Voters pass 10 school articles to March ballot
-- Joshua Clark, Seacoast Online

New Hampshire: February 5, 2010 -- At the annual School District deliberative session held on Tuesday, Feb. 2, Newmarket residents approved sending forward 10 warrant articles to the town ballot. They include a $14 million operating budget, money for repairs to the roof of the Junior/Senior High School, and an article asking whether voters wish the School Board to consider merging grades 9 through 12 with neighboring districts. Totaling $14,620,320, the proposed operating budget represents a 1.1-percent increase over the previous year. School Board Chairman Cliff Chase said reductions totaling $400,000 had been made to bring the number down to the current request in light of the current economic climate.

Green Schools Go Beyond Recycling
-- Jenn Savedge, Mother Nature Network

National: February 4, 2010 -- There is a new trend popping up across the nation in schools that are not only "going green" they truly are green...from their passive solar heating to their intense environmental coursework. And rather than limiting environmental education to an occasional workshop or class project, these schools lace environmental themes into every aspect of their curriculum. These green schools, as they are being called, go beyond recycling and tree planting to teaching kids about problems like sooty air, environmental legislation, and social justice. Some schools, like The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers, a high school in Manhattan, New York, focus on teaching hands-on skills like installing insulation and solar panels to prepare students for entering the work force after graduation or pursuing college degrees in fields like engineering.

Knight Academy moves into new middle school facilities
-- Duane Ramsey, Toledo Free Press

Ohio: February 5, 2010 -- The Knight Academy, a co-ed charter middle school for sixth through eighth grades, moved into its new facilities in a former commercial building on Arco Drive in Toledo. Classes began in the new school Jan. 19 and the academy hosted an open house Jan. 28 for prospective students and the public. “The new facilities are working out great for our students, teachers and staff,” said Tom Baker, executive director of the Knight Academy. Baker said that 100 students attend the charter middle school that plans to add a fifth-grade class next year. Students come to the academy from traditional public and parochial schools in the Toledo area, including Lucas, Wood and Fulton counties, he said. The staff includes Paul Rackowski, dean of students and curriculum, 11 teachers, a full-time counselor, secretary, custodian and part-time nurse. “We consider it a public school with a private school atmosphere,” said Baker, who has 42 years of experience in education as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, high school principal and superintendent.

Carrollton, Georgia Schools to Participate in Qualified School Construciton Bond Program
-- Laura Camper, Times-Georgian

Georgia: February 5, 2010 -- The chief operating officer for Carrollton City Schools told the Board of Education the system should receive final approval from the Georgia Department of Education to participate in the Qualified School Construction Bond program in the next couple of weeks. “We did get preliminary approval back in December,” said CEO Steve Spofford. The school system applied for permission to sell $8 million in construction bonds, which were created through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to build a two-story, 32-classroom wing on the middle school, renovate all the bathrooms at the high school and renovate the gymnasium. The state has a $250 million share in the Qualified School Construction Bond program, but it’s not money that has been given to the state. The schools borrow the money by selling the bonds through the program, but rather than paying interest on the bonds the investors get a tax credit provided through the ARRA. The money can be borrowed for up to 16 years and the system can decide when during that time to start paying the money back. But once it does start it must make equal payments into a sinking fund until the debt is paid in full.

Mississippi Schools Eye More Federal Stimulus Bond Money
-- Elizabeth Franklin, Hattiesburg American

Mississippi: February 5, 2010 -- Hattiesburg Public School District wants to take advantage of a second round of the Qualified School Construction Bonds program funded through federal stimulus dollars. School board members voted to apply through the Mississippi Department of Education for a second school construction bond. The district received a $3 million school construction bond in the first round. The stimulus-driven initiative allows districts to borrow interest-free money to use for construction, rehabilitation or repair of public school facilities. Frank Aderholdt, the district's director of financial services, said money received in the first round is being used for roof work, repairing the running track and parking lot improvements. The funds have to be used on school construction projects in compliance with specific federal standards. Aderholdt said district authorities would be notified sometime later this year if its request was approved.