News items come from the U.S. Department of Educations's National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF).

Pacts pursued for $58M to rehabilitate schools
-- Dena Levitz, Examiner

District of Columbia: May 13, 2008 -- D.C. Schools facilities chief Allen Lew is in the process of getting more than $58 million in construction contracts approved to ready a dozen schools to absorb students from campuses closing after the school year. The contracts, which must be approved by the D.C. Council, are flowing to four companies; nearly $29 million to Turner Construction, $12.1 million to Smoot Construction Company, $10 million to Centennial Construction Enterprises and $7.5 million to Forney Enterprises. Turner is one of the firms handling heating repairs in the school system, whose costs have ballooned to four times the budget amount. As reported in The Examiner last month, Lew’s top contracting adviser, Thomas Bridenbaugh, is the son-in-law of Turner Construction Manager Tom Engers. Lew has said he has been open about the connection and that Turner sometimes recuses itself from projects that create a conflict.

Arkansas Architecture Firms Routinely Work for Schools at No Cost
-- Brett Bennett, Northwest Arkansas Times

Arkansas: May 12, 2008 -- During the past two years of the ongoing high school debate, Crafton, Tull, Sparks and Associates architecture and engineering firm has provided guidance for the Fayetteville School District on a possible high school project. The architects developed a construction timeline, calculated cost estimates and presented ideas for where and how a new building could be constructed on the current site, 40 acres in the 1000 block of West Stone Street. They made presentations at school board meetings and committee meetings, in addition to answering questions from school administrators. "There's no question they've invested a lot of time and energy," Associate Superintendent Randy Willison said. The bill for all of this work - nothing.

Unanswered Questions in Sequel to Massive Schools Borrowing
-- EMILY ALPERT, Voice of San Diego

California: May 12, 2008 -- San Diego Unified is poised to place an estimated $1.51 billion facilities bond on the November ballot, riding the coattails of an unprecedented decade-long makeover for local schools. But two major uncertainties hang over the ambitious plan, which has yet to be approved by the school board. The list of projects the bond will finance is unsettled. And the school district's backlog of routine repairs, left undone when budgets drained, could undercut some voters' enthusiasm for the bond. Yet amid those uncertainties, supporters have already collected roughly $100,000 to pay for the campaign to persuade voters to support the measure. Currently in its planning stages, the new bond would succeed Proposition MM, a popular measure of the same size passed in 1998. At the time, it was the largest bond ever undertaken by San Diego Unified. Since MM passed, taxpayers have paid up to $95.75 annually for each $100,000 assessed worth of property they own. Those dollars built the vast new Lincoln High School, new elementary schools in City Heights, Chollas View and Golden Hill, and modernized more than 100 schools districtwide. Now, as student numbers stagnate, staffers are largely turning away from new construction and focusing instead on improving existing schools.

At D.C.'s Phelps High, A Return to the Future
-- Dion Haynes, Washington Post

District of Columbia: May 11, 2008 -- The greenhouse at Phelps High School is a shell of exterior brick walls and exposed steel beams. But by August, when a $63.8 million renovation of the school in Northeast Washington is finished, the space will have computer-controlled window shades and watering systems. This futuristic school is a striking contrast to the decaying public school buildings across the city, many of which lack such basics as air conditioning and proper wiring to surf the Internet. Phelps's reopening this fall will mark two important milestones in the District: the launch of a long-awaited plan to bring aging schools into the 21st century and the retooling of vocational education. The traditional sawdust-laden vocational classes that prepared a generation of high school students for dirt-under-the-fingernails trades had nearly vanished in D.C. schools with the push to get more students into college. Now they are making a comeback at Phelps and a handful of schools across the region, with a new spin on high-tech construction, college-prep courses and such white-collar professions as architecture and engineering.

Billions Needed To Fix Schools in D.C. and Surrounding Counties
-- Nelson Hernandez, Washington Post

Maryland: May 11, 2008 -- The Prince George's County school system requires $2.1 billion to fix its aging buildings, according to a study that found many schools running on antiquated equipment and deteriorating inside and out. The study by Parsons 3D/International, ordered in September, looked at 184 schools across the county and found that, although they were generally well kept and clean, many were using equipment long past its prime. Many mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems are out of date and inefficient, the study found. Food-service equipment is largely in poor condition, with 65 percent of it beyond its normal life expectancy. Most buildings do not comply with federal guidelines for accessibility. And the buildings themselves -- most are 30 to 50 years old -- are showing signs of water damage and wear and tear. Of the schools examined, the study rated 25 in good condition, 150 in fair condition and nine in poor condition. The study suggested that the board consider replacing the nine buildings in the worst condition: Morningside, Clinton Grove, Avalon, Samuel Chase, Middleton Valley, Henry G. Ferguson and Tulip Grove elementary schools, as well as an annex building at Suitland High School and an office building. The most expensive things to fix were the schools' heating and air-conditioning systems, which would cost $716 million to address. But other areas came with steep price tags: Electrical repairs would cost $290 million; upgrades to plumbing, $160 million; making schools accessible, $31 million; and replacing the food service equipment, $62 million. To maintain the schools in their current state until 2018 would cost $700 million, the study said. To bring the schools up to good condition would cost twice as much.

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