News items come from the U.S. Department of Educations's National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF).
City plans public meeting on polluted school site
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Robert Miller, Danbury News Times
Connecticut:
July 20, 2008
-- In the month since the city announced the site of the new Roberts Street elementary school was polluted by "historic urban fill" -- rubble that contained unacceptable levels of lead, arsenic, mercury and other chemicals -- the public response has been muted.
"We really haven't gotten a call," Antonio Iadarola,Public Works director, said this week.
To bring attention to the situation, the city will hold a public meeting to explain the contamination and the city's response to it Monday at 7 p.m. in the Common Council Chambers at City Hall.
Ordinarily, the city might be content at the lack of public outcry over the problems at the site. But in this case, it needs the participation of the owners of 25 homes around the 7-acre playing field off Osborne Street where the city is building the $19 million school.
That's because when the city used the fill, perhaps a half-century ago, to build the playing field, it spread some of the fill onto the lawns of the adjoining properties. It wants to test the soil of those homes to learn the extent of pollution in their yards.
The city sent certified letters to the owners in June, asking permission to do the testing.
Iadarola said if it doesn't hear from these owners -- many of them off-site landlords of the old multi-family homes that fill the Osborne Street neighborhood -- the city will have to seek them out.
"We're going to have to take a hands-on approach," he said.
Student Reaches for the Sun and Succeeds
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Michael Alison Chandler, Washington Post
Virginia:
July 17, 2008
-- Even with an overcast sky, the solar panels on the roof of George Mason High School in Falls Church were absorbing enough sun on a recent morning to power the air conditioner in a classroom. The newly installed panels are meant not just to help fuel the school's lights and cooling system but also to energize a growing movement to reverse global warming. James Peterson, a recent graduate, spent hundreds of hours over the past year selling the idea of solar power to school officials and then fundraising to put the panels in place. Peterson said he wanted his alma mater to be an example. "I wanted to educate the community and the students about alternative energies and how they are viable," he said.
Students such as Peterson, 18, are often the ones pushing environmental initiatives. "There's a monumental shift going on in this generation of students. More and more younger students are fluent . . . in the language of green," said Rachel Gutter, education outreach coordinator for the U.S. Green Building Council in Washington, which certifies new buildings that embrace environmental concerns in energy generation and eco-friendly design.
District to taxpayers: New buildings needed
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EILEEN RYAN, Columbus Local News
Ohio:
July 16, 2008
-- Taking a good look at both Franklin Heights and Central Crossing High Schools, it's hard to believe that the schools are attended by students from the same district.
If they were people, the 52-year-old Franklin Heights could be 6-year-old Central Crossing's grandparent.
The differences between the schools demonstrate the kind of improvements the state is offering to help fund through the Ohio School Facilities Commission.
In order to receive those funds, voters will have to approve a $262-million bond issue, which will be combined on the Nov. 4 ballot with a 6-mill operating levy, the school board agreed at its most recent meeting, Monday, July 14. The bond issue would pay for the district's entire contribution to the project -- 53 percent of the total $438 million cost. If approved,
Ron Meyer will take over as principal at Franklin Heights for the 2008-2009 school year after serving as assistant principal at Central Crossing. Before that, he was at Franklin Heights for 24 years, where he was a teacher.
Meyer's experiences at the two schools have shown him the difference an environment makes.
"My eye sees a lot more now," he said. "The kids don't know the difference because for them, this is school."
New school construction to continue despite moratorium
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Adam Bernal, Vail Sun
Arizona:
July 16, 2008
-- Due to a freeze in funding from the state legislature for the construction of new schools, the Vail School District approved the use of bond money to ensure the new Rincon Vista Middle School will be opened in time to help prevent overcrowding in district schools.
At the July 8 Governing Board meeting, Calvin Baker, Vail schools superintendent, informed the board the previously approved funding for Rincon Vista would not be transmitted to the district during the coming fiscal year. The district had been approved for funding the construction of the new school last January.
From a state legislature budget meeting on June 27, a construction moratorium from the Arizona School Facilities Board said the board is prohibited from awarding funding for the design or construction of any new school facility. The only exception is the board may provide money for architectural and engineering fees, project management services and preconstruction services to districts that qualify to additional space due to implementing a full-day kindergarten program.
Had the board not taken action to fund Rincon Vista on schedule, Baker warned the district would see a severe shortage of K-8 classrooms. At this time, the only district schools with available K-8 classrooms are Senita Valley Elementary and Desert Willow Elementary.
Several district high schools are also currently operating with an over capacity of students. Empire High School is already around 100 students over capacity with a waiting list and Cienega High School is projected to be around 200 students over capacity.
Due to the overcrowding, the Vail schools administration recommended continuing to proceed with construction on Rincon Vista using available bond money from the district. The district anticipates it would cost $12 million to construct the school out of the total $16 million in bond funds they have available.
Pennsylvania School District to Borrow $100 Million for Building Projects
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David Mekeel, Reading Eagle
Pennsylvania:
July 16, 2008
-- An ambitious plan to add seven new schools to the Reading School District took a leap forward when the school board voted to borrow $100 million to fund construction. The building plan is a response to infrastructure problems that force some students to attend rundown, overcrowded schools. Of the 21 schools in the district, 18 were built before 1969 - including 11 constructed before 1935. Because it will receive $10 million more from the state than anticipated, the district will be able to pay the $5 million annual debt service on the bond without having to raise taxes, said Dr. Thomas R. Chapman Jr., superintendent. Reading will receive an estimated $102.4 million in basic education funding from the state, an increase of 17 percent from last year.
The $100 million the district is borrowing will be used three ways, Chapman told the board: Improving the exteriors of schools, about $30 million; interior renovations of schools, $25 million to $30 million; new schools, $40 million to $45 million. Chapman said that part of the extra $10 million in state funding will help pay to staff the new buildings.
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