s schools and students. Mike has cared for the facilities of the school district by making buildings more energy efficient, cost effective and conducive to education. He earmarked money for capital improvements to replace roofs, resurface parking lots and remodel bathrooms. He has made the best use of Carson’s aging school facilities by extending their life through scheduled maintenance and extreme makeovers.
He has had a love-hate relationship with portable classrooms. Portables expand school capacity without the cost and permanency of bricks and mortar. But they drain precious dollars that could be used for a permanent solution, and are susceptible to mold and weather damage. Mike now knows more about mold than an insurance claims adjustor, after dealing with the portable classroom mold crisis that ultimately resulted in an innovative expansion to Bordewich-Bray Elementary School.

Mike has been especially effective at communicating these problems and solutions to parents, community groups and taxpayers. He’s been on the front line of explaining school district bond issues, patiently answering questions and telling it like it is. “I could depend on Mike to deliver the bad news as well as the good. If there was a problem, he’d tell me right away,” said former Superintendent Mary Pierczynski. That straightforward style also earned him the respect of his colleagues, the community and voters, who supported every school district bond since 1997. He involved the expertise of bond proponents and opponents to serve on committees. From facility master planning to deciding the replacement turf for the football field to developing a district-wide safety plan, Mike used a collaborative approach to educate and build consensus.
Current superintendent Richard Stokes remembers the masterful job Mike did to develop a safety plan in the wake of the Columbine, Colo., school massacre. Mike recruited a Community Safety Committee to ensure that teachers, parents and the city’s public safety personnel were involved in the development of the plan. “Mike’s strengths are in organizing people, leading discussions and facilitating ideas,” said Stokes.

From evacuation planning to ensuring that each classroom in the district could be locked down, he covered it all. The goal for the safety plan was the same as his primary mission as operations director: To ensure that children are safe, in an environment where they can learn. It’s a testament to the magic that he brought to the job that when he retires, the school district is not going to replace him. Some of his responsibilities are being delegated to members of his operations team. But like St. Nick, Mike Mitchell is one of a kind, irreplaceable, and has done an impossible job to perfection for the good of the children.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The administration of D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said that it is seeking to redevelop 11 now-shuttered public schools, inviting developers to submit proposals that can include retail space, offices and high-priced and affordable housing. The schools are located across the city and include Stevens Elementary in Foggy Bottom, opened in 1868 to educate the children of freed slaves; Hine Junior High on Capitol Hill; and Randle Highlands Elementary in Southeast Washington. "We have a rare opportunity to bring transformative projects that will improve neighborhoods across the city," Neil O. Albert, deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said in a statement. "We are looking for capable, creative partners with great ideas for these sites." But the initiative has drawn criticism from some schools advocates, who say it squanders valuable public buildings that could be used for charter schools or other educational purposes. "I question whether this is good academic policy and whether it is sound economic policy," said D.C. State Board of Education member Mary Lord. The future of the schools has been under discussion since the end of the 2007-08 academic year, when Fenty (D) and Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee shut down 23 buildings. They said that declining enrollment had left the schools underused and that the money needed to keep them open could be better spent elsewhere.

NATIONAL : President-elect Barack Obama has pledged to launch “the most sweeping effort ... this country has ever seen” to modernize school buildings and equip classrooms with computers as part of his economic-stimulus plan, prompting optimism among ed-tech advocates despite pervasive budget constraints. Although the details have yet to be revealed, Obama has indicated that the economic-stimulus plan, which aims to create 3 million jobs—up from a target of 2.5 million in late November—includes money to put more computers in schools and provide both homes and schools with widespread broadband access.
“It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption,” Obama, who will take office Jan. 20, said in a December radio address. “Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online,” he said, going on to link broadband access to the competitiveness of the U.S. economy.

From the integral role that technology played in his campaign to indications that he will create a chief technology officer in the federal government for the first time, Obama has led many ed-tech experts to believe that the new administration will revolutionize the way technology is viewed and used in the United States, and, it is hoped, in K-12 education. “I think Obama is the first president that’s making that switch to the Internet presidency,” says Jim Hirsch, the associate superintendent for academic and technology services for the 54,000-student Plano, Texas, school district. Obama is doing for the Internet what President John F. Kennedy did for television, says Hirsch, by encouraging the use of it as a common and essential staple of American life.

NATIONAL: From the front door of the aged brick school, the 4-year-olds at Wyandotte Early Childhood Center can spot the cottony plumes from a refinery just over the trees. The ExxonMobil plant, the nation's second-largest refinery, processes about a half-million barrels of crude oil each day. Its sprawling complex sits a few blocks from the school — and from the swing set on the playground and about 120 pairs of developing lungs.
Chris Trahan, a spokesman for the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, says he's certain ExxonMobil would let the school district know if there were an accident at the plant that could hurt children. As for air quality, "It just doesn't come up in conversation," Trahan says. "It's just part of daily life out here."

The circumstances at Wyandotte mirror those at thousands of other schools across the nation, including many schools that house the youngest — and most vulnerable — kids. USA TODAY spent eight months examining the impact of industrial pollution on schoolchildren and found that 20,000 schools — about one in every six — are within a half-mile of a major industrial plant. To help identify schools where children might be at greatest risk from toxic chemicals, USA TODAY used the government's most up-to-date computer simulation for tracking industrial pollution. Then USA TODAY mapped the locations of 127,800 public, private and parochial schools. It is a task the Environmental Protection Agency has never undertaken.

Based on the levels and potential health hazards of the chemicals likely to be outside, the model ranked Wyandotte among the worst 1% of schools in the nation — and the worst in Louisiana. It also indicated that the ExxonMobil refinery — which emits sulfuric acid, naphthalene, ammonia and benzene, among two dozen chemicals — was primarily responsible for its ranking. The model's most recent version is based on reports by more than 20,000 industrial sites in 2005. The Baton Rouge refinery opened in 1909. Wyandotte, built in 1925, was an elementary school for much of its life. In 2000, it became an early-childhood center, a place where 4-year-olds prepare for kindergarten. The rationale for sending the youngest kids there: "It was the most available resource that we had," says Bobbie Robertson, preschool director for the district. Proximity to industries — and the exposures to toxic chemicals that often go with it — can portend unique dangers for young children. Their bodies still are developing, and they breathe more air per pound than adults. That means they get "a heavier dose of the chemical" with each breath, says Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician who leads a unit at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York on children and the environment. By his account, their biological fragility and the amount of air they breathe make kids at least 10 times more susceptible than adults to most toxic chemicals. "In early childhood and the nine months before birth, there occur 'windows of vulnerability,' " Landrigan says. "We're beginning to learn that a lot of diseases appear to be triggered by early exposures, but it takes years, even decades, for those to progress to diseases like cancer, like Parkinson's disease, like Alzheimer's."

CONNECTICUT: Spending $3 million a year to keep its 10 buildings heated and lit and humming with digital connectedness, the Board of Education has made energy efficiency the dominant theme of its capital spending plans. Five of seven proposals worth more than $1 million of the $1.2 million requested in the 2009-10 school capital plan are related energy costs. The projects include heating plant upgrades, double-pane windows, and a $100,000 energy efficiency study that school officials hope could guide the town to long term savings in operating costs.“The energy study will encompass all town and school buildings,” said School Energy Manager Gary Green, a member of new joint town and school energy committee that would direct the study.
“The ‘energy committee’ will first work with consultants on a variety of alternative energy solutions including solar, wind, co-generation, geothermal etc. We will also look at our building envelopes (windows, roofs, insulation),” Mr. Green said.

The idea is to have the study produce more than a list of vague recommendations. “The funds for the energy study will be mostly for engineering and professional fees,” Mr. Green said. “For example, if it is decided that geothermal heat will be used at the high school, an engineering study of the building and grounds will have to be conducted. Or if it is decided solar hot water will used at Branchville Elementary School, an engineering study of the roof will be needed. “The money will used for these professional fees. Most of the work will be done by the energy committee and school town employees. “Right now the energy committee is not focused on one particular idea,” Mr. Green said. “We are gathering information on all current technology. We will then narrow down our choices depending on their usefulness to our buildings. We hope to have more specific ideas to focus our attention on early next year, 2009.” The school board on Monday added the $100,000 energy study — originally conceived last year, and cut in the budget squeeze — to the 2009-10 capital spending plan. That request is the first year of a five-year capital plan that includes 26 projects and proposes spending between $1.1 and $1.3 million annually through the 2013-14 fiscal year — a total of $6,390,000 over the five years.

OKLAHOMA: President-elect Barack Obama says that among his first priorities in office will be a massive stimulus package intended to revive the economy and create new jobs. Obama hasn't yet discussed details, except to say that it will be the biggest public works program since construction of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s. Figures from $600 billion to $1 trillion have been tossed about in the press. Obama listed the nation's public schools among three specific areas for investment, along with roads and energy efficiency.
A public works program that included federal funds to upgrade old and inadequate school buildings could be a real boon for Oklahoma, if the state were in a position to take advantage. That's a huge "if," given the Legislature's record — or non-record — over the past 25 years of helping local school districts with their capital improvements needs. Policymakers don't talk about it much, but Oklahoma's school buildings on average are old and getting older. Back in 1999, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Sandy Garrett issued a report which revealed that Oklahoma's educational infrastructure was shockingly antiquated. Nearly 800 of the 4,800 school buildings across the state were 50 years old or older. Some dated to statehood. The "average" school building at that time was 26 years old. When facilities constructed during a 1980s building boom were knocked out of the equation, the average age was even greater. Garrett told lawmakers that based on four-year capital improvements plans that districts were required by law to submit to the state Department of Education, immediate building needs topped half a billion dollars. Of that amount $26 million was determined to be beyond the ability of school districts to meet, even if they were tapping every possible local source of funds (which most weren't).

The Legislature ignored Garrett's request for $26 million in capital funds. That wasn't too surprising. The law which required local districts to submit capital needs plans to the state superintendent, and the superintendent to submit a capital improvement budget to the Legislature by Oct. 1 of each year, was passed in 1982. During the time the law was in effect the Legislature never appropriated a dime to local districts for capital improvements. The law was repealed after 1999. Since then local districts have not been required to submit their needs lists to the education department, so there is no updated statewide list of those needs available. However, a spokesman for Garrett said last week that the superintendent is surveying local districts to compile a list of capital needs in case the Obama administration requests one.

The kicker is that if federal funds were to become available to replace old and inadequate school buildings, a state match would likely be needed to tap into them. What are the chances of a state match? Refer back to the previous two paragraphs. Tulsa Public Schools, on its own, has done a pretty good job dealing with aging infrastructure. Five of its elementaries — Bryant, Burroughs, Cherokee, Barnard and Lanier — were built in the 1920s and Lee Elementary was built in 1918. The district in 1996 embarked on a 20-year plan to replace the most antiquated buildings and completely renovate the others. Halfway through the program, Twain, Fields, Kendall and Whittier elementaries and Booker T. Washington High have been replaced and new roofs and central cooling systems have been installed at all other buildings. (Window air conditioning units are still in place at schools which are awaiting new window systems, but none is in use.) Back in 1996, the average age of buildings in the Tulsa district was 45 years (Its building boom came in the 1950s and 1960s.) Now, almost 10 years later, the average is 48 years. The age figure, of course, does not reflect the extensive renovations done at all of the district's schools. TPS has spent about $300 million on capital improvements since 1996, all of it raised though bond issues submitted to voters about every three years. School capital bond issues, by the way, require 60 percent supermajorities to pass, not a simple majority.

Tulsa benefits from having the resources, succeeding administrations that have followed through on putting bond issues before the public and voters willing to pass them. School districts in areas with small populations, few businesses and miniscule tax bases are not so lucky. They are likely to never catch up without help from a Legislature that for 25 years and more has not helped at all.

NATIONAL: Dramas are playing out across New York, where 42 percent of 1,577 traditional public and charter schools, with more than a quarter of the city’s 1 million-plus students, now cohabit with at least one other school, and as many as five. And throughout the country, as large failing high schools are replaced with small ones and independently run charters, the days when a school was defined by its building, with its principal as mayor, are starting to go the way of the slide rule and card catalog.

In Chicago, under the leadership of Arne Duncan — President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee to be secretary of education — sharing space has gone from a rare phenomenon to now include 12 percent of schools, including charters. In Los Angeles, officials plan to break up many campuses with more than 1,000 students starting in 2010 — a task that will be eased by the fact that many consist of multiple buildings. And in Denver, where a decline in enrollment has left many classrooms empty, officials have looked to New York and Chicago for advice on coexistence.
Education officials in New York acknowledged that sharing is not always ideal, but say the benefits of small schools are worth the skirmishes over space. “If we could wave a wand and have different buildings for every school, then we would, but we can’t,” said Garth Harries, who oversees the Department of Education’s array of small schools, charter schools and specialized programs. “The conception of school has outgrown the buildings that we have, so it creates the need for some additional problem-solving and additional work.” Hence the requirement for building councils, where neighboring principals debate thorny questions that often seem to require the wisdom of Solomon, or at least a skilled group therapist.

NATIONAL: Dramas are playing out across New York, where 42 percent of 1,577 traditional public and charter schools, with more than a quarter of the city’s 1 million-plus students, now cohabit with at least one other school, and as many as five. And throughout the country, as large failing high schools are replaced with small ones and independently run charters, the days when a school was defined by its building, with its principal as mayor, are starting to go the way of the slide rule and card catalog.

In Chicago, under the leadership of Arne Duncan — President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee to be secretary of education — sharing space has gone from a rare phenomenon to now include 12 percent of schools, including charters. In Los Angeles, officials plan to break up many campuses with more than 1,000 students starting in 2010 — a task that will be eased by the fact that many consist of multiple buildings. And in Denver, where a decline in enrollment has left many classrooms empty, officials have looked to New York and Chicago for advice on coexistence.
Education officials in New York acknowledged that sharing is not always ideal, but say the benefits of small schools are worth the skirmishes over space. “If we could wave a wand and have different buildings for every school, then we would, but we can’t,” said Garth Harries, who oversees the Department of Education’s array of small schools, charter schools and specialized programs. “The conception of school has outgrown the buildings that we have, so it creates the need for some additional problem-solving and additional work.” Hence the requirement for building councils, where neighboring principals debate thorny questions that often seem to require the wisdom of Solomon, or at least a skilled group therapist.

UNITED KINGDOM: Airtight schools designed to reduce heat loss are resulting in soaring numbers of pupils becoming sleepy and less attentive in class, research reveals. It shows the learning performance of youngsters is being affected as they are become drowsy due to high carbon dioxide levels. The findings are a blow to Government plans to introduce thousands of energy-efficient schools across the country.

Two reports by Reading University and London's University College show the new schools are also poorly ventilated. According to the studies, high C02 levels in classrooms leads to children becoming sleepy and less capable of absorbing information.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls wanted every new school to be zero-carbon from 2016.

Dr Dejan Mumovic, a lecturer at UCL told the Times Educational Supplement yesterday: 'Although the school rebuilding initiative is a fantastic one, the Government has rushed its sustainable schools programme a little bit. 'We monitored ten schools that were built 50 years ago, then nine schools built under the Building Schools for the Future programme and found nothing had changed 'The ventilation rates were equally appalling. CO2 levels are exceeding targets and that can affect the learning performances of kids.' Professor Derek Clements-Croome, a research director at Reading University, ran similar tests at eight primary schools. 'We tested reaction times and memory of pupils,' he said. 'When the C02 was very high, the reaction times would slow and memory would be affected. The kids would also get drowsier. 'A classroom doesn't have to be that small if you have 25 children and a teacher breathing in and out and the proper ventilation isn't there. 'You may not even detect that it is getting stuffier in the room. But once higher C02 levels are breathed in, it gets into the blood and goes to the brain. 'People are trying to get their energy consumption down, but that should not be at any expense. There is no point pushing for energy reduction if kids are falling asleep.'

The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, the design watchdog, said sustainable school design should mean a comfortable environment for all. Rachel Toms, the commission's senior design adviser told the TES: 'Good ventilation in a school can be challenging. 'Heat loss in winter needs to be minimised but at the same time there must be enough fresh air to maintain good oxygen levels and avoid excessive C02 in the intensively populated environment of the classroom.'

TEXAS: The construction boom of recent years in Longview and East Texas is expected to trickle over to the next couple of years regardless of the national recession, area officials said. “We have about $400 million in school construction projects coming up in the next couple of years,” said John Stroud, executive director of Longview Economic Development Corp. “Those will keep a lot of people busy.” Voters in Longview, Pine Tree, Spring Hill and Hallsville independent school districts are among those in East Texas who approved expansion plans.

Businessman Don Tally, owner of area convenience stores and other businesses, said he believes those public projects will make a big difference in the Longview-area economy in coming months. “If we don’t have anything else come up, these school projects should tide us over until things in the economy turn around,” Tally said. Those projects are expected to go on despite what might happen in the private sector as a result of tightening credit and the global recession, according to Sam Satterwhite, Longview ISD board president.

NATIONAL : On December 6, President-elect Barack Obama revealed key elements of his sweeping economic-recovery plan, part of which calls for building roads, greening federal offices, and making schools more high-tech, all of which should bode well for those in the design and construction industries. “This has to be great news for architects,” says Robert Dunphy, who studies infrastructure issues for the Urban Land Institute, based in Washington, D.C. Advocates have made the case for years that the government needs to invest in infrastructure, he says, “but it was always easy to put off to a future date.”

Some are concerned that Congressional squabbling could delay rollout of a soup-to-nuts building plan, which analysts say could reach $500 billion. But many aren’t waiting until Obama’s January 20 inauguration to make a case for their projects. Chief among them are highway advocates, who calculate that there are 5,000 projects worth a total of $64 billion—from erecting bridges to filling pot holes—ready to launch within six months.

Schools will also be targeted by Obama’s infrastructure campaign, which already has mayors and governors vying for slices of the pie. In December, the National Governors Association unveiled a request for $136 billion, part of which would go toward fixing up classrooms; the U.S. Conference of Mayors also recently debuted a $73.2 billion plan with similar aims.
Barbara Nadel, FAIA, a New York architect who has represented the AIA on Capitol Hill for years, says she suspects school construction will be a significant portion of Obama’s spending plan because it “touches every community in America.”

In his December address, Obama said “our government now pays the highest energy bills in the world. We need to change that.” Creating more-efficient heating and cooling systems in federal offices, plus adding more daylight and cleaner air, is embraced by Rick Cook, FAIA, a partner at Cook + Fox, a New York City firm that’s been active for more than a decade in the “green” building movement. “The real pay dirt is in human productivity and health, which is slightly hard to quantify,” Cook says. “But I think it’s absolutely mandatory the new administration take a leadership role in creating of green-collar jobs.”

MAINE: It isn't just for the sake of doing business that architect Steve Blatt wishes there were lots of island schools off the coast of Maine. After designing the North Haven Community School, which opened this fall, he is now planning the renovations and new construction for the Islesboro Central School. That experience is making him realize the significance of these institutions in an island community. Typically the largest of all civic buildings on an island, and considered the most important, island schools provide many facilities also shared with the public, perhaps offering a fitness center, gymnasium, library, music and art studios, gallery space, auditorium, meeting rooms, computer technology, cafeteria and kitchen. Schools can offer residents a place to shoot hoops, compete at volleyball, attend cultural performances, enjoy a fundraiser, or share a potluck. But most importantly, as Blatt sees it, these schools make islands a viable place for families to live.

As a sailor who knows the coast, and with a home on Vinalhaven, Blatt feels comfortable working with island communities. And he sees one of his initial tasks in designing their schools as getting to know the community. He especially feels that staff who will work and teach in a school, and not just administrators, should be involved in articulating what a new building should provide. Blatt says his goal as architect is "to make a school the best it can be for everybody." He believes the building needs to be welcoming and available to the public and also serve as a source of civic pride. He hopes his designs draw on the ambience and the architecture of the community, at the same time slightly reinterpreting some aspect of that look. He calls it "edgy;" and that could be interpreted to mean that some slight variation of a familiar theme offers a fresh, new perspective.

If school buildings define what communities want to see as best about themselves, past and present, they also are pointing to the future. That suggests to Blatt that schools need facilities that use cutting edge technology at the same time as supporting the acquisition of some traditional skills. Examples of this include North Haven's solar car project and Islesboro's program to teach students how to graft new stock from the island's apple trees. Island schools, according to Blatt, should offer the same kinds of quality options as those on the mainland. For example, in North Haven's, the high school section has lockers. The school's youngest students have bathrooms connected to their classrooms. There is an office for counseling, and space for students receiving specialized instruction. While taking advantage of the town's public library services, there is also a library at the school. There are ways, Blatt points out, that island schools can differ, too. Because the class size is smaller, rooms are smaller. The front door can be more open and inviting; security issues are not ignored, but they are not necessarily at the forefront, as they might be in some mainland schools.
In a small school, you could anticipate everyone there would figure out how to find their way around. But when a school invites residents to be regular visitors, the building needs to be made easily navigable. The North Haven school, for example, has three well-identified spaces branching off a commons area. There are the "neighborhoods" of elementary, middle, and high school classrooms; the library, art and music wing; and the gymnasium and fitness center. The buildings Blatt designs are as "green" as possible: energy efficient, environmentally friendly, and affordable to operate. He incorporates solar panels and passive solar design. Islesboro's renovated school may use geothermal heat. The quality of air is important, with state-of-the-art ventilation. The schools include many locally grown and produced materials, and the technology is visible. North Haven showcases wood and stone from the area, as will Islesboro's. Blatt's work suggests that schools-the building itself-can serve as a kind of teacher. It could be in how windows frame the landscape and describe a view, in how the building's systems are made visible, in how a room holds students and facilitates their interaction, and how a doorway invites entry to a place of learning. The school as a living entity. Just like any good educator in the classroom, it can spark curiosity and develop new understanding.

NATIONAL : Since Bill Clinton held the White House, Democrats have been calling for a spending surge for school construction and repair. In the past decade, they got it -- $504 billion, mostly on school construction, between 1995 and 2004. But the money has disproportionately gone to wealthier school districts, leaving the neediest students in decrepit facilities, according to a 2006 survey led by 21st Century Schools Fund, a Washington, D.C., advocacy group. The report caught the attention of then-Sen. Obama who noted its "valuable policy suggestions that should receive serious attention," such as greater federal involvement in directing funds to the neediest schools. "That targeting has to be done at the federal level," says Amy Wilkins, a vice president at the Education Trust in Washington, D.C. Otherwise, she adds, local "politics will direct the money to the squeakiest wheel."

While education experts say school construction alone will not close educational disparities, it may help attract better teachers to struggling districts. Researchers at the Brookings Institution note that teachers' pay structures offer "no extra compensation for teaching in high-needs schools where the work is likely to be more difficult." Better infrastructure may help bring better teachers, though other incentives are also needed. Mary Filardo, executive director of the 21st Century Schools Fund, estimates that a $20 billion investment could help offset years of bad maintenance in low-income schools and generate some 250,000 maintenance and repair jobs.

TEXAS: The Dallas Independent School District's recent sale of $400 million in construction bonds won't be affected by a state decision to suspend its backing of school bonds. But the suspension, which is tied to the poor economy, could put at least 20 districts that are planning bond elections and several others in the process of selling bonds in a bind.

The Allen and Keller ISDs could be affected, a Texas Education Association spokeswoman said. The TEA said school bonds could be guaranteed again as soon as next month – although that depends on the market. The state guarantee helps lower interest costs on construction projects. The Dallas ISD sold its bonds the first week of December, allowing it to move ahead on a $1.35 billion construction program. The district does not plan another bond sale soon, so the state's decision will affect Dallas only if the suspension is prolonged, spokesman Jon Dahlander said. But the suspension might mean the Allen ISD has to sell its bonds at a higher interest rate, said Mark Tarpley, assistant superintendent for finance. At this point, though, he said, the state's decision has minimal impact because the bond market was already weak.

Allen voters approved a $219 million bond package last month. Mr. Tarpley said the district may have to sell part of the package early next year to fund a new elementary school. Internal Revenue Service regulations determine how much the program can guarantee based on the market value of the Permanent School Fund. But as the economy has fallen, the Permanent School Fund's value has plummeted. The fund's diminished value coupled with the number of districts requesting the bond guarantee has temporarily impaired the state's ability to back the issuance of school bonds. The TEA spokeswoman said Dallas will still need to check with the agency before selling the rest of its bonds – about $1 billion – to ensure that state can adequately back that much debt. That Dallas got state backing for its initial sale is important for local taxpayers. In late November, bond rating agencies downgraded the district's rating in light of a current-year budget deficit of about $30 million and the recent disclosure that it overspent last year's budget by millions more. Despite that, the state's backing gave the district a top "AAA" rating, saving taxpayers millions of dollars in interest payments.

CALIFORNIA: $4 billion of infrastructure projects are on hold in California. The state treasurer, controller, and finance director decided to put a halt to them Wednesday. Projects such as school construction, levee repairs, and road work are now on hold because of the $15 billion budget deficit. Community colleges have $2 billion of work on hold.

NATIONAL : More than 40 higher-education leaders from across the country asked Congress today to commit 5 percent of any economic stimulus program to the nation's colleges and universities.
The letter says that an investment of between $40 million and $45 million will help the country remain economically competitive. Most of the money would go to public institutions, which educate 80 percent of all college students, although private schools could qualify.

The open letter, published in paid advertisements in The Washington Post and the New York Times, recommends that money be allocated to states based on population and administered by governors. It also urges Congress to make federal funds available on the condition that states not use them "as an excuse to reduce budgetary commitments to universities." The higher-education officials add that funding construction and renovation projects on public and private campuses, their proposed initial use for the money, would create hundreds of thousands of jobs. The proposed investment initially would be used to build classroom and research buildings that conform to "green" standards.

MARYLAND: A new report on Baltimore County school facilities recommends studying the possible inclusion of air conditioning in the district's high school renovation program, which has a total projected cost of about $1 billion. "Even with everything that has been accomplished over the last ten years, considerable work remains to be done to bring all of our facilities into the 21st century," the report stated. It also indicated that the cost of possible renovations for elementary and special schools - including the systems required for air conditioning - could exceed an additional $1 billion. Over the past decade, more than $1 billion in capital funds has been spent on new schools, as well as renovation projects at elementary, middle and special schools, according to the report. "We're now at a place, because of the advances and improvements that we've been able to make, to make a legitimate attempt at bringing air conditioning into schools," schools spokeswoman Kara E.B. Calder said yesterday. "It will take a long time, and it will be contingent on funding."Slightly more than half of the district's 171 school, center and program buildings lack air conditioning, according to the report. For months, parents have raised concerns, with several speaking at board meetings and documenting the effect of high temperatures in certain schools.

HAWAII: Hawaii's deteriorating public schools are in for a much-needed face lift as the state begins to pump dollars into construction projects to stimulate the economy. The Hawaii Department of Education is set to receive more than $317 million from a $1.8 billion infrastructure spending package announced yesterday by Gov. Linda Lingle and endorsed by mayors, legislators and labor union representatives. Only the state Department of Transportation is slated to get more funds than schools under an initiative expected to launch 1,521 projects statewide over the next 18 months. The boost in funds to fix and renovate isle schools will come as the estimated cost to get campuses back in shape grew to $421 million in September from $341 million two years ago.

The repair backlog, which had been dropping since 2001, rose when declining state revenues prompted Lingle's administration to withhold $170 million from $310 million that lawmakers had appropriated for school improvements in fiscal 2007 and 2008, said Duane Kashiwai, public works administrator for the Education Department. While all but about $20 million of those funds has since been restored, he said project delays and inflation drove up the schools' repair backlog cost. Kashiwai said the backlog should begin to shrink again under the state's plan to speed up the release of funds for schools. "That allows us to get going," he said. "We are hopeful that that will turn the corner."

Lingle said her office has been sparingly releasing money for schools to avoid burdening local construction companies, which could result in pricier contracts or even require flying in workers from the mainland. But now, with labor unions reporting steep declines in projects, competition is likely to be greater, leading to lower bids and savings for the state, she said. "Many of them are the smaller jobs that don't need building permits, (such as) classroom renovations," she said. "So those will really get moving quickly." Projects range from $1,000 for termite treatment at Kau High and Pahala Elementary on the Big Island to $360,000 to replace a fire alarm system and other work at Kalaheo Elementary on Kauai to more than $61 million for a new school, Ewa Makai Middle on Oahu.

The Education Department received last week the final $70 million of $100 million the Legislature approved for fiscal 2009 to refurbish classes. It has gotten $15 million from $66 million earmarked for campus upgrades, and officials expect to request the rest of those funds next month, Kashiwai said. For next fiscal year, education officials plan to ask for $30 million to renovate classrooms and $100 million for general repair and maintenance. They will also seek $212 million for construction projects in the upcoming legislative session.

HAWAII: Hawaii's deteriorating public schools are in for a much-needed face lift as the state begins to pump dollars into construction projects to stimulate the economy. The Hawaii Department of Education is set to receive more than $317 million from a $1.8 billion infrastructure spending package announced yesterday by Gov. Linda Lingle and endorsed by mayors, legislators and labor union representatives. Only the state Department of Transportation is slated to get more funds than schools under an initiative expected to launch 1,521 projects statewide over the next 18 months. The boost in funds to fix and renovate isle schools will come as the estimated cost to get campuses back in shape grew to $421 million in September from $341 million two years ago.

The repair backlog, which had been dropping since 2001, rose when declining state revenues prompted Lingle's administration to withhold $170 million from $310 million that lawmakers had appropriated for school improvements in fiscal 2007 and 2008, said Duane Kashiwai, public works administrator for the Education Department. While all but about $20 million of those funds has since been restored, he said project delays and inflation drove up the schools' repair backlog cost. Kashiwai said the backlog should begin to shrink again under the state's plan to speed up the release of funds for schools. "That allows us to get going," he said. "We are hopeful that that will turn the corner."

Lingle said her office has been sparingly releasing money for schools to avoid burdening local construction companies, which could result in pricier contracts or even require flying in workers from the mainland. But now, with labor unions reporting steep declines in projects, competition is likely to be greater, leading to lower bids and savings for the state, she said. "Many of them are the smaller jobs that don't need building permits, (such as) classroom renovations," she said. "So those will really get moving quickly." Projects range from $1,000 for termite treatment at Kau High and Pahala Elementary on the Big Island to $360,000 to replace a fire alarm system and other work at Kalaheo Elementary on Kauai to more than $61 million for a new school, Ewa Makai Middle on Oahu.

The Education Department received last week the final $70 million of $100 million the Legislature approved for fiscal 2009 to refurbish classes. It has gotten $15 million from $66 million earmarked for campus upgrades, and officials expect to request the rest of those funds next month, Kashiwai said. For next fiscal year, education officials plan to ask for $30 million to renovate classrooms and $100 million for general repair and maintenance. They will also seek $212 million for construction projects in the upcoming legislative session.

LOUISIANA: From a certain vantage point, Washington Elementary doesn't look like a school that was built 60 years ago. It features freshly painted walls, gleaming hardwood floors and a life-size image of Tigger drawn on the wall of the office's waiting room. But a closer look at the Kenner campus shows that history and time have eroded sections of the facility and that frequent touch-ups have accomplished only so much. Bathrooms need new stalls and fixtures; classroom windows leak; and the canopy that hangs over the back entrance to the cafeteria has rotted away, leaving a peeling mess that drips when it rains.
"It's not bad, just old," said Principal Mary Jean Gabler, succinctly summarizing the condition of her school. "It's been kept up. But when something is old, it's old. While the Jefferson Parish public school system has always addressed her repair requests, Gabler acknowledged that the school had received no "major" renovations in recent memory.

However, Washington is poised to benefit from a significant change, ushered in by the district's ongoing desegregation process, that has already altered the way the school system deals with facilities and distributes its capital funds. As a result of this shift, schools that had previously been neglected are suddenly on the verge of receiving millions of dollars in repairs. Gideon Carter, the attorney representing the plaintiffs in the system's desegregation lawsuit, said the facilities issue represents a critical component to the district's overall desegregation efforts. He described the facilities as "the last remaining vestiges" of segregation that must be scrubbed clean before a school can be deemed desegregated by the courts. That Washington could potentially receive more than $1 million in much-needed repairs -- including an electrical upgrade, a restroom renovation and widespread window replacements -- surprised Gabler, who is in her fifth year at the school. "I'm delighted to hear that, of course," she said. "I'm not going to turn down a $1 million facelift."

Although the 87 public school facilities in Jefferson are mostly balanced, some with predominantly black populations are still not up to par, Carter said, citing Lincoln Elementary in Marrero as an example. "A school system should be colorblind," Carter said. "You should not be able to determine the race of students attending the facility by the condition of the facility." Lincoln, whose student population is 82 percent black, was one of the first schools to be tapped for reconstruction as a result of the desegregation order. Likewise, Washington, which was converted to a Montessori program this year as part of the desegregation process, has a student population that is 95 percent black. Various reasons for these lingering imbalances exist, but some officials point to a long-standing policy involving the allocation of capital-improvement funding as the primary culprit. For decades, the School Board divided that money evenly among its nine members, despite the fact that some districts contained twice as many schools as others or certain campuses were in horrendous condition. Now, under the district's desegregation order, the board is prohibited from splitting its money evenly. Instead, the district must use a systemwide facilities assessment that ranks projects in order of importance as the guide in determining which schools need the most help.

NATIONAL : With the nation’s financial system in turmoil, many education leaders are calling for Congress and President- elect Barack Obama to earmark funding for schools and college students in a new economic stimulus package to help prop up the economy. But with automakers, lenders and other industry leaders fighting to get government aid, the prospect of new higher education funding is murky. K-12 education groups are also seeking funds from any new economic stimulus package. These advocates are targeting school repair and construction, saying that such projects could provide jobs and improve student learning.

“We are losing opportunities to create 21st-century learning environments,” says Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. Old, dilapidated schools lack adequate ventilation and light and have inefficient heating and cooling systems, she says, while improvements could make them friendlier to technology. Teachers’ unions are presenting a united front on the issue, as the National Education Association also favors such action. In fact, NEA says $20 billion over five years could provide 50,000 jobs a year for needed school repairs. “Investment in school infrastructure provides a win-win scenario — it improves teaching and learning environments, helps maximize student achievement and creates jobs that help stimulate local economies while putting more money into the hands of working families,” says Dennis Van Roekel, NEA president. The stimulus package could target “repairs in which the work can start and be completed quickly,” he adds.

NEW JERSEY: From Atlantic to Bergen coun ties, voters continued to support a majority of new school construction and renovation proposals, capping a year in which more than 60 percent of all projects were approved. But the faltering economy did seem to put a damper on the results, as voters continued to lean toward smaller projects, and less than half of the overall money requested was approved, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association.
Twelve of 20 projects were approved, totaling $106 million and including major renovations in Say reville and West Paterson, and new solar energy installations in six districts. In all of 2008, 31 of 50 projects were approved, or 62 percent. That's consistent with the success rate of the last four years, although well down from the recent high of 77 percent in 2000. But the amount of money to be borrowed remained well below half of what districts requested. Across 2008, the $265 million approved in 31 projects was about 40 percent of the total requested, the lowest rate since the school boards group started tracking the votes more than a decade ago. "The ratio of school construction proposals has been holding fairly steady in recent years, but the ratio of funding approved is the lowest we've seen," said Mike Yaple, an association spokesman. "Perhaps it's a signal that in this tough economy, voters will still invest in the upkeep of their schools," he said. "But they expect their school board to play it very close to the vest when it comes to the dollar amount that's requested."

Among the projects rejected Tuesday was $58 million for new school construction and renovations in Edison, one of just four big- ticket projects even proposed this year. That's a big contrast to 2005, when 24 projects of $30 million or more were put before voters, and 16 passed. Solar energy projects continue to gain voter approval, with all but two of the eight proposals passing. They included two in Ocean County, where both Brick and Lacey Township will have multimil lion-dollar solar panel installations. New solar panels at Brick High School will cost almost $4.8 million, with more than $3.4 million paid by the state.

NEW YORK: The $300 million in state projects that New York wants Congress to add to its omnibus stimulus package is yet another piece in the recovery puzzle under construction. How many pieces will there be? Who knows at this point? If there's a method in this madness, it's hard to see it. It's time to start figuring out how the pieces fit together. There has to be an overarching strategy and, frankly, it should be devised now, with the cooperation of the outgoing George Bush and the incoming Barack Obama. Partisan differences must give way to the urgent need to stimulate both the public and private sectors in a concerted way.
Gov. David Paterson's wish list for project funding includes roads, bridges and sewers. The need there is real. But school construction and refurbishment should be a priority, too. A $1 billion, largely state-financed modernization program is under way in Rochester. Similar upgrade programs have begun in Buffalo and Syracuse. New York has pledged aid that, even if the funds are borrowed over many years, is out of sync with financial realities. The state doesn't see it that way, and officials have assured Rochester that the commitment of funds is solid. But the fact is that New York's budget deficit may exceed the worst in its history, its debt load is enormous and even long-term projects such as urban school modernization are not safe.

The answer for New York and Rochester is to have Washington pick up a larger share of the bill. After all, President-elect Barack Obama sees investing billions of federal dollars in public works projects as a way to counter private-sector unemployment. There's no more important public-works effort than rebuilding aging urban schools, as Obama himself has said. Moreover, by investing more directly, Obama and Congress could help ensure that city residents get a greater share of the design, construction and other jobs related to the project. This is too big and too important a project to get halfway along and then stall because of precarious state finances. Obama has pledged to help the states and to create jobs. Becoming a partner in the school upgrade effort is a way to do both.

NEW YORK: During recessions of the past, when work for architects dried up, one place they could reliably find projects was with institutions and governments. But with the AIA’s Architecture Billings Index registering the lowest levels of institutional work in two decades, even this safe haven is proving vulnerable. For proof, look no further than New York City’s School Construction Authority (SCA).

On November 5, the authority—a division of the city’s Department of Education—released its latest capital budget, which calls for a drastic reduction in the number of new schools and classrooms to be built or renovated over the next five years. It could not have come at a worse time: While the real estate bubble may finally have burst in the city, school demand remains higher than ever, creating crowded classrooms and considerable commutes for students throughout the five boroughs.
The new plan proposes to spend $11.3 billion to create 25,000 new seats in 42 new schools. Though the budget has only shrunk by $1.8 billion relative to the 2005–2009 version, it also called for the construction of 66,000 seats in 76 schools, a reduction of nearly two-thirds. Margie Feinberg, a spokesperson for the authority, said that because the current plan includes 8,000 seats held over from the last one, the difference is closer to half as many seats being built. Some critics say it is the other way around. “If you count the seats rolled over from the last plan, this means that the city proposes creating only 17,000 new seats, compared to 66,000 when the last plan was introduced,” Leonie Haimson, executive director of Class Size Matters, told The New York Times.

From the outset, though, the capital plan presents a sober, even dispiriting outlook. In its first paragraph, the plan states that the Department of Education “recognizes that New York City and America are going through a period of economic distress. We cannot afford to continue spending at the same levels as in recent years, when we undertook the largest capital program in our city’s history.” Feinberg said that despite such setbacks, the authority is still committed to promoting the highest levels of design quality throughout the city’s schools. She emphasized the department’s new Green Construction Guidelines, which were passed last year and seek LEED-certification on all new schools, as one way the authority will not only maintain its design standards but also save money for the department in the long run. “We will not be cutting corners,” Feinberg said. While the authority does not expect material costs or labor to fall by much, land acquisition should become more affordable.
Daniel Heuberger, a principal at Dattner Architects who has designed a number of schools for the city, said that the authority should be applauded for its responsiveness to economic realities, both now and in the past. “I will say that the last capital cycle for the SCA was a particularly ambitious one,” he said. “So what we’re looking at now is only a slowdown in relative terms.”

NATIONAL : The chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee pledged to "do what I have to do" to ensure that the government monitors the air for toxic chemicals outside schools across the nation. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., cited a USA TODAY analysis this week that examined the impact of industrial pollution outside almost 128,000 schools. The newspaper used a government computer model to pinpoint locations where toxic chemicals appeared to be at high levels outside schools from coast to coast. USA TODAY subsequently took air samples near 95 schools and found elevated levels of toxic chemicals outside 64 locations. Children are particularly susceptible to the effects of the chemicals, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state agencies typically have not monitored the air outside schools, even schools in toxic hot spots.

Boxer promised to change that. Her committee oversees the U.S. EPA. "Your story is a shocking story of child neglect, and I plan to ensure that this monitoring takes place and that our children are protected," Boxer said. "If legislation is needed, I'm going to do it immediately. If it can be done with current authority, then it's going to happen. "I'll do what I have to do," she said, "but either way, it's going to be done." Boxer said she intends to "focus on this whole question of children and toxics" during confirmation hearings for whomever President-elect Barack Obama nominates to run the EPA. "What's really disturbing is, if USA TODAY can do this, certainly the EPA can do this," she said of the newspaper's efforts to identify schools in toxic hot spots.

In response to USA TODAY's analysis, the EPA released a statement this week saying "the agency appreciates the attention to air pollution and children's health, and parents are right to be concerned. … USA TODAY's study calls attention to the enormous task confronting U.S. EPA and state and local agencies." Two states where USA TODAY identified scores of schools that appeared to be in toxic hot spots also pledged action. A spokeswoman for Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, Teresa Candori, said Tuesday the state will test "as soon as possible" the air outside seven schools where USA TODAY did short-term air monitoring. The agency started in Midland, Pa., where the newspaper found high levels of chromium and manganese. Monitoring there will last for at least six months, she said. In Ohio, the state EPA sent a letter to school officials Tuesday saying USA TODAY "raised a legitimate issue worthy of further scrutiny" but urged them not to "assume your students are at immediate risk." Ohio EPA official Paul Koval said his agency is "prepared to do whatever is within our resources to investigate" schools in locations where USA TODAY's analysis indicated possible problems.

GEORGIA: Security surveillance cameras could become requisite features in junior high school design to prevent gang activity, vandalism, bullying and guns on campus if more school administrators follow the example of Thomson-McDuffie Middle School. The $17.5 million, 140,000-square-foot facility opened in August 2008 with 72 video surveillance cameras to monitor the more than 600 enrolled students. “We think it’s going to be a model school in Georgia,” says Mark Peterson, McDuffie County School superintendent. “We think that we’re going to have a lot of visitors to come to our school and see what it is that we’re doing differently.”
Students ages 12 through 14 are more likely than older students to be victims of crime at school, according to the U.S. Department of Education. An attack or robbery victim at school is usually a boy in the seventh grade assaulted by another boy his own age. Cameras were placed in the school’s hallways, at entry and exit points and in the gymnasium. Day-night dome cameras are installed inside the bus stop in front of the school to monitor the grounds and parking lot. “Students know the cameras are watching them as they move through the school,” says Sergio Collazo, national sales and marketing manager for Toshiba, which manufactured all of the cameras at the school. “But the unobtrusive appearance keeps it from being intimidating.”

Some areas will remain out of view from the cameras. They were not installed in bathrooms, locker rooms or inside classrooms. School officials met with security representatives in early 2007 and decided on a hybrid analog/digital solution because a full IP system was cost-prohibitive. The system utilizes CAT5e cabling that is also used for the campus’ computer network. “Besides saving money, it essentially future-proofed the building if the administration chose to add IP cameras later down the line,” says Chad Umbarger, vice president of sales for HeitneREPS Inc, a security systems company that worked on the project. The system allows authorized staff to log on to their computers to view real-time images transmitted from around the school. The Thomson Police Department was given network IP addresses. In case of an emergency, live images can be accessed through the school’s wireless infrastructure by officers within 150 feet. The school also features a central visual checkpoint at the intersection where the school’s six hallways meet, where a large color monitor lets staff watch all hallways from one location.

However, the technology also extends to classrooms. “The technological aspects of the school are beyond what we’ve seen in the state of Georgia,” says Steve Rhodes, principal of Thomson-McDuffie. “Each of our classrooms will have a DVD projector in the ceiling. All will have slate writers.” After the school opened, police officers and representatives from other schools toured Thomson-McDuffie Middle to explore how to deploy similar approaches to combat crime and vandalism.

NATIONAL : To boost the sinking economy, government needs to invest in modernizing and upgrading school buildings, expanding broadband internet access, making public buildings more energy efficient, and launching a public works program to rebuild the nation's highways, said President-elect Barack Obama in a Dec. 6 radio address. The address came a day after the government reported that employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years. The plans are part of a vision for a massive economic recovery program Obama wants Congress to pass and have waiting on his desk when he takes office Jan. 20.
He offered no price estimate for the grand plan, nor stipulations for how the money might be divided or its effect on the country's financial health at a time of burgeoning deficits. However, a recent report by the Center for American Progress suggested a spending plan of $350 billion in the first year of economic stimulus and recovery.

My economic recovery plan will launch the most sweeping effort to modernize and upgrade school buildings that this country has ever seen," Obama said in the address. "We will repair broken schools, make them more energy-efficient, and put new computers in our classrooms. Because to help our children compete in a 21st-century economy, we need to send them to 21st-century schools."In the Center's report, they recommend that a total of $20 billion be spent to address the nearly one-third of schools that have one or more temporary buildings housing an average of 160 students each--and the hundreds of billions of estimated dollars needed to bring school facilities to good condition. The report suggests that $7.25 billion should be spent immediately to support state and local green school construction and modernization projects. It suggests an additional $12.75 billion be spent on school districts to eliminate years of deferred maintenance, particularly in schools in low-income communities. The study claims that those two measures could create 250,000 skilled maintenance and repair jobs and supply $6 billion of materials and supplies. Obama's proposed upgrades to schools are part of a larger plan to make all public buildings more energy-efficient. The U.S. government currently pays the highest energy bill in the world, according to the president-elect.

WEST VIRGINIA: As school systems around the state struggle with aging facilities and a lack of finances, at least one county is seriously considering teaming up with private developers to build new schools. It would be an unprecedented move for cash-strapped Preston County, which has been unable to pass bonds to replace several old schools. Private lease-back arrangements have already been considered by other pinched or rapidly expanding schools systems around the country. In some cases, there are success stories. In other cases, officials have found that the schools could end up costing more or come with restrictions that essentially negate their use as community centers.
The Preston County school board may be the first in the state that's getting close to entering such an agreement, but even there such a plan is at least a year and a half from happening. But private money might be the only way for the county to build new schools. Preston voters failed last month to approve a $50 million bond.

The desperate need for new school facilities in the county sparked a group of area developers to propose building the two new schools with little money up front and on a faster timeline than the state or county could on its own. The offer, made last week in a special session of the Preston school board, comes from Sustainable Educational Facilities. The group, which is newly formed, would build the schools if the board agrees to what is essentially a 20- to 25-year rent-to-own contract. One of the founders of Sustainable Educational Facilities told the school board that a public-private partnership would enable the board to focus on education. John Miller, a hotel developer and former Morgantown city council member, said he told the board that it was a "board of education, not a board of building."

The idea is not new. Many governments and public agencies elsewhere build their facilities through similar public-private partnerships. Marshall University has already partnered with a private firm to finance and develop $83 million worth of campus facilities, including its new health and wellness center. So far officials there say they are satisfied with the arrangement. The university says because there are revenue streams - in this case, student fees - it was possible to pursue this kind of financing. A Preston County public-private-partnership could be at the forefront of a wave of public-private agreements to build schools around West Virginia if the state is, as expected, unable to meet school construction needs in the next decade.

A new infrastructure plan announced by President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday could also change the game. The proposal could include millions of dollars to build and repair schools. But without such a major federal initiative, state School Building Authority officials anticipate that the agency will have only $1 billion to put toward construction projects from 2010 to 2020. They expect counties will ask for at least twice that much, from $2 billion to $2.5 billion. The authority therefore already is exploring additional ways of funding schools, including whether it could make lease-purchase agreements work, said director executive director Mark Manchin. Officials are still trying to determine if state law allows the SBA and counties to participate in such deals. Still, companies are eager to make the pitch. Developers say, "Listen, we've got $20 million, we'll go out and build your school right now," Manchin said. Private developers say the current public building process - which includes bidding to increase transparency and accountability - is unwieldy and a waste of time. "The government is besieged by process, and process is money through inflation," said John Lininger, of Illinois, who represents a national company that does the design and building for lease-back projects. He said private developers save schools systems "a ton of money" and save them time. Much of the savings, he said, comes from avoiding the delay that school districts like Preston County go through in trying to convince voters to pass bond measures. He says that each time the voters don't commit taxpayer dollars, the new buildings become more expensive because of inflation. Even if the Obama administration funds a major public works project, Lininger said the private sector should build schools. "Why reinvent a wheel that is not working right now?" he said.

NATIONAL : USA Today used an EPA model to track the path of industrial pollution and mapped the locations of almost 128,000 schools to determine the levels of toxic chemicals outside. The potential problems that emerged were widespread, insidious, and largely unaddressed. This special report includes stories, videos, a list of schools that ranked worst, the methodology, a Q&A, and a search capability to find your school.

NATIONAL : USA Today used an EPA model to track the path of industrial pollution and mapped the locations of almost 128,000 schools to determine the levels of toxic chemicals outside. The potential problems that emerged were widespread, insidious, and largely unaddressed. This special report includes stories, videos, a list of schools that ranked worst, the methodology, a Q&A, and a search capability to find your school.

NATIONAL : The nation's mayors led by U.S. Conference of Mayors President Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, renewed their call for a MainStreet Recovery plan during the first 100 days of the new Administration. In a press conference on Capitol Hill with House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chair Charlie Rangel, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair James Oberstar and several other mayors, The Conference released its second report that inventories local 'ready-to-go' infrastructure projects - projects that could be started and completed in cities in just two calendar years -- if emergency federal funding were made available. Information on these projects has been submitted to the U.S. Conference of Mayors from hundreds of cities in all regions of the country and includes projects in ten different sectors including Community Development Block Grants, transit, highway infrastructure, green jobs, school modernization, public safety and public housing.

NATIONAL : President-elect Barack Obama announced "the most sweeping effort to modernize and upgrade school buildings this country has ever seen..." as part of his Wall Street to Main Street economic recovery plan, which will repair broken schools, make them energy efficient and put new computers in classrooms across the country to make children more competitive in a 21st century, global economy.
The following statement can be attributed to NEA President Dennis Van Roekel: "Educators, school districts and communities across the country enthusiastically welcome the ambitious and timely school modernization and greening plan announced by President-elect Obama over the weekend. "School modernization and greening enhances student learning, stimulates the economy, creates jobs, and injects revenue into state and local coffers. It also addresses overcrowding, safety and environmental concerns due to aging structures; creates an environment more conducive to teaching and learning; and helps meet the demands of modern technology.
"Educators have been sounding the alarm for years about the state of our schools. Today, children go to public schools built, on average, almost 50 years ago. They enter overcrowded buildings with leaky roofs, faulty electrical systems, and outdated technology. In some cases, classes take place in one of the more than 220,000 portable classrooms in use by public school systems in the United States. "In a time of crisis, like now, we must act boldly. President-elect Obama clearly understands that all roads to economic security and prosperity go through our public schools. Public investments in the nation's infrastructure-and especially our public schools-provide immediate, short-term economic stimulus and build the foundation for long-term economic growth. These investments have shown to have a significant, and welcome, ripple effect on state and local economies."

NEW JERSEY: State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy looked at the magnificent atrium of the new $102 million Central High School in Newark and declared that the state is not going to build any more schools like it. Good idea, and not because Central is an example of sumptuous architecture. Urban kids deserve beautiful schools. But a state that still has dozens to build for thousands more students cannot afford to spend too much on any one school, whether the excess is a matter of design, stupidity or misfeasance -- all of which have been abundant in the past. Central's history is a prime example of how the state misspent the first $6 billion it was given to rebuild deteriorating schools in urban districts. Bad steel and bad management delayed construction of Central, which was supposed to open in 2004 and was barely ready for this school year.

State officials were at Central last week to talk about the future of the state construction program, which has been replenished with $3.8 billion. That money will have to be stretched far to do much good. The new construction effort figures to play heavily in one of Gov. Jon Corzine's plans for getting the state through increasingly hard times: Accelerate the pace of necessary public works projects, such as building schools, as a way to create jobs and stimulate the state's economy. That plan will work as long as everyone is clear that mismanagement will not be tolerated. The priority must be building schools and spending state money wisely. Economic stimulus does not mean padding construction crews or payrolls or contracts. This time projects must come in on time and on budget. This time quality and affordability must be given equal emphasis so the state can build as many schools as it needs. This time, too, the emphasis should be on hiring locally.

Eight years ago, the state Supreme Court gave New Jersey the order to rebuild schools in communities too economically hard-pressed to fully fund educational needs on their own. Training and employing local people for the construction crews, getting local contractors and suppliers in on the bidding -- fair bidding, that is -- are the kinds of economic stimulus that those communities need. The school construction agency has remade itself, and officials will no doubt complain that it is unfair to keep bringing up the things that went wrong in the past. It is not unfair because what went wrong was astronomically bad. Professional fees were inflated. The state got rooked on land deals. Entire neighborhoods were decimated to make way for schools that the state could not afford to build. The ghost towns are still there. The schools aren't. No one has gone to jail. No one should think for a moment that economic stimulus can be used as an excuse to spend big and deliver little. The commissioner is right: No more of that.

OHIO: Oklahoma State architecture students pitched their design proposals for a new elementary school to district officials and a jury of professors. Forty-one third-year students toured local schools, researched national precedents, and spent five weeks creating individual designs for their client, Assistant Superintendent Jim Ryan. Ryan said the district doesn’t have plans to build another school, but may need to in the near future based on increasing enrollment figures. The students consulted with Ryan at the onset of the project, and he asked them to design a place that would encourage students to learn.

Heather Spencer created a four-story radial school design, which she said resembled a spaceship, with a parking lot that resembled a crop circle. She said she wanted to design a place that would be fun to learn, have a small footprint on the environment, and give students an uninterrupted view of their surroundings. Steven Blair’s design, “Educating a mind unfolded,” had a vaulted library as the center of what represented an unfolded shape. He said school should be like a cocoon where children can transform. Marrina Boontheekul designed transparent display galleries, which brought in natural light and served as giant showcases for children’s work.

Professor Suzanne Bilbeisi said the architecture school was excited to provide services and ideas to the community. She said students tried to encompass modern educational trends of hands-on learning and community building in their designs. She said three of Stillwater’s schools were built in the 1950s, and they weren’t designed to support today’s teaching methods. “There’s a lot of investigation and discovery that happens at the elementary school level,” Bilbeisi said.
Many of the students included extra work spaces and outdoor learning centers, or over-lapping classroom areas in their designs. They also incorporated sustainability, creating schools that would require less maintenance, generate electricity and cause minimal disruption to the environment. The students grappled with how to work with the topography on their hypothetical site, a hilly, tree-laden, 70,000 square foot area near the intersection of Sangre Road and 19th Street.One design had a jagged roof that contorted with the contours of the land. Another was elevated with space underneath that could serve as a recycling area. Professor John Womack said the project was a large undertaking, and students worked hard. “Even schemes that may not have been highly successful had bits of brilliance,” he said.

NATIONAL : Worsening budget conditions are pressing school officials in the Washington area and across the country to consider backing away from what has become a mantra of education: Kids learn best in smaller classes. Area school systems are moving into the difficult part of their budget seasons, and many of them say that trimming spending by increasing class size is a real possibility.
Montgomery County seems to have avoided the prospect this week, when teachers agreed to give up a 5 percent raise to help the school system save tens of millions of dollars. But the size of the raise in that contract was unusual. Elsewhere, school officials say they will have to get by with fewer teachers to find such savings. In Fairfax County, the region's other premier public school system, bleak fiscal forecasts point to a potential increase of as many as 2 1/2 children a class next school year, a bump of more than 10 percent in elementary classrooms. That would come on top of a half-student per class increase in September. Larger classes are also being considered in Loudoun and Prince George's counties.

For more than a decade, billions in federal and state dollars were targeted to whittle classes so that teachers can devote more time and attention to each student, crafting lessons to fit the needs of struggling students, high-achievers and everyone in between. Nationwide, the average number of students in elementary classes dropped from 29 in 1961 to 24 in 1996, according to the National Education Association. In 2004, the average elementary class nationwide had 20 children, the U.S. Education Department says, with about 25 in the average secondary class. But this smaller-is-better trend is in jeopardy. A survey of more than 800 districts released last month by the American Association of School Administrators found that 36 percent have moved to larger classes in response to the economic downturn. Many are also putting off maintenance, buying fewer textbooks and lowering thermostats.
With upwards of 80 percent of a system's budget devoted to salaries and benefits, hiring fewer employees offers one of the surest ways for schools to net big savings. (Another is reducing pay raises.) In Fairfax, each time average class size grows by one student, the system saves $22 million a year. In Loudoun, the per-student savings for larger classes would be $7.3 million a year.

Research has shown that the smallest class sizes, those hovering around 15 or 16 children, benefit students. For instance, researchers studying 15-student elementary classes in Wisconsin reported in a 2003 study that those students made greater academic gains than peers in bigger classes. Teachers were better able to tailor lessons to each student, and fewer discipline problems occurred.

Last school year, average elementary class size was 19.3 students in Prince George's, 19.5 in Montgomery, 20.7 in Fairfax and 21.2 in Loudoun, according to the Washington Area Boards of Education. In the District, the contract with the Washington Teachers' Union calls for no more than 25 students per elementary class, but that target is not always met. Prince William school officials plan to ask state lawmakers to relax Virginia's class-size rules, which stipulate that in first, second and third grades, each class should typically have 24 students but no more than 30.
School leaders nationwide are considering similar moves. Los Angeles officials are proposing to raise the limit on class size from kindergarten through third grade by five students, to 25 a class. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) is urging state officials to give schools flexibility about class-size rules. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said last month that anxiety is rising among educators -- "the fear that budget cutbacks will increase class sizes to unmanageable levels, put the brakes on initiatives that are improving their schools."

NATIONAL : Eight school districts that are leading the way to prevent and solve indoor air quality problems in schools will be honored at the EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools National Symposium in Washington, D.C., from Dec. 4-6, 2008. Indoor air quality (IAQ) problems in schools can lead to a range of health problems, including allergy symptoms and asthma attacks. Students and staff exposed to poor IAQ can also suffer diminished performance and concentration. “Indoor air quality leaders are doing great things in their communities and serving as role models for communities across the nation,” said Elizabeth Craig, deputy assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “Together, we will continue improving the indoor air quality in all our nation’s schools.”

The three-day symposium will focus on the latest research and information on environmental health topics such as radon, mold, asthma management, maintaining ventilation systems for good IAQ, integrated pest management, green cleaning products and practices, and best practices of high-performing schools.
EPA introduced the IAQ TfS program in 1995 as a comprehensive resource to help schools maintain a healthy environment in school buildings by identifying, correcting, and preventing IAQ problems. The program has provided hundreds of schools with a variety of easy-to-use products, materials, and tools at no cost to help them implement an indoor air quality management program. A recent U.S. Center for Disease Control study found that half the nation’s schools, representing 30 million children and staff, now have IAQ management programs in place, 85 percent of which relied on EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools.This year’s TfS award winners are: Connecticut Technical High School System, Middletown, Conn.; Newark Public Schools, Newark, N.J.; North East Independent School District, San Antonio, Texas; Amity Regional School District No. 5, Woodbridge, Conn; Baldwin Union Free School District, Baldwin, N.Y.; Bellingham School District, Bellingham, Wash.; Diane Rhodes of San Antonio, Texas; and Peggy Caruso of Katy, Texas.

NEW JERSEY: Newark's new Central High School shines as one of the jewels of New Jersey's massive school construction program, a $102 million structure of brick and glass that draws praise and awe from those who enter its vaulted atrium entrance. But as the state relaunches the construction program after years of scandal and mismanagement, state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy looked up into the same sunlit atrium and used it as a cautionary example of what the state can't afford any more. "We want to make sure we don't do this again," Davy said of the atrium. "It's gorgeous, but it's a lot of space, a lot of costs. Can you imagine just the heating and air- conditioning?"

Such is the challenge for the state as it proceeds with the program that already cost more than $8 billion and now has another $3.9 billion infusion that most officials and advocates agree is still far short of what is needed to rebuild the school infrastructure in the Garden State's neediest districts. As another 50 projected projects now get under way, and others stand in the pipeline, Davy said the kinds of designs previously approved by the state are all being revisited and may not get the same treatment this time around. "It's not about being cheap but about being as economical as possible while still serving the educational needs," she said. Davy's comments came after her testimony at a legislative hear ing held in Central High Wednesday, where the new director of the state's Schools Development Authority was introduced and testimony was heard about projects approved and many still waiting.

The day before, the authority announced it would fast-track a half dozen of the new projects as part of a broader economic stimulus package for New Jersey. The authority's new director, Kris Kolluri, said he would ensure that the money is well-spent in each of those projects and the others under way. Kolluri, the state's former transportation commissioner, takes over the SDA from outgoing director Scott Weiner, who is credited with rebuilding the agency after it essentially ran out of money amid accusations of pervasive abuse and waste. Formerly named the Schools Construction Company, the SDA was charged with managing more than $6 billion in new buildings and renovations for the 31 districts that fall under the state Supreme Court's Abbott vs. Burke rulings. Another $2 billion went to projects not in Abbott districts and not overseen by the SDA. Kolluri seizes the reins as districts vigorously compete over the recent infusion of another $3.9 billion, with some of their representatives testifying yesterday. There was a big voice from vocational school advocates and supporters who said their schools have been largely left out of the building program. Elsewhere, Paterson is still waiting for 14 new schools to be built, with little immediate prospect. One advocate said current kindergarteners at this rate won't see the schools built before they graduate high school in 2020. "That's 20,000 students who will remain in overcrowded and inadequate classrooms," said Irene Sterling, president of the Paterson Education Fund

NEW YORK: The New York City Department of Education (DOE) is continuing to expand capacity in its schools, with 34,000 more seats from the current capital plan and 25,000 seats in the fiscal year 2010-2014 capital plan. The plan, whose first draft was released last month, is meant mainly to upgrade facilities and to ease classroom overcrowding in existing buildings. The DOE opened 18 school buildings this fall and is anticipating the opening of campuses on Metropolitan Ave. in Queens, Mott Haven in the Bronx, Beekman Place, and Battery Park City. All schools that were designed beginning from January 2007 are environmentally, “green-designed schools,” said DOE Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm during a city council hearing on the new capital plan. In total, the budget is $11.3 billion, with $5.2 billion dedicated to expanding capacity and $6.1 billion dedicated to facility enhancement and remediation. To cope with tough financial times, Mayor Michael Bloomberg mandated that all City agencies must reduce spending by 20 per cent. The figures in the new capital plan represent an 18.1 per cent reduction in spending from the current plan.The capital improvements portion of the plan will focus on maintaining the exteriors of buildings. The $6.1 billion allocated to this portion of the plan is divided almost evenly to address serious conditions in improving technology and facilities, and making sure that facilities meet building code standards. A new focus of the DOE is to address overcrowding by neighborhood rather than by district. It estimates that the neighborhoods of North and South Corona, Lefrak City, and Elmhurst will need 2,214 new seats, more than any other neighborhoods in the city. To assess the enrollment needs by neighborhood, the DOE and School Construction Authority examine trends from each neighborhood's housing sector, rezoning projects, and consider reports from school principals.
Approximately 80 school buildings will see their leases expire in 2010-2014. The FY2010-2014 plan builds off the current five-year plan (FY2005-2009), rolling over 8,000 seats from the current plan that have yet to be sited. The DOE expects most of the new seats to be created during school years beginning in Fall 2009 and Fall 2010.

From now until January, the DOE will seek public input on the new capital plan. On January 9, Community Education Councils are required to submit their comments on the plans. In February, the second draft of the plan will be released. Then in March, the updated plan will be submitted to the city council for its approval in June..

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The sixth-graders in Marti Goldstone’s science class at Horace Mann Elementary are working on a project that could save their D.C. public school a lot of money. They are conducting an energy audit of their entire school. They calculate how much energy each classroom, gym, cafeteria, office, etc. uses, how much electricity each item in a room consumes, which appliances eat up too much electricity and what adjustments can be made to save energy.Goldstone is one of about 100 teachers nationwide who have teamed up with the conservation group the Alliance to Save Energy in an effort to make schools greener by identifying wasteful practices and adopting more energy-efficient measures to replace them. The group’s energy-audit exercise is part of its Green Schools program. For public school teachers like Goldstone, the energy-audit lesson is a great opportunity for students to use math, science and social studies in pursuit of an important environmental goal. For superintendents of school districts, the project is worthwhile for another reason — it can save them money.

Many schools spend thousands of dollars a month on energy bills, said Emily Curley, who runs the Green Schools program at the Alliance to Save Energy. Even such simple no-cost acts as turning off classroom lights and computers and adjusting thermostat settings can save schools between 5 percent to 15 percent of their energy bills, she said. “That’s pretty significant, especially for public schools that might not have the upfront funding for big [green] renovations.” Still, some public school districts have spent money to conform new construction, or retrofit existing buildings, to green standards. A few districts are required by law to make their campuses more energy efficient. Montgomery County in Maryland, for one, passed a measure requiring all its public schools achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. LEED, which is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, is the most widely used green-building rating system in the nation.

The Green Schools Initiative, a nonprofit organization based in Berkeley, Calif., calculates that that while the cost premium for green construction is around $3 a square foot, the return on the initial investment can be about $70 a square foot. For example, the upfront costs of building a highly durable wall could be offset exponentially by future savings on heating and air-conditioning bills. Retrofitting existing buildings to confirm to green standards can more than pay for itself too. Deborah Moore, executive director of the Green Schools Initiative, estimates that the costs in terms of energy savings can be recouped between one to three years.
Montgomery County Public Schools in Rockville, Md., invests $500,000 a year in a green schools program, which yields annual energy savings of $5 million, according to Moore. The effort includes a green building program. And Murrieta Valley Unified School District in Murrieta, Calif., saved $145,000 in energy costs over a span of nine months from energy-efficiency investments, according to the Green Schools Initiative.

While the environmental and economic benefits of greening schools are clear, it isn’t easy for public school districts to adopt such policies because they usually require increased funding up front. “School districts are perpetually strapped for money,” Moore said. “To come up with anything extra, they have to justify it to taxpayers who don’t want to pay anything extra.” But Curley of the Alliance to Save Energy says that the payoff for public school districts from greening their campuses can be big. Because their school buildings tend to be older and less energy efficient, no-cost and low-cost steps to bring them up to greener standards can have an immediate effect, with big savings. When it comes to green buildings, though, public schools don’t always have the money that some private schools do to achieve LEED certification. Yet, public school districts do have cheaper options for green building. They can simply adopt green standards of their own choosing, ignoring LEED rules altogether, or, they can meet LEED standards without going through the costly process of becoming certified.

GEORGIA: Three quarters of a century after they opened, several former Richmond County schoolhouses sit worn down and vacant, with historical preservationists hoping to save them from demolition. The old John S. Davidson School, the A.C. Griggs School, the Martha Lester School and the old Sue Reynolds School, all built in 1934, must be sold to plug a $1.5 million hole in this year's school budget. "We just don't want anyone to come into town and think this is a prime piece of property and tear it down," said Erick Montgomery, of Historic Augusta, which is offering its expertise in preservation to any interested buyers. The schools could be put up for bid this month, said Jack Padgett, the chairman of the school board's building committee. Also up for sale are the old Hornsby Elementary, the Floyd Graham School and the Regency Exchange 8 cinema.

While the school board is hoping to sell these sites, it is also looking for ways to best use its existing properties and to bring more racial equality to school facilities. That is the same situation the board was facing nearly 80 years ago. The passage of a million-dollar school construction package heralded a day when money flowed easily for Richmond County education. "The cost of these and other projects that the Board wanted would have unnerved citizens of another era," Augusta historian Ed Cashin wrote in The Quest: A History of Public Education in Richmond County, Georgia. "However this was the high-flying twenties when the fantastic was entirely possible. So, the once-timid Board decided to go for broke." The bond package was passed after a grand jury report highlighted the need to replace and repair shabby school buildings and improve conditions for all children. A grand jury was highly critical of the segregated school system for allowing its facilities to fall into disrepair, especially schools for black children. The report also recommended consolidating old one-room schoolhouses and replacing others.

Though the bond issue passed in 1929, construction of the schools didn't happen until a few years later during the Great Depression. When the bond package was complete, Richmond County had the following new schools: Joseph Lamar; the Fourth Ward School (later Lawton B. Evans); James R. Fleming; the original Gracewood School; Perrin School; Emma Stoughton School (later A.C. Griggs); Rocks School (later the old Sue Reynolds); the old John S. Davidson; Martha Lester; Silas X. Floyd; and C.T. Walker. "The litany of schools was so impressive that one might forget what launched the drive for the bond issue in the first place, the need for new schools for black children," Dr. Cashin wrote.

GEORGIA: Three quarters of a century after they opened, several former Richmond County schoolhouses sit worn down and vacant, with historical preservationists hoping to save them from demolition. The old John S. Davidson School, the A.C. Griggs School, the Martha Lester School and the old Sue Reynolds School, all built in 1934, must be sold to plug a $1.5 million hole in this year's school budget. "We just don't want anyone to come into town and think this is a prime piece of property and tear it down," said Erick Montgomery, of Historic Augusta, which is offering its expertise in preservation to any interested buyers. The schools could be put up for bid this month, said Jack Padgett, the chairman of the school board's building committee. Also up for sale are the old Hornsby Elementary, the Floyd Graham School and the Regency Exchange 8 cinema.

While the school board is hoping to sell these sites, it is also looking for ways to best use its existing properties and to bring more racial equality to school facilities. That is the same situation the board was facing nearly 80 years ago. The passage of a million-dollar school construction package heralded a day when money flowed easily for Richmond County education. "The cost of these and other projects that the Board wanted would have unnerved citizens of another era," Augusta historian Ed Cashin wrote in The Quest: A History of Public Education in Richmond County, Georgia. "However this was the high-flying twenties when the fantastic was entirely possible. So, the once-timid Board decided to go for broke." The bond package was passed after a grand jury report highlighted the need to replace and repair shabby school buildings and improve conditions for all children. A grand jury was highly critical of the segregated school system for allowing its facilities to fall into disrepair, especially schools for black children. The report also recommended consolidating old one-room schoolhouses and replacing others.

Though the bond issue passed in 1929, construction of the schools didn't happen until a few years later during the Great Depression. When the bond package was complete, Richmond County had the following new schools: Joseph Lamar; the Fourth Ward School (later Lawton B. Evans); James R. Fleming; the original Gracewood School; Perrin School; Emma Stoughton School (later A.C. Griggs); Rocks School (later the old Sue Reynolds); the old John S. Davidson; Martha Lester; Silas X. Floyd; and C.T. Walker. "The litany of schools was so impressive that one might forget what launched the drive for the bond issue in the first place, the need for new schools for black children," Dr. Cashin wrote.

NEW JERSEY: Officials of New Jersey's school construction program announced plans to step up the pace of work on at least six new schools next year, including a long-delayed Phillipsburg High School project, through a streamlined building process. "What we're trying to do is work essentially toward meeting the governor's mandate to accelerate these projects," said Kris Kolluri, the former Department of Transportation Commissioner who announced the streamlined building program during his first meeting as chief executive officer of the state Schools Development Authority.
Within the month, Kolluri plans to present the authority's board with a proposal to build six or seven schools using a truncated design-build process. That strategy would speed construction by combining both the architecture and contracting work on each job, eliminating the need to seek new construction bids after an architect has wrapped up design work.

Kolluri's staff tentatively identified six projects, with a total projected cost of $393 million, that would be under construction by the end of next year if the new process is approved. The list is dominated by the proposed Phillipsburg High School, a $174.4 million project that has been delayed for years by a lack of state funding. Other candidates for the stepped-up process are an early childhood center and elementary school in Jersey City, a middle school in Gloucester and the James Madison Elementary School in Garfield. The authority hopes to move another 15 school projects to the construction stage by the end of next year, according to materials considered by the board today show. Authority officials are also considering scrapping plans to renovate Newark's West Side High School in favor of a plan to build a new high school on the same site. Corzine is looking to the $12.5 billion school building program as one source of construction work to generate jobs during the ongoing national recession

WASHINGTON: Seattle Public Schools' plan to close six schools and relocate nine others will create a vacuum in communities and heighten parents' uncertainty about their children's academic futures. Just as losing a job or a home would. In better economic times, Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson would be advised to shed the district's stockpile of stately old buildings slowly so as to soften the blow — perhaps one or two schools every couple of years, always sold below market value to a community organization or nonprofit. Maybe she could take a page from King County Executive Ron Sims and place some of the schools in a virtual "lifeboat" and demand the state ante up to save them. But these are not ordinary economic times. A deepening recession can no longer be denied, even by those who favor rose-colored glasses.

The district faces a $24 million deficit predicted to double by the next fiscal year. The state Legislature is poised to suspend — or worse, end — funding of two voter-approved initiatives that pay for smaller classes, teacher salary increases and other educational needs. People may be frightened by the prospect of an empty building. I'm more frightened by the costs of maintaining that building after the state decides it is keeping $1.45 billion in education spending to deal with its own $5 billion deficit. I'll be terrified then. In the days since Goodloe-Johnson unveiled her closures plan, reasonable questions have been raised about some parts of it. The schools chief and her aides ought to be prepared to vigorously defend their choices or embrace better alternatives. An anticipated new school-assignment plan will color the debate and we should all prepare for last-minute changes. But in the end, buildings ought to be closed.
I have long felt it was fiscally irresponsible of the district to hold onto unneeded, valuable land when it can barely afford the maintenance on them. Moreover, a collection of buildings means nothing if the teachers inside them must beg for extra planning periods and students are met with a raised academic bar but not the extra resources to get over it.

The district must right-size itself, as a recent state audit proposed. It cannot afford to be one of the city's largest property managers. Goodloe-Johnson must show, again and again, how a smaller district creates efficiencies and improves academics. Yes, lowering any costs, including capital costs, improves the bottom line, but a great deal of specificity is necessary to quell public angst.

CONNECTICUT: Internationally educated architect Mark Miller figured there had to be a better way to build schools with the latest green technology, thought by some to help improve student performance, and build them faster and cheaper. The Watkinson School in Hartford is about to test Miller's theory. The preparatory school will be the first on the East Coast to use a Lego-like, life-size modular building system developed by Miller's company, Project FROG Inc. After more than two years of research and testing, Project FROG promises modular structures that are "better, greener, faster, cheaper" than comparable standard construction certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Watkinson's new Center for Science & Global Citizenship will occupy the 4,000-square-foot modular building, which is expected to be ready next fall. The $2 million structure will contain three classrooms and could be built in just six weeks this summer — one-quarter the time of traditional construction. The contemporary-looking building, with its abundant windows and clean, straight lines, will be a sharp contrast to the traditional brick structures on a New England prep school campus. Some of the trustees didn't like the building's looks. "They didn't see it fitting in on campus," said John Bracker, Watkinson's head of school. "What's been interesting is watching the kids instantly connect with it."

Some scientists have found that buildings with ample daylight, fresh air and good acoustics result in healthier students and teachers and improved student performance. Watkinson has selected the FROG Zero option, meaning that the south-facing building, with solar panels and a living roof, will create 100 percent of the energy it uses in a year, giving it a carbon footprint of zero. A portion of the building created quite a buzz at the recent Greenbuild International Conference and Expo at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Following Project FROG's instructions, local contractors assembled a classroom in less than a week outside the conference center's entrance. To understand the concept, think of it as a high-tech Lego set. Each component of the building is designed to fit to other pieces, and each user can choose various features, much like a kid can build multiple creations from the same box of Lego blocks. The pieces are designed at Project FROG's headquarters in San Francisco, but they will be manufactured on the East Coast. Miller plans to locate his East Coast manufacturing operation in the Northeast but hasn't determined where yet. Project FROG can be used for schools, hospitals and retail stores.

The economies of scale, the quick construction process, low or zero energy costs and the lack of waste combine to make Project FROG cheaper, Miller said. Though typical construction produces about 30 percent waste, the practice of cutting each piece to order in the factory for on-site assembly translates to virtually no waste, Miller said. Leftover scraps are recycled. Educators at Watkinson plan to use the structure as a teaching and learning tool, not just a classroom building. When the teachers saw the plexiglass floor installed in Boston to show visitors the building's inner workings, they said they wanted those to remain when the building is erected in Hartford. Bracker thinks the provocative building will get people thinking "about who we are and why we do what we do," he said. "I think it's pretty interesting to think about a building that's as inspiring and smart as the faculty and students who are in it."

ARKANSAS: With projects such as studying native species, environmental cleanups and monitoring water, students in the Greenland High School Environmental and Spatial Technologies lab spend a fair share of their time outside. Perhaps it is appropriate then that the group is able to use an outdoor classroom.
The EAST Lab now has an outdoor learning classroom. They use a six-sided gazebo structure built behind the school where a set of woods by Ward's Slough, a tributary of the White River, begins. The outdoor classroom is also open to other classes at the school. "If it's not cold, a lot of people would like to go out there,"James Chaparro, student, said. "It just helps students get in touch with nature,"Justin Collins, another student, said.

The school received funds for the project by way of a $5,000 grant from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, which funded the cost of the materials. Nearly all of the work to prepare the site, design the structure and build the outdoor classroom was done by students. The EAST Lab developed the plans to build the structure without assistance from a professional architect. "Did it all ourselves,"John Diesel, EAST Lab instructor, said. "Architects cost money." Students used a computer program to develop the hexagon design and plan the layout of the support boards underneath that hold up the gazebo floor. The structure also includes some built-in benches for classes that visit the outdoor classroom. "I just like it. It's a different experience (than being inside)," Caty Zinke, student, said. The students also did the work to clear and prepare the site for the construction project. One student, Elijah Wolfe, said he brought in four goats from home so they could chew down weeds.

Most of the construction work on the structure was done by students in the school's construction technology program. The construction technology students have been involved with other renovation and construction projects at Greenland in recent years. They helped renovate a former stone house into the district's administration office, and construction technology students also renovated the standalone building that houses the program's classroom. The EAST Lab has a variety of long-term plans for some of the land near the main school building and the outdoor classroom. The students hope to eventually install a butterfly garden and a rain garden to collect water runoff. None of the vegetation for the future gardens has been installed, but students have marked off the areas with outlines on the ground. Students have also been actively studying the environment around the classroom by studying species and plants. Besides the $5,000 grant to build the outdoor classroom, the Game and Fish Commission has awarded the EAST program other small grants to study the environment. The program received a $1,700 Stream Team grant from the commission to study water at Ward's Slough. Diesel said he hopes to install a new gate at some point in the fencing that separates the main school building from the outdoor classroom area. He said it would cut down on the walking time from the indoor classrooms to the one outside.

NORTH CAROLINA: Schools in Cabarrus County have partnered with the county sheriff's office in a new way to keep students safer. Cabarrus County has installed software at the Sheriff's Office that allows employees there to access surveillance cameras at every Cabarrus school that has them. Sheriff Brad Riley said his department is adding more monitors to help watch over the schools and do other surveillance. The biggest benefit, he said, is that it give officials video to help determine how an incident unfolds. “We want to expand the program to have more cameras in more places,” Riley said. Schools facilities director Joe Sides said law enforcement officials will check the surveillance recordings only if the school reports a problem. “This way, they can flip through the cameras and know exactly where the problem is before they enter the school,” Sides said.

The computer software cost only a couple of thousand dollars, Sides said. About half of the schools in Cabarrus County have surveillance video cameras, he said, including all of the high schools and middle schools. At least six schools have also changed their locks this year to a fob system, Sides said. In that system, all school doors except the front door lock when closed. Teachers and school officials can open other doors with a fob key, but no one else can get into the school alone without going through the front door. The county expects to have all schools on that system, as well as surveillance cameras, within three years. Sides said it costs $20,000 to put a surveillance system at a school, and the county has already budgeted $100,000 for the next three years for security. Schools could get all of that sooner, he said, if the county gets available federal grants

COLORADO: Students at Bethke Elementary benefit from natural light and fresh air during the school day, while the building itself also helps them learn through its award-winning green design."I like Bethke because it's a green school, and part of the learning is about how you can be green," said Maddie Reiber, a Bethke fifth-grader. Bethke, which opened in August, is the first school in the nation to be certified through the U.S. Green Building Council's, or USGBC, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, for Schools Rating System. The Poudre School District school was awarded gold-level certification, the second-highest rating in the program. LEED is the USGBC's rating system for constructing the world's greenest, most energy-efficient buildings.

Walking through Bethke's wide hallways and stairways, one can see exposed pipes and other mechanical systems, typically hidden in buildings, to show function and provide educational opportunities. As a result, students learn from the building when they study topics such as solar energy, electricity and the water cycle. "Every grade level will incorporate a piece of the building into their science curriculum," said Ann Alfonso, Bethke principal. The school was thoughtfully designed to provide students with quiet learning environments. Classrooms are located on one side of the building, while more active spaces, like the gym, cafeteria and music and media centers are on the other side. Natural light floods the school through large windows and tubes in the roof, which can be covered for complete darkness in the kindergarten room during naptime. A playground sits on five acres, and an outdoor classroom made up of large boulders is widely used on warmer days. Alfonso said the school's package of an energy-efficient design, safety features, playground and outdoor classroom create a healthy environment for everyone. "Whether it's the quality of the air, the natural lighting or the connectivity of it all, this is a healthier environment for students and teachers as well," Alfonso said.
Other building features include a state-of-the-art evaporative cooling system, super-insulated building envelope and high-efficiency boilers. PSD has contracted with Xcel Energy to provide 100 percent wind power to the site. Bethke was designed by RB+B Architects using PSD's nationally recognized Sustainable Design Guidelines. Colorado State University's Institute for the Built Environment was the LEED consultant on the project. Bethke also was the first school in the U.S. to achieve a Three Green Globes rating by the Green Building Initiative.

VIRGINIA: The construction of several Spotsylvania County schools has been delayed, and officials are blaming declining student enrollment caused by home foreclosures in the area. A $24.86 million elementary school originally scheduled for 2011 is now set to open in 2015, according to a capital improvement plan presented at a School Board meeting. "Everybody needs to understand that we don't build things we don't need," said Vice Chairman Marty Wilder. The plan outlines construction projects from 2010 to 2014 totaling $298 million, using projected enrollment numbers.

The school division saw its first drop in enrollment since 1974, educational facilities planner Scott Worner told the board. Overall, the school division's average daily membership is down 300 students. Elementary schools saw a drop of 163 students this year, a sign that foreclosures likely affected young families, Worner said. Spotsylvania's proximity to Northern Virginia and its commuter population may also be a factor, he added. Families who lost homes and those unwilling to commute amid fluctuating gas prices may have moved in with relatives in Northern Virginia.
Additions to Ni River and Thornburg middle schools, originally scheduled for 2010, have been delayed until 2012. New elementary, high and middle schools have been delayed beyond the next four years. "We've seen sort of wild and rampant growth, and now we're seeing a little bit of a different picture," Wilder said. Chairman Gil Seaux said he'd like to see statewide enrollment numbers in December, when Gov. Tim Kaine releases his budget proposal. "We have been disciplined in how we approach this, because in everything we decide to do, there is a cost, and we understand that," Seaux said.

COLORADO: Colorado schools that are in greatest need of financial assistance could get funding as early as March, thanks to a recent agreement. The Colorado Legislature passed the Building Excellent Schools Today Act last year, which increased the financial assistance available for school district construction projects, and provides approximately $500 million for projects ranging from renovations to building additions and new schools. The legislation also created the Public School Capital Construction Assistance Board, a nine-person panel tht will determine how various needs across the state could be funded.

The board can distribute funds before statewide assessments are done on school facilities, greatly reducing waiting time for school districts that need assistance. The online application for funding will be available in mid-December, and applicants will have 30 days to complete a funding request. The funds will be awarded in March. The next scheduled meeting of the Capital Construction Assistance Board will be Feb. 24 and 25 to review applications and determine those that will be recommended to the Colorado State Board of Education for final approval.

ARKANSAS: Sensors measure sunlight streaming through large windows at Butterfield Trail Elementary School, dimming or shutting off electric bulbs when natural light will suffice. It is one of many energy-saving features in a new addition to the school set to open in January. A reflective roof coating will lower the building’s temperature, air conditioners are 24 percent more efficient than typical commercial units, and sensors will shut off lights when rooms are unoccupied. After a year of occupancy and exhaustive documentation by project engineers, Fayetteville administrators hope the U. S. Green Building Council will grant the building LEED certification, affirming its environmentally friendly construction and energy-saving features.

“If we’re going to do the right thing, let’s underscore it,” said Dick Johnson, assistant superintendent for the Fayetteville School District. “Everything we do is observed and interpreted, and this is a branding that’s recognized nationally.” LEED, an abbreviation for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, has slowly spread from commercial to public spaces as taxpayers have become more engaged in “green” building construction, Johnson said. But while some school leaders strive for the designation, others resist it, claiming the label elevates project costs without guaranteed return and raises questions from the public, sensitive to every increase in a building’s budget.

The U. S. Green Building Council ranks buildings seeking certification on a 69-point scale, adding points for designated building features and materi- als. Buildings that score at least 26 points receive certification, and those scoring higher receive silver, gold and platinum ratings, according to the council’s Web site. In 2007, the council launched an accreditation scale specifically for schools that awards points for the acoustic qualities of classrooms and for using the building as a tool to teach about environmentally friendly building techniques.

Butterfield Trail Elementary engineers hope to earn 33 points through the building’s features, said project manager Wes Burgess of Crafton, Tull, Sparks and Associates. Engineers planned many of the school’s features before deciding to seek the label. “With some minor modifications, I think a lot of school buildings could qualify,” Burgess said. Four schools in Arkansas are pursuing LEED certification: Butterfield Trail Elementary, Wooster Elementary School in Greenbrier, Bismarck High School and Hurricane Creek Elementary School in Benton. Bryant is the only school district with a LEED-certified building in the state. Bethel Middle School obtained a silver rating in 2007, gaining points for a two-story design built into a hillside, allowing entrances on both levels.

The district claims the features added $ 7 per square foot in construction costs, which are projected to be recouped in energy savings after 12 years of using the 121, 000-square-foot building. “This wasn’t a tough sell,” said Don McGohan, assistant superintendent. “There’s no question that it’s more expensive on the front end to construct on that level, but the cost is recouped over the cost of the building over the long term.” The council claims that LEED-certified schools use an average of 33 percent less energy, 32 percent less water and reduce solid waste by 74 percent, compared with traditional school buildings. Modifications typically add 2 percent to the final construction cost, the council says, although some LEED critics disagree. The claims have spurred massive applications of the standard across the country. Schools seeking LEED certification are under construction in all 50 states. In 2007, the Ohio School Facilities Commission adopted LEED as part of its school design standards, committing $ 1. 9 billion of partnership funding for projects in 40 school districts.

Detractors dispute the payoff of building to LEED standards. Karen Rue, chairman of the Texas Fast Growth Schools Coalition, spoke against the standards in an August state Senate subcommittee hearing. The coalition, representing 118 Texas school districts, argued the public wouldn’t be ready to the finance building standards until it fully understood the benefits. “What we have observed of the various certification standards such as the LEED program is that they go far beyond what we feel many of our voters are likely to find necessary in order to make our campuses energy efficient and environmentally friendly,” Rue said. “Given that local elections on bond issues are the starting point for the construction of school facilities, these local viewpoints must be carefully considered.” OBSTACLE OR ASSET ? Siloam Springs will construct a new $ 53 million high school using many energy-efficient features, but stopping short of seeking LEED certification, said Kent Raymick, assistant superintendent. “We’re going to do as much as our budget allows,” he said. The 296, 000-square-foot building will use large windows to let in sunlight. A water-cooled climate-control system will cost $ 1. 9 million more than a base model, but it operates twice as efficiently, Raymick said. “If we have to give up some fancy floors to pay for that, so be it,” he said. The school will be constructed using $ 15. 3 million of state partnership money, which is granted based on minimum costs for a designated list of academic uses. Costs beyond that, including super-efficient systems, must be covered by the district, Raymick said. “We could probably build the most inefficient building possible and they wouldn’t care,” he said. But school districts have an interest in driving down energy use, which eats a significant portion of their annual operating budgets.

Bentonville School District hasn’t sought the LEED label for any of its building projects, opting instead to pursue an aggressive energy audit from the Environmental Protection Agency, said energy manager Sam Reyna. By retrofitting existing buildings with new wall coverings, roof coatings and insulation materials, the district hopes to earn an Energy Star designation from the EPA, with claims of reducing its energy bills by 25 percent over other, similar-sized districts. The district employs several energy-saving devices, including light sensors in its high school and a geothermal system that uses circulated water drilled from wells to heat and cool Cooper Elementary School. After seven years of employing an energy manager, Siloam Springs estimates it has saved $ 1 million in energy costs by completing energy audits and shutting off things that “shouldn’t be buzzing or humming” after school hours, Raymick said. But the district’s new buildings relied on the June passage of a 5. 4-mill tax increase, part of the 12. 7 mills approved by voters in the last four years, he said. Architects worked to whittle down building costs to reduce the size of the necessary tax increase in a difficult economic climate. “We felt like we were pushing our luck as it is,” Raymick said. “It’s a tough balance here. I wish we could do more.” Fayetteville leaders hope the LEED designation will have the opposite effect, Johnson said. The planned construction of a new high school will rely on a bond issue, and administrators hope the promise of a LEED designation will draw environmentally conscious voters to the polls. “Right now, it’s turning from an obstacle into an asset,” Johnson said. “The consciousness of environmental issues is ascending at a pretty remarkable rate.”

NATIONAL : In the Saturday Democratic radio address, President-elect Barack Obama pledged to implement a two-year infrastructure program that would include "modernizing our schools that are failing our children." The proposed infrastructure package, now under development, would be designed to create 2.5 million jobs by January 2011 and would include restoring roads and bridges, building wind farms and solar panels, and investing in alternative energy.
Prior to the election, House and Senate economic stimulus bills that proposed massive funding for infrastructure failed to pass before the election in the face of Republican opposition in the Senate and a veto threat from President Bush. Among other projects, the House bill would provide $3 billion for school modernization, while the Senate bill would provide $2 billion.
Attempts by the Democratic leadership to pass an infrastructure measure in the post-election lame duck session have failed so far, and most observers consider the bills dead for the year. However, Obama and Democratic leaders have promised to make passage of a bill a top priority when the new Congress convenes in January.

NATIONAL : In the Saturday Democratic radio address, President-elect Barack Obama pledged to implement a two-year infrastructure program that would include "modernizing our schools that are failing our children." The proposed infrastructure package, now under development, would be designed to create 2.5 million jobs by January 2011 and would include restoring roads and bridges, building wind farms and solar panels, and investing in alternative energy.
Prior to the election, House and Senate economic stimulus bills that proposed massive funding for infrastructure failed to pass before the election in the face of Republican opposition in the Senate and a veto threat from President Bush. Among other projects, the House bill would provide $3 billion for school modernization, while the Senate bill would provide $2 billion.
Attempts by the Democratic leadership to pass an infrastructure measure in the post-election lame duck session have failed so far, and most observers consider the bills dead for the year. However, Obama and Democratic leaders have promised to make passage of a bill a top priority when the new Congress convenes in January.

CALIFORNIA: Two local elementary schools received generally high marks in their latest inspections under state legislation aimed at fixing up run-down facilities. Jackson Heights Elementary School in Red Bluff and Gerber Elementary School were recognized for making improvements after falling within the bottom 30 percent of student achievement scores. The Tehama County Department of Education has been checking the more than 50-year-old Jackson Heights for several years as part of a 2004 legal settlement over dilapidated schools, which created the new requirements. Gerber was inspected for the first time last year. "I'm happy to report that at Jackson Heights and at Gerber school, the results of their work are good," county schools Superintendent Larry Champion told the Board of Supervisors, which is required by state law to receive the annual school facilities report.
In each inspection, the Department of Education counts textbooks in each classroom and flushes every toilet in the school, Champion said. "All of the toilets flush," he said of the two schools.

The suit by the American Civil Liberties Union, Public Advocates Inc. and other civil rights groups asserted that children in substandard school facilities have lower chances of succeeding than do pupils in schools that are in better shape. Legislation resulting from the 2004 settlement created a state school improvement fund of more than $1 billion and established a new set of standards for facilities and materials. Each school in California now must provide regular opportunities for parents to comment on the school, and a complaint procedure is posted in every classroom. The site inspections kick in when a school falls within the bottom 30 percent of student achievement as measured in Academic Performance Index (API) scores. A Corning school - Olive View School - fell off the inspection list last year after bringing its student achievement scores above the bottom threshold. Built in 1953, the school at 225 Jackson St. has 537 students in kindergarten through sixth grade and 64 employees. In its latest review, nine classrooms representing each grade and education level were checked at random, and all materials were found present in each of the core subjects. All the restrooms have been upgraded with the exception of the kindergarten area. The playground has uneven pavement, cracked sidewalks and curbs that don't comply with current standards, and the original windows and doors in the main part of the school need repair, the report stated.

KANSAS: The Hutchinson school district has already taken steps to bring down the cost of some of the bond projects. Bob Williams, bond project manager for USD 308, said while absolutely no changes affect program space, cost-saving measures have been implemented into the design of elementary school improvement projects at Graber, McCandless, Avenue A and Allen. For example, instead of using metal panels for some of the exterior design on the buildings, the district will use an Exterior Insulation Finishing System (EIFS), pronounced "ephus." "I call it stucco," Williams said. "It holds up well and costs a lot less." He said EIFS, a masonry product, can be used above brickwork on buildings. So instead of "laying brick all the way up to the roof, we can lay brick about 8 feet, then go with this stucco product." Also, Williams said there may not be as many window panels for natural lighting areas on media centers and gyms. "We tried to reduce costs so we don't have to cut into window space," he said.

Williams was pleased that many construction costs seemed to be dropping in recent weeks. "There is a lot of indication these prices have gone down, like petroleum," he said. "I hope it stays like that until we get the rest of these projects bid out." The bond projects are part of the $78.8 million bond issue approved by voters in November of 2006.

MARYLAND: Under current economic conditions, Worcester County’s planned school renovation projects must wait at least five years before work begins, according to the County Commissioners. Work on the additions and renovations planned for Snow Hill High School, Showell Elementary School, and Stephen Decatur Middle School was officially pushed back in the mandatory capital improvement plans (CIP) required every year by the state of Maryland. The county and school CIPs cover the next ten years of planned capital projects. Inclusion in the plan does not guarantee construction of a project, however. “We don’t have the money we used to have in prior years from taxes. There isn’t one person up here who would raise taxes that I know of,” said Commissioner Louise Gulyas. “It’s not pretty and it’s not getting any prettier,” said Commissioner Bud Church of the economy. “It’s not what we want to do. I think it’s something we’re going to have to do.”
Better to list a date on the CIP when the project can actually be started, hoping to be pleasantly surprised with the ability to proceed earlier, said Commission President Virgil Shockley, than to not be able to proceed on the earlier schedule. “It’s a plan. Nothing is written in stone. When good times come, we’ll share with everybody,” said Gulyas.

The capital improvement plan is based on what Worcester County thinks it can afford in the future, Commissioner Judy Boggs said. The county cannot put itself into a financial hole, she said. “It can be adjusted as we move down the road. If the economy dramatically improves, we can make some adjustments,” Boggs said. The commissioners also required the Worcester County Board of Education to reduce the estimated costs for the school projects to match the county’s estimated costs. The Board of Education’s estimates include a 5-percent increase for inflation, Worcester County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jon Andes told the commissioners. “One or the other has to be changed. They should be both on the same page,” said county administrator Gerry Mason. Gulyas said the school board should mirror the county’s plan. “What we’re asking here today is that you make your capital plan match ours,” said Gulyas. “We have two plans and they both have to say the same thing, that’s the problem,” said Shockley. The 5-percent increase for inflation reflects historical increases in school construction costs, said Andes. The rate of inflation could be less, or even more. “The other thing I cannot tell you is what the state contribution will be exactly,” Andes said.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: It is counter-intuitive, but the current economic downturn might actually help Portsmouth with its three major capital improvement projects: upgrades to the $40-$45 million Portsmouth Middle School, the $25 million Madbury Water Treatment Plant and the $50 million Peirce Island wastewater treatment plant. The first benefit became apparent at the School Board meeting. Board members announced that the decrease in the cost of raw materials combined with the construction industry's hunger for work had already lowered the estimate for the Middle School renovation project from $45 million to just under $41 million. Since even the most optimistic economist doesn't believe things will turn around anytime before mid-2009, we're confident the cost of the project will fall near the mayor's recommended $40 million target price without the School Board making any major modifications to the plans. This is good for Portsmouth's taxpayers and its students.

NORTH CAROLINA: The financial crisis may put the brakes on school construction. Guilford County Commissioners and their staff met with the school board to discuss dwindling coffers and the outside possibility the bonds approved last spring may not sell in January. "I've never seen a situation like this," county Finance Director Brenda Fox told the group. "Typically we don't even give it a thought that our bonds wouldn't sell." But with credit markets frozen that fear has come to light.
On Jan. 13 the county will attempt to sell $232.6 million in bonds of the $651.4 million approved earlier this year and $23 million from the 2004 referendum. The amount to be offered in January includes $100 million for school construction and $45 million for Eastern Guilford High School. Fox believes, based on her analysis, the $100 million would carry school construction through spring 2010. School board member Darlene Garrett said enough should be sold to cover architectural phases and land acquisition, which she said typically takes a year. The schools have about $39 million remaining from the 2003 bond, with only about $12 million of that not already obligated to construction underway.

Fox made a less dire prediction for January as well. The bonds could sell with an interest rate of 5-6 percent, about 1-2 percent higher than predicted. However several officials noted that increase could be offset by locking in record low construction costs. "The problem is getting the money to do it," said Commissioner Mike Winstead. Several of the school board members in attendance expressed concern about the $100 million projection. Board member Dot Kearns noted that the school system has more construction going on than in many years. She said it would reasonable to assume they would break that average annual spending amount. If the bonds do not sell in January, Fox said it could be months before they attempt it again.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Tax Task Force doesn't want existing municipal or school buildings to be overlooked as options to alleviate the town's structural and space needs — so it's made a proposal. In a letter to the Board of Selectmen, the task force recommended the creation of a townwide facility planning committee that would be charged with examining the town's overall municipal building resources and needs, and, in turn, identify collective solutions. "We think there is a need for an ongoing process here," said Task Force Chair Len Dorrian. "Facilities should serve the entire town and we should be looking for opportunities to have joint use of facilities that taxpayers have already paid for." Dorrian said the task force believes taxpayers want to use all town and school facilities to fulfill municipal needs at the most reasonable costs, and that under current economic conditions new major capital projects aren't necessarily in the best interest of the taxpayer.
The task force letter said the recommendation was based on a variety of municipal planning factors that would support the cost-effective use of taxpayers' money. The task force wrote that there is a static town population that's aging, as well as a declining school population that is projected to continue to decrease during the next 10 years. The letter also noted that space may become available in some buildings at the same time that other municipal needs become acute.

"I fully support it and I think it's an important and necessary piece for the town," said Superintendent Henry Scipione. Scipione said he believes the recommendation is a good concept and could prove to be an integral part of a broader conversation about municipal buildings in town, including York schools' facilities. While Scipione said he supports the recommendation, he said the town and the schools have always had a close relationship and channel of communication. "If this is implemented, it's not going to change the manner we've been thinking about our facilities and capital planning," he said, adding that the committee will "formalize the process." The town has a Capital Planning Committee with members from both the town and school departments. The committee is charged with examining, discussing and proposing municipal projects for the town's five-year capital plan.

ARKANSAS: A half-billion dollar program to build and repair school buildings around the state isn't getting money to districts quickly enough, a pair of lawmakers complained to the man running the program. Rep. Eddie Hawkins said he's heard a "great deal of discontent" from several school superintendents in his district about the pace of distributing $455 million in money for school facilities that the Legislature set aside last year. "Never before have I seen an agency function that is handing out millions and millions of dollars, which should be a happy moment for a board member or school superintendent, and yet you're writing checks and there is so much discontent," said Hawkins, D-Vilonia. "I'm just very alarmed about where we are with this program."

Hawkins and Sen. Sue Madison, D-Fayetteville, complained about the pace of the facilities money being distributed as lawmakers reviewed the program's budget for the upcoming year. The agency reported that it had spent $107 million for school facilities last year. Lawmakers last year set aside nearly half of the state's surplus for the facilities program in an effort to end the long-running Lake View school funding case. Doug Eaton, director of the Division of Public School Facilities and Transportation, said his agency is following the rules that were laid out in 2003 legislation establishing the program.

Gov. Mike Beebe's proposed balanced budget would increase funding for the state's public schools by a little more than 2 percent, raising the budget to about $2.6 billion. Beebe did not include in his proposal any additional money for teacher insurance, despite lawmaker calls for increased funding. The proposal increases the state's per-student funding from $5,876 to $5,940 next year, an amount that includes $35 per student in enhanced funding that's not part of the state's foundation funding matrix. Lawmakers had also included "enhanced" funding in the per-student figures they approved last year.

NORTH CAROLINA: The Marine Corps plans to increase its force by 27,000 Marines over the next three years. That expansion is bringing at least 5,000 new Marine families to the Camp Lejeune area. But the Marine Corps doesn't know exactly how many of those families have school aged children. In Onslow County those schools are already overcrowded. Even before the Marines announced their expansion plans, Onslow County's population was growing. About 400 new students were joining the school system each year. Assistant Superintendent of Schools Jeff Hudson estimates that the Marine families alone could add as many as 3,000 more students. "We're not given an option as to whether or not we accept students that show up at the front door. When students show up, we have to teach them. So it's the county's responsibility to build adequate school facilities."

To cope with the overcrowding that already exists, the county is building a new school in between the Jacksonville and Richlands. Workers install an air conditioning system at what will be Stateside Elementary. When Stateside opens next year it will relieve overcrowding at two nearby schools. Hudson says the relief will be temporary, because they'll be at least another 400 new students next year. "Four hundred kids for us is a lot of kids. And this school will hold 800 or 900 kids. Every couple of years we would need to build another school." The county chose to build Stateside on donated land to save money. Jacksonville City Manager Kristoff Bauer says accepting land from developers creates a whole new set of problems. "Basically, if we put a school out in the middle of nowhere just because the land's cheap, or it's donated to us, then we drive growth out there as well, lots of times when we don't have the infrastructure to support it."

Onslow County is in the process of building six schools on donated land. Assistant Superintendent of Schools Jeff Hudson says the county must have more classrooms and it must do away with the nearly 200 trailer classrooms currently in use. Trailers are highly susceptible to hurricane damage. "If you took 200 mobile classrooms out of our inventory right now, we would not have enough room to house the students that attend Onslow County Schools today."
Meadow View Elementary occupies less than a quarter of the land purchased for it. That means if the student population demands it, Onslow County has room to expand. But it will need more money. Jeff Hudson says Onslow County doesn't have enough money right now to build more schools after Stateside. "So as we receive these additional troops, federal troops, military dependents, we need to turn to state government and the federal government and say, Hey, all these additional people are coming."

MASSACHUSETTS: There is a new trend when it comes to education -- green schools. In these eco-friendly classrooms, the environment is not only part of the lesson plan, it is core to the way the school functions. The Mary E. Baker School in Brockton is a new green school with an enrollment of almost 800 K-6 students. Unlike other states, there is no mandate for new schools to be built green in Massachusetts, but the state does provide substantial financial support for schools that opt to build green. Take a seat in Paul Anderson's sixth grade class and you'll get a lesson on solar panels. But the students don't need to open a text book to see this renewable energy source. Instead, a quick field trip to the roof of the school brings the lesson to life. Almost 200 solar cells face the sun, generating enough energy to power 10 homes for a year.

Sunlight is also harnessed to light up classrooms, cutting electricity bills and improving the learning environment. Research studies have shown that students perform better in the glow of natural versus artificial light. The heating and cooling systems used in the school are closely monitored to maximize energy efficiency and smart classrooms shut off air flow and ceiling lights when students are out on recess. Total energy savings are expected to be $60,000 a year. By studying long term operating costs at the school, the state hopes to determine the effectiveness of the many energy saving measures used at the Baker School.
The school was also built using lots of recycled materials. The playground surface is made of recycled rubber tires and recycled plastics make for fun on the jungle gym. Cleaning products are non-toxic, improving air quality, and even the mops are made of recycled materials.
Classroom activities wrap around these environmentally friendly measures and students take these lessons home to parents. Green schools are truly creating an environment for lifelong learning and a new generation of environmentalists.

FLORIDA: The economic slowdown that's sparked deep budget cuts has finally produced a bonus for the Volusia County School Board with an elementary school construction bid coming in $3.5 million lower than expected. The board agreed to hire Mark Construction Company of Longwood to build the new school at Hazen Road and Plymouth Avenue in DeLand for $14.987 million. The architect's cost estimate was $18.5 million, and the board is spending $18.3 million to build a Hurst Elementary replacement from the same basic design. The Hurst project was bid about a year ago, facilities director Pat Drago said, and included $800,000 worth of fill dirt for its site off LPGA Boulevard in Daytona Beach. No fill was needed for the DeLand site, she said.

Drago attributed the lower than expected price to a highly competitive bidding environment with construction companies scrambling for business in the slumping economy. Fourteen companies bid on the DeLand elementary school project. That's a stark contrast to just two years ago when construction projects were plentiful and a new high school in Orange City attracted only one bidder the first time around. The board rejected that $99.3 million price as too expensive and rebid the project with some changes. It got two bids the second time around and the board agreed to pay $95 million -- the most ever for a Volusia school -- to build the high school that's now expected to open in August 2010.

FLORIDA: The economic slowdown that's sparked deep budget cuts has finally produced a bonus for the Volusia County School Board with an elementary school construction bid coming in $3.5 million lower than expected. The board agreed to hire Mark Construction Company of Longwood to build the new school at Hazen Road and Plymouth Avenue in DeLand for $14.987 million. The architect's cost estimate was $18.5 million, and the board is spending $18.3 million to build a Hurst Elementary replacement from the same basic design. The Hurst project was bid about a year ago, facilities director Pat Drago said, and included $800,000 worth of fill dirt for its site off LPGA Boulevard in Daytona Beach. No fill was needed for the DeLand site, she said.

Drago attributed the lower than expected price to a highly competitive bidding environment with construction companies scrambling for business in the slumping economy. Fourteen companies bid on the DeLand elementary school project. That's a stark contrast to just two years ago when construction projects were plentiful and a new high school in Orange City attracted only one bidder the first time around. The board rejected that $99.3 million price as too expensive and rebid the project with some changes. It got two bids the second time around and the board agreed to pay $95 million -- the most ever for a Volusia school -- to build the high school that's now expected to open in August 2010.

TEXAS: Seguin ISD will likely get a deal on construction of a new elementary school. The board expected to hear the guaranteed maximum price of the school construction to be about $12.5 million. However, the GMP presented before trustees was actually $10.9 million, a figure that district Chief Operations Officer Rene Ramos said was well under budget.
“I think it’s probably related to several factors, most people point to the economy, there are a lot of people looking for work and it doesn’t hurt that oil prices are down,” Ramos said. He added that the archetecture and construction firms handling the jobs — the Koehler Company and PBK Architects — did an excellent job of organizing the project and creating easy-to-read blueprints that allow subcontractors to know what they are looking at. Steve Koehler, of the Koehler Company, said that though on average a similar project would receive about 80 to 85 bids, this elementary project got 263 bids from sub-contractors. “I think that says a lot about Seguin ISD’s repuation, as well as PBK Architects and hopefully the Koehler Company as well,” he said. “We were really excited and we hope all the projects go this way.” Ramos said that the lower price will allow the district to consider additions to the construction plan, such as inclusuion of two more classrooms.

If SISD decides to add to the elementary school plans with these alternative options, Ramos said the price would be like an addendum to the GMP and would likley go before the board during December’s meeting — along with the GMP for Briesemeister Middle School projects. The bond passed in May will allow the district to build a new elementary school and fund rennovations and improvements at all campuses. Though the process of building and improving SISD’s facilities is just beginning, trustee Ernest Leal said it seems to be off to an excellent start. “I really appreciate all the money that’s being saved,” he said. “I know that the community and school district could use those funds in other areas where they’re needed.”

GEORGIA: By some accounts, the new neighbor next door is pesky, rude and relentlessly loud. Has hacked down shade trees by the scores, sent dirt clouds flying over parked cars, and ignored zoning height restrictions. The new neighbor is a five-story public school. The $37 million Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology on McElvaney Lane in Lawrenceville, the district’s tallest school to date, is slated to open in August 2010.
But folks a stone’s throw away from the work site aren’t exactly eager to welcome the newcomer with open arms. They say there was no formal introduction. “When they decided to build this school over here, there was not one sign at all,” said neighbor Candice Stevens, who is miffed by the intrusion. “If they are going to build a construction project, they need to advise the taxpayers and give them an opportunity to voice their opinion.This stinks.”

Since the bulldozers moved in last spring, some neighbors of the tiny Norcross Chase Condominium community where Stevens lives moved out. Others say they have had to live with utility interruptions, a fire and blasts that shook their windows. “They did some dynamiting over there and my ex-wife was walking the dog by a storm drain cover and fell,” said neighbor Lamar Atkins. “There was some loose gravel.” When homeowners began to complain to school officials and county politicians they learned they couldn’t stop progress. Or pick their neighbors, especially if the newcomer is a school.

“We consider GCPS projects to be exempt from the zoning resolution,” said Bryan Lackey, Gwinnett County’s deputy director of planning and development. “If the school board owns a piece of property they can build really whatever they want to.” That means the Gwinnett Board of Education does not have to adhere to RA-200 zoning requirements prohibiting tall buildings in residential areas. Neither is it obligated to notify neighbors that school construction could impact traffic and trees. Gwinnett Schools does however post information on land purchases and upcoming projects on its Web site, which is where news of the 364,500-square-foot school was shared. A sign now sits outside the work site. “We think schools are always a good neighbor,” said Sloan Roach, spokesperson for Gwinnett Schools. “I think time has shown that.”

Neighbors should be used to having a school next door. The new school is being built on property that once housed three. An elementary and a special needs school were relocated and now only Maxwell High School of Technology remains. With two high schools next door, some neighbors say there will be gridlock on McElvaney, a tiny pass-through shared by the school, the condo community and a Gwinnett County fire station. “They are going to put all of this traffic on this little street,” Stevens said. “We won’t be able to get in and out. When there is no parking in the school, they will want to park in our townhome community. Roach said the traffic flow will be manageable. After-school offerings are limited to clubs. Neighbors say they will try to co-exist with the new school, but it’s difficult. Machines still roar in the wee hours and once large trucks parked in the condo community when there were no other spots available. A few condo owners have put their homes up for sale. “We have lost our privacy and security,” said Stevens. “We feel like we are living in a goldfish bowl.”

IOWA: “We’re a rural school district and everybody knows everybody. We come in, we go down the hallway — we can’t be doing that anymore.” Those were the words of Northeast Superintendent Jim Cox as he told school board members about a recent safety audit conducted on the entire campus. Signs have now been posted at entry doors and staff members have been instructed to greet any visitors they see without a badge and direct them to the office, Cox said. The team which did the safety audit also observed some employees not wearing their photo identification badges, according to the report to the school board. “We’re watching that pretty close now,” Cox told the board. There's a difference now, too, in the many displays of students’ work in the elementary school hallways. The audit team noted student pictures and names displayed on a hallway wall, which could “provide confidential information to pedophiles wanting to target children.”

Joe Jarvis, principal of the middle/high school, where visitor violations were also found, said, “We’ve posted more signs on our doors and had discussions with our staff about directing visitors to our office if they happen to get into our building. “And we ask our people to wear badges to identify them, so if some kind of emergency response people came into our building, they would know who our staff is.” In addition, he said, custodians go around and lock all entry doors immediately after students have entered the school in the morning. “We were doing that before, but sometimes we weren't getting to it right away. Now we’re doing it right away” except the main door, which is monitored by office personnel.
The audit report also noted classroom doors could only be locked from the outside. All locks that could not be locked from the inside had to be replaced. The middle/high school also is equipped with numerous cameras which are visible on a grid, he said. “In light of what’s happened cross the country with schools, we’ve had cameras for maybe five years. We’re not doing anything different, but the awareness has been heightened,” Jarvis said.

MASSACHUSETTS: With the costs of building schools in Massachusetts skyrocketing, the state cannot afford the "edu-palaces" some communities want, replete with extra municipal amenities such as swimming pools and hockey rinks. The state created the Massachusetts School Building Authority to rein in cost overruns, and state Treasurer Timothy Cahill is appropriately focused on creative approaches to bring school building costs under control.
Those of us who design schools across America have learned valuable lessons - some good, some bad, and some we can do nothing about. For example, with the rising cost of energy, the cost of construction materials has also risen sharply. But there are elements that can be contained.

First, as Cahill suggests, the cost of a community's educational needs must be separate from its broader municipal needs. If a community wants a pool, it needs to disconnect it from school building budgets. Second, the bidding procedures and construction management systems need to be moved into the 21st century, by allowing for "construction managers at risk" and a review of construction bidding procedures that currently disconnect the general contractor from subcontractors, dramatically diminishing control over the schedule, quality, and cost overruns. Third, the state should develop a "best practices" program and a centralized "clearinghouse" that offers cost-effective school designs. This allows communities to review cost-appropriate design components without being compelled to build a school designed to meet another community's needs. Fourth, the state should consider the proposal by architect Charles Thomsen for the "rotation" of good design concepts developed in one project that can be carried over into multiple projects. Key is the maintenance of "continuous working standards," updated by a central program manager who incorporates new best practices in design, as they emerge in individual projects. Thomsen argues, ". . .standards shouldn't be static; they should be a platform for continuous improvement."

And then there is the concept of "model schools." The argument is that a good but affordable school should be designed and replicated from town to town. This seems simple, appealing, and can help certain communities. We should try it where we can. But as the saying goes, for every complicated problem, there is a simple and often equally wrong answer. Massachusetts is not Kansas. It does not have flat open land. The topography, geography, geology, and transit issues change from town to town. What fits one tight space with one access point may not fit another with different mapping. If communities are pressured to relocate schools to open space on the outskirts of town, they will cut into green space and put more children on buses, the antithesis of smart growth planning. Furthermore, there isn't a statewide education plan to which every municipality conforms. Some towns place a premium on more science and lab space, others need vocational training, others need language or art. Town educational priorities are not all the same, nor should they be. Schools aren't warehouses. They are places for children to learn, to be inspired, and to have access to ever-changing technology, teaching strategies, and information that grows exponentially each year. There is no "one size fits all" model, and every change in a "model" has a ripple affect making savings illusory.

Model schools have been attempted in 25 states, with limited results. The problem with "off the shelf" designs is they are static. Today's "model" school uses plans developed five to 10 years ago. It may look good, but building codes have changed in terms of energy efficiency, accessibility, and dimensional restrictions, not to mention local changes affecting special needs, class size, and curriculum. Cahill and the Massachusetts School Building Authority deserve great credit for taking on the task of controlling school building costs. They are right to pursue a pilot plan for model schools and employ them where they work. But the state must look at other elements of school building design and the construction process that can save greater taxpayer dollars. It must modernize the construction bidding and management practices; develop a centralized design clearinghouse to rotate "best practice" ideas; and build energy-efficient schools that dramatically reduce operating costs for decades to come.

MONTANA: It's been a project two years in the making, but now an $11,000 educational tool is standing tall on the grounds of C.M.Russell High School. Students, teachers, and a number of community supporters gathered to celebrate the hard work that went into bringing the only currently operating wind generator into the city limits of Great Falls. Mark Yaeger, Applied Physics Teacher at CMR, said, "The classes over the last couple of weeks - construction classes, pre-construction classes, landscape class, architecture and engineering class, some of the welding classes even were out here working on this. We had at least80 students who've put time one way or another in getting this thing up."

The turbine, funded by a federal Perkins Grant, stands just over 60 feet high. The generator will serve mainly as a teaching tool, but the power it generates will also help heat the school's welding shop. Darren Pocklington, CMR landscape design student, said, "I think this project is good because it's going to generate more power for the school. Then we won't have to pay so much - well not AS much - in the electrical bill." An enthusiastic supporter of wind power, Cascade County commissioner Peggy Beltrone, also was on hand and said, "Teachers want to get this into the classroom. They're trying to do it. This example here at CMR is wonderful and we're going to see more and more at schools across northcentral Montana." Fairfield, Cascade, and Stanford high schools are also installing wind generators this fall, and 40 local teachers will attend a wind workshop to help bring wind energy lessons into the classroom.

NEW JERSEY: In 2000, the State of New Jersey passed legislation for a school construction program designed to decrease the disparity between school buildings in wealthy and needy districts. Gladys Hillman-Jones School, a small middle school at 24 Crane St., in the shadow of a high-rise apartment near Route 280, was on that list of needy schools. The existing 91,836 square feet of space was no longer adequate to educate the students who used it. The plan to upgrade the school called for expansion, which first required demolition of the abandoned buildings behind the school that faced Seventh Avenue. When the project started, the school had already begun its transformation, going from a middle school to Barringer Ninth Grade Academy.

All seemed well for the school on Crane Street, and then the School Construction Corp. disintegrated in 2005, freezing school construction throughout the state. That frost officially touched Barringer Nine in April of 2007, leaving the empty lot behind it untouched for over a year. On July 9, 2008, Gov. Jon Corzine signed a bill releasing $3.9 billion in state financing toward the construction of schools, putting Barringer Nine back on track. With money in the coffers, the school can begin to construct a new gymnasium, which will replace the current gym on the fourth floor. When finished, the basketball team will have a true home-court, complete with space for spectators to cheer for them. The team, and the students who take physical education, will also have locker rooms to change in, showers to freshen up in and enough space for larger phys-ed classes. Once that portion is completed, the old gym will become the new media center -- complete with computers, cameras, television screens, and recording devices to sharpen student's media savvy. "It allows us to deliver the curriculum in a better way, and the students will be more computer-literate," Donna Marable, principal, said.

The cafeteria, currently split into two separate spaces and located in the basement, is also due for an upgrade. When finished, the two rooms will be converted into one large area, which may allow the school to go from two lunch periods to one lunch period. Students with extra time on their hands after lunch will have a chance to chill in a new playground. The current space isn't dedicated to play at all, unless running around parked cars and dodging delivery trucks can be classified as recreation. The exit for the new playground will sit across the hall from the new cafeteria. A new sitting space will greet students as they take in the afternoon air. Some of the tables will come equipped with game boards for those who wish to play chess or checkers. Anyone wanting to work on their free-throw shooting can practice on the new basketball hoops.

Once finished the entire city block -- bordered by Crane Street to the north, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. to the west, Seventh Avenue to the south and Webster Street to the east -- will be equipped to educate the neighborhood's children and to serve the adults who live among them. A health clinic will replace the empty space at the southeast corner of the property. There, members of the community will have access to a facility that can help them cope with any physical or mental ailments. Marable hopes the parents of her students will take advantage of the clinic, which will be isolated from school grounds. "Parents come into meetings hurting, and without services for them, it affects the home, the child, and the child's performance in school," she said. A parent who opts to participate in a counseling session will even be given a chance include their child. The school will also be notified if a parent they have been trying to contact has entered the clinic for services. When the project is completed, about 400 students will have 113,069 square feet of space to learn, walk, talk and run around and through. According to the board of education, the cost is estimated to top out at $25 million. Small price to pay for a renaissance, don't you think?

HAITI: A Port-au-Prince school partly collapsed Wednesday days after more than 90 were killed in another school cave-in, sparking a panic among parents of children in other risky schools and street protests over dangerous buildings. Nine people were injured when walls at the small Grace Divine school in central Port-au-Prince partly gave way and the ceiling began to fall in, police said. Students at the school, attended by about 100 pupils aged five to 12, were in the recreation yard when it happened, police said. Hours after the news of the collapse came, panicked mothers rushed to other schools to pull out their children, fearing more disasters. At least two children were hurt at one school when hundreds of kids were evacuated after some said they felt the building shaking. A public security official said the school would be closed because it did not meet standards.

The new school cave-in occurred as rescuers were still clearing the rubble and searching for bodies at La Promesse school in Petion-ville, a hillside shantytown outside Port-au-Prince, which collapsed last Friday while as many as 350 students were in classes. The three-story school was completely destroyed, leaving 93 confirmed dead and 150 injured. Rescuers still digging into the wreckage of shredded concrete and steel wire at la Promesse Tuesday said that there was little chance that there would be any more survivors pulled out, and government health officials were proceeding with operations to disinfect the site to protect against disease. At Grace Divine school, chunks of the walls were scattered on the ground, its concrete roof was sagging, and there were clear cracks in the remaining walls.

The cause of the collapse was not immediately clear, but it came after heavy rains late Tuesday soaked the capital, and in the wake of several hurricanes which battered the country over the summer. But there was also strong criticism of the lack of adequate government oversight of construction in the Caribbean country, one of the world's poorest. "Parliament must look into this and take tough and immediate measures to prevent more catastrophes of this type," said MP Frantz Robert Monde. "It is a problem of urban development in general," Minister of Education Joel Desrosiers Jean-Pierre told AFP at the Grace Divine school site.

MARYLAND: The county school board has approved projects for three Annapolis schools totaling about $62 million. Though the board considered less expensive alternatives because of expected county and state budget shortfalls, the board voted overwhelmingly for the recommendations made by Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell to renovate Annapolis Elementary and the current site of Germantown Elementary - which would become the new home of the Phoenix Center - and to construct a new building for Germantown.

The vote came after a debate that touched on issues including the struggles of urban schools and the school system's funding of schools with high minority populations versus schools in wealthier and overwhelmingly white communities in the county. The president of the county teachers union chastised board members for what he said was favoritism toward schools with majority white populations. "If the kids happen to be brown or black, or if their last names end in a vowel, we seem to have a problem," Tim Mennutti, the teachers union president told the board.
Board member Eugene Peterson, who voted against the renovation projects, rejected that contention. But he said that expectations among parents for renovation projects are too high, and that people need to realize that the board is constrained by budgetary realitie.

Among the approved construction plans is a $17.2 million renovation of Annapolis Elementary, which was built in 1896 and will be connected by a breezeway to a nearby building on Greene Street that is primarily used as office space. According to the school's principal, the school is about 40 percent white, 40 percent black and 17 percent Hispanic. School officials had considered the possibility of abandoning the 112-year-old structure and moving the students to Germantown, the least-expensive of the options, which would have cost the school system about $48 million, according to Alex L. Szachnowicz, the chief operating officer for the county schools

FLORIDA: In the wake of the tragedy at Dillard High School, it is the question of the day — and it's the wrong question: "Why aren't there metal detectors to stop guns from getting into schools?" Metal detectors at school entrances aren't the answer, and they aren't happening. Not when the Broward School District has to cut another $34.2 million from the budget, and Palm Beach County schools are cutting $23.4 million. Even if money was available, turning schools into fortresses is not the answer.

So it is time to ask the better question: "How can we be more vigilant in recognizing problems before they escalate into violence?" It's a similar question asked after every campus homicide. Students, teachers, counselors and parents have to be more alert to problems — emotional or otherwise — that may be brewing in a particular student. On campus, everybody has to be more aware if they see something disturbing, and more willing to report it. The new anti-bullying policy in place statewide helps, but everyone has to be alert to problems that go deeper than bullying. And if there is any extra money to be had in the schools' budget, it should go to adding psychological personnel who are better prepared to spot and deal with emotional difficulties with kids, how to recognize the signs, what questions to ask and what do before a tragedy occurs. Put the money into prevention, not metal detectors.

Tragically, the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Amanda Collette at Dillard is hardly South Florida's first experience with such issues. Just last week, a Miami-Dade County teen was sentenced to life in prison for killing a classmate in a school bathroom. In 2000, Nathaniel Brazill — then 13 years old — was sentenced to 28 years in prison for fatally shooting a Lake Worth Middle School teacher. Metal detectors might give the false appearance of more security, but they are not going to eliminate the psychological demons that many kids wrestle with today, as pressures in and out of school mount. There will never be a guaranteed way to avert the heartbreak that occured at Dillard. But being alert — and emphasizing prevention — is a must

OHIO: The days of wooden hall passes are obsolete, swapped for security cameras and locked doors, monitored building entrances and lockdown drills. School security has entered a new era as anxiety over safety has increased. Schools now are built with safety in mind and administrators have plans in place for emergency situations. Loudonville High School has even installed an access card system to quell security concerns. Each student and staff member uses an access card to enter buildings.

District technology coordinator Leslie Kamenik said it was a challenge to figure out how to implement a security system at the four-building campus because there were so many points of entry. "It's been a good move," LHS Principal Ben Blubaugh said. "It's making the campus more secure."

Montgomery Elementary Principal Julie Petruna said all Ashland City Schools are now locked throughout the school day and use a video camera buzzer system to allow entry. At Montgomery, visitors are required to sign in and wear visitor badges. And the school also fenced its playground to prevent pedestrian access. "I think the best part about it is everyone just feels a little safer, whether it's parents, students or staff," Montgomery Elementary Principal Julie Petruna said. "I believe that we're much safer now than we were just a few years ago," Lincoln Elementary Principal Steve McDonnell said. McDonnell said the district's safety drills and intruder drills, which are coordinated with the local police department, are "all in response to the Columbine era." McDonnell said Lincoln now has gates on its playground and has modified student pick-up procedures to enhance safety. Capt. Carl Richert of the Sheriff's Office said the office does a safety program at each school in the county.
Black River Local Schools Superintendent Janice Wyckoff said the district has changed, even in the time she's been at the helm. "When I first came here, there were no cameras and no locked doors and no safety plan per se. We now have cameras, doors are locked and you have to beep in to come in," Wyckoff said. "We have a safety plan for as many contingencies as I can think of, everything from evacuating the entire campus to an intruder to somebody taking over a bus. We've really tried to think of worst-case scenarios."

Wyckoff said the effort has been a collaborative one by administrators. "Preparing for a school emergency, from a natural disaster to a terrorist attack, has become a priority for school leaders since the outbreak of school violence at Columbine, the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, and natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina," according to the Ohio Department of Education's School Emergency Preparedness guide.

Crestview Middle School Principal John McNeely said awareness of security has heightened in recent years. "It used to be something we didn't think about all the time and consciously," McNeely said. "Every time there's a school shooting, we get a new flurry of directives and cautionary tales." McNeely said Crestview tries to focus on anti-bullying programs to increase school safety, because he said bullying seems to be a trend in school shootings. Crestview Local Schools Superintendent Bill Seder Jr. attributes advances in security to the construction of new buildings through the Ohio School Facilities Commission. Crestview opened a new high school in 1993 and a new elementary school in 2005. "I think just in the past number of years with the advance of new buildings it has lent itself so much to the safety of our children," Seder said. "With the new building construction out there, you're finding the entranceways into schools are much more monitored. The flow goes through the offices."

The OSFC, which helps districts fund, design and build schools, tries to include safety into school design. The Ohio School Design Manual -- the design guide -- recommends districts "incorporate the concept known as Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design," according to the OSFC's brochure "Building in Safety." "Security and safety is not a 'warm and fuzzy' feeling -- in today's society, it's value cannot be overemphasized whether it be in a bank, a business, or, most importantly, a school building," according to "Building in Safety." Mapleton Local Schools Superintendent John Marks said new building construction reflects safety concerns. In early 2004, Mapleton opened new buildings, which utilize OSFC safety measures. Marks said the district also trains teachers on safety issues. Teachers will receive training in the next few months through the Tri-County Educational Service Center, which offers safety training through a federal grant. "I think there's a lot more accountability now than there has been in the past," Tri-County ESC Superintendent Gene Linton said.
Linton said Jarod's Law has helped in schools. Jarod's Law, which was signed into law three years ago, requires schools receive safety inspections by the health department. John Cadley, Ashland County-City Health Department program director for the recreational and institutional programs, completes the safety inspections for the county. According to Cadley, inspections used to focus only on health risks but now also incorporate safety. "Years ago when I did school inspections, it was basically going in and looking to see if things were clean or not clean," Cadley said. Now, Cadley checks for chemical and electrical hazards, general safety issues and proper paperwork for various procedures. "I think it's good we have this law and the rules because the communication between myself and the administrators of the different schools has been much better," Cadley said. "I've been impressed with schools and their efforts to comply." illsdale Local Schools Superintendent Joel Roscoe said making older buildings secure is not simple. Security cameras have been installed in the high school, but Roscoe said that's not enough. "I think the concern a lot of schools have is trying to make buildings more secure and do it in a financially efficient way. That's not always easy," Roscoe said. "We don't feel as though we can do enough under current circumstances."

OHIO: The days of wooden hall passes are obsolete, swapped for security cameras and locked doors, monitored building entrances and lockdown drills. School security has entered a new era as anxiety over safety has increased. Schools now are built with safety in mind and administrators have plans in place for emergency situations. Loudonville High School has even installed an access card system to quell security concerns. Each student and staff member uses an access card to enter buildings.

District technology coordinator Leslie Kamenik said it was a challenge to figure out how to implement a security system at the four-building campus because there were so many points of entry. "It's been a good move," LHS Principal Ben Blubaugh said. "It's making the campus more secure."

Montgomery Elementary Principal Julie Petruna said all Ashland City Schools are now locked throughout the school day and use a video camera buzzer system to allow entry. At Montgomery, visitors are required to sign in and wear visitor badges. And the school also fenced its playground to prevent pedestrian access. "I think the best part about it is everyone just feels a little safer, whether it's parents, students or staff," Montgomery Elementary Principal Julie Petruna said. "I believe that we're much safer now than we were just a few years ago," Lincoln Elementary Principal Steve McDonnell said. McDonnell said the district's safety drills and intruder drills, which are coordinated with the local police department, are "all in response to the Columbine era." McDonnell said Lincoln now has gates on its playground and has modified student pick-up procedures to enhance safety. Capt. Carl Richert of the Sheriff's Office said the office does a safety program at each school in the county.
Black River Local Schools Superintendent Janice Wyckoff said the district has changed, even in the time she's been at the helm. "When I first came here, there were no cameras and no locked doors and no safety plan per se. We now have cameras, doors are locked and you have to beep in to come in," Wyckoff said. "We have a safety plan for as many contingencies as I can think of, everything from evacuating the entire campus to an intruder to somebody taking over a bus. We've really tried to think of worst-case scenarios."

Wyckoff said the effort has been a collaborative one by administrators. "Preparing for a school emergency, from a natural disaster to a terrorist attack, has become a priority for school leaders since the outbreak of school violence at Columbine, the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, and natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina," according to the Ohio Department of Education's School Emergency Preparedness guide.

Crestview Middle School Principal John McNeely said awareness of security has heightened in recent years. "It used to be something we didn't think about all the time and consciously," McNeely said. "Every time there's a school shooting, we get a new flurry of directives and cautionary tales." McNeely said Crestview tries to focus on anti-bullying programs to increase school safety, because he said bullying seems to be a trend in school shootings. Crestview Local Schools Superintendent Bill Seder Jr. attributes advances in security to the construction of new buildings through the Ohio School Facilities Commission. Crestview opened a new high school in 1993 and a new elementary school in 2005. "I think just in the past number of years with the advance of new buildings it has lent itself so much to the safety of our children," Seder said. "With the new building construction out there, you're finding the entranceways into schools are much more monitored. The flow goes through the offices."

The OSFC, which helps districts fund, design and build schools, tries to include safety into school design. The Ohio School Design Manual -- the design guide -- recommends districts "incorporate the concept known as Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design," according to the OSFC's brochure "Building in Safety." "Security and safety is not a 'warm and fuzzy' feeling -- in today's society, it's value cannot be overemphasized whether it be in a bank, a business, or, most importantly, a school building," according to "Building in Safety." Mapleton Local Schools Superintendent John Marks said new building construction reflects safety concerns. In early 2004, Mapleton opened new buildings, which utilize OSFC safety measures. Marks said the district also trains teachers on safety issues. Teachers will receive training in the next few months through the Tri-County Educational Service Center, which offers safety training through a federal grant. "I think there's a lot more accountability now than there has been in the past," Tri-County ESC Superintendent Gene Linton said.
Linton said Jarod's Law has helped in schools. Jarod's Law, which was signed into law three years ago, requires schools receive safety inspections by the health department. John Cadley, Ashland County-City Health Department program director for the recreational and institutional programs, completes the safety inspections for the county. According to Cadley, inspections used to focus only on health risks but now also incorporate safety. "Years ago when I did school inspections, it was basically going in and looking to see if things were clean or not clean," Cadley said. Now, Cadley checks for chemical and electrical hazards, general safety issues and proper paperwork for various procedures. "I think it's good we have this law and the rules because the communication between myself and the administrators of the different schools has been much better," Cadley said. "I've been impressed with schools and their efforts to comply." illsdale Local Schools Superintendent Joel Roscoe said making older buildings secure is not simple. Security cameras have been installed in the high school, but Roscoe said that's not enough. "I think the concern a lot of schools have is trying to make buildings more secure and do it in a financially efficient way. That's not always easy," Roscoe said. "We don't feel as though we can do enough under current circumstances."

TEXAS: Ferris Independent School District recently completed renovations aimed at increasing energy efficiency and indoor air quality while creating a high-performance learning environment at Ferris Junior High School, Ferris Intermediate School, the Ingram and McDonald Elementary Schools and the district maintenance facility. Additionally, the district built a new high performance high school to accommodate the district's growing student population. The renovations and new facility make the district one of the most energy efficient and healthy in Texas.
Until renovations commenced in February 2007, the Texas school district faced rising energy and maintenance costs, inconsistent lighting conditions and dated mechanical equipment. Ferris Junior High School, built in 1985, and Ingram Elementary, built in 1972, represent the district's oldest facilities. Some classrooms were below IES (Illuminating Engineering Society) standards for light levels in classroom spaces. Ferris Junior High School was the district's high school until the renovations and new building were complete. Outdated and inefficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment (HVAC) resulted in high energy usage, excessive maintenance costs and unreliable operation. Further, the HVAC systems in these schools lacked programmability, allowing limited or uncontrolled building operations for temperatures and ventilation. Without programmable capability of these systems, the buildings were heated and cooled whether they were occupied or not. This was a huge waste of energy, not to mention taxpayer dollars. "These renovations and our new high school have reduced our costs and helped us be better stewards of the environment," said Bodine. "Just as important, we've provided our students and staff with an optimal learning environment. This award is confirmation that we're on the right path for everyone in the school district."

Specific green upgrades include replacing the HVAC systems with new high-efficiency systems at Ingram Elementary and the Intermediate School as well as district-wide lighting and plumbing renovations. Further, all district facilities are now controlled by a district-wide building automation system providing the ability to monitor and control each facility from one central location. The HVAC upgrades provided as much as a 46 percent increase in efficiency in some buildings, and lighting efficiency improved as much as 60 percent in some areas. Overall, the project is projected to reduce the district's utility usage by over 22 percent annually. The green retrofits are also providing a better learning environment. The new HVAC systems and the lighting upgrades are particularly effective, improving classroom conditions and making it easier for students and staff to concentrate on their work.

Energy and operating cost savings notwithstanding, the district is achieving compliance with Texas bills 5 and 12 to reduce energy usage by 5 percent per year for six years. Also known as the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan, Texas bills 5 and 12 were enacted in 2001 and extended in 2007 to assist with Federal Clean Air Act compliance. The plan includes energy-efficiency measures designed to decrease electric consumption while improving air quality. To comply, political subdivisions need to: implement all cost-effective energy-efficiency measures to reduce electric consumption by existing facilities; adopt a goal of reducing electric consumption by 5 percent a year for 6 years, beginning Sept. 1, 2007; and report annually to the State Energy Conservation Office. Program participation is not mandatory.

MASSACHUSETTS: It was quiet last week on Ruskindale Road, a residential street in Mattapan. Leaves tumbled off the trees onto the sidewalk, while neighbors ambled along in front of the triple-deckers. Suddenly, a shriek pierced the air, then another and another. Soon, the neighborhood was filled with the yells and laughter of students at the James J. Chittick Elementary School as they romped in their newly transformed schoolyard.
Formerly a barren slab of asphalt adorned by two dumpsters, the play space now has two jungle gyms, brightly painted maps of the city of Boston and the world, and an outdoor classroom. "It was a major transformation, not just for us, but for the whole community," said principal Michelle Burnett-Herndon at the ribbon-cutting ceremony last week, speaking to a crowd that included parents, contributors, Mayor Thomas Menino, and the city school district's superintendent, Carol Johnson. "It is so important that we help our children develop academically, physically, socially, and emotionally."

The schoolyard is the third of its kind opened this year as part of the Boston Schoolyard Initiative. The organization has restored 74 elementary schoolyards since its inception in 1995, and has created 15 outdoor classrooms since 2005, turning 125 acres of mostly barren blacktop into colorful, inviting play spaces. The schoolyards that the initiative builds are not simply about giving the kids a place to run around during recess while tired teachers rest their feet. The outdoor-classroom component gives urban students a chance to experience nature, and caters to various learning styles by allowing children to apply abstract concepts to the real world, said Kristin Metz, director of education at the Schoolyard Initiative.

The new outdoor classroom at Chittick, and another one also inaugurated last week at East Boston's Samuel Adams Elementary School, have elements like planting beds, pulley systems, thermometers, rain-collecting devices, and a gathering place with stumps for students to sit on while a teacher instructs.
Funded through a partnership between the city and various private groups, the Schoolyard Initiative grew out of a task force established in 1994 by Menino to take stock of the city's schoolyards. According to the initiative's interim executive director, Kim Comart, by the 1980s and early 1990s, nearly all of Boston's schoolyards had rusted, rotting equipment deemed too dangerous for continued use by students. The older jungle gyms were removed and the ground was paved, a more cost-effective measure than replacing the structures, said Comart. "When we first started studying all the schoolyards, it was amazing how similar they all looked," he said. "It was all asphalt." Now the group takes on six schoolyard projects per year, spending $100,000 to $300,000 per school on outdoor classrooms and playgrounds. "It's a dream just to watch them be kids now," said Kimberly Moloney, manager of extended learning and services at Chittick, who helped write the grant application and headed up the schoolyard planning committee. "The staff is more playful too. The process has brought out the kid in everyone."

The Adams School principal, Margarita Ruiz, said it is often the most reluctant classroom learners who respond most positively to the outdoor classroom. The sensory experiences, she says, are especially meaningful for English language learners, and autistic and other special needs students. "It is important for them, because it makes concrete learning possible," said Ruiz. "It makes learning accessible to a lot of different styles of learners." The initiative worked with the school district to create curriculum support materials that can be used outside, regardless of whether the institution has a formal outdoor classroom. The intent is for outdoor learning to be applicable across all subject areas, said Metz, though right now language arts and science have the most developed outdoor curriculum. "Outdoor classrooms give students richer things to work with," she said. "In Boston, and many urban districts, kids are coming from very different backgrounds. The outdoors gives kids a common experience to work from and share ideas."

HAITI: Rescuers pulled four children alive from the rubble of a three-story Haitian school that collapsed on classrooms filled with students and teachers, killing at least 84 people. Emergency workers cradled the dazed children in their arms and rushed them into ambulances yesterday morning, U.N. police spokesman Andre Leclerc said. Police spokesman Garry Desrosier said that Fortin Augustin, the preacher who owns and built College La Promesse, was arrested yesterday and charged with involuntary manslaughter. Nadia Lochar, civil protection coordinator for the western region that includes Petionville, said that the death toll had risen to 84 and that 150 people were injured in the collapse. About 500 children and teenagers typically crowded into Petionville's three-story school building. President Rene Preval said poor construction, including a lack of steel reinforcement, was to blame for Friday's collapse of the concrete structure.

COLORADO: The highest-rated middle school in New York City is a charter school of 280 students that shares the top floor of a historically struggling public school. The two institutions of learning could not be more different in substance and style. Yet they peacefully coexist as a shining example of New York's shared-campus concept. "We're trying to do what's best for our kids and not worry about how the school is doing down the street," said Joseph Negron, principal of KIPP Infinity Charter School in the three-story school building on Harlem's west side.

Shared-school campuses are becoming common across the country as urban districts work to provide varied programs in cities where real estate costs have soared. It's a plan Denver Public Schools hopes to replicate on a small scale next year. Proponents say shared campuses can increase the number of academic offerings, develop appropriate school sizes and more effectively use building space. In New York, KIPP Infinity's students wear uniforms, walk in single file and remain in school until 5 p.m. The walls are adorned with murals of classic book covers and inspirational messages. A doorway serves as the boundary between KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) and the rest of I.S. 195 Roberto Clemente School — a 630-student middle school. I.S. 195's hallways have barren walls painted uniformly yellow, and its students are gone from the building by 3 p.m. Seven years ago, I.S. 195 was considered among the worst schools in the city, with some of the lowest scores in New York. Because of its poor performance, the school's programs were changed four years ago. This year, it earned a B grade on the city's progress report. "I don't see (KIPP) as competition," said Rosarie Jean, principal of I.S. 195. "It's children first. We have the same goal to educate children and prepare them for the 21st century. How we go about it is different."

Despite the success of New York's shared-campus system, Denver's idea to model the plan concerns community members who worry about the effects on existing programs. Thursday, DPS officials will recommend placing new school programs — including charter schools — in under-enrolled Denver middle and high schools. "As with anything new, until people actually see it, it's hard to visualize what it will be like," said DPS Superintendent Michael Bennet. "It's going to be incumbent on us to execute well."

In New York, shared-school campuses have become a way of life. Of the city's 1,500 schools, about 600 are shared campuses. "When I have buildings that are half-empty and an opportunity to place a school in there that may create different opportunities for kids in that community . . . that's what we do," said New York schools Chancellor Joel Klein. "Sure, you get some noise," he said. "Overwhelmingly, it's working. People made the adjustments, looked for the opportunities. That's what will happen in Denver as well." Denver school officials have examined New York's and Chicago's shared schools, hosted school administrators from those cities, and hired a former New York charter school principal to help DPS build its program. And they've paid particular attention to New York's system of co-location, including the city's process of defining a building's footprint, separating schools and getting principals to work together. Graduation rates have improved and dropout rates have declined in New York schools. Critics question whether the moves caused improved achievement, but there is no question students are more engaged. good example of a successful shared campus is at the former Morris High School, which was a large, comprehensive high school in the south Bronx with 2,000 students and a graduation rate of between 25 percent and 35 percent. Now, the Morris Educational Campus has a school program on each of its five floors: violin and dance; English- language learners; and others that concentrate on math, science and art. "Has it worked?" said Wade Fuller, principal of the School of Excellence on the fourth floor. "Clearly in this building the answer is this has been a resounding success." Now, the five schools of about 300 students each graduate between 59 percent and 85 percent of their students in four years. Each school received either an A or B grade on the city's latest progress report card. On a recent day just before 8 a.m., teenagers flocked into the 111-year-old building, passing through metal detectors and converging into the cafeteria for the only time of day when they commingle with students from other schools. "It's a good school," said sophomore Rahmel Hunter, 15, who attends Bronx Leadership Academy II High School because of its focus on math. "There's not a lot of jerks or fighting. If there were more kids, there would be more chaos." The five Morris Campus principals have developed a close bond, meeting on Fridays to hash over issues about space. "It's like we have an arranged marriage, and we all bought a used house and moved in together," said Elyse Doti, principal of Bronx Leadership Academy II on the second floor. The most fractious issue is when each school can use the cafeteria for lunch. They rotate the schedule every year so one school doesn't get stuck with the least desirable slots of 10:30 and 12:45. "It's working," said Charles Osewalt, principal of Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies. "The key is to make sure everyone feels it's fair." The principals also share successful instructional practices and act as counselors for one another. "If I'm having a hard day, Elyse will be there for me," said Tanya John, principal of the High School for Violin and Dance. "Before I go to the district, I'll call my other principals."

NEW YORK: New York City officials violated state environmental law when they began building a school complex on a contaminated site in the South Bronx without first coming up with a plan to ensure that students and the public would not be exposed to pollutants in the future, a state judge has ruled. The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed in 2007 by a group of parents and community leaders trying to force the School Construction Authority to conduct a more comprehensive environmental review for the multischool campus, which is still under construction in Mott Haven in the South Bronx.

The suit accused the city of going ahead with the project without a plan to monitor air quality and check for other environmental problems after the city cleaned up the site — a 6.6-acre parcel that once contained a railyard, a laundry and a plant that made gas from coal. The school agency eventually came up with a plan, which is now under review by the State Department of Environmental Conservation. City officials said that the court ruling would not derail construction of the Mott Haven school campus, a complex of four secondary schools and athletic facilities scheduled to open in the fall of 2010. The plaintiffs’ lawyers said they hoped to meet with the city to discuss the judge’s order, which requires the construction authority to submit a supplemental environmental impact statement laying out its plan for long-term monitoring. The plaintiffs’ lawyers said the ruling could set a precedent for future construction of schools on brownfields, polluted sites that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has singled out for cleanups and redevelopment because they are among the last parcels of vacant land in the city. “It puts the School Construction Authority on notice that they would be breaking the law if they don’t put forth a detailed monitoring plan before the City Council approves the site,” said Dave Palmer, the lawyer who handled the suit, filed by New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.

LOUISIANA: The Orleans Parish School Board voted to approve a public school facilities master plan, pushing ahead on the largest school building effort in the city's history. The sweeping construction and renovation blueprint would spend nearly $700 million on 30 campuses in the first phase, which wraps up about 2013. The rebuilding blueprint calls for about $1.3 billion more in construction and renovations during the future phases, for which officials still have to find money. Further, 46 campuses could be "land banked," which means demolished, sold, redeveloped or reopened as schools in the future. The plan reduces a bloated portfolio of more than 120 run-down campuses to about 87 elementary and high schools at the end of the two-decade blueprint to handle a shrunken student population.

We have taken a great leap ahead in telling kids we value you and expect achievement from you," School Board President Torin Sanders said. Board Vice President Heidi Daniels, the lone vote against the plan, said she did not feel there was an even number of campuses being upgraded or rebuilt in each school district. "I would like the amount of money spent in each district to be equitable," Daniels said after the vote. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education still has to approve the plan and recommendations from School Superintendent Darryl Kilbert, State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek and Recovery School District Superintendent Paul Vallas. Even with the approval of the demographic-driven plan, each project still would have to be authorized as part of the annual capital budgets of the Orleans Parish School Board and the Recovery School District. Demographics would also be reviewed every two years, and the plan adjusted.

NEW YORK: Hopes of escalating the pace of school construction have dried up quicker than concrete. The DOE unveiled a modest five-year school-construction plan that reflects the strains of the city's sinking economy. The $11.3 billion plan called for adding just 17,000 new school seats in 42 schools by 2014 - a drop in the bucket compared to the 63,000 seats proposed in the city's ambitious 2005-09 plan. "We cannot afford to continue spending at the same levels as in recent years," says a report on the proposed plan.

The report attributes the city's "significantly reduced spending power" for school construction to rising inflation rates, a "dramatic" increase in construction costs and Mayor Bloomberg's order that agencies stretch four years of financial commitments into five. "We don't have enough classroom space for the number of students we have," Bloomberg acknowledged yesterday, during an announcement on budget cuts to city agencies. "The bottom line is, we've just got to keep building new schools."

CALIFORNIA: A $7 billion bond that Los Angeles Unified School District officials claim will create smaller, less-crowded schools and help finance charter schools was approved by voters Tuesday. Measure Q includes $1.6 billion for the creation of small schools, $2.68 billion for school safety measures, $500 million for environmental improvements at schools and $450 million for charter school construction. Voters have approved four LAUSD bond measures since 1997 totaling about $13 billion. That money allowed the school district to build 72 schools and complete 16,500 "modernization" projects. The bonds would be financed through property taxes. "We have a bold and optimistic vision for LAUSD that includes the $7 billion bond proposal for November," school board president Monica Garcia said earlier this year when the LAUSD Board voted to place the measure on the ballot. "We will continue to work with stakeholders, teachers, parents and advocates to build the school district our students deserve."
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was among those supporting the bond. "This bond isn't about slapping another coat of paint on the problem. It's about fundamentally transforming our district into small, safe and independent schools," Villaraigosa said.

Opponents of the bond argued the four previous measures have provided the school district with more than enough money to transform Los Angeles schools. "This is their fifth bond in 11 years. Counting the local contributions and what has come from the state, they have received $19 billion for their building fund. They're asking for another $7 billion on top of that," said Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

LAUSD's bonds currently cost homeowners $123 per $100,000 of assessed value. If Measure Q is approved, it will cost another $2.42 a month per $100,000 of assessed value starting in 2013. Homeowners would pay a maximum $185 per $100,000 over the life of the bonds, which would end in 2044. That means a person who owns a house valued at $300,000 would pay $555 a year for the LAUSD bonds. "We think this is absolutely the wrong time to be raising taxes," Vosburgh said. "They still have money in the pipeline from previous bonds and they're just trying to take advantage of what consultants have told them is a good time to get a tax increase measure passed."

NEW YORK: It might seem that there are easy solutions to the overcrowding in District 3, which encompasses the Upper West Side and parts of Harlem. The district has neighborhoods facing a burgeoning school-age population, in part because of a high-rise building boom, with pockets where the number of children are in decline. Why not send some of P.S. 199’s overflow to fill the seats at P.S. 191, or move the Center School and let the popular P.S. 199 expand to take up the whole three-story building? But in New York City, where real estate and access to good schools often lead to Olympics-level competition, even the specter of changing school boundaries can raise the hackles of parents who chose their high-priced homes precisely because of those boundaries. The topic of rezoning is so sensitive that education officials have referred to it as the “third rail” — and no one seems to remember the last time a significant boundary change was enacted.

For months now, officials and members of District 3’s Community Education Council, the elected board that must approve any rezoning plans, have gone back and forth on painstaking negotiations and proposals. At a meeting on Wednesday night, the council is expected to introduce its resolution, which members would vote on later this month. The heated debate dividing neighbors is likely to repeat itself across town later this month, when city education officials begin discussing the rezoning of parts of District 2, which encompasses the Upper East Side and much of Lower Manhattan. District 2 is plagued by some of the city’s worst overcrowding, particularly in TriBeCa and on the Upper East Side.

As Education Department officials and local community boards grapple with pockets of overcrowding in parts of Manhattan where real estate has boomed, they are trying to balance competing ideals. Do young children who live within blocks of a school have inherent rights to enroll there? What about the middle school that has been housed in the building for more than two decades? Should school choice trump geography? Or should schools reflect precisely the neighborhoods that surround them, even if that means aligning with segregated housing patterns? “What they need to do is look at how schools actually function,” said Jennifer Freeman, a member of the Community Education Council in District 3. “We’re trying to make as big of an improvement as possible with the least amount of disruption as possible.”

For many parents and their advocates, the only acceptable answer to the overcrowding is to build more schools. But the city’s capital plan, expected to be released on Wednesday, is unlikely to appease them. Facing a bleak economic picture and austere budget, the Education Department is scaling back its ambitions for new buildings or even modest additions. And city officials have been loath to devote scant capital resources to neighborhoods that it believes can and should address overcrowding within existing buildings.

MARYLAND: Crofton Woods Elementary is one of 34 Anne Arundel County schools without walls separating its classes. Now, county school leaders are planning to spend millions of dollars to construct real classrooms - joining school systems across the state in a multimillion-dollar mission to put to rest the '70s-era experiment of "open-space" schools. From the Eastern Shore to Western Maryland, students are still struggling to learn in classrooms without walls. And school systems are lining up for money to build walls. Anne Arundel County schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell designated $5 million in his recently proposed capital budget for construction at five elementary schools and is hoping to install so-called "open space enclosures" at five or six schools a year. Anne Arundel County school board member Eugene Peterson pushed successfully to bring the level of potential funding for the next fiscal year to $8 million. His daughter, now grown and teaching music at a county elementary school, attended Brock Ridge Elementary, an open-space school in the southern part of the county. "We put up with it," Peterson said. "She got good grades. She paid attention." But, he added: "The bottom line is: They're not, in my opinion, a good environment for learning. We tried that experiment. It didn't work."

The open-space school model, a British import, was embraced in the United States amid shifting social, cultural and political dynamics - the civil rights movement, the rise of feminism and anti-war protests - of the 1960s and '70s, according to Larry Cuban, professor emeritus of education at Stanford University. Americans were increasingly questioning notions of societal norms, including traditional thoughts on classroom and school organization and teaching methods, earning the model acclaim, he said. More conservative principles that gained footing in the 1980s and '90s emphasized a "back-to-basics" mind-set among educators, Cuban said. That thinking, along with an emphasis on standardized testing and accountability, gained further prominence with the passage of President Bush's education reform measure in 2001, No Child Left Behind. The benefits for students and teachers associated with open-space schools - spurring creativity and collaboration - were no longer priorities amid rigid testing schedules with dire consequences for failure, he said.

Though there is no direct relationship between academically failing schools and open-space classrooms - in fact, more than 90 percent of the students at Crofton Woods have consistently performed as either proficient or advanced on the annual Maryland School Assessment - educators have largely panned the model as a failed relic. By the mid-1990s, Howard County had launched a series of multimillion-dollar renovations at open-space school buildings. In one instance, officials deemed it easier to start over - so they tore down and then rebuilt Wilde Lake High School. Still, students are trying to learn in classrooms without walls across the state, from Garrett to Dorchester to Prince George's County, and systems are consistently requesting money to build individual classrooms, said David Lever, executive director of the Inter Agency Committee on School Construction. In a previous job in Prince George's schools Lever said teachers in one open-space school "were reporting splitting headaches," after having to raise their voices so their students could hear them.

In Carroll County, the 42-school system has four open-space schools with projects under way at two of the schools to build walls. The school system has requested money in its 2010 capital budget to "close them in," according to the school department. Already, Anne Arundel officials have enclosed two of its schools. And the county school board, in an effort to expedite the number of enclosure projects, voted for the additional $3 million, even though County Executive John R. Leopold has signaled that tight economic times are forcing leaner budgets. County Councilman Edward R. Reilly lives across the street from Crofton Woods, and two of his grandchildren attend the school. He agrees the open-space model is broken, but added that fiscal constraints make it difficult to go at the need full-throttle. "It's a huge need chasing very few dollars," he said. "I would love to have it done in one year. It's a very big hole that we're trying to fill."

Changing the layout of open-space schools is not simply an exercise in building walls. Most schools require major construction and adjustments to heating, cooling and electrical systems, said Alex L. Szachnowicz, the chief operating officer for county schools. Crofton Woods Elementary, built in 1970, has no discernible classrooms for its 555 students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade. John Barzal, the principal at Crofton Woods, said he often encounters suspicious parents on "back-to-school night" who ask whether children are able to concentrate in the setting. But, he said, he attempts to allay fears by pointing to the school's strong record of academic performance and its "phenomenal" teachers. Still, the veteran principal wants walls. "If you have those walls up, you can have a dynamic conversation, and you don't have to worry about the class next door," he said. "You can dance. Teaching is an art. It has to be engaging."

MARYLAND: Crofton Woods Elementary is one of 34 Anne Arundel County schools without walls separating its classes. Now, county school leaders are planning to spend millions of dollars to construct real classrooms - joining school systems across the state in a multimillion-dollar mission to put to rest the '70s-era experiment of "open-space" schools. From the Eastern Shore to Western Maryland, students are still struggling to learn in classrooms without walls. And school systems are lining up for money to build walls. Anne Arundel County schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell designated $5 million in his recently proposed capital budget for construction at five elementary schools and is hoping to install so-called "open space enclosures" at five or six schools a year. Anne Arundel County school board member Eugene Peterson pushed successfully to bring the level of potential funding for the next fiscal year to $8 million. His daughter, now grown and teaching music at a county elementary school, attended Brock Ridge Elementary, an open-space school in the southern part of the county. "We put up with it," Peterson said. "She got good grades. She paid attention." But, he added: "The bottom line is: They're not, in my opinion, a good environment for learning. We tried that experiment. It didn't work."

The open-space school model, a British import, was embraced in the United States amid shifting social, cultural and political dynamics - the civil rights movement, the rise of feminism and anti-war protests - of the 1960s and '70s, according to Larry Cuban, professor emeritus of education at Stanford University. Americans were increasingly questioning notions of societal norms, including traditional thoughts on classroom and school organization and teaching methods, earning the model acclaim, he said. More conservative principles that gained footing in the 1980s and '90s emphasized a "back-to-basics" mind-set among educators, Cuban said. That thinking, along with an emphasis on standardized testing and accountability, gained further prominence with the passage of President Bush's education reform measure in 2001, No Child Left Behind. The benefits for students and teachers associated with open-space schools - spurring creativity and collaboration - were no longer priorities amid rigid testing schedules with dire consequences for failure, he said.

Though there is no direct relationship between academically failing schools and open-space classrooms - in fact, more than 90 percent of the students at Crofton Woods have consistently performed as either proficient or advanced on the annual Maryland School Assessment - educators have largely panned the model as a failed relic. By the mid-1990s, Howard County had launched a series of multimillion-dollar renovations at open-space school buildings. In one instance, officials deemed it easier to start over - so they tore down and then rebuilt Wilde Lake High School. Still, students are trying to learn in classrooms without walls across the state, from Garrett to Dorchester to Prince George's County, and systems are consistently requesting money to build individual classrooms, said David Lever, executive director of the Inter Agency Committee on School Construction. In a previous job in Prince George's schools Lever said teachers in one open-space school "were reporting splitting headaches," after having to raise their voices so their students could hear them.

In Carroll County, the 42-school system has four open-space schools with projects under way at two of the schools to build walls. The school system has requested money in its 2010 capital budget to "close them in," according to the school department. Already, Anne Arundel officials have enclosed two of its schools. And the county school board, in an effort to expedite the number of enclosure projects, voted for the additional $3 million, even though County Executive John R. Leopold has signaled that tight economic times are forcing leaner budgets. County Councilman Edward R. Reilly lives across the street from Crofton Woods, and two of his grandchildren attend the school. He agrees the open-space model is broken, but added that fiscal constraints make it difficult to go at the need full-throttle. "It's a huge need chasing very few dollars," he said. "I would love to have it done in one year. It's a very big hole that we're trying to fill."

Changing the layout of open-space schools is not simply an exercise in building walls. Most schools require major construction and adjustments to heating, cooling and electrical systems, said Alex L. Szachnowicz, the chief operating officer for county schools. Crofton Woods Elementary, built in 1970, has no discernible classrooms for its 555 students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade. John Barzal, the principal at Crofton Woods, said he often encounters suspicious parents on "back-to-school night" who ask whether children are able to concentrate in the setting. But, he said, he attempts to allay fears by pointing to the school's strong record of academic performance and its "phenomenal" teachers. Still, the veteran principal wants walls. "If you have those walls up, you can have a dynamic conversation, and you don't have to worry about the class next door," he said. "You can dance. Teaching is an art. It has to be engaging."

CALIFORNIA: The Los Angeles Unified School District is looking to develop low-cost apartments on as many as 12 campuses in an effort to help teachers find less expensive housing and live closer to their jobs. District officials have begun asking real estate developers to submit housing proposals on school campuses in Hollywood and Harbor Gateway and are reviewing other campuses where apartments could be built on surplus land. But the development plan is drawing fire from opponents of Measure Q, the district's $7-billion construction and repair bond issue on Tuesday's ballot. Critics contend that the district should not seek to increase property taxes to pay for new facilities if it has enough real estate to start housing its employees. "They're complaining that they have a lack of revenue and yet they don't do the obvious thing with surplus property, which is to sell it to the highest bidder in a way that wouldn't conflict with . . . a school," said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. Coupal said the district should stick to educating children. But L.A. Unified officials say the housing initiative will meet a critical need by creating apartments for school employees who are having trouble finding reasonably priced homes near their jobs.

District officials said they could save $20,000 each year in training costs by reducing the teacher attrition rate at three campuses. And they argue that Measure Q voters should be encouraged by the district's efforts to maximize its land holdings in a way that generates long-term rental income. "We're always trying to utilize our assets better," said John Creer, district director of planning and development. "But we're not doing it to the detriment of our core mission, which is to provide education." Measure Q is the district's fifth bond issue in 11 years. The measure includes at least $400 million for new schools and at least $450 million for the construction and expansion of charter schools.

The campaign has coincided with efforts by the district to lure real estate developers to its school sites, particularly those with parking lots that can be converted into school parking garages with housing on the upper levels. In Glassell Park, the district is finalizing an agreement with the Los Angeles Community Design Center, a nonprofit group that plans to build 45 units on district-owned land next to Glassell Park Elementary School. Although the rental terms have not been finalized, Creer said the project would provide parking for school employees and rental income under a 66-year lease. In the Harbor Gateway neighborhood, L.A. Unified has requested proposals for a district-owned site next to Gardena High School. And in Hollywood, the district hopes to attract a developer who will build four levels of underground parking and at least five levels of housing on district land across from Selma Elementary School.
District officials informed school board members last month that the Selma project could grow considerably taller, given the high density of new developments in Hollywood. And they argued that in addition to housing teachers, the new residences could be used to bring children back to Selma, which has lost 43% of its students in four years, largely because of rising rents. "With enrollment declining, we're hoping to create workforce housing and maybe repopulate the school there," senior facilities project manager Sam Mistrano told the school board's Facilities Committee.

That argument infuriates a representative of the California Charter Schools Assn., which has been pressing the district to free up some of its available space -- including vacant land -- to help open and expand charter schools, which are public schools but are not bound by as many state education rules. "The district would rather pursue this than get their own kids the charter space that they need," said Gary Larson, a spokesman for the group.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has been raising money for the bond measure, endorsed the district's housing initiative in May. So did Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who sent the district a letter favoring the concept earlier this year. Hahn now says that she was wrong about the housing plan, which was presented to her before the district placed the measure for $7 billion in bonds -- twice the original amount -- on the ballot. Hahn said she is perplexed by the school system's desire to build homes in Harbor Gateway when, as part of its construction program, it is destroying homes in nearby Wilmington, also part of her district. "There are certainly a lot of hurt feelings because the district has taken people's homes," she said. "So for them to be in the business now of building housing is a cruel twist."

L.A. Unified officials compare their effort to one in the Silicon Valley, where 40 apartments were built by the Santa Clara Unified School District for its teachers. That district charged rents that were well below the market rate in that expensive housing market. A nearby early model for the L.A. district's housing proposal can be found in Canoga Park, where the nonprofit group New Economics for Women built both a 119-unit affordable housing project and a 450-seat charter school. The group retained ownership of the housing and sold the school to the district for $15.9 million. New Economics for Women pays the district $1 a year in rental income, said Beatriz Stotzer, president of the group's board. One-fifth of the school's students live in the nearby housing, allowing teachers to make house calls on their students, she added. "It's a very easy opportunity [for teachers] to visit the student in their own home, so that they know they're being valued and watched," she said. Affordable-housing developer Robin Hughes, who is working on the Glassell Park project, said the apartment proposal will provide an opportunity for L.A. Unified to make up for some of the housing it has eliminated. Still, she conceded that teachers will probably be ineligible for the homes near Glassell Park Elementary. "Their income is probably too high for this particular site," said Hughes, one of Villaraigosa's appointees on the citywide Planning Commission. "But there are other sites that the district is looking at."

CALIFORNIA: Loath to raise taxes on strapped homeowners, San Diego Unified crafted its new facilities bond proposal to extend an existing tax, riding the coattails of a waning bond. It reassured voters that they could revamp schools without ramping up their taxes by swapping a new bond -- the $2.1 billion Proposition S -- for an old one. But avoiding a tax hike meant a tradeoff: Paying for the new bond until 2044. The plan, on Tuesday's ballot, hinges on extending an existing tax. A decade ago taxpayers approved a $1.51 billion bond called Proposition MM to build new schools in San Diego Unified, which levied $95.75 in taxes for every $100,000 in assessed property value. Construction and renovation on that bond has ended but property owners are still paying for it, and will be until 2029. The tax has already dropped to $66.67 per $100,000, and if no new taxes were approved, the taxes would continue to taper off over time. But to raise more money to install wireless Internet and replace aging trailers, San Diego Unified has proposed a new bond that would extend the current tax, paying off two bonds at once.

Bond consultants predict that for roughly 20 years, taxes paid by property owners in San Diego Unified would cover only the interest on the new bond while paying off the rest of Proposition MM. The bulk of the new bond, Proposition S, would be repaid toward the end of its lifespan, accumulating more interest year by year. Property owners would keep paying their current taxes until 2029, a slightly lower tax for another 15 years, and are predicted to finish paying the debt in 2044. "Increasing taxes was not somewhere they wanted to go," said Mark Young, principal for Gardner, Underwood and Bacon LLC in Los Angeles, which is consulting San Diego Unified on the bond and donated to the bond campaign. As a result of keeping taxes steady, Young said, the borrowing will cost more over time because interest costs will be higher. How much that added interest will cost San Diego Unified is unknown. Young said his group had no specific figures on how much extending the debt would ultimately cost, compared to paying a higher tax for a shorter time span. But the cost of borrowing for decades could be outweighed by other savings during the financial downturn, making it advantageous to buy now and pay later. Economist Kim Rueben said the calculations could still pencil out for the better for San Diego Unified as the costs of raw materials for construction and renovation drop. "Things are actually cheaper now," said Rueben, a public finance economist with the Urban Institute based in Washington, D.C. "They might be able to do it at a lower real cost, even though the financing cost will be higher."

The lengthy payoff is one of the chief complaints raised by the few organized opponents to Proposition S, who have struggled to net funding and support. While the campaign for a new bond in San Diego Unified has been bolstered by television advertisements and endorsements from the mayor, the teachers union and the San Diego County Taxpayers Association and more than $300,000 in donations from heavyweights such as construction consultants Gafcon, Inc. and Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs, the opposition has limped along with no donors, relying principally on media appearances and editorials to make its case that the bond will saddle taxpayers with debt for too long. "I wouldn't want to be on the school board in 2030," said Pat Flannery, a real estate broker who is leading the opposition to Proposition S. Flannery argues that the lengthy debt would be a burden to future generations. He added, "We're not looking at the alternatives, and there are alternatives other than just borrow, borrow, borrow."

Proponents of Proposition S argue that passing the bond will not preclude San Diego Unified from seeking more funds in the future, nor is its payoff prohibitively long. It would extend the current rate of $66.67 per $100,000 that property owners are currently paying for Proposition MM until 2029, then drop the rate to $60 per $100,000 for an additional 15 years. The alternative way to reap the same funding would be a higher, shorter-lived tax that could prove unsalable during a downturn. Proposition S consultant Scott Barnett compared the tax extension to a home mortgage and touted the benefits it has promised, such as updated technology for classrooms and replacing portable buildings, and the potential boost in housing values if schools are repaired and updated.

Bonding has become a way of life for schools in California, where bonds are more likely to pass than fail, according to historical data gathered by the nonpartisan research group EdSource. Lowering the bar for passing school bonds from 66 to 55 percent in exchange for added accountability has ushered in more school facilities funding in California, according to Quinnipiac University economist Eric Brunner. Voters approved more than $28 billion in local school bonds in the five years after the new law, Brunner found, compared to $16.4 billion in bonds in the five years before it was passed. School facilities funding once lagged in California compared to the nation; as of 2006 it had outstripped the national average, Brunner wrote, largely due to state and local bonds.
And following bonds with bonds is now routine, said Judy Marks, associate director of the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities. Young of Gardner, Underwood and Bacon said he knew of other school districts that were extending taxes to cover new bonds, much like Escondido and San Diego Unified, and Marks cited the unprecedented $7 billion bond proposed for Los Angeles Unified schools, the fifth bond it has floated in 11 years, as another example of layering bonds over bonds.

VIRGINIA: It’s a good news/bad news thing for the West Springfield community. The good news is that Fairfax County Public Schools and elected officials agree that West Springfield High School needs to be renovated. The bad news? They don’t know how and when they are going to do it. West Springfield is far from the only facility in need of a major upgrade and the school system doesn’t have nearly enough money to address all of its building shortfalls. "There is no ambiguity about the fact that West Springfield should be renovated. … [But] West Springfield is not, unfortunately, unique," said Dean Tistadt, the school system’s chief operating officer and the head of facilities.

West Springfield opened on Rolling Road 42 years ago and the building has never received a major facelift. The high school has also been left off the school system’s queue for new construction projects despite facing major facility problems, including a sagging roof, antiquated electrical system, warped floors and music room so small that the school band can no longer use it for practice. According to Tistadt, Herndon, Oakton, Langley and Fall Church high schools, facilities also built about 40 years ago, are in similar condition to West Springfield. Several elementary schools are also in as bad or worse shape.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors allocates about $155 million annually for school capital projects but it is not nearly enough to meet the school system’s skyrocketing needs. Overall, the school system has about $1.5 billion in unmet capital expenditures, said School Board president Dan Storck (Mount Vernon), who represents a small portion of the West Springfield High School community. "We are falling farther and farther behind. … The reality is we don’t know when we are going to get to [needed high school renovations,]" said Tistadt.

A consultant’s report, released in early September, ranked West Springfield the 10th neediest facility out of 60 schools considered. Only one high school, Langley, was higher on the list. The Fairfax County School Board has asked the consultant to return with a slightly different analysis, one in which extremely overcrowded schools are not given an advantage in the battle for facilities funding. It is possible that the consultant’s second list of recommendations, due in December, could benefit West Springfield, which is not among the most overcrowded schools in the system. School Board members are expected to rely heavily on the consultants’ recommendations when voting on the new queue in January. But even those schools at the very top of the new priority list would have to wait a few years before breaking ground on construction. Fairfax County residents have already voted on bonds for all new school building projects in the immediate future. Officials have also held harmless those projects that already receive funding for planning, like the renovation of Thomas Jefferson High School, and those communities are likely to see construction move forward first because they are farther along in the process.

CALIFORNIA: The Redondo Beach Board of Education is considering whether to pay approximately $470,000 to have the Measure “C” construction projects at the high school officially considered “green.” At the Oct. 28 School Board meeting, district trustees discussed paying the princely sum to have the new construction certified as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design buildings, or LEED. The LEED certification program is part of the Green Building Rating System, which was created by the U.S. Green Building Council a decade ago. The certification system gives a set of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. Since 1998, LEED has certified more than 14,000 projects in the U.S. alone.

“I’ve been discussing the modernization of all of our facilities, but in particular, going green and pursuing LEED certification at the high school,” said Superintendent Steven Keller, who, along with local architect Peter Phinney and School Board President Todd Lowenstein agreed that it was a good idea to discuss the issue. According to Phinney, the district already has much of the requirements met, at least to meet the minimum amount of points for the basic level certification. Phinney explained how the procedure of becoming LEED-certified works, and reviewed a general estimate of the costs for filing the paperwork to become officially certified.
The LEED system has four levels in which a project can be certified. These levels are based on a points scale system, which in itself comprises six categories including water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, indoor environmental quality, and materials and resources used. There are a total of 69 points possible in the LEED evaluation. The basic certification is between 26 and 32 points, while Silver certification is between 33 and 38 points. A Gold certification is between 39 and 51 points; and finally the highest, Platinum Certification, is any score between 52 and 69 points.

“You are so painfully close to being able to call yourself a LEED-certified school, it’s just a matter of the costs of paperwork,” Phinney told board members. According to Phinney, the School Board has the option of paying for the costs of filing for LEED certification separately if cost becomes an issue. The administration and gymnasium/aquatics center could be certified this year, while the industrial arts and science building could be put off until next year. The total for both the administration and gymnasium facilities are a combined $212,000, while the costs for the industrial arts and science building combined is $258,000. “A lot of the costs for certification is in paperwork, sometimes there are thousands of pages of documents,” said Phinney. “Some are very easy yet some are very complicated.” Phinney also said much of the costs will go toward running a model using a computer program which will analyze the standards of energy use for the project. “These are all engineering efforts, toward documenting certification,” he said.

CALIFORNIA: San Juan Unified School District broke ground last week on a $4.3 million gym at Mesa Verde High School, the district's first major construction in 15 years. Come December, the district will start building another gym at Del Campo High School, and in June, construction will begin on a brand new library at Mesa Verde. Turns out, the bottom falling out of the housing industry is good for districts such as San Juan that have passed school construction bonds but not yet used them up. The gym would have cost about 25 percent more to build just a few years ago, said Don Myers, the district's senior director of facilities and planning. "We're seeing really hungry contractors right now."

Robert Pierce, associate superintendent for facilities and planning in Elk Grove Unified School District, said districts are experiencing a favorable climate for construction bids. "Our bids are coming in at far less than our architects or engineers have estimated," Pierce said. "All of the sudden, contractors are sharpening their pencils because quite honestly people are hungry for money." Funding for the new San Juan buildings comes from a $350 million bond that voters approved in 2002. "We saw construction prices escalate after the bond passed in 2002," Myers said. "But because of the downturn in the economy for the last year now, as well as the downturn in housing market, we've actually gotten a very good price (on the gym construction)."

The timing for Mesa Verde's new gym was right in more ways than one. In the years since the bond passed, the district also began to see a decline in enrollment, so officials wanted to be prudent about upgrading facilities that might have to be closed. Mesa Verde already has one gym, built at the same time as the rest of the school in 1974. Adding the new 8,500-square-foot gym gives the school another full-size basketball court and more room for athletic teams to practice. It also puts Mesa Verde on par with the majority of San Juan high schools. All the other schools – save Del Campo – have two gyms.
The $350 million bond was pitched to voters as a way to equalize amenities at San Juan schools and to repair and maintain campuses mostly built in the 1950s and '60s. When voters approved the bond, they agreed to pay $60 in taxes per $100,000 assessed value of their homes for 30 years, Myers said. "We're doing 25 million to 30 million (dollars) per year in construction work," said Myers, who anticipates the $350 million bond will allow for about 10 years of construction.

NORTH CAROLINA: Residents are concerned Wake County leaders are downplaying expectations over school construction. It was announced that no school projects were going to be delayed, but some are concerned the news was portrayed as too good. Construction is already well underway on a number of wake schools projects. Some are new buildings. Others are renovations. And, for the time being, all those projects will continue. But for projects a bit further down the road --an elementary school set to open in 2011 or a middle school that's supposed to come online in 2012-- officials will have to wait and see.
"I think some school projects will be delayed," Wake County Commissioner Tony Gurley said. A memo, sent from the Wake County Manager to the schools' superintendent, was sent after a school board meeting last week. The manager expressed concern that the public came away from that meeting believing that "all projects can be implemented as planned." The memo says "is not accurate." Gurley agrees, everything will depend on whether the frozen credit market thaws. "We have made available to the schools monies to allow existing projects to go forward, but future projects really depend on selling those bonds," Gurley said. "We understand the economy. We understand the cash flow. So we're going to move with caution," School Board Chair Rosa Gill said. Gill says no one with Wake schools meant to give the impression last week that all projects were on course for the long-term. "We going to evaluate it on a month-to-month basis," Gill said. "We are just happy that they are allowing us to move forward, knowing that we have to maybe delay some or postpone another year or push it back."

In 2006 voters passed a bond package that called for selling $970 million in bonds for school construction. So far, only about half of those bonds have been issued. There are still many school projects that could get delayed.

OHIO: Ohio's massive school construction program has been a good deal for local districts wanting to build or repair their schools. Since the program was created a decade ago, the state has provided $6.5 billion to districts where voters approved levies to cover a portion of the costs. But with rising home foreclosures, persistent job loss, sinking 401(k) funds and a looming recession, is any tax increase a good deal? Weary educators in 27 school districts will find out Nov. 4 when their voters decide on bond issues to provide local shares for the state building program. Those issues are among 237 levies on the ballot in about a third of Ohio's school districts this fall.

Last year, 14 building assistance levies were on the ballot; six passed. "It's the best deal in town, but it's going to be much, much, much harder this time," said Superintendent Dennis L. Recker of the Liberty-Benton Local School District. In August, voters in the Hancock County district turned down by 13 votes a 7-mill bond issue to raise $15.7 million, a move that would have brought a like amount from the state to replace and renovate district schools. In light of the economy and in anticipation that the proposal was going to be a tougher sell than usual, Recker said the district dropped the Nov. 4 bond issue to 5.9 mills by trimming $4 million from the project.

The stakes are high. This is the district's third attempt to come up with matching funds. If it fails, the state aid no longer will be available and any future assistance will be at a reduced rate, Recker said. David Varda, executive director of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, said he expects that the troubled economy likely will translate to a lower passage rate for school levies. But tax increases for school construction projects typically fare better than ones for operating expenses because the benefits are more tangible.

Voters in the Whitehall school district haven't been asked to raise taxes for schools since 1995, "but the economy is the one thing that scares me out there, whether this will pass or not," said Brian Hamler, Whitehall's associate superintendent. The district is seeking passage of a 6.87-mill bond issue to raise $30.4 million. If voters agree to provide the local share, the state will kick in $47 million to build a high school, middle school and three elementary schools. "One of the points we are trying to make, is that because of the state of the economy, we really need to take advantage of this state money," Hamler said. "But it may be the gray elephant in the room but people may be thinking that 'The economy is bad; I can't afford it no matter how good a deal it is.' "

The Bloom-Carroll school district in Fairfield County has been seeking voter approval of school construction projects since November 2000. The most recent request was turned down by an 8-point margin in March. "We've definitely heard from the naysayers, and the main reason is the economy and their ability to afford it," said Travis Bigam, district treasurer. "We're expecting a huge turnout and usually that's good, but with the economy it may end up hurting us." District voters will decide on a combination bond issue and income tax to raise $63 million to help build two elementary schools and a high school and renovate the existing high school into a middle school. "We tell people if you can't afford it, don't vote for it," Bigam said. "Unfortunately, it's not getting any cheaper with construction prices, and the longer this gets put off, the more expensive it gets."

CONNECTICUT: Perched in front of three computer monitors in his office at the high school, Tom Bobkowski watches as 16 different scenes unfold simultaneously across campus: Teenagers exiting the hallway; a student pacing across an outdoor path; a car pulling into the lot. With a click of his mouse, Bobkowski, the town's school safety resources director, pulls up another image - this time, a video-camera image of the courtyard - which slowly scans across Hillside Avenue before settling on a view of the northern parking lot a 200 yards away. "You can cover a lot of ground with these things," he said of Greenwich High School's new outdoor surveillance cameras. "It's impossible to be omnipresent" on a 58-acre campus, he added, "but this gives you a pretty good sense of what's going on."

Dozens of indoor security cameras were installed throughout the high school last school year, as part of a closed-circuit television network designed to monitor bad behavior, prevent theft and deter trespassers. Now, Bobkowski is overseeing an expansion of these monitoring capabilities that will extend outside - in parking lots, athletic fields, walkways, foyers and roadways - as part of the third and final phase of a half-million-dollar facilities project. Security cameras were first installed in the student center, media center and hallways in the first phase of the project in 2007-08, with additional cameras set up to monitor the school's entrances for the second phase in summer 2008. The latest expansion of the camera network to the athletic fields and all parking lots will cost about $210,000 in the 2009-10 Capital Improvement Plan, which the Board of Education approved Thursday. The outdoor cameras, some of which are already operational, record in color and can store digital footage for later viewing. During the day, security staff can use a computer to tilt, pan and zoom. After hours, they can be set to be activated by motion or changes in light, Bobkowski said.

School administrators say the expanded camera network will allow security staff to bolster safety at the high school while better monitoring infractions that take place outdoors, such as smoking and vandalism. They will also be better equipped to mediate disputes and investigate disciplinary infractions that occur beyond the watchful eyes of security staff and the school resource officer, said GHS Headmaster Al Capasso. Already this year, school administrators have been able to review footage gathered by the outdoor cameras to set the record straight on a minor physical altercation in which two students' account of the incident differed considerably. Instead of relying on witness accounts, Capasso said, the security staff and school administrators simply reviewed the security tapes and determined that one of the student's stories had been exaggerated. "The camera has no perceptual bias, no attitude," Bobkowski said. "Just a clear picture of what happened."
While some critics have raised concerns about privacy issues posed by the presence of more cameras, Capasso said the school will use the cameras primarily to review footage after specific incidents - not to conduct regular surveillance of the students. "We don't sit there and watch these non-stop," he said. "We don't want to give the impression that this is Big Brother, because it's not," Capasso said. "It's just way to see what we've missed, and keep the school safe."

UNITED KINGDOM: Wigan pupils are being given the opportunity to have a say in the design of their new school. Abraham Guest's new building is due to open in January 2010 in Lamberhead Green, Orrell, and students have been taking part in landscape design consultations with architects NPS North West. The sessions, attended by planning officers from Wigan Council, have also included pupils from Lamberhead Green Primary School, which will be part of the new site. The students involved have been divided into groups to think about how best to use certain areas of the £22.8m, 10,000 sq m new-build and have been asked what they like, and dislike, about the current school and how it could be improved. The aim of the consultation exercise is to incorporate the pupils' ideas into planning considerations and to design a building that will sit in an interactive landscape. The students have also been working with Brian Taylor, an environmental artist who has been commissioned to produce a number of sculptures at the site.

The new school is also one of only six across the country to have been chosen as an exemplar of the government-led Project Faraday, which aims to develop innovative designs for science facilities which will transform teaching and learning. Headteacher Roy Caslake said: "It is important to give the children a voice when it comes to the future of their school. "We hope that these consultation sessions will ultimately result in the pupils being able to recognise some of their ideas when the building is completed. "We are keen to make full use of the site's natural features and there is an emphasis on the idea of using the environment to facilitate a strong link between the two schools." Ian Clemow, for NPS North West, said: "The aim is to get the students to engage with the building. This way they will get to influence the building that they will use for the rest of their school lives."

LOUISIANA: When Recovery School District superintendent Paul Vallas looks 15 years into the future, he sees fully renovated 21st century schools available to every student in Orleans Parish. But it will take the largest construction project in city history for that vision to become reality. The $1.2 billion School Facilities Master Plan for Orleans Parish maps out the long and winding road leading to Vallas’ lofty goal, but how that plan will be funded has become a point of contention within the education community. Broken down into six sections, the master plan calls for an initial investment estimated to top $700 million for phase one of school construction. Phase two will require about $400 million, and the remaining four phases will carry a cost expected to top $100 million. Every cent of phase one’s price tag will come from a combination of Federal Emergency Management Agency rebuilding funds and Community Development Block Grants, Vallas said, but education and government watchdogs are raising concerns about the lack of funding for latter portions of the plan, which they say could lead to unfinished schools at an enormous local expense.
“The problem is if you spend, for example, $53 million on a high school right now, you may not have the money to do another school later,” Bureau of Governmental Research President Janet Howard said. “It’s a question of whether you’re using your resources judiciously and fairly. Right now we have a lot of questions about that.”

Tara O’Neill, a policy analyst for the Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives, said the plan is also vague when it comes to accounting for construction expenditures, which she said are higher than the national average. “What we have asked is that somebody look at those construction figures in detail,” O’Neill said. “We would like to see the prices discussed in concrete terms rather than somebody just estimating the cost of construction.” Cost estimates have been done for every single building, Vallas said, but final prices can’t be determined since the majority of the projects are years from beginning and too many variables exist for an accurate prediction. Lingering damage from Hurricane Katrina and higher building costs in a storm-prone region, coupled with the massive scale of the master plan, account for the higher than average cost of construction, he said.

Nearly 40 percent of New Orleans public school buildings will receive complete overhauls during phase one, placing more than 16,000 of the city’s approximately 35,000 elementary and high school students in state-of-the-art classrooms by 2012, Vallas said. “Phase one of the plan represents the largest school construction program in the city’s history,” he said. “When it is complete, we will be out of all the modular campuses, half the students will be in ultra-modern schools, 100 percent will be modern classrooms. There will not be a child that lives farther than half a mile from an elementary school, and there will be more high school choices available to children than ever before. That will be quite an accomplishment.” An even greater accomplishment comes in the form of the federal government picking up the entire tab for the first phase, he said.

Howard said the absence of secured funding sources for the final phases of the plan will lead to drastically higher local and state taxes as the plan progresses, but Vallas said several factors will come into play before the plan comes to fruition that will help ease the burden on taxpayers. The Orleans Parish School Board currently has a debt burden of nearly $450 million that Howard says, if combined with the master plan costs, would require the current school board property tax rate to be doubled. “But by the time you get into phases three and four of the capital plan, the existing debt of the Orleans Parish School Board is going to be close to being retired,” Vallas said. “So there might be some options there to issue some school construction bonds there and not have to raise taxes.” Stretching the plan over 15 years will be the key to keeping local tax contributions small, Vallas said, noting that the historical lack of local construction funds in New Orleans led to about $1 billion of deferred maintenance costs now plaguing local schools. “Louisiana is one of the few states not to provide any money for school construction, and the city provides no money for school construction,” he said. “At some point in the next 10 years, the city and the state are going to have to play a role in funding school construction and repairs in the city and across the state.”

LOUISIANA: When Recovery School District superintendent Paul Vallas looks 15 years into the future, he sees fully renovated 21st century schools available to every student in Orleans Parish. But it will take the largest construction project in city history for that vision to become reality. The $1.2 billion School Facilities Master Plan for Orleans Parish maps out the long and winding road leading to Vallas’ lofty goal, but how that plan will be funded has become a point of contention within the education community. Broken down into six sections, the master plan calls for an initial investment estimated to top $700 million for phase one of school construction. Phase two will require about $400 million, and the remaining four phases will carry a cost expected to top $100 million. Every cent of phase one’s price tag will come from a combination of Federal Emergency Management Agency rebuilding funds and Community Development Block Grants, Vallas said, but education and government watchdogs are raising concerns about the lack of funding for latter portions of the plan, which they say could lead to unfinished schools at an enormous local expense.
“The problem is if you spend, for example, $53 million on a high school right now, you may not have the money to do another school later,” Bureau of Governmental Research President Janet Howard said. “It’s a question of whether you’re using your resources judiciously and fairly. Right now we have a lot of questions about that.”

Tara O’Neill, a policy analyst for the Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives, said the plan is also vague when it comes to accounting for construction expenditures, which she said are higher than the national average. “What we have asked is that somebody look at those construction figures in detail,” O’Neill said. “We would like to see the prices discussed in concrete terms rather than somebody just estimating the cost of construction.” Cost estimates have been done for every single building, Vallas said, but final prices can’t be determined since the majority of the projects are years from beginning and too many variables exist for an accurate prediction. Lingering damage from Hurricane Katrina and higher building costs in a storm-prone region, coupled with the massive scale of the master plan, account for the higher than average cost of construction, he said.

Nearly 40 percent of New Orleans public school buildings will receive complete overhauls during phase one, placing more than 16,000 of the city’s approximately 35,000 elementary and high school students in state-of-the-art classrooms by 2012, Vallas said. “Phase one of the plan represents the largest school construction program in the city’s history,” he said. “When it is complete, we will be out of all the modular campuses, half the students will be in ultra-modern schools, 100 percent will be modern classrooms. There will not be a child that lives farther than half a mile from an elementary school, and there will be more high school choices available to children than ever before. That will be quite an accomplishment.” An even greater accomplishment comes in the form of the federal government picking up the entire tab for the first phase, he said.

Howard said the absence of secured funding sources for the final phases of the plan will lead to drastically higher local and state taxes as the plan progresses, but Vallas said several factors will come into play before the plan comes to fruition that will help ease the burden on taxpayers. The Orleans Parish School Board currently has a debt burden of nearly $450 million that Howard says, if combined with the master plan costs, would require the current school board property tax rate to be doubled. “But by the time you get into phases three and four of the capital plan, the existing debt of the Orleans Parish School Board is going to be close to being retired,” Vallas said. “So there might be some options there to issue some school construction bonds there and not have to raise taxes.” Stretching the plan over 15 years will be the key to keeping local tax contributions small, Vallas said, noting that the historical lack of local construction funds in New Orleans led to about $1 billion of deferred maintenance costs now plaguing local schools. “Louisiana is one of the few states not to provide any money for school construction, and the city provides no money for school construction,” he said. “At some point in the next 10 years, the city and the state are going to have to play a role in funding school construction and repairs in the city and across the state.”

CALIFORNIA: The case for $7-billion Measure Q, the largest local school bond in state history, goes something like this: Now that the school district has built dozens of new campuses, it needs and deserves more dollars to fix up the old ones. Exhibit A for this argument is brand-new Helen Bernstein High in Hollywood, with a pool, dance studio, energy-efficient windows, the latest in computers, ceiling-mounted projectors, up-to-date science labs and a sprinkler-cooled artificial turf playing field. In contrast, at Hollenbeck Middle School, east of downtown, students endure noisy air conditioners, an asphalt playground, an undersized gym, windows painted over to reduce glare and science labs without student work stations. Conditions are more make-do than state-of-the-art. "We tell these kids that schooling is about their future, and then we put them in spaces that need dramatic change," said Marshall Tuck, a top education advisor for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "We need facilities that feel welcoming and are well-kept. What signal are we sending by the actual shape these buildings are in?"

Criticism of the bond focuses on the district's skyrocketing building costs, disagreements over priorities and the haste behind Measure Q itself, whose price tag more than doubled in the final days before the Board of Education placed it on the ballot July 31. The fifth school bond in 11 years for the Los Angeles Unified School District, Measure Q will compete with other property tax increases on the November ballot. For L.A. Unified, Measure Q represents a bid for a dependable longer-term funding stream for a $20.3-billion construction and modernization program, the nation's largest, which has so far delivered more than 75,000 classroom seats.

Since 1997, when Los Angeles voters passed the first of four recent school bonds, the mission of the measures has evolved. In the first years, the money was used primarily to repair campuses that were falling apart in a school system that had last passed a bond in 1963. Then, the focus shifted mainly to constructing new schools. By 2004, the objective became eliminating involuntary busing and year-round schedules that shorten students' academic year by 17 school days. Although it also would establish funds for new buildings, Measure Q returns to the 1997 goal: fixing things up and ensuring the new stuff doesn't break down.
To be sure, conditions have improved, even at the district's older schools. In the last decade, Hollenbeck has received $7.3 million in upgrades and repairs, covering painting, plumbing, lighting, fencing, flooring and more. Projects totaling an additional $4.2 million are in progress, including fire alarms, air conditioning and food-service upgrades. And even without a new bond, $370,000 in other work is scheduled.

But Tuck espouses an atmospheric upgrade -- from a school environment that, he said, appears to tolerate less than the best to one that inspires excellence. Hollenbeck's , he suggested, are partly a reflection of the school environment. Elevating the setting is especially vital to student success in gang-plagued and economically depressed areas, he said. To provide individual attention, hundreds of millions of dollars would be used to convert existing campuses into clusters of small schools. Officials also designated $250 million to update cafeterias. The bond also includes $500 million for green technology such as renewable energy systems, $450 million for charter schools and about $2 billion for still-unspecified needs. The bond's total doubled at the 11th hour as part of a Villaraigosa-backed compromise that provided more dollars to charter schools in exchange for charter leaders' agreement not to oppose the measure.

Critics, including longtime education activist Gene Krischer, said the bond's doubling epitomizes a program that has been too free-wheeling with other people's money. "The kids are getting something, but I don't think they and the taxpayer are getting their money's worth," said Krischer, who tracks bond-oversight meetings on behalf of a Sierra Club chapter. "The district could be building at a more reasonable cost." For some, one such manifestation is the landmark arts high school under construction downtown, which so far is costing about $1,000 per square foot. That doesn't include about $190 million spent to move the school district's headquarters, which once occupied that site. In general, the bond program's costs also are driven up by such factors as the district's insistence on paying union wages, its local contractor training program, its community outreach effort for selecting school sites and its aim to build schools that also can be used as community recreation centers.

ILLINOIS: With innovations such as solar panels and a biodiesel bus, Bloom High School in Chicago Heights is going green. The Earth-friendly makeover was unveiled as students planted trees and installed rain collectors. The south suburban school is one of the first in the country to make such major environmental changes, courtesy of a $175,000 grant. The campus now boasts a greenhouse, solar panels that power 20 classrooms, energy-efficient light bulbs and power strips, a restored prairie and a living wall—a vertical row of plants that filters air and water. Science Club members have already been using a bus that runs on biodiesel fuel made from used vegetable oil. Maria Avalos, 16, worked on a school mural dedicated to recycling.

The project was organized by Earth Day Network and paid for by the Wal-Mart Foundation. The organizations work together to identify urban schools that have taken steps to become more sustainable. Sean Miller, educational director for Earth Day Network, said young people understand the problems facing the environment and want to reduce their carbon footprint. Bloom High School has 1,600 students, most of whom are low income. The network says green schools improve attendance and test scores.

Freshman biology teacher Jill Krysinski, who helped secure funding for the project, is thrilled about the educational opportunities it offers. She plans to teach classes in the greenhouse and build a vegetable garden. "I've been trying to teach this in my classes out of a textbook," she said, looking at the new greenhouse. "This is gardening—this is the real deal. The students may not remember what they read in the textbook, but they'll remember this." Fernando Desiderio, 17, helped her prepare the greenhouse by spreading manure. Making biodiesel fuel in his advanced chemistry class jump-started his interest in the environment, he said. "I wasn't interested at all," he said. "Now it's one of the things I'm interested in doing after high school."

FLORIDA: The slowdown in construction on the Central Coast also is restricting the flow of developer impact fees into county, city and school and special district coffers. Most local jurisdictions say they aren’t seeing any major impacts on their projects yet, and the reasons for that are many. But most agencies are looking at tightening their belts in the future or using alternative funding sources. Impact fees are paid by developers to offset the increased demand for services — ranging from roads, sewers and water systems to school buildings and parks — that will be created by their developments. The fees are designed to prevent current residents from subsidizing an expanded infrastructure to serve residents who don’t even live here yet or new demands — such as on roads — from commercial projects that bring in customers from other areas.
Developer fees in Pismo Beach rose from $560,000 in 2001 to a peak of $1.34 million in 2003, then fell to $273,000 in 2008, a 26 percent drop from 2007. Edes said impact fees in the first three months of 2009 are very close to 25 percent of last year’s total. If the rate holds steady, that would put the city on track to hit $273,000 again this year. “That can change according to the quarter and such, but we don’t see any signs of change,” he added. “But we’re watching it closely.”
The reduction in fees may slow down some projects, Edes said, but probably none will be placed on hold. “One of the reasons I say that is the voters in June approved a half-cent sales tax that went into effect the first of October,” he said. About $500,000 is projected to be raised by the half-cent sales tax increase for the six months of the current year that the increase was in effect.

CALIFORNIA: The San Ysidro School District has signed a solar energy deal expected to provide most of its power and save it hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in utility bills. San Ysidro schools and the administration office will be the first campuses in the South County to use the sun to provide a majority of their power. The solar panels could be installed as early as February.

If projections prove correct, San Ysidro will save $10.5 million from the 25-year deal with Chula Vista-based Manzana Energy. Under the deal, San Ysidro agrees to buy from Manzana Energy all the power the panels generate over 25 years for a flat fee of $18.9 million. Manzana will pay $16 million to buy and install the panels. The panels will generate about 70 percent of the schools' power needs, said Art Castanares, Manzana's managing director. “It's going to give us a very hefty savings these next few years, which are going to be pretty tight,” said San Ysidro Superintendent Manuel Paul. In the first year of the deal, the district is expected to save $650,000, said Karl Christensen, San Ysidro's assistant superintendent for business services. The amount of savings will be different each year, with the biggest savings at the beginning and end of the contract. “We're hoping that this will help save jobs” should the state budget crisis extend through next year, Christensen said. “We think it's a great way to educate the kids as well” through classroom lessons on how much power the panels generate and how much money their school saves, Christensen said.

OHIO: Ohio educators accustomed to the difficulty of passing school funding issues say economic turmoil during this election is making levies and bond issues an even tougher sell than usual. Voters in about one-third of the state’s school districts will decide 266 school levies, bond issues and tax changes on Nov. 4, with some of them paired as the same ballot issue, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office. Failure means cuts in personnel, student services and extracurricular activities for some districts, while others stand to lose tens of millions of dollars in matching funds for construction and renovation projects. The list includes districts of all sizes, from the cities of Toledo and Dayton to a smattering of villages across the state.

With rallies, pamphlets and phone calls, supporters are pleading to a tough crowd of voters who in many cases are facing financial challenges of their own. “We realize there are tough economic times throughout the state, but we encourage voters to support their local levies and look at them as an investment in the future of their community and the future of Ohio as a whole,” said Scott Blake, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education. In the past decade, Ohio voters have passed 1,277 of 2,166 school issues on November ballots, or about 59 percent.

Perhaps the most difficult challenge is explaining why an issue back on the ballot. Administrators blame Ohio’s complicated funding system, which the Ohio Supreme Court has repeatedly deemed unconstitutional because it relies too heavily on local property taxes. The funding mix of property taxes and state appropriations makes it difficult for voters to fully understand the rising costs and stagnant funding that drive the carousel of ballot issues, especially in the current economy, Herrholtz said. Levy opponents see levies as a check-and-balance system and cite the economy as a good reason to avoid extra burdens on residents. “We want school districts to restrain spending within the rates of inflation,” especially given the financial struggles taxpayers and businesses face today, said Christopher Finney, a spokesman for the southwest Ohio-based Coalition Opposed to Additional Taxes and Spending. That’s a tough proposition for local school boards, which have assumed a greater share of funding public education amid rising costs during the past two decades, said Scott Ebright, a spokesman for the Ohio School Boards Association. And it leaves each school official walking a fine line between administrator and salesman. “Schools can’t go to the federal government for bailouts,” Ebright said. “The need is still going to be there.”

MISSOURI: Many Mountain View-Birch Tree school patrons want to know if a new sales tax, a grant, lottery money or any other type of funding is available to help build a new middle school, says Dr. John Noble, chairman of Citizens for School Improvement (CSI), the group promoting construction of a new middle school. On Nov. 4, district voters will decide on Proposition One, which, if passed, will increase the tax levy from $2.75 to $3.58 per $100 of assessed valuation, to raise money for middle school construction. Unfortunately, even though cities and counties can impose their own sales taxes, it is illegal for school districts to do so. “That would take an act of the Missouri Legislature,” said Superintendent Jerry Nicholson. The school district already gets a share of sales taxes collected statewide, which is distributed to all schools in the state based on average daily attendance. But the legislature puts tight controls on how this money can be spent. State law only allows a small percentage of state funding to go into the “capital projects fund.” By law, all construction expenses must come out of this fund. “The state legislature's position is that buildings are entirely the responsibility of the local school district,” said Nicholson. “People are asking about grants. I've checked with our state reps, and they are telling me that Missouri has no grant money for school construction.”

Nicholson said he is exploring the possibility of getting a federal grant for a tornado shelter. Some area districts have built such shelters, which also serve as multi-purpose rooms. The grants are geared toward offering tornado protection to nearby residential populations, and Liberty High School does not qualify, due to its rural location. “We may qualify for a small shelter for just our student population, but we cannot even apply for the grant until next spring,” Nicholson said. Funding awards should be announced in late summer. Many patrons remember that about a decade ago, the Winona district got a grant for building their new high school, and they wonder if Mountain View-Birch Tree could do the same. That grant came from the federal government, not the state, and Winona got it because of the large amount of federally owned land within the Winona district, since public ownership takes land out of the property tax base. Mountain View-Birch Tree does not have any significant amount of federal land within the district.

As for lottery income, for the past three years the district has received around $400,000 per year from the “Classroom Trust Fund,” which comes from the lottery, Nicholson said. Unlike other state funding, its use is unrestricted. Each year, the school board has put this money into the capital projects fund, which has helped build up that account balance. School buses, building repairs, and all equipment purchases must come out of the capital projects fund, but even after those expenditures, the board has been able to commit $1 million for middle school construction. The proposed tax levy would raise $6.5 million of the $7.5 million needed for the middle school project, with the district putting up the other $1 million as a “down payment.” Noble said, “Mr. Nicholson, the school board, and the CSI committee have tried to explore alternate funding for a middle school. While the district already gets sales tax funding and lottery money, and might get a tornado shelter grant, it is very clear that this is not enough by itself to build a new middle school. The way state laws are set up, the only real option for building a new school is by voters passing a property tax increase.”

CONNECTICUT: Anticipating the local impact of a sinking economy, Mayor John DeStefano Jr. said he would delay school construction projects and try to reopen all city union contracts to ask for more concessions. He gave a grim picture of the years to come, as the city’s pension fund plummets and the state budget takes a major hit from Wall Street. As part of a general slowing of the mayor’s signature $1.5 billion school construction project, the city is delaying the construction starts of the Hill Central, Davis and East Rock Magnet Schools. The city will finish the projects it had started, including the new Worthington Hooker, Metropolitan Business Academy, Coop High and Bishop Woods. All subsequent school projects will be put on hold. And the city intends to put on hold all non-essential 2009 capital projects, DeStefano said.

NATIONAL : On October 1, a group of U.S. mayors announced the formation of the Mayors Alliance for Green Schools. The group comprises a coalition of mayors working to group the leadership and creativity of mayors across the country, to promote the benefits of green schools in their communities. Developed in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Alliance will work to accelerate implementation of programs supporting the 2007 U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) resolution calling for green schools for all children within a generation. According to USGBC president and CEO Rick Fedrizzi, there are Green School Advocacy committees in 80 local USBGC chapters across he country; those groups will be at the disposal of the Alliance in developing and promoting sustainability-minded programs. “As first responders to the needs of their communities, mayors are the vanguard of sustainable development in our country,” says Fedrizzi. “USGBC wants to do all we can to support them, especially in this critically important initiative.” The announcement was led by Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. Also voicing their support were San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom; Austin, Texas, Mayor Will Wynn; Des Moines, Iowa, Mayor Frank Cownie; and Grand Rapids, Mich., Mayor George Heartwell.

A number of Alliance initiatives already are in action. In Miami, San Francisco, and Chicago, sustainability marketing firm EcoMedia, New York City, is working with mayors to leverage innovative public-private partnerships that create new opportunities for green school projects. Other Alliance efforts include initiatives to install green roofs, start recycling programs, and improve the environmental friendliness of existing buildings through the Clinton Climate Initiative’s K-12 Retrofit Program.

LOUISIANA: The Samuel L. Green Uptown, and across town at St. Paul's Episcopal School in Lakeview, are two schools that are becoming models of eco-conscious education in New Orleans. Spun off of the flagship Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, Calif., two years ago, the Samuel L. Green program takes up one-third of an acre and features extensive organic flower and vegetable gardens, as well as a fully-staffed outdoor classroom that hosts classes three to five times a day. Although sustainable gardening is a hallmark of the program's output, the Edible Schoolyard is more about fully integrating outdoor, hands-on, environmentally friendly activities with the school curriculum, program director Donna Cavado said. Like the Edible Schoolyard, St. Paul's Episcopal School has begun incorporating environmental components into its curriculum, with plans for an even deeper integration into its overall mission.

The greening of St. Paul's involves much more than just student classwork and extracurricular activity. Since last fall, the school has worked to build a sustainable vision for its entire Lakeview campus. Head of school Merry Sorrells said she was inspired to propose bold changes to the school's mission after touring a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified green middle school under construction in Washington, D.C. "Outside of that building there was a simulated wetland that they were using for water filtration," Sorrells recalled. "When I saw that I thought, 'The city and our wetlands need saving. This is a way to take part in making our educational system a sustainable one, and to have an impact on wetland recovery.' "We don't have to simulate a wetland. We have a wetland, and our kids can be a catalyst to bringing them back." Faculty and parents galvanized behind her message of the school leading by example with a healthy lifestyle. Working with architectural firms specializing in green school design, St. Paul's has begun to develop a formal master plan for improving the health and efficiency of existing buildings and outdoor spaces, as well as the construction of a new LEED-certified classroom building.

Other local schools are bringing green building and sustainable lifestyle practices to classrooms by making school buildings more energy-efficient and environmentally responsible. The local nonprofit Global Green has been working since 2007 to improve the campuses of seven New Orleans schools through energy-efficient upgrades. A.P. Tureaud Elementary, the International School and Dr. Martin Luther King Elementary have either completed or are in the process of receiving $75,000 each in green renovations -- including energy audits, solar shading and occupancy censors to turn off lights when rooms are empty -- as "green seed" schools. Tureaud, the first school to get the green goods, will save more than $24,000 a year, with a 35 percent reduction in utility consumption, because of the upgrades, according to Global Green. In July, Global Green broke ground on construction at Andrew H. Wilson Elementary, one of two "model schools" to receive a combined $720,000 in green construction, which will include solar panels, a wetland habitat and rainwater cisterns. Both initiatives are being financed by the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. Sorrells of St. Paul's Episcopal believes the investments will reap educational dividends. "The studies show that green schools are healthier schools," Sorrells said. "Attendance is quantifiably stronger, there's less student absenteeism, and it just makes the schools brighter and more conducive to teaching and learning."

NATIONAL : On the outside, Great Seneca Creek Elementary School looks much like any other. But inside, it is unmistakably green. This was the first public school in Maryland to receive certification as "eco-friendly" — a concept catching on in schools around the nation. Eco-friendly schools offer ways to save energy, improve air quality and educate students about the environment. Great Seneca fifth-grader Eddie Graves explains it best. "It doesn't use as much water," he says, citing the waterless urinals and motion-activated faucets. He's standing in the library, where a slanted ceiling helps light bounce off the floor-to-ceiling windows.

This year, Florida, Maryland and Anchorage approved policies requiring that new schools be green. Six other states — Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio and Washington — also require new schools to meet green-building standards. More than a dozen cities — including New York, New Orleans and Washington —do the same. Other states — including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and California — offer financial incentives. "Momentum is really starting to pick up," says Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association. He says green schools give kids a living laboratory to learn about the environment.

As energy costs rise, the greening of America's schools is part of a larger trend toward more energy-efficient construction, from homes to shopping malls, city halls and office buildings. The building principles are not new. For years, they've been called "sustainable," "high-performance" or "energy-efficient." Now, the popular term is "green," and dozens of green-building programs have sprung up in the past decade. The Green Building Initiative, for example, began in 2005 to award "Green Globes" to buildings that meet its criteria.

Two organizations are the most active in certifying schools as eco-friendly, a process that typically costs a few thousand dollars to pay for inspections. They are the Collaborative for High Performance Schools and the U.S. Green Building Council, which launched a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program for schools last year. Each program varies, but they have common criteria that emphasize recyclable materials, large windows, water conservation, efficient heating and cooling systems, and natural light. Another hallmark of green building is well-insulated exterior walls, windows and doors. That tight envelope raises concerns about whether such construction is necessarily healthier, because it can limit air circulation, says Rebecca Morley of the National Center for Healthy Housing, a non-profit group. Her organization studied some of the nation's largest green-building programs, including the council's, and said in a report last month that each has features meant to improve air quality. "Sometimes the up-front costs can seem prohibitive," but they are offset in the long term by improved health and lower energy bills, says C.H. "Sunny" Savoie, president-elect of the National School Boards Association. Those savings explain why "we haven't seen much opposition," the council's Taryn Holowka says.

NATIONAL : On the outside, Great Seneca Creek Elementary School looks much like any other. But inside, it is unmistakably green. This was the first public school in Maryland to receive certification as "eco-friendly" — a concept catching on in schools around the nation. Eco-friendly schools offer ways to save energy, improve air quality and educate students about the environment. Great Seneca fifth-grader Eddie Graves explains it best. "It doesn't use as much water," he says, citing the waterless urinals and motion-activated faucets. He's standing in the library, where a slanted ceiling helps light bounce off the floor-to-ceiling windows.

This year, Florida, Maryland and Anchorage approved policies requiring that new schools be green. Six other states — Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio and Washington — also require new schools to meet green-building standards. More than a dozen cities — including New York, New Orleans and Washington —do the same. Other states — including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and California — offer financial incentives. "Momentum is really starting to pick up," says Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association. He says green schools give kids a living laboratory to learn about the environment.

As energy costs rise, the greening of America's schools is part of a larger trend toward more energy-efficient construction, from homes to shopping malls, city halls and office buildings. The building principles are not new. For years, they've been called "sustainable," "high-performance" or "energy-efficient." Now, the popular term is "green," and dozens of green-building programs have sprung up in the past decade. The Green Building Initiative, for example, began in 2005 to award "Green Globes" to buildings that meet its criteria.

Two organizations are the most active in certifying schools as eco-friendly, a process that typically costs a few thousand dollars to pay for inspections. They are the Collaborative for High Performance Schools and the U.S. Green Building Council, which launched a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program for schools last year. Each program varies, but they have common criteria that emphasize recyclable materials, large windows, water conservation, efficient heating and cooling systems, and natural light. Another hallmark of green building is well-insulated exterior walls, windows and doors. That tight envelope raises concerns about whether such construction is necessarily healthier, because it can limit air circulation, says Rebecca Morley of the National Center for Healthy Housing, a non-profit group. Her organization studied some of the nation's largest green-building programs, including the council's, and said in a report last month that each has features meant to improve air quality. "Sometimes the up-front costs can seem prohibitive," but they are offset in the long term by improved health and lower energy bills, says C.H. "Sunny" Savoie, president-elect of the National School Boards Association. Those savings explain why "we haven't seen much opposition," the council's Taryn Holowka says.

CALIFORNIA: The San Mateo Union High School District is seeking to design new buildings and other campus upgrades using as much "green" technology as possible. The district board is expected to consider approving goals that encourage alternative-energy designs in school construction. The goals would meet guidelines set by the Collaborative for High Performance Schools, an organization that advocates energy-efficient construction designs. The district is exploring green technology as it starts on projects funded by the $298 million Measure M bond, which voters passed in 2006. "Like everyone else, we're weighing the (costs and) benefits of making our buildings environmentally friendly," said board president Peter Hanley. "We're all trying to be energy-conscious."

The goals would urge designs maximizing daytime lighting and natural ventilation, incorporating solar and other clean energy, and fostering water conservation, district officials said. District leaders would study green technology for such projects as theater renovations, new buildings at Capuchino High School, and cafeteria remodeling at Burlingame High, said district board vice president Linda Lees Dwyer. "We're big energy consumers (because) we have big facilities," she said. "We hope to lessen our power use."

CALIFORNIA: There was the ribbon cutting and grand opening of a school that has gone down on the record books of local history thanks to its years of woefully planning and eventually enormous price tag. Yes, Belmont/Roybal Learning Center is up and running. The school is "one of 74 new schools completed as part of LAUSD's $12.6 billion new school construction program to end involuntary busing and year-round calendars, and to provide every student a seat in a neighborhood school" and is both a crowning jewel and a thorn in the side for the massive district. The project started twenty years ago, but hit a major snag in the 1990s when it was determined that the site had soil contamination, described as grounds beleaguered by "old oil wells, and potentially harmful gases -- methane and hydrogen sulfide -- associated with petroleum were seeping to the surface." The LAUSD did not give up, however, and sought bids from private companies to address the issue and construction moved forward. They hit another setback a few years ago when earthquakes destroyed 60% of the buildings. After pouring more time, money, and other resources, the school was completed and opened for matriculation last month not as Belmont as intended, but re-named to honor the late Congressman Edward R. Roybal, and set up as a "learning community" as opposed to a more traditional high school.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony held on the site yesterday brought together local politicians and LAUSD employees, executives, and board members to celebrate a two-decade long headache that will hopefully help the 2,800 students who now attend the facility have a higher quality of education. The campus boasts amenities like green spaces between buildings and over 300 trees, underground parking, science labs, a modern kitchen with a pizza oven, a dance studio, and "a $17 million toxic gas mitigation system that costs $250,000 a year to operate." The Roybal Learning Center cost $400 million to build.

NATIONAL : School officials and parents across the nation are turning an increasingly critical eye on the time-honored tradition of voters’ casting ballots in the gymnasiums and hallways of neighborhood school buildings while classes go on as usual just a few yards away. Citing a litany of safety concerns, many officials are opting to keep youngsters home on Nov. 4, Election Day. “School districts across the country now spend millions of dollars each year on controlling access to buildings with locked doors and surveillance cameras to keep strangers out,” said Kenneth Trump, president of the National School Safety and Security Services, an advocacy group, in Cleveland. “In a post-Columbine, post-9/11 world, we shouldn’t be opening the doors at our schools on Election Day, and just hoping everything will be O.K.”

NEW YORK: The question was put to a class from a Brooklyn high school: Had they ever given a moment’s thought to their school building? The quick answers were no, no, no. Then: “Huge windows,” said Justin Statia. “I wondered why the hallways are so thin,” said Gaston Ovando. “It’s old,” said Hanifah Presley. “My granduncle went here.” The students attend the Academy for Young Writers, a small program housed in Junior High School 50 on South Third Street in Williamsburg. The building opened in 1915, so for these students — and for tens of thousands of others at schools across the city — a hand from the distant past shapes their daily pilgrimages.

At the turn of the 20th century, one man, Charles B. J. Snyder, designed and supervised the construction of 400 public schools in New York. The one on South Third Street is among 270 Snyder buildings still in use, a roster that includes such majestic presences as Curtis High School in Staten Island, Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn, Morris High School in the Bronx and the old DeWitt Clinton High School, now occupied by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in Manhattan. Though Snyder’s vision has been part of the lives of tens of millions of schoolchildren, few people know of him or of his role in transforming New York. He died in 1945 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, his death unnoted in The New York Times.

It took a newcomer to the city to discover a forgotten genius. Three years ago, Jean Arrington, her children grown, gave up a tenured position at a college in Raleigh, N.C., and moved to New York. She spent the summer of 2005 looking for a job in the public schools. “I was amazed by these school buildings,” Ms. Arrington said. “We didn’t have anything like this where I grew up, in Montgomery, Ala.”
In libraries, she found little on the buildings, almost nothing on the architect. At the Municipal Archives, she read annual reports filed by Snyder during the 31 years he served as superintendent of school buildings. She visited every Snyder building. And she pieced together a narrative of epic accomplishment that began in 1891 with the firing of a school architect who had been charged with corruption. To replace him, the Board of Education turned to Snyder, a slight man of 5-foot-6 or 5-foot-7, a descendant of Dutch settlers in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He was 31 years old.

For the next three decades, until his retirement in 1922, Snyder presided over the greatest expansion of schools in the nation’s history. It was not uncommon for him to open more schools in a single year than existed in most other American cities. His buildings were big enough to hold the waves of immigrants flooding into the city, to have indoor play areas for the kids and auditoriums for the community, and light and air, the values of an age made real in brick, mortar and steel. “New York has one of those rare men who open windows for the soul of their time,” the journalist Jacob Riis wrote of Snyder in his 1902 book “The Battle With the Slum.” “He found barracks, where he is leaving palaces to the people.” Under Snyder, 60 percent of the building exteriors were made up of windows, double what had been the standard; many of these were 10 feet high. If only for sheer mass, his buildings dominated the neighborhoods, but they were also distinctive for their elegance, incorporating elements of the Beaux-Arts, Flemish Renaissance, Italian palazzo and Collegiate Gothic styles, Ms. Arrington notes. “His story possessed me,” said Ms. Arrington, who is now at work — without a publisher or a contract — on a book about Snyder’s life and times.

“Snyder insisted that all N.Y.C. public schools be built of fireproof materials, and he developed an interlocking type of stairwells, such that the buildings could be emptied within three minutes,” she writes in the book. “His schools included new features reformers were pushing for, such as auditoriums with projection rooms and organs, space for public art, laboratories, vocational training facilities, gymnasiums, swimming pools and roof playgrounds. The buildings were designed also to accommodate new after-school activities like recreation classes and evening lectures.” In May 1922, Snyder retired. He had not had a vacation since 1904. “I am tired and completely worn out,” he said, according to an article in The Times. He slipped from the public eye. In 1945, Snyder, 85, and one of his sons were asphyxiated in an accident involving a kerosene stove at a house in Babylon, on Long Island. He was buried in a family plot in Woodlawn, but without a stone. His great-granddaughter Cindy LaValle, 60, said the family was apparently short of money at the time. Over the years, she said, family lore about her great-grandfather has been limited to artifacts, like his silver or a clock. “I never heard what a great man he was,” she said.

MASSACHUSETTS: It isn't easy being green. But with government incentives and the promise of long-term savings, it's getting easier to construct energy-efficient buildings with light sensors, wind power and gardens on the roof. And it's no accident that schools — the institutions responsible for educating young minds and thus shaping the future — are at the forefront of green building. "Schools and universities are teaching the new generation what's best for the population in general," said Bill Vitkosky, who's managing plans for a new visual and performing arts center at Endicott College. The building includes remote control lighting, a heating and air conditioning system that physical plant can manage with the click of a mouse, and a rooftop garden where students can hang out. "It will actually give us an insulating layer of material that will reduce heating costs in the winter and cooling costs in the summer," Vitkosky said.

Montserrat College President Helena Sturnick had a similar view on plans to build four apartment-style dormitories that will be LEED certified, meaning they'll meet the highest federal standards for green construction. Part of that, for example, means having the frames of the buildings put together by a green-certified manufacturer in New Hampshire, and then transporting them to Beverly in a wide-load truck. The construction is done off-site, and the manufacturer is held to air-quality standards that are better for the environment, Sturnick said. Like the art center at Endicott, the dorms at Montserrat will also have green roofs. "More and more schools are accepting the fact that you've got to go green. It's not just for now, but for the future," Sturnick said. "And we're working with the next generation of artists, and people who will live on this earth."

Public schools are also embracing the green movement, especially since 2006 when the state mandated green elements, like improved indoor air quality, and agreed to reimburse a portion of projects that meet energy-efficient standards. Combined with rebates from utility companies, schools have been able to afford better heating systems, lighting, windows and other energy reducing features. Plans for the new Beverly High School, for instance, include lighting that automatically adjusts to the amount of daylight in the room, so the lights are never unnecessarily bright, and they turn off when nobody is in the room. Beverly planners also hope to supply half of the building's electrical needs through wind and solar power. It would cost about $2 million, but emerging grant opportunities and incentives for municipalities and schools to go green may make it feasible, Mayor Bill Scanlon has said. "We have the opportunity to provide the high school with the largest percentage of renewable energy, to the best of my knowledge, of any school in the entire state of Massachusetts," Scanlon said during his inaugural address in January. "We all know what is happening to the price of fossil fuels with gas now over $3 per gallon."

Indeed, growing concern about the environment combined with state incentives to go green are drastically changing how schools are being built, said Joseph da Silva, an architect and consultant who specializes in green schools in Massachusetts and on the North Shore. "If you're building a school that's not green, you're really not spending your money wisely," he said. Although initial costs are more expensive, the idea is the project will eventually pay for itself through energy savings that accumulate over time. "You're making a 30- to 50-year investment," he said.

When Swampscott began planning for a new high school in 2003, it was before going green had so much support from the state, and the town couldn't afford the upfront costs. "It would have taken years and years to reap the benefits," said Joe Markarian, a member of the Swampscott school building committee. "At least 20 years." The town looked into green alternatives like a roof garden, a windmill and drilling into the earth for thermal heat, but it was all too expensive. Instead, they designed the building with as many windows as possible, and with southern and eastern exposure so the sun would shine in most of the day, and cut down on lighting and heating costs. Markarian said the town also purchased better heating and cooling systems through utility companies that were offering rebates. He said nobody is disappointed with the building, which was completed last year, but over time it's become much easier to build green schools as more people have embraced the concept. "This was five years ago, and the world has changed a lot," Markarian said. "People are far more green conscious today."

WISCONSIN: Fifth-grade reading teacher Pam Seekel thinks maybe she did kids a disservice over the years when she told them to sit still, to quit fidgeting so they could focus. "As a teacher, I never sit down," said Seekel, who works in the School District of Somerset, Wis., near the Minnesota border. "I started to think: Why should I make the kids sit down?" This year, many of Seekel's students are using new, adjustable-height stand-up desks produced by a Wisconsin company, as well as a big, tall table that lets students work in groups while standing and shifting their weight, leaning, stretching, wiggling and generally doing everything but sitting still. As part of a small but growing movement in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota that many teachers say is bound to gain popularity elsewhere, several schools are experimenting with their physical learning environments by incorporating stand-up workstations in the classroom, or, in one school, stability balls instead of traditional school desk chairs.

Anecdotally, teachers have reported positive results after freeing their kids from the confines of "feet flat on the floor" and "no rocking!" — greater attentiveness, fewer behavioral problems, better posture and more enthusiasm. Kids who are habitually fidgety or who suffer from attention disorders appear to show the most improvement, teachers say.
Amy Hamborg is the principal of E.P. Rock Elementary School in Hudson, where about half the students use stability balls as chairs. At a teacher's request, she has also invested in three stand-up desks for one class this year. Hamborg said she's open to any new idea that could help a child learn better. "We've probably been inhibiting their learning because of how we've organized classrooms in desks and rows," Hamborg said. "You get this 15 minutes of recess and that's it, you have to be still. We're realizing how important it is for kids to move." Hamborg was approached two years ago by a parent who distributed stability balls designed for classrooms. Since then, one kindergarten class even has them _ at times when the students would normally be seated at desk chairs, Hamborg said, you can see pint-sized kids sitting on pint-sized balls, many of them slightly but continuously bobbing up and down.

Stand-up desks in the workplace have been a niche industry for years, but Skiba said that many companies like Sunway are suddenly starting to get a lot more requests for them. Former Wisconsin Sen. William Proxmire was known for using a stand-up desk, and the new dean of Marquette University Law School, Joseph Kearney, has a mahogany stand-up workstation on order for his university office. The biggest impediment for schools wanting to experiment with stand-up desks is the cost, which is about twice as expensive as a traditional desk and chair set. The lowest-priced model is $280; the stool designed to match is about $170. Sunway has sold about 150 desks and 50 stools since the product was finalized this spring, Skiba said. Several schools that couldn't afford a whole classroom of the desks bought just a few and allow students to use them on a rotating basis.

Formal research may prove the investment is worth it, however. Beth Lewis, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota's School of Kinesiology, is analyzing data that will compare the caloric daily output of students at stand-up stations vs. traditional desks. Another study in the works may be of particular interest to educators: a comparison of long-term test scores between the two groups.

VIRGINIA: In what is probably the region's most significant test this fall of public sentiment on taxes and school funding in the worsening economy, Loudoun voters will decide Nov. 4 whether to endorse a meals tax to raise money for school construction. Will residents of one of the area's wealthiest counties be willing to support new taxes for schools as property values dwindle and retirement funds shrink? The question comes as schools across the region are feeling pinched by dwindling local and state revenue. The measure would grant county supervisors the power to tax meals in restaurants and prepared meals at grocery stores up to 4 percent. If passed, it would raise up to $13 million annually and shrink the $176 million budget gap county officials expect next year.
"We have an awful lot of folks who do not live in this county" who eat in Loudoun restaurants, said Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott K. York (I). "They would be leaving that tax behind to help pay for school construction." For instance, officials said, meals purchased at Dulles International Airport would be subject to the tax. Supervisors voted in July to put the measure on the ballot.

Revenue would be used to pay down debt from past school construction or pay for new construction. Because school construction is largely financed by bonds - essentially, taking out a loan - paying some cash up front could lead to later savings. Ben Mays, Loudoun's deputy chief financial officer, estimated that using revenue from the tax exclusively to replace bonds would save the county $1.2 million a year on debt service. Those costs add up over the course of the 20-year bond, he said. Put another way, Mays said, "Every other year, we'd get a free elementary school."
School construction is a perennial problem for Loudoun schools, the region's fastest-growing system. The schools added 3,000 students this year - enough to fill a high school, a middle school and an elementary school - for a preliminary fall enrollment of 57,000. An additional 2,500 are projected next year.

UTAH: When West Jordan's Oquirrh Elementary School burned down in 1995, it was rebuilt using a design the Jordan School District would use again and again. Compared with today's construction costs, it was also rebuilt at a fire-sale price. As the first of its kind for the district's "repeat school" plan, the Oquirrh design was carried over to more than a dozen elementary schools. The same materials. The same number of square feet. As such, the district's many elementary schools make an almost perfect illustration of just how much construction costs for Utah school districts have risen over the years. Jordan, the state's largest school district - at least until it splits in 2009 - isn't alone in coping with the escalating costs. When it was rebuilt in 1995, Oquirrh Elementary School cost the district $5.5 million said Randy Haslam, director of new construction for Jordan. Eight years later, the same building plan cost the district $7 million when it was used in Foothills and South Jordan elementary schools. Five years later, however, that cost has more than doubled. Among the most recent construction projects the district completed, Falcon Ridge and Eastlake elementary schools cost a stunning $15 million each, Haslam said. The district blames the rising cost of materials brought on by the demands of a global economy coupled with the skyrocketing cost of land. "We're at the mercy of those changes," Haslam said.

Even if the slowing economy translates into fewer home sales and declining enrollment, however, Jordan school officials face the difficult task of estimating future costs of school construction for the remaining west-side district. That new schools are so much more expensive than in years past means that either Utah taxpayers face increased property taxes to foot the bills or see more children educated in year-round schools to make greater use of available square feet. In all likelihood, said Newbold, higher construction costs probably mean both. "To fund new growth in the remaining district in the west for the next eight years, we're going to be over a billion dollars [in construction costs]," he said. Haslam notes that all new schools being built by the district will open under year-round schedules in order to house 25 percent more students. The west-side district estimates increased enrollment of at least 20,000 more students by 2016. "The number of students we need to house is screaming for more buildings," he said.

Given the unstable price of construction materials, it's easier to build future district budgets around estimated costs as opposed to the number of schools needed. Because of increases in the price of copper, electrical systems cost up to 200 percent or more of what they did five or six years ago, Newbold said. Gypsum used in drywall costs 80 to 90 percent more. Land bought in the past for $50,000 an acre now runs $300,000 an acre or more, thanks to companies who in the past bought large parcels. "It's not that land isn't available, it's just available from fewer sources," he said. "It used to be that if someone didn't sell you land at the price you wanted, you could go a couple miles down the road and talk to someone who would."

For years, Jordan and other school districts enjoyed stable costs for most everything needed to build a school, land included. Between 1998 and 2003, in fact, the rate of inflation on construction costs hovered in the single digits, said Burke Jolley, deputy superintendent for business services at the Jordan School District. The increases began abruptly in 2004, the year after voters in the district approved a massive $196 million bond to fund school construction. The timing couldn't have been worse, because the bonding estimate was based on past costs, and resulted in the loss of two middle schools and an elementary school the district planned on building. "You just run out of money," Newbold said. Creative approaches to building new schools help - to a point. Using a multi-level design traditionally reserved for middle and high schools, the district decided to build its first two-story elementary school with South Jordan's Eastlake Elementary in order to save on land costs. "You don't save much on the building, because you still have to make code, which can be costly," Newbold said. In the new age of pricey schools, though, every little bit helps. The district is already in the process of completing its next two-story elementary school in the Herriman area. "We're considering more and more of those kinds of schools," Newbold said.

DELAWARE: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development agency is supplying nearly $13 million in federal loans for the new Providence Creek Academy Charter School in Clayton, Delaware. The loans were announced during a visit to the construction site by Sen. Tom Carper, Rep. Michael Castle and Rural Development State Director Marlene Elliott Brown. The loans are being used for the purchase of the 33-acre site and for construction of the school building. The school will support kindergarten through eighth grades. Officials say the new campus will have the same character as the existing school but with more space. It also will have an auditorium, which the current building doesn't have. The new building is expected to open next fall

CONNECTICUT: Spend now, save later. Killingly’s Town Council and Permanent Building Commission debated the affordability and feasibility of implementing alternative fuel sources into the high school building project, a proposal some officials said might require asking taxpayers for more funding. Most of the joint committee members spoke positively about installing a $1.7 million, 300-kilowatt fuel cell into school project plans, an addition estimated to save approximately $283,000 in heating and electricity annually. Even with state clean energy fund and school construction grant assistance, the cell will cost the town at least another $77,691. And that doesn’t include yearly maintenance. The town also would need to upgrade a planned gas line to accommodate the fuel cell plan. That cost has not been determined, said attorney Jennifer Janelle, council representative. The number of fuel cell units the new school will support also hasn’t been determined — and that information is necessary when tallying expected state reimbursements.

“We’re all aware this project doesn’t have enough money,” Council member John Sarantopoulos said. “If necessary, we will have to demonstrate that this project is in the best interest of voters and go back for additional appropriations.” But Town Council Chairman Robert Young said the price of inaction could be costly. “To have a new building dependent on oil is foolish and irresponsible,” he said. “The first step is to get an application out and define the specific costs.”

CONNECTICUT: Spend now, save later. Killingly’s Town Council and Permanent Building Commission debated the affordability and feasibility of implementing alternative fuel sources into the high school building project, a proposal some officials said might require asking taxpayers for more funding. Most of the joint committee members spoke positively about installing a $1.7 million, 300-kilowatt fuel cell into school project plans, an addition estimated to save approximately $283,000 in heating and electricity annually. Even with state clean energy fund and school construction grant assistance, the cell will cost the town at least another $77,691. And that doesn’t include yearly maintenance. The town also would need to upgrade a planned gas line to accommodate the fuel cell plan. That cost has not been determined, said attorney Jennifer Janelle, council representative. The number of fuel cell units the new school will support also hasn’t been determined — and that information is necessary when tallying expected state reimbursements.

“We’re all aware this project doesn’t have enough money,” Council member John Sarantopoulos said. “If necessary, we will have to demonstrate that this project is in the best interest of voters and go back for additional appropriations.” But Town Council Chairman Robert Young said the price of inaction could be costly. “To have a new building dependent on oil is foolish and irresponsible,” he said. “The first step is to get an application out and define the specific costs.”

NEW YORK: A brightly colored public school building in downtown Brooklyn - once the borough's decrepit Family Court - may finally be getting badly needed repairs and renovations. The Daily News reported the Adams St. building seemed almost booby-trapped when classes started last month: A brick fell through a drop ceiling; fire alarms went off all day, and a door marked as a classroom led to a 10-foot drop onto the roof. But just in time for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, school construction officials have stepped up efforts to fix the problems facing the three schools that share the building.

Meanwhile, problems persist. School Construction Authority officials insisted to principals and The News science labs were working - even though school sources said as late as yesterday that they were not. "They remain unusable," said a source. "This has been the case. We get these grand announcements from the SCA that something is working or something has been fixed. It's almost like the great and powerful Oz." The building has also had problems with erratic air conditioning, with some rooms freezing cold and others too hot, parents and students told The News. At one point, the roof leaked for a week. SCA officials began a survey this week to ensure that no more bricks fall, said schools spokeswoman Margie Feinberg.
Officials have already moved to address problems with the fire alarm, she said. Principals of the schools housed in the building will ask the SCA to let them decide what should be fixed first, a source told The News. "A terrific school deserves a terrific building," said City Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn Heights). "I'm glad the SCA is finally getting things in order, and I'm going to be watching things to make sure progress continues."

WASHINGTON: Local health agencies would be required to inspect schools for environmental safety under a controversial proposal before the state Board of Health. In the works for at least four years, the proposal would update existing environmental health and safety rules for kindergarten through 12th grade. Among other things, the rule would require health districts to test the quality of indoor air and drinking water; evaluate procedures for controlling mold and moisture, and inspect mechanical and architectural systems. Given the state’s budget constraints, some members of the Legislature have asked the board to postpone a final decision on the rule until after the 2009 session. The board will consider that request at the hearing.

“This is the most thorough and the most contentious rulemaking we’ve ever done,” said Craig McLaughlin, executive director of the board, which develops health policies and is independent from the state Department of Health. The biggest question is, who will pay for inspections? “It will become a mandate for us and if it continues in its present form, it’s going to be a tremendous problem,” said Dennis Klukan, public health administrator for the Yakima Health District. Klukan said his agency doesn’t have the staff or the engineering expertise to inspect heating and air-conditioning units or conduct architectural reviews of buildings. “It’s not that I don’t think communities should not be interested in safe schools, but this is going a bit overboard,” Klukan said.

Health districts would be able to bill schools for the costs. “But I don’t know that schools are in a position to pay,” he added. Cost estimates vary depending on whether the health district had ever performed the inspections before, McLaughlin said. For instance, it could cost $8,000 a year for an elementary school to monitor and fix mold and moisture problems, test for lead and copper in water fixtures and inspect playground facilities.
School officials from around the state have told the board they already employ trained personnel to inspect buildings and mechanical systems to ensure student safety. Dave Curry, assistant superintendent for ESD 105 in Yakima, said schools need more information on the cost of complying with the rule. “For school districts, it’s difficult at best to be critical of these measures that benefit kids but I see some complications in how much money and time it’s going to take,” Curry said.

FLORIDA: Marching students through metal detectors when they arrive for classes each day is not a good way to prevent guns from being brought to school, school security officials on the Treasure Coast say. Five students at Samuel Gaines Academy in Fort Pierce were charged with felonies after a 13-year-old brought a handgun to school and the others helped her hide it, according to St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office reports. But metal detectors aren't a guarantee against guns on campus, school officials said. Scanning every student with metal detectors would lead to long delays, like those at airports during busy travel times -- a daily routine with no guarantee a student couldn't hide a gun on school grounds to retrieve after passing a scan, they said.

The best weapon against guns on campus are students willing to tell officials when an armed classmate is in their midst, officials said. We want all the kids to talk to us, even if it's a slight concern," said Hank Salzler, assistant superintendent of Martin County schools. "Tell us what you hear, and let us act on it." Unlike metal detectors and other remote sensing, searches of pockets, backpacks and persons require school officials to first have reason to believe a law has been broken. "They've got the right to search you getting on an airplane," said Dave Morris, director of security for St. Lucie County schools. "We don't have that right in schools without that reasonable cause."

Martin and St. Lucie county school officials said they use hand-held metal detectors on students when they suspect trouble. Morris said two walk-through metal detectors can be set up at St. Lucie County schools or large events. They are kept at the county sheriff's department, but they are bulky and difficult to transport. Morris said running several thousand students through a bank of metal detectors with trained personnel to isolate the source of every alarm would take hours out of every school day: Imagine, he said, loading 2,600 students on 10 airliners at Palm Beach International Airport for a field trip. "What kind of delays do you think that would create?" Morris said. "I don't know of any school district in the state of Florida that makes kids walk through metal detectors every day." Statewide, the Florida Department of Education counted 833 metal detectors at public schools in 2006, the most recent year for which data was available. Only 27 of them were the walk-through variety.
Officials with the Miami-Dade, Broward and Hillsborough county school districts, the three largest in the state, reported none of their schools routinely make students walk through metal detectors. Miami-Dade and Hillsborough do screenings at randomly selected schools with hand-held devices, officials said. Indian River County Sheriff's Sgt. Brad Fojtik said school safety begins with his school resource officers having good relationships with students. "That way, you get 1,000 kids at a school who are taking ownership of keeping the school safe," Fojtik said.

MAINE: Facing the prospect of reduced revenues during the coming budget cycle, Maine's Department of Education will delay issuing bonds to finance 12 pending school construction projects across the state. Superintendents and Department of Education officials say it is too early to know whether the funding delays will affect construction time lines for the new facilities. The state will delay payments by six months on some construction bonds and by a full year on others.

While the nation's credit crunch has complicated some state governments' efforts to access financing, the state's decision to delay construction bonding is most directly an outcome of reduced revenue expectations, Department of Education spokesman David Connerty-Marin said. "We're delaying the bonding," he said, "but that's not the same as delaying the project." By delaying bond payments, Connerty-Marin said, the Department of Education is free to devote more money during the upcoming budget cycle to educational programming rather than construction financing.

ALABAMA: Over the past several years, the Talladega City, Talladega County, Sylacauga City and Pell City school systems have been building new — and improving older — facilities across the two counties. Do the new facilities improve student scores on standardized tests like the Alabama Reading and Math Test or the Alabama High School Graduation Exam? Not necessarily, but school administrators say student achievement isn’t measured in just testing scores and that new facilities are needed for a myriad of reasons, such as safety issues, technology and the accommodations of a growing school system.

Talladega County Schools Superintendent Suzanne Lacey said new facilities are wonderful for the communities, but she doesn’t specifically tie the new facilities with test scores. “As far as hard evidence in comparing test scores and direct correlation to buildings, we don’t look at it in that way,” Lacey said. “We look at it from the achievement level and the progress in what’s going on in the classroom.” In the past five years, the Talladega County School System has built five new facilities, including Munford Middle School, Munford High School, Drew Middle School, Lincoln High School and Fayetteville High School. Each of the new schools opened in 2005, with the exception of Fayetteville, which opened in 2006. The cost of construction of the five schools totaled $29,229,058.

Lacey said strategies and support in the classrooms and professional development training provided to teachers is most important for learning. “What research says about student achievement is (that) the teacher is the single most important factor in student achievement,” Lacey said. “I think, while these facilities are a wonderful thing, and we really feel that’s important because these communities voted to increase their taxes to build these facilities, the teacher and the teacher strategies are the things that are going to make a difference. These facilities certainly help support that and support the learning environment because we’re able to do things in the new facilities with technology that are difficult or more challenging in an old building.”

Dr. Frank Buck, curriculum and special education director and special education supervisor for the Talladega City School System, agrees modern facilities can be built to accommodate new technologies that can be incorporated into the classroom. The last school built in the city system was Hal Henderson Elementary, which opened in the 1980s. Additional classrooms were added at R.L. Young Elementary two years ago, which cost approximately $750,000. Buck said additions to Henderson and Salter Elementary schools have occurred in the past 10 years. Renovations are now under way to the front hallway and classrooms at Graham Elementary, which opened in 1938, reportedly cost approximately $600,000. Buck said there is a possibility facilities could influence scores. “Many things go into a quality education,” Buck said. “I wouldn’t’ put facilities at the top of the list. I would put a great teacher at the top of the list because I’ve seen great teachers do great things in terrible facilities, and I’ve seen terrible teachers do terrible things in great facilities. But, all else being equal, a good teacher in a good facility is going to get better results than a good teacher in a bad facility.” He added that socioeconomic differences in the schools would also be a strong influence. “There are some high performing schools in old buildings because of the socioeconomic differences in the schools,” Buck said. “Socioeconomic makeup influences every school in America.”

Schools in the Pell City system underwent a mass reorganization this year with the opening of the $10.5 million Elouise and Harold Williams Intermediate School. All five of the system’s elementary schools went from housing kindergarten through fifth-grade students to just serving K-4. The Williams Intermediate School is home to the system’s fifth- and sixth-graders, Duran South is entirely a seventh-grade facility and Duran North’s students are eighth-graders. Pell City High is the ninth- though 12th-grade facility. “I don’t think there’s any question that having nice facilities and a good learning environment enhances education,” Superintendent Dr. Bobby Hathcock said. “The rooms are comfortable, there are nice desks and there’s new technology, so I think the learning environment is important in the entire educational process. And the entire educational process influences what your test scores are.” He said at some point, school systems don’t have any choice but to build new facilities to accommodate a growing school system or replace older buildings.

Sylacauga City Schools Superintendent Jane Cobia said inherent issues with older buildings, like plumbing, electrical wiring, air conditioning and other problems, are reasons to renovate old, or build new, school facilities. Within the Sylacauga system, Nichols-Lawson Middle School, which cost approximately $11 million, opened in 2004. Recent renovations at Pinecrest and Indian Valley cost around $1 million. Renovations included 12 classrooms, four student restrooms and a cafeteria expansion, as well as kitchen work at Pinecrest. “You want to be able to provide a safe learning environment for your students, however, key factor for student achievement is having a caring, competent teacher,” Cobia said.
Each school system has plans to keep updating its facilities. Lacey said the system’s five-year capital plan includes building schools in each of the communities. The Sylacauga Board of Education is considering additions to the high school building to include a new kitchen and classroom wing; plans for the expansion are in the school’s five-year plan. Construction work on Pell City High School’s new ninth-grade addition began last month.

FLORIDA: The new school costs $50.8-million, but you've only got $27-million. What to do? For Bo Bavota, facilities director for the Hernando County Schools, the answer is clear: Get lean. At a School Board workshop, he plans to show a revised design for a new K-8 school off U.S. 19 and Hexam Road that's stripped down in nearly every way. There are fewer classrooms, and the library and gym have shrunk. The weight-lifting room and dance studio are gone. Even the hallways are narrower.

Post-diet, the proposed school would cost $28.5-million to build — $17.4-million less than the original design. Including site improvements, the total project cost would drop from $50.8-million to $34-million. That's a far cry from the $52-million the district paid for the new Explorer K-8 that opened in August in Spring Hill. And with the economy slumping, a well-built school with fewer frills might be just what taxpayers are looking for. "The quality of construction won't change," Bavota said, describing the proposed school as a "good, safe building." "(But) I think you need to change your way of thinking and change with the times," he added. "This is very similar to what they do in Hillsborough and the southern districts."

School construction money doesn't come out of the district's operating budget, which funds classroom materials and teacher salaries. Like Explorer, the new school would be paid for with debt in the form of state "certificate of participation" bonds, as well as revenue from a local sales tax. But the district must limit its borrowing or ruin its credit rating. And other sources of construction funding, like state aid and tax revenues, have been dwindling. "First of all, sales tax (revenue) is down, and state class-size amendment funds have been eliminated for this year," said board member Pat Fagan. "There's not going to be enough money coming in for us to build new schools or even expand existing schools." And for the new K-8, there was never quite enough money in the budget. It was initially envisioned as a $27-million K-5 school in the Southern Hills development. But officials postponed the Southern Hills project after realizing that enrollment is growing faster at the opposite end of the county near the U.S. 19 site, which will also accommodate a $59-million high school. The latter is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010, not a moment too soon to relieve overcrowded high schools, according to a district rezoning committee.
For Bavota, the new K-8 model is a sensible way to add 1,412 student stations to the district at a reasonable cost. He trimmed the original school design from 229,874 square feet down to 142,866 square feet. At $200 per square foot, that saved $17.4-million. To find that space, he reduced the number of elementary classrooms from 44 to 34, and increased the middle school classrooms from 15 to 23, since state law permits more students in the middle-grades rooms. Many planning rooms would also be cut. The cafeteria/multi-purpose room would shrink by more than 40 percent. With a capacity of 480 students, the modified lunch room could just seat all 1,412 students at the school in three shifts, with 10 students to spare. The 11,496-square-foot media center and library would be cut nearly in half. Situated on a rectangular lot, the three-story school would still have a central atrium like its longer, narrower sister schools, Explorer and Challenger. But the new building's hallways would be reduced from 12 feet wide to eight. "It will seem a little bit more crowded as students move through, but 8 feet is more than sufficient," Bavota said.

COLORADO: The credit crunch gripping the nation is hitting municipalities across Colorado. Bond issues have been delayed in Colorado Springs and Steamboat Springs. A $2 billion "checking account" for 360 government agencies across the state has limited its daily withdrawal rate because of liquidity fears. Concerns are being raised that voters next month may be wary of passing a record $2.5 billion in construction bonds for 25 school districts, as well as the ability of credit markets to sell the bonds if they pass.

"The financial meltdown isn't just impacting Wall Street and Washington, D.C. We are seeing ramifications in Colorado, too," Bruce Caughey, deputy executive director of the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE). Dee Wisor, a municipal finance expert, said the interest rates being paid on some variable rate bonds issued by municipalities jumped from less than 2 percent to 5 percent to more than 8 percent in about two weeks.

In an interview, Caughey , of CASE, said he hopes that voters won't vote against the school measures because of the turmoil on Wall Street. "If these bond issues passed, they really are going to help a large number of people in the construction industry get jobs," Caughey said. "Investing in our schools really allows our schools to step into the 21st century and be a more attractive place for students to get the skills and education they need. They are the engine of our economy."

NEW MEXICO: Known as green teams, students at Mesa and Zia elementary schools have helped save the Clovis Municipal Schools about $12,000 in energy costs, according to the district’s energy manager Mike Thomson. A select group of students methodically march from one classroom to another turning off lights and computers and turning down thermostats. Students must maintain good grades to be on the green teams, the teachers said, and the students take it seriously. Mesa and Zia have incorporated energy conservation into the curriculum as part of the Conservation Altering Students Habits program. Mesa teacher, Callene Zapalac, said the green team students began taking the energy-saving techniques home. “We have parents telling us that their child is timing how long they use the hot water in the shower and turning off lights behind them,” she said. “They’ve learned and are trying to teach others.”

Thomson began with the district as the energy manager four years ago. The energy-saving programs he spearheaded have saved the district $989,000 and reduced wattage use by 23 percent, according to school officials. Thomson said several of the changes made were simple things, such as turning off lights when not in use and turning up thermostats for the night. The district has also implemented other programs to save energy. The district has installed skylights to reduce the need for light, xeriscaping and artificial turf to reduce water consumption, timers on vending machines and motion sensor light switches. The district is looking to implement a recycling program with the city and use small wind turbines and solar panels to help power the schools.

OHIO: The death of a 6-year-old boy in a Lebanon elementary school six years ago has led to one of Ohio's most sweeping laws on school safety and has forced many local districts to spend tens of thousands of dollars for upgrades and uncounted hours on inspections and paperwork. "Jarod's Law" was named after Jarod Bennett, who was crushed under a folded cafeteria table in 2003 at Louisa Wright Elementary. The law, which took effect a year ago, calls for more frequent and thorough safety inspections and changes in how schools all over Ohio operate.

The law has forced school districts to buy lockable cabinets for potentially dangerous school supplies, to repair bleachers, to install eye-wash stations, to conduct radon testing and more. Costs vary from building to building, and some of the more expensive fixes, such as roof and ventilation system repairs, can be done over a period of years. Besides annual inspections conducted by local boards of health, Jarod's Law requires schools to make those inspection reports public and to create plans detailing how problems detected by the inspections will be fixed. Jarod's Law regulates items ranging from lighting levels in the hallways to the type of thermometers and paint allowed in classrooms.

Changes to comply with Jarod's Law have been significant for the Ross Schools in Butler County, but worthwhile. "Total expense equals $45,000, but student safety is priceless," said Todd Yohey, Ross superintendent. In Loveland, officials say they have spent $48,466 to comply with the law, including $8,802 for radon testing, $2,500 for eye-wash stations in all science labs, and $5,600 for new cabinets to store flammable and combustible items. At the Winton Woods schools, officials have spent about $20,000 to remove old playground equipment and install new, fire-resistant cabinets in some classrooms. The Forest Hills schools have spent $15,000 on additional floor mats and $5,000 for safer tile under drinking fountains. Clermont County's Milford Schools have spent about $17,500 so far on changes including new ventilation in copier rooms and a new bathroom at the Milford Preschool Extended Day Program. Though the Kings Local School District has paid about $50,000 to comply with Jarod's Law, the real cost is in manpower. "We spend about 100 hours a month on compliance," Superintendent Valerie Browning said. In the Fairfield Schools, officials have spent about $15,000 on entry area floor mats, eye-wash stations in science labs and nurses' offices, locking cabinets, playground mulch and other items.

HAWAII: In the midst of the most severe budget cuts in recent memory, education officials are also anticipating the public school system will have to spend more money to deliver some of its most basic services: bus transportation, meal service and electricity. The state Department of Education unveiled a plan to slice more than $31.5 million from its budget. As the DOE continues to work toward cutting up to $69 million of the public school budget, the agency is also bracing for higher costs for its most vital services. "The challenge is, the costs continue to go up. The cost of food is going up. The cost of labor is going up. The cost of electricity is going up" said Randy Moore, assistant superintendent of business services.

Over the past five years the DOE's electricity costs have risen by more than 72 percent. In 2007-2008, the department shelled out about $38 million for electricity throughout the statewide system of 283 schools. That compares with a little more than $32 million just a year before that. And this year, with the rising cost of electricity, the DOE is anticipating a bill of more than $40 million, Moore said. "Consumption has been fairly stable but price has gone way up," Moore said. One way the DOE is hoping to save some money on its electricity bill is through its Energy Conservation Program, which started last school year and is intended to encourage less consumption and more conservation in schools statewide. The program asks schools to reduce their energy usage, and if successful, they will receive a rebate for half of the value that they were able to save. However, schools that increase their energy usage will have to pay back half the value. With the DOE's current fiscal situation, Moore said it's possible that the DOE may no longer be able to afford to offer incentives. "We can simply say, this is a requirement. You must take these measures to reduce electricity consumption," Moore said.

HAWAII: In the midst of the most severe budget cuts in recent memory, education officials are also anticipating the public school system will have to spend more money to deliver some of its most basic services: bus transportation, meal service and electricity. The state Department of Education unveiled a plan to slice more than $31.5 million from its budget. As the DOE continues to work toward cutting up to $69 million of the public school budget, the agency is also bracing for higher costs for its most vital services. "The challenge is, the costs continue to go up. The cost of food is going up. The cost of labor is going up. The cost of electricity is going up" said Randy Moore, assistant superintendent of business services.

Over the past five years the DOE's electricity costs have risen by more than 72 percent. In 2007-2008, the department shelled out about $38 million for electricity throughout the statewide system of 283 schools. That compares with a little more than $32 million just a year before that. And this year, with the rising cost of electricity, the DOE is anticipating a bill of more than $40 million, Moore said. "Consumption has been fairly stable but price has gone way up," Moore said. One way the DOE is hoping to save some money on its electricity bill is through its Energy Conservation Program, which started last school year and is intended to encourage less consumption and more conservation in schools statewide. The program asks schools to reduce their energy usage, and if successful, they will receive a rebate for half of the value that they were able to save. However, schools that increase their energy usage will have to pay back half the value. With the DOE's current fiscal situation, Moore said it's possible that the DOE may no longer be able to afford to offer incentives. "We can simply say, this is a requirement. You must take these measures to reduce electricity consumption," Moore said.

MARYLAND: Though Anne Arundel County school officials have met the mandate to provide all-day kindergarten, they struggled to find additional space for their youngest students. Along the way, the number of portable classrooms more than doubled. Now Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell and the school board are working to reverse that trend - and are seeking to put all students in a school under the same roof.
The county school board recently approved design plans for construction at five elementary schools that would create more classroom space and eliminate the need for portable or relocatable classrooms. "It's not an ideal situation for anybody," said Bob Mosier, a spokesman for the county schools. "We'd certainly like to bring those children back in the main building."

In response to the Thornton Commission's sweeping study on the state's education system, the legislature passed in 2002 the Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act, which required all of the state's 24 school systems to implement full-day kindergarten by the 2007-2008 school year. Though school districts received increased state funding over three years beginning in fiscal year 2005 to pay for the initiative, it was not enough to cover the $26 million facilities expansion in Anne Arundel, said Alex L. Szachnowicz, the chief operating officer for county schools.
The state provided partial funding for the hiring of new teachers and the purchase of textbooks and other materials, but it did not provide money for the construction of classrooms, he said. "We would have a teacher, but not a classroom," said Szachnowicz. "This full-day kindergarten thing just really sprung the number of portables up over night."

The number of portable classrooms in Anne Arundel increased to nearly 100 in 2004 to about 250 now. Parents have long complained about portable classrooms, which from the outside resemble mobile homes, pointing to safety and weather concerns, said Anita Owens, the county PTA president. School officials have added fencing around the portables at most schools and have mostly relegated upper-grade students at elementary schools to the classrooms, which are typically sited within steps of a main school building. "I think some parents think it looks like a prison yard sometimes," Owens said. "I would rather have the fence there. They're frustrated. "I think in a perfect world the parents would like to have the additions or have a new school building that would hold all the kids in one building." The county's proposed $219.3 million capital improvement budget for the 2009-2010 school year contains $14.4 million for kindergarten additions at the five schools.

NATIONAL : The average American child spends nearly 12,000 hours in school, from kindergarten through 12th grade. That’s a big chunk of time during which he or she can develop good (or bad) health habits. Happily, schools today are recognizing the many benefits of a healthy head start—and Health magazine wants to recognize the ones that are doing an A+ job. To find the health stars in America’s vast public school universe, education officials in every state were asked for school nominations based on food and nutrition, fitness and activity, health education, and healthy building materials and practices.

CONNECTICUT: Voters overwhelmingly approved authorizing the city to spend $1.3 million in grants it received to pay for a fuel cell energy system and emergency generator at the new Middletown High School. The approval allows officials to use the money to pay for a hydrogen fuel cell that will supply a portion of the school's electrical power needs and a two-megawatt generator, costs that were not included in the $106.65 million school construction project voters had approved.
The referendum marks one of the final votes on the 282,000-square-foot high school, which sits on 44 acres off Route 3. The project took seven years for planning, approvals and construction, and it involved several votes on funding, a new construction company to build the school after the first was fired, and more money to get the job done.
During construction of the school, which opened last month, the state legislature came up with $1.3 million in grants to pay for the fuel cell system and the generator, sparing local taxpayers the additional expense. Although the additions did not cost the city more money, the grants did put the project above the $106.65 million voters had approved. The generator allows the school to be used as a shelter during natural disasters. It would be used to power food services, heat, air conditioning, hot water and lighting.

WASHINGTON: When the Marysville Secondary Campus opened last spring, it made history as the first major public school project built from manufactured housing in Washington. Except for the gymnasium, which was built from the ground up, the entire campus was constructed in a factory and trucked to its home on the Tulalip Reservation. The three schools on the site were built much faster and cheaper than traditional schools, Bingham said. And the state doesn't count portable classrooms when it determines funding for school construction. That means these classrooms won't affect the amount of state funding the Marysville district can qualify for in the future.

Since the campus has opened, Bingham has led more than a dozen groups from school districts across the state on tours of the modular schools and the Marysville factory where they were built. The tour now also includes a stroll through Grove Elementary, which opened in September that combined a "stick-built" portion with eight portables camouflaged into the design. The district tried to make the portable classrooms mirror rooms in the "stick-built" portion and even surrounded them with bricks to make them blend in. The district owns the design plans for Grove and plans to replicate the layout in future schools, Bingham said.
The financial advantages to manufactured housing are substantial. Construction is cheaper and the state doesn't factor portables into districts' construction funding formula. So, for example, if the secondary campus contained conventional schools instead of modular ones, the district wouldn't qualify for as much state funding for future construction projects.
School funding laws were crafted with the traditional brick-and-mortar schools in mind. Because of the Marysville Secondary Campus and moves by other districts away from traditional new schools to classrooms in leased spaces or public-private partnerships, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is considering rewording the laws, said Jeanne Rynne, OSPI's regional coordinator for Northwest Washington.
"This is the first time OSPI has come across this type of structure in K-12, so we're still figuring it out," she said. "We haven't come up with a firm stance one way or another, but I think we're going to have to look at that. It's obviously out there now."

The district is paying the secondary campus's $25 million price tag with mitigation fees builders pay when they develop land. Inspired by the secondary campus and looking to cut down on costs, the Warden School District in central Washington is thinking about using manufactured housing to construct a new cafeteria and locker rooms. The thing that's really hard to express to people unless they see it, is that it's modular, but it's not like the old portables. Everybody thinks of modular as the old portables and everyone knows that'