Only six schools will be refurbished under school refurbishment projects, instead of the districtwide approach originally intended.
“The school refurbishment projects, … the bid came in several hundred millions of dollars over the budget we had. So in order not to lose the funding we do have through the (American Rescue Plan) I’ve made the determination to target specific schools in that project,” Guam Department of Education Superintendent Kenneth Erik Swanson told the legislative committee on education Monday.
The six schools identified by Swanson are George Washington High School, Oceanview Middle School, Agueda I. Johnston Middle School, Inarajan Middle School, Ordot-Chalan Pago Elementary School, D.L. Perez Elementary School and Tamuning Elementary School.
“That will leave (an) approximate balance of about $7 million for contingencies. If we don’t run into additional charges on these projects, we will likely add another school,” Swanson said.
“The range of estimates, building by building, is from $6 million to $20 million depending on the campus. High school campuses obviously are the most expensive,” Swanson added.
Reallocation changes for the projects have been submitted to the U.S. Department of Education.
 

The Albert Lea school board on Monday approved its intent to issue about $4.07 million in general obligation facilities maintenance bonds to complete work next summer on mechanical systems at three schools in the district.  That includes the steam boiler system at Southwest Middle School, the hot water boiler system at Lakeview Elementary School and the pool heater and air handler replacement at Albert Lea High School.  Aaron Bushberger with Ehlers and Associates Inc., who the district works with for long-term maintenance projects, said the proposed payback on the bonds is 14 years and 11 months and noted the bonds could be callable — or essentially able to be refinanced — in 2033 if interest rates are lower than what they are originally issued at.

A state committee has recommended that 163 public schools receive nearly $10 million in security upgrade grants, in the latest round of funding to harden schools against school shooters and other threats.

The Security Action for Education (SAFE) program is a 2022 initiative that distributes state and federal funding to school districts to help improve security measures, such as surveillance and door-locking mechanisms.

On Dec. 6, the Public School Infrastructure Commission recommended the grants to the 163 schools. That list is not final; it will need to be approved by the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee and the Executive Council. 

The program is in its third round: In its first two rounds, the state distributed $3.9 million and $10 million, respectively.

This time, the state received 630 applications totaling $21 million and approved 262, with some schools receiving multiple grants.

Of the approved grants, 85 will go to projects to improve surveillance, 62 to emergency alert upgrades, and 115 to access control projects, which allow schools to fortify entrances and improve door locks. 

NEW MILFORD — An indoor air quality assessment found “suspect mold growth” in the historic 50 East St. building over a year before the school board turned the building over to the town, according to reports obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request to New Milford schools.
But this finding was “never disclosed” to the town or public, at least not until after the same consultants found mold in the former school office building this past summer, forcing the structure’s closure, Mayor Pete Bass said. 
Bass said the town was unaware of two prior air quality assessments that had been performed on the East Street building until he asked New Milford Superintendent Janet Parlato for more information about the building. He said he submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for the two air quality reports.
“I had asked if the Board of Education had done any studies previously, and when I asked, she sent me these,” Bass said of the reports, conducted by Fuss & O’Neill on Jan. 10, 2022 and Sept. 26, 2022. 
 

MURRAY – The Murray Board of Education approved the long-range local facilities plan for the Murray Independent School District (MISD) during its regular meeting Thursday. Over the next four years, the district hopes to invest around $65 million in its infrastructure, including $13 million in improvements to athletics facilities and $28 million to build a new elementary school.
A public hearing regarding the draft facilities plan preceded the board meeting. The hearing officer, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Human Resources Whitney York, reported that no written statements were received from the public prior to the hearing, and no one signed up to speak at the hearing. In the meeting that followed, the board unanimously approved the plan.
Prior to the board’s consideration of the plan, R.W. Baird & Co. Public Finance Director Mark Rawlings presented an overview of the district’s financial status, including an explanation of how bondable revenues are calculated and what that ultimately means for the district in terms of its bonding capacity. (Read more of revenue streams here.)
 

Alternatives for the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System facilities plan have been drafted and proposed to the public. These plans will dictate a slew of potential changes for students, including rezoning.
SCCPSS Superintendent Denise Watts and other district leaders presented Tuesday to parents and community members at West Chatham Middle School in Pooler. School board representatives Michael Johnson, Tonia Howard-Hall and School Board President Roger Moss were also in attendance.
“While the communication and the engagement tonight is around facilities, at the heart it is about your children,” Watts said to the District 7 Town Hall crowd on Wednesday Dec. 12 during the Facilities Planning Update for Phase I.
The alternative proposals mostly discussed shifting school attendance zones that had been laid out in the initial plan. The schools discussed were Gould Elementary School, Rice Creek K-8, New Hampstead K-8, West Chatham Middle School, New Hampstead High School, Groves High School and Beach High School.
SCCPSS student rezoning challenges:With no vote taken on facilities plan, Savannah-Chatham superintendent back to drawing board
 

Tax levy approved following truth in taxation hearing
ROCHELLE — At its monthly meeting Tuesday, the Rochelle Elementary School District Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution in support of county school facilities sales tax referendum appearing on the March 19 election ballot.
A law passed in 2007 to allow for a county-wide sales tax in Illinois to benefit schools for expenses including facilities, security, mental health services and school resource officers. The sales tax must pass in a county by referendum during an election. That has not taken place in Ogle County, and the measure failed on the ballot locally back in 2013. There are 57 counties in Illinois that have the county schools facilities sales tax.

To get onto the ballot, school boards representing more than 50 percent of students must pass support resolutions. The deadline to pass resolutions of support to make the March 19 election is Jan. 2. The referendum would have to pass on the ballot county-wide. The sales tax can be a maximum of one percent in quarter-percent increments. 

"I just want to be clear that this is only a resolution to put the question on the ballot regarding the one-percent increase in sales tax to be asked of the voters," Board President Trisha Vaughn said. "The board itself is not taking any position for or against it. This is simply to put the measure on the ballot."

The additional sales tax would apply to items that are already taxed, with the exception of vehicles and unprepared food. Based on the most recent numbers, a county schools facility sales tax could net the elementary district $813,202 per year. Along with facilities, security, mental health services and school resource officers, the money can be used to abate property taxes and make rates lower for property owners within the district.

The elementary school district has seen large expenses recently as it deals with aging buildings. Tilton Elementary School was built in 1949. Central Elementary School was built in 1939 and May Elementary School was built in 1959.

It was said at the Rochelle Elementary School District’s November meeting that it could leverage that hypothetical $813,202 a year in new sales tax funds into about $8.8 million in projects.

No other state spends less on school infrastructure per student than Idaho. As a result, many students, especially those in rural districts, deal with leaking ceilings, freezing classrooms and discolored drinking water. Some students have to miss school when the power or heat goes out.
School districts often can’t build or repair buildings because Idaho is one of only two states that require two-thirds of voters to approve a bond. Some districts have held bond elections several times only to see them fail despite having support from a majority of voters. But the Legislature has been reluctant to make significant investments in facilities. Administrators say they don’t know how they’ll keep their schools running and worry that public officials don’t understand how bad the problems are.
 

BELCHERTOWN/SOUTH HADLEY — A new Jabish Brook Middle School in Belchertown and a replacement building for Mosier Elementary School in South Hadley are continuing to make progress, with the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s board of directors moving both projects forward this week.

The MSBA Board of Directors voted to have the Belchertown project go to the schematic design stage, while its vote gets the South Hadley project into a 270-day eligibility period.

Plans for the new Jabish Brook include replacing the current building, on the same site on North Washington Street, with a new three-story building to serve 475 students in grades 6 to 8, with a completion date in summer 2027.

School Committee Chairwoman Heidi Gutekenst said the MSBA vote allows for a robust schematic design plan that will both meet the needs of students and educators and is cost effective for the community.

If the project comes to fruition, the district would close Cold Spring School and redistribute students in the K-8 schools.

HELENA — Helena Public Schools is currently working on a Facilities Master Plan. This plan will set the course on how the school district allocates funds to repair and maintain school property.
“Without that document, then we’re really just being reactive to emergencies,” says Helena Public Schools Superintendent Rex Weltz.
Helena Public Schools commissioned SMA Architecture + Design to create plan options for elementary, middle, and high schools.
“We have a great example of three brand new buildings, that’s amazing for our students and we have 100-year-old buildings. And so, the board’s gonna need to make, and we will make, recommendations to the board on where do we think that money’s best spent,” says Weltz.
Weltz says that the options will span from comprehensive remodels to full school closure and consolidation. Weltz says that if that option is chosen, there will be plenty of notice for families.
Much of the reason for this Facilities Master Plan is budgeting. While the school does have a building reserve fund, it’s not enough to cover about $90 million worth of deferred maintenance. With rising costs, inflation, and declining attendance the school’s dollar doesn’t go as far as prior years. This impact was seen earlier this year when the district made the decision to close the Ray Bjork Learning Center, relocating programs to other school property.
 

School districts in Wisconsin would have to comply with competitive bidding requirements for construction projects costing more than $150,000 under a new legislative proposal.
Wisconsin is one of only three states that allows a project of any size to be awarded on a no-bid basis, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Municipalities, meanwhile, have to seek a competitive bid for any project over $25,000. The same proposed legislation would increase that threshold for municipalities to $50,000.
During a public hearing Thursday before the Assembly Committee on Local Government, Chris Kulow, government relations director for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, testified against the bill. He argued that requiring a competitive bidding process would take away local control.
Kulow said most school boards are already using competitive bidding. He said having to choose the lowest bidder could mean having to sacrifice the best quality.
“Currently, districts that have long-standing relationships with local contractors have the opportunity to work with them to negotiate deals that include spending resources locally, keeping those dollars in the community,” Kulow said. “They result in the hiring of parents whose children attend the schools. They want to do a good job, and they’re less likely to ask for extra charges.”
 

The F. Amedee Bregy School in South Philadelphia has a new community schoolyard.

The schoolyard, which was in partnership with Trust for Public Land (TPL), the School District of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Water Department and other local and national funders, was revealed last month.

“Our partnerships bringing green infrastructure improvements to local schools are always some of the most rewarding projects,” said Randy E. Hayman, Philadelphia Water Department Commissioner, in a statement.

“In addition to protecting our waterways and making improvements at Bregy, we are connecting with classroom teachers and students throughout the District with our Fairmount Water Works’ watershed curriculum, exponentially increasing the positive impact of our investments,” he said.

Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon and School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington Sr. celebrated the new schoolyard with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Scanlon delivered $425,000 in federal funding for the project.

“Our children and families deserve safe spaces to play and gather within our communities,” Scanlon said.

In the two years since Hurricane Ida damaged classrooms and wreaked havoc on an already strained school system, the federal government has promised $23 million for schools in New Jersey to assist with recovery efforts related to the storm, according to the latest federal data.
But, some school districts say they are still waiting for millions more in reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The total cost for all repair projects for schools related to Hurricane Ida is approximately $42 million, said Sgt. Joseph Walsh, a spokesman for the New Jersey state Office of Emergency Management.
After the September 2021 storm, 49 schools and nine colleges and universities filed for more than $83.6 million in public assistance from the federal government to cover losses and damage. However, the number was based on preliminary damage assessments completed by the school and district officials.
 

Democrats are again pushing for legislation that would allow local governments to hold referenda on increasing their sales and use tax to pay for school capital projects such as construction and renovations. 
The party hopes the effort, which has been tried twice before but defeated by Republicans, will be successful now that Democrats are set to control both the House of Delegates and the Senate following the November elections.
“We think with the change in the dynamics in the House that this bill has a very good chance,” said Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William, adding that a similar version of the bill passed with bipartisan support last year in the Democratic-controlled Senate before dying in the House.
Under current law, only nine localities can impose a 1% sales tax to fund school construction and renovation projects. They are the counties of Charlotte, Gloucester, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Patrick and Pittsylvania and the city of Danville. 
Local governments have control over adjustments to their property tax rates — but aren’t allowed to change the sales tax rate without explicit permission from the General Assembly. 
 

The West Virginia School Building Authority announced Monday $111,687,534 is headed to 19 counties for Fiscal Year 2024. This is the largest single year award from the SBA in more than a decade. 

The money will be used to construct 10 new schools and perform major renovations on 13 existing schools.

“I am truly proud to vote for this historic investment in our schools, because it represents our unwavering commitment to providing West Virginia students with the best possible learning environment,” Gov. Jim Justice, as chairman of the SBA, said. “This funding doubles down on our belief that every student deserves access to a high-quality education. These new and upgraded facilities will ensure our students have the resources and technology needed to succeed in the classroom and beyond.”

The biggest single award goes to Wyoming County for construction of the new Mullens PK-8 school. The school system will receive $15.7 million. 

Six of the counties are receiving money for new school construction. 

Berkeley County is receiving $8.3 million, but that is one of three annual payments for a total of $25 million for the construction of a primary and intermediate school.

Galileo Academy of Science & Technology, the public high school near San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, has a lot of physical problems, as you might expect at a 102-year-old facility. After the pandemic, when workers tried to fix the heating system, classrooms instead became so hot that students were unable to focus, and the heat had to be shut off again.
Like many of San Francisco’s aging schools, Galileo has had to wait for major repairs. Nearly two dozen facilities, tabbed for repairs via a 2016 bond, instead saw their fixes postponed until the next bond. And now that next bond is delayed, again.
The public school district announced last week that the bond, slated to go to SF voters on the March 2024 ballot, would be pushed back to November. Perhaps more than $1 billion, it could be the city’s largest bond ever. Officials cited the need for more time for community engagement and project planning.
As The Frisc reported in 2022, the billion-dollar bond was a possibility for that year’s fall ballot. It was shelved, though, amid questions about the 2016 bond spending.
 

Stafford County Public Schools: “The Stafford County School Board hosted its second annual Legislative Summit on Tuesday, December 5, at Stafford High School. Attendees included Senator McPike, current Delegate and Senator-Elect Durant, and Delegates-Elect Cole and Milde. During the event, legislators were provided with information regarding the School System’s current legislative priorities and proposed bills aimed to support the burgeoning school system.”
“The Superintendent and School Board provided tangible ways to improve student outcomes, urging legislators to provide Stafford County with increased funding necessary to support high expectations for student performance, provide a safe, positive learning environment, and provide better conditions to recruit, retain and develop staff. Additional discussion focused on the need for a reduction in the burden of unfunded mandates and inefficient government practices.”
 

The state Department of Education plans to surrender $465 million that lawmakers had earmarked for school construction projects across the state, a move that will delay and possibly jeopardize funding for new classrooms, play courts and athletic facilities.

That decision may make more money available for other state initiatives such as affordable housing or the Maui wildfire recovery, but that would come at a cost to Hawaii’s public educational system.

The move by the DOE to lapse so many capital improvement projects has upset state lawmakers who lobbied hard to secure state funding for school projects for their districts, only to learn that funding is about to slip away because the projects did not move forward in time.

“I don’t understand why this is happening,” said House Speaker Scott Saiki. “This is a big problem. If anything, DOE should come to the Legislature and say, ‘We can’t handle all of these projects for the following reasons,’ and just be honest about it.”

The House Finance and Education committees have scheduled a public briefing at 2 p.m. Thursday to question top officials in the DOE and the Department of Budget and Finance about plans to lapse funding for the DOE projects.

In what's turning into a historic week for Fort Myers Beach, its elementary school reopened on a crisp sunny Southwest Florida Tuesday morning, 433 days after Hurricane Ian's demoralizing devastation.

"Now I'm a parent of a child who is fortunate enough to return today," said Beach native and former student Jenny-Tardiff-Paradiso, echoing others who expressed the similar as children walked through the front door adorned with white and light blue balloons, 62 weeks after many lost their homes. "The commitment to this school comes in all forms. (Because) of the isolation, which is natural when you are raised on an island, we learn to stick together."

This, as the $200 million Margaritaville beach resort prepares to open Thursday, the first of massive projects that will transform Estero Island from its Old Florida village roots and draw more affluent travelers. At the same time, like with other businesses, the offspring of the compound's commuting service industry workers, even if they aren't town residents, are eligible to attend classes.

Here are five things and more to know.

Idaho school districts are reaping the benefits of a new state fund that helps them pay down bonds and levies, and many property taxpayers are seeing decreases in their bills.

Earlier this year, Idaho lawmakers adopted a sweeping property tax relief package, House Bill 292. The legislation provided tax credits to homeowners and created a new fund for public school facilities. 

Districts are getting around $106 million from the fund, with most of the money going toward bonds, according to a model analysis by the Legislative Services Office. The numbers will be finalized in the coming weeks.

Many property taxpayers have already seen the savings on their bills, which started going out last month. Median-value homeowners in the West Ada School District, for example, had more than $100 come off their property tax bills.

But the relief will look different across the state, depending on a particular school district’s financial situation. For instance, taxpayers in eastern Idaho’s Marsh Valley School District will be paying roughly the same as before, after voters approved a supplemental levy in August. 

Lawmakers are closely watching how districts use the money, to ensure it’s fulfilling its intended purpose: lowering property taxes.