South Carolina lawmakers are considering legislation to repurpose vacant and unused school buildings across the state, saying the properties could help drive economic development and provide new services in rural areas.
At a recent committee meeting, lawmakers discussed paving a path for these properties to be transformed.
Many districts own old school buildings that have sat empty for years. The proposal would require districts to report all unused properties, giving the state a comprehensive list. Lawmakers say selling or repurposing the buildings could help fund new school construction while also benefiting communities.
“The buildings that could be repurposed in these rural communities that were the old school houses can now be, even if it's just a couple days a week, a medical access where public-private partnership perhaps could be sought after to help bring access into these healthcare access to these rural areas,” said Rep. Mark Smith, R-Charleston.
 

In a town best known for snow and its mountain backdrops, Joe Waneka has what might seem an odd problem to solve. As director of operations for the Aspen School District, he is tasked, in part, with keeping the 1,600 students enrolled in the district’s elementary, middle and high schools cool enough so that heat does not preclude learning.

That has become more of an issue on the 32-acre campus set amid the rolling terrain where Maroon Creek hurries toward the valley floor. Part of the reason is Colorado’s mid-August return to schools. Summers have been warming, too. And then there is the smoke from wildfires.

Since students returned to classes, temperatures on the hottest days have reached 78 degrees inside the buildings. “That is their tipping point, if you will, when they start thinking more about getting comfortable than teaching or learning,” he said. “By 80 degrees, you are overwhelmed.”

On Aug. 22 the new Green Middle School held a ribbon cutting ceremony led by Superintendent Jeff Miller. Around 30 community members came out for the ceremony and to take a first look around the school.
"These new schools will be more than just workplaces, they'll be vibrant learning centers, with belonging and inspiration. To our students, past, present, and future, these schools were imagined with you at the heart designed to support your dreams, curiosity and your journey towards becoming the thinkers, leaders, and changemakers of tomorrow," Miller said during his opening remarks.
The two-story building will be home for 4,200 students in grades six through eight entering the 2025-2026 school year. The first day of school is on Aug. 25.
Besides the middle school, the district constructed an elementary school, renovated another school for pre-kindergarten through first grade and demolished three schools.
The project was funded by a $67.8 million bond issue approved by voters in May 2022. It includes a new bus garage and some funding from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.
 

North Penn School District officials said mold discovered this summer in modular classrooms at Pennfield Middle School has been cleaned and remediated ahead of the new school year.

In an Aug. 19 letter to Pennfield families and staff, Principal Dr. Sean O’Sullivan and Facilities Director Bill Slawter said suspected mold was first identified in mid-July by staff during the district’s Extended School Year program. Students were immediately relocated to other parts of the building while facilities staff investigated and cleaned the modular units.

District officials attributed the growth to unusually high humidity combined with ventilation systems drawing in outside air.

“The spaces were cleaned, carpets were shampooed, all HVAC systems were vacuumed, and vital oxide atomization was utilized,” said Christine Liberaski, the district’s director of school and community engagement.

As the 2025–26 school year approaches, New Haven Public Schools has spent the summer tackling major building projects, facility upgrades and repairs to prepare for students’ return next week. 
Air conditioning, cell phone pouches, swimming pools and the merger of two schools are among the top items.
“Tucker Mechanical technicians are on site daily, and we’re meeting weekly to track progress and make sure all work is moving forward,” said Astor Pagan, the executive facilities director for ABM, a facilities service company the district is working with.
Pagan said the district has been working to fix air conditioning problems at 11 schools: the Adult Education Center, Lincoln Bassett, L.W. Beecher, Betsy Ross, Celantano, Wilbur Cross, John Daniels, Dr. Reginald Mayo, King Robinson, Ross Woodward and Truman. 
 

On the eve of a new school year, Pitt County Schools is considering options for dealing with aging facilities in the growing district.

Executive Director of Operations Aaron Errickson told the Board of Education this week that 75% of buildings throughout the school system need to be renovated or replaced. Construction of a new D.H. Conley High School, along with additions and replacements at more than a dozen other schools, have been identified as immediate needs within the next five years.

“We’re just at a place now in the county that it’s growing so fast, as a system, we just don’t have a choice to sort of kick the ball down the road,” Superintendent Steve Lassiter said. “We just have some major needs.”

For years, Andrea Bryant has had to purchase DampRid, a moisture absorber, for her 8th grade science classroom in Lucille M. Brown Middle School. The classroom has little ventilation and is often humid, because of a ceiling leak over her lab sink.

The night before the school year began heavy rain fell in Richmond, leaving Bryant with an even stronger leak the day she came back to her classroom. She said she had to open another case of the dehumidifier two days after. 

“I’ve reported and I know that it’s on the list of tickets for them to get it done, but I have to use DampRid to keep my room from having mold in it,” she said. 

Bryant, who has taught at the school for more than 12 years and is president of the Richmond Education Association – the union representing Richmond Public School’s teachers – said that the issues of air conditioning and ventilation have persisted in her building for as long as she can remember. 

“The bigger issue is that our buildings have not been a priority,” she said. “Not just for the district. That is for the state and the city as well.”

CULEBRA, Puerto Rico — When temperatures soar at a public school on the small Puerto Rican island of Culebra, students scatter in search of relief.

During a summer program last month, as outdoor temperatures climbed into the upper 80s, Zedrik, a rising third grader, sat in the schoolyard beside a bush not tall enough to shade him entirely from the sun. Kenneth, a ninth grader, took refuge in the library. Nayla, an eighth grader, went to the director's office, where an air conditioner offered limited relief.

The school has ceiling fans, but they don't operate at full strength. Other cooling equipment in the school doesn't work because it's been damaged by fluctuations in electrical voltage on an island dealing with an energy crisis.

With more than $3 billion in critical maintenance work needed at Chicago Public Schools buildings but limited money to work with, district leaders presented a modest proposal for building repairs Wednesday. They prioritized roof and boiler replacements, asbestos removal and upgrades to internet infrastructure.

The CPS capital budget, which funds construction and building maintenance projects for this school year, is about 9% smaller than last year at $556 million, down from $611 million. Nearly all of it is paid for through borrowing, while there’s some help from the city through tax increment financing, or TIF, dollars and state funding.

CPS is the only district in Illinois that has no way to raise new revenue for building construction or maintenance, so taking on new debt year after year becomes necessary to fund most projects.

Change is coming in the way the City of Omaha issues and enforces occupancy certificates for schools.
The change comes in the wake of Elkhorn Public Schools opening two elementary schools while still under construction, upsetting many parents, some even holding their children out of school.
Omaha officials said letting schools open their doors without occupancy certificates has been something done in the past.
That was usually because of minor issues like landscaping, but the Elkhorn situation is different, Omaha Mayor John Ewing said, and the work not completed at the two schools is much more serious.
All schools will now have to comply completely with the law, according to Ewing.
“We want them to understand they run the risk of not being able to open the school if there are serious issues where things just aren’t done,” Ewing said.
This will not happen again in Omaha, he added.
Students will not go to class in schools in an active construction zone. Ewing said he will make changes so the City of Omaha lives by its own law.
 

Frankford High School welcomed teachers for the first time in more than two years on Monday after undergoing more than two years of renovations due to damaged asbestos found at the facility.

The Philadelphia School District spent nearly $30 million for repairs and upgrades to the high school, which closed in April 2023 after damaged asbestos was discovered at the Oxford Avenue building.

But now, district officials say that asbestos has either been removed or covered in protective casing in the wall.

In addition to taking care of the asbestos problem, the school went through a major upgrade with added air conditioning, new water fountains, flooring, lighting and windows, just to name a few.

"It was a pretty dark time for everybody. A lot of uncertainty," said the school's principal, Mike Calderone. "One, if we are ever going to come back here and then as time went on we started to get the plan and solidify what was going to happen. The first year was a little rough. We figured out a lot of things the second year. And now we are back here. So it’s really a happy ending."

The Woodstock Union High School and Middle School building is in bad shape. Its HVAC, electrical and sewage systems — products of the mid-1960s — are now well past their useful life, according to school officials.

Sherry Sousa, superintendent of the Mountain Views Supervisory Union that operates the school, said the district “can’t guarantee, based on where our systems are now, that our sewage system is going to work.”

For those familiar with Vermont’s public education system, this sort of story is hardly new. Districts throughout the state routinely deal with general disrepair and disruption caused by aging school buildings.

Over the years, education officials have pleaded with the state to restart a long-dormant state aid fund for school construction, which previously supported up to 30% of construction costs. But Act 73, the new education reform bill Gov. Phil Scott signed into law last month, is creating optimism among education officials that state aid could begin again.

PHOENIX - In a historic ruling for Arizona's public schools, the Maricopa County Superior Court said the state's current method to fund building repairs and school maintenance is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit dates back to 2017, when several education groups and school districts sued the Arizona State Legislature, alleging that lawmakers failed to spend billions of dollars on critical infrastructure repairs and maintenance.
Video taken that year showed massive cracks in at least one school's walls and roof.
Dig deeper:
The lawsuit cited a ruling from the 1990s that established a minimum funding benchmark for schools, which they say the legislature failed to do.
 

Labrandon Fletcher, a 16-year-old student in Memphis-Shelby County Schools, says there's a long list of things that need fixing in his school building.
The ceiling at Hamilton High School is "falling apart," he said, and the bathroom plumbing needs dire attention. But the biggest issues are lighting and air conditioning.
"No one wants a dark place to learn and get an education," Fletcher said. "It's harder to see things, to see what's on the board."
Fletcher is one of many community members, including a small group of students, who brought their concerns to the first meeting of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools facilities committee on Wednesday.
The group is expected to give recommendations for how the district should address over $1.6 billion in deferred maintenance costs in the next decade. That plan will include some school closures, committee leaders said.
Students and school leaders described years of quick fixes in deteriorating buildings, with no sustainable plan in place.
 

Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed its highest underlying bond rating of AAA and its general obligation unlimited tax rating for Plano ISD’s proposed $49.9 million in school building bonds.

The rating reflects the district’s location in a strong Dallas-area economy, the AAA enhanced rating of the Texas Permanent School Fund and what Moody’s called Plano ISD’s “conservative budget management and ability to maintain financial health.”

Plano ISD is one of only four Texas school districts to hold Moody’s highest rating. District officials said the rating will help lower issuance costs and allow the district to secure low interest rates, ultimately saving taxpayer dollars.

A new report for Tracy Unified School District outlines just over $499 million worth of school improvement projects needed to modernize or replace aging buildings around the district.

The Facilities Master Plan Needs Assessment, a report that the TUSD Board of Education accepted on a unanimous vote on Tuesday, was prepared by K12 Partners/Urban Futures, Inc. as a guide that will help the district determine which projects should take priority as buildings and portables require replacement or renovation because of age, wear and tear and deferred maintenance.

The report comes out as the district plans on how to spend money from Measure O, the $190 million school facilities bond that Tracy voters passed on Nov. 5, 2024. During the election the condition of some of Tracy’s older schools, such as McKinley Elementary School and Monte Vista Middle School, was cited as the need for the bond.

Students returning to school next week in the Pasadena Unified School District still won’t have access to certain areas on more than a dozen campuses because of toxins in the soil, seven months after the Eaton Fire.

In May, the district released soil test results, which found elevated levels of lead and toxic metals at 18 campuses and other district locations. The district told LAist in a statement then that cleanup efforts will be done before the start of this school year.

In a statement Friday, the district said soil removal has yet to begin at 12 sites, while soil removal is in progress at another six.

District officials said they still are working with state and local entities on guidance for remediation and to “ensure all efforts meet safety and regulatory standards.”

Littleton Academy Blue Jays will begin the new academic year in their permanent home on August 28 when students enter the completely renovated historic school building. 

The facility will serve students in grades K-9, representing a significant milestone for the academy and the broader educational community in the region, spokesman Les Atkins said.

The building was last used as a school in 1975. Through extensive renovations and the integration of modern educational technology throughout the facility, the school is prepared to serve a new generation of learners.

"The excitement from our parents and community has been remarkable," said Superintendent Heather Karns. "We extend our gratitude to the individuals and businesses for their tremendous support of the school in recent months as we prepared for this transition.”

As the first day of school approaches, some teachers and students in Washington and surrounding suburbs are preparing for more than fresh pencils and new classmates: They’re packing up their classrooms and moving into temporary “swing spaces.”
Swing spaces are sites where schools temporarily relocate during major renovations and new construction or after building damage. They can be housed in previously shuttered schools, or purpose-built multiuse facilities, or in trailers and mobile classrooms.
Over the past decade, the District of Columbia school system has had about 150 modernization, renovation, or construction projects at schools, shuffling entire communities in and out of swing spaces—sometimes for more than a school year.
But school and district leaders say the upheaval doesn’t have to derail learning or crush morale. The key? Advance planning, clear communication, and small touches that make the temporary feel permanent.
“When we moved in, it was really important to make the space feel comfortable and homelike,” said Malaika Golden, the principal of D.C.'s Whitlock Elementary School, which operated out of an old school building repurposed as a swing space for two years. “We did a lot of decorating. We made sure everything was unpacked and put away. It didn’t look or feel like a temporary space.”
While no move is without its bumps, Golden and other seasoned educators shared practical strategies for managing swing spaces and easing the transition.
 

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KOAA) — The City of Fountain has received a $1.93 million EPA Brownfield Cleanup grant to demolish and redevelop the former Lorraine Elementary School property.
The funds will be used to clean up the site after lead paint was discovered in the building, paving the way for new development in the area.
redevelop former elementary school site
Fountain receives $1.93 million EPA grant to clean up and redevelop the former Lorraine Elementary School site into a community center and housing complex.
By: Noah Caplan
Posted 12:34 AM, Aug 14, 2025 and last updated 1:36 AM, Aug 14, 2025
FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KOAA) — The City of Fountain has received a $1.93 million EPA Brownfield Cleanup grant to demolish and redevelop the former Lorraine Elementary School property.
The funds will be used to clean up the site after lead paint was discovered in the building, paving the way for new development in the area.
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"From my standpoint, any kind of progress is good as long as it's smart," said a former student who attended Lorraine Elementary in 1971 and 1972.
Plans for the site include a new community center where the school once stood, and an apartment complex with 106 specialty housing units just north of the location. The development area spans between North Iowa Avenue and the train tracks.
Some nearby residents have expressed concerns about the project, citing increased traffic on quiet streets, light pollution, and worries about the community's rapid growth.
"You still want that farmland, you still want those horses and stuff like that," said Edwin Templin, who has lived in Fountain since 2001.