CATHLAMET — A lawsuit to bolster how much state funding schools get to repair buildings and upgrade security is once again a priority for Wahkiakum School District officials, who are hoping other districts and allies will join them.
As many of the Wahkiakum school buildings continue to fall further into disrepair, the lawsuit, filed in December, claims the Legislature has an obligation to ensure all schools get equitable funding for building repairs regardless of average county income, Superintendent Brent Freeman said.
“There’s nothing about these buildings I don’t worry about,” Freeman said.
Whether building and security upgrades are included in all elements to be amply funded wasn’t immediately clear, Ahearne said.
In the years since McCleary, Freeman said what has became clear is that local taxpayers were burdened with the costs of getting better air quality systems, fixing faulty electrical wiring and upgrading roofs, floors and the like.
 

VENICE - Venice CUSD #3 was awarded $26 million in funding, provided by the Capital Development Board through an emergency school construction grant.
In September 2020, Venice Elementary School in Venice, Illinois was condemned due to structural issues. Students and staff attending Venice Elementary vacated the building, attending school virtually for the entire 2020-2021 school year.
“It was a difficult year,” stated Superintendent Cynthia Tolbert.
“We were not only dealing with the challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic and virtual learning, but the Board of Education was also trying to locate a temporary school to house students.” For the 2021-2022 school year, Venice Elementary school was in a temporary location at the Melvin Price Depot located in Granite City.
 

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.  — The Grand Rapids Public Schools is brainstorming new ways to use under-used buildings, a project that the public is invited to weigh in on.
From September 13 to October 12, GRPS will be hosting eleven town hall meetings, all open to the public. Community members are invited to share their thoughts on the new facilities plan and to dialogue with district leaders.
community feedback in new facilities plan
GRPS Schools 
Photo by: FOX17
By: Hannah RiffellPosted at 8:48 PM, Sep 06, 2022 and last updated 9:04 PM, Sep 06, 2022
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.  — The Grand Rapids Public Schools is brainstorming new ways to use under-used buildings, a project that the public is invited to weigh in on.
From September 13 to October 12, GRPS will be hosting eleven town hall meetings, all open to the public. Community members are invited to share their thoughts on the new facilities plan and to dialogue with district leaders.
The Facilities Master Plan will allow the school system to optimize financial resources, says GRPS, since the space they currently have is more than what their student body needs.
The school stresses the importance of the Facilities Master Plan, saying that if the number of school buildings is pared down, the school will be better able to funnel taxpayer dollars to programs that benefit GRPS students.
“These are serious conversations that require the input of the community at large. The decisions we make with this Facilities Master Plan will improve education for our scholars today and well into the future,” GRPS Superintendent Dr. Leadriane Roby said. “This plan needs all hands on deck and this public engagement plan reflects our desire to get as many voices at the table as possible.”
 

Inside the school kitchen at Russell Elementary in South Los Angeles, it’s not unusual — even at 6:30 in the morning — for the air temperature to approach 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
And that’s when there’s not a heat wave outside.
With excessive heat warnings in effect to begin September, Reseda Charter High’s kitchen topped 95 degrees before 10 a.m. At Strathern Elementary, 115 degrees. Gompers Middle, 117 degrees. North Hollywood High, 121.7 degrees.
Los Angeles Unified School District policy calls for air conditioning in every classroom, but not in every building on campus — so in more than half (455) of the district’s kitchens, workers have to do without.
“Do we have to have them pass out with heatstroke before we do anything?” said Adriana Salazar Avila from Teamsters Local 572, the union for LAUSD’s food service managers. She’s collected at least two-dozen reports of high kitchen temperatures from her members.
What Are HVAC Conditions In Los Angeles Unified?
With California’s climate warming — and amid a global pandemic of an airborne pathogen — the current heat wave is only the latest event to highlight a generational problem facing many California schools: fixing inadequate heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
 

Every winter, parents cluster in the online forums of DC Urban Moms and Dads to strategize ways to game DC’s public school system. For many in this group of parents, this means landing a spot at one of the city’s top-performing schools, located overwhelmingly in the city’s northwest quadrant. Schools in the city’s predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods in the east and south of the city are rarely, if ever, mentioned.

A study of this elite maneuvering was published in a Brookings Center report last year, which analyzed a decade of exchanges on the forum and found that 13% of the conversations were about housing. A primary strategy promoted by parents was renting or purchasing a home — in some cases, a second home — within their desired school’s boundaries, typically in neighborhoods where homes go for, on average, well over $1 million.

The research confirmed what many already knew: housing inequality and education inequality in Washington, DC, are deeply intertwined and school boundaries (the lines that determine where a child gets a guaranteed public school spot based on their address) are a key to perpetuating this inequality.

MARSHALL COUNTY, KY — Storm preparedness is a new focus for the Marshall County Board of Education. The board unanimously voted to allow Paducah-based CMS Architects to design two storm shelters, which can be used by the community.

The designs will need to be approved by FEMA before the process can move along any further, and the Kentucky Department of Education will also need to allow the school system to build the new facilities. The goal of the shelters is to provide safe spaces for students, and the community, in the event of a tornado.

The impact of the December 2021 tornado outbreak can still be felt throughout the Local 6 region, especially in areas like Marshall County. Marshall County Schools Facility Director Jeff Stokes says building shelters addresses a specific need in the community.

"We just don't have any community-wide storm shelters that's available, and we applied through this grant, FEMA grant, for three different items to be selected. They've selected two of the three, and these are the two," Stokes says.

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Multiple factors helped tank the Coeur d’Alene School District’s levy Tuesday at the polls, including an opposition campaign by the local Republican party, reports our partners from the Coeur d'Alene Press.
The school plant facilities levy, if passed by voters, would have provided the school district with an additional $8 million per year over 10 years to support safety and maintenance needs in school buildings.
It required a 55% supermajority to pass, but received just 50.27% of the votes in favor, which was slightly more than the nearly 50% who voted against the measure.
"The failure of the levy does not change the fact that the district has some security measures and deferred maintenance issues that need to be addressed," Coeur d'Alene School Board Vice Chair Casey Morrisroe told The Press on Wednesday. "We will need to look at other options."
If approved, the levy would have provided funding to address more than $25 million in deferred maintenance projects, ranging from aging heating and cooling systems, roofs, water heaters and flooring to sound systems, alarm systems, door locks and security cameras.
"It’s unfortunate that the levy did not pass as the safety, security and maintenance needs of our buildings and district remain the same," Board Chair Rebecca Smith said.
 

Seventeen years ago, Hurricane Katrina left the city of New Orleans and its surrounding parishes completely underwater, destroying 110 out of the 126 public schools in the city. Eight districts were severely impacted by the storm and 187,000 public school students were displaced. At the time, the disaster was unprecedented. In the years since, the frequency of climate disasters has continued to increase. Here, principals and superintendents who have faced the loss of school buildings from wildfires and floods discuss what school leaders can do to prepare for, and recover from, these crises.

ROCHESTER — It's not the end of the line in the construction process for Rochester Public Schools, but the district is hitting a major milestone.
This fall will mark the first time all four of the new schools that voters approved the funding for in 2019 will be open and in use. The $180 million in spending paved the way for the new Dakota Middle School, the new Overland Elementary, as well as the demolition and reconstruction of Longfellow Elementary and Bishop Elementary.
In addition to the new buildings, the funding is also providing new secure entrances at the district's schools, a new pool at Century High School, repairs to the Mayo High School pool, as well as the filling-in of the swimming pools at the three middle schools.
But Rochester isn't the only school district that has been taking on major projects in the last few years. Nor are all of Rochester's projects associated with the 2019 referendum completed. From Byron to Plainview-Elgin-Millville, area school districts have been asking voters to green-light some substantial upgrades.
Over the last five years, area schools have collectively spent more than $380 million for construction and renovation projects.
 

One hundred Philadelphia School District schools will close early Tuesday and Wednesday because of predicted high temperatures, officials announced Monday night.

The schools, all of which lack adequate air-conditioning units to cool all teachers and staff, will close three hours early. After-school and sports activities at those schools will also be canceled.

The rest of the district’s schools will stay open on a normal schedule, as will district offices.

“We realize that early dismissals, especially those made the day before, can present challenges for many families. Please know that these decisions, which we do not make lightly, are always made with the safety of our students and staff as our top priority,” officials wrote in an email sent to families and school communities.

WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Thousands of D.C. Public School students returned to classes Monday and unlike last year, there were no AC issues according to the Department of General Services (DGS).  But councilmembers say the persistent HVAC problems point to an issue within the agency. 
“Well, I would push back,” said Keith Anderson the DGS Director.  
Anderson is defending his agency despite criticism that DGS is failing to maintain cool and safe conditions inside the schools – consistently. According to Councilmember Robert White, whose committee oversees DGS, 106 out of 117 schools have open work orders.
“With 117 schools there will always be work orders,” said Director Anderson.
Anderson said crews worked over the weekend to get all the schools cooling systems online. All certificates are up to date and only two schools needed backup systems like spot coolers or window units.   
“Since the spring we’ve been very close with DCPS to prioritize the work orders we do have so we can have a successful first day of school,” said Anderson. 
 

With the school year starting Monday, almost two dozen schools in the Baltimore City Public School system are dismissing early a few days this week because they have no air conditioning.

The Baltimore area is expected to hit 93 degrees Monday, with the heat index reaching triple digits Monday and Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service in Baltimore and Washington, DC.

At least 15 schools in the district are considered "traditional," meaning they lack air conditioning systems, and five schools have air conditioning systems that need to be repaired, a release from the district says.

Two schools whose buildings are not owned by the district also will have early release, the district said.

The district has dismissed schools early several times in recent years because of heat, according to CNN affiliate WMAR. And with climate change bringing hotter days, several other schools are facing the same problem.

Teachers went on strike in Columbus, Ohio, last week to protest classroom conditions, including a lack of air conditioning in some rooms.

"Students move around to different buildings, like a college campus, and they never know from one classroom to the next if it's going to be 50 degrees or 90 degrees," Courtney Johnson, a school library media specialist in Columbus, told CNN's Victor Blackwell.

Some schools don't have any air conditioning, she said, or may only have "a couple of rooms" with it. And in schools that do have it, including where Johnson works, the systems need fixing, she said.

"That's what we're fighting for -- safe, properly maintained and fully resourced schools where the air conditioning and heating works, and students don't have to suffer," Johnson said.

COMBS, Ky. — Robin Combs has been teaching math for more than three decades, muscle memory guiding her as she reaches for the right lesson plans, confident in what works and how best to reach her middle school students. But when floodwaters surged through Robinson Elementary School last month, the roof collapsed on her classroom and three decades’ worth of curriculum materials were destroyed.

Now, like dozens of her colleagues, Ms. Combs finds herself starting over. On a recent Friday, she was among a handful of teachers cobbling together donated supplies and cleaning out a former elementary school that will now serve teachers and students from two schools wrecked by the floods. Though her own family had running water for just one day in just over three weeks, she was focused on ensuring that her school would reopen by early September.

“I just want our kids back together and for eight hours a day, be normal — just normal,” Ms. Combs said. “They’re cool, they’ve got a seat, they’ve got food. I don’t have to worry for eight hours a day.”

This school year was supposed to mark the return of long-awaited normal, after two years in which the coronavirus pandemic cut classes short and, for a time, forced students and teachers online. But just as custodians finished polishing the tile floors and teachers began laying out the new supplies, floodwaters surged through eastern Kentucky, sweeping away the Chromebooks and covering decades of class pictures in mud and mildew. At least 39 people died in the floods, including a few children and a beloved school custodian.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp stated on Tuesday that he will use $125 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to establish school-based health facilities.
“This innovative initiative is consistent with our continued efforts to reduce costs and enhance access to excellent healthcare coverage for everyone, particularly those in rural Georgia,” Kemp said in a statement.
It’s Kemp’s latest use of federal funds as he campaigns for reelection against Democrat Stacey Abrams. It’s also another illustration of how Kemp may use his office’s position to help his campaign against Abrams, especially because Georgia law gives him total control over federal monies.
Democrats criticise Kemp for distributing funds while opposing the COVID-19 relief proposals enacted by Congress. He has also declined to seek an increase of state-federal Medicaid health care coverage to include all people.
The state Department of Education will award funds of up to $1 million each to establish health clinics that will serve kids as well as community members in some situations. The goal is to improve students’ physical and emotional health while also satisfying their dental and visual requirements.
 

After 16 years of making do with fans and buckets of ice water, Andrew Saltz finally has air conditioning in his classroom, the week before Philly public school students return to start the academic year.

The critical new amenity exists thanks to almost three years of hard work and community activism, the teacher said.

“There are so many things in a classroom that you can’t control, that can go wrong,” said Saltz, who teaches English and computer science at Paul Robeson High School in West Philadelphia. “Having one less thing to worry about… Theoretically, no matter what goes wrong, I don’t think we’re going to overheat.”

Teachers, parents and students have been fighting for renovations and upgrades to the building at 42nd and Ludlow streets since COVID forced schools to close, seeing the transition to virtual learning as an opportunity to get renovations done. They circulated petitions, met with school district leaders and invited politicians to Robeson to raise awareness.

Some D.C. public school students may return next week to buildings that lack working heating and cooling systems. Additionally, some students may be unable to return at all to classes due to missing key vaccination requirements.

Why it matters: DCPS and DC Health were required to report on the readiness status of schools by Aug. 19, including the condition of HVAC units and air quality monitors, and the routine pediatric immunization rates of children, per the Back to School Safely Emergency Act of 2022.

Children across the nation have fallen behind on their routine vaccinations, which include shots that prevent measles, mumps, chickenpox, and polio. D.C. students ages 12 and up are also required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Yes, but: On Monday, D.C Council chair Phil Mendelson tweeted that the Department of General Services still hadn’t sent the required documents on school readiness. A spokesperson for Mendelson told Axios that the office will meet with DGS on Thursday.

What’s happening: The office of Ward 4 council member Janeese Lewis George, who co-authored the emergency legislation, says it has received some, but not all of the required readiness data.

Gov. Phil Murphy, along with a slew of other dignitaries, touted the investment in school construction included in the 2023 budget at the ribbon-cutting for a new school in the city of Passaic on Tuesday.

That project, the Dayton Avenue Educational Campus, is one of the largest handled by the Schools Development Authority. With a price tag of nearly $241 million, it includes a 448,000-square-foot campus that will house four schools.

“Every child in this state deserves a world-class education and every child in this state deserves a world-class school in which to learn and to grow, and today here in Passaic we’re bringing those basic principals to life,” Murphy said. “Public education is not just some number in the state budget to be cut through the whims of politics. Public education has become a central and core investment in our state’s social and economic future.”

As Rowan County reports more COVID and other respiratory illnesses among the young since school started Aug. 10, West Rowan Middle has temporarily closed its campus and switched to remote learning, health and school officials said. The closing through this week will allow for the “thorough cleaning and sanitizing of the school” after “new evidence of microbial growth’’ was found again in the HVAC system, Rowan-Salisbury Chief of Schools Greggory Slate said in a phone message to parents late Monday. “We apologize for this inconvenience,” he said.
A school district spokeswoman provided The Charlotte Observer a copy of the message after the newspaper inquired about parental complaints on social media over the past week that some of their children developed respiratory illnesses at the school. At the same time, the county has experienced a higher rate of COVID cases among ages 17 and under, “although our rates overall are decreasing,” Rowan County Public Health Director Alyssa Harris told the Observer on Tuesday.
 

FORT SMITH, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Fort Smith Public Schools’ energy conservation success has led to 17 of its buildings earning EPA “Energy Star” certification.
According to a press release from the school district, this recognition is presented to the most energy-efficient buildings in the country.
“We are extremely pleased to receive this recognition from Energy Star,” said Shawn Shaffer, Executive Director of Facility Operations. “It’s proof we’re operating healthier, more efficient buildings for our students and community.”
“Our energy conservation efforts are helping protect the local environment,” he added. “Just as importantly, the environmental impact is equal to taking 1,785 cars off the street or planting 126,792 trees in our community. We are proud that our program’s success is being recognized by Energy Star.”
Fort Smith Public Schools buildings earning Energy Star Certification include Beard, Bonneville, Carnall, Cavanaugh, Euper Lane, Fairview, Howard, Orr, Park, Spradling, Sunnymede, Sutton, Tilles, Woods, Chaffin, Ramsey and Northside High School. To earn Energy Star Certification, buildings must rate in the top 25 percent nationwide for energy efficiency.
The cost of utilities is a large budget line-item for Fort Smith Public Schools, and the prices for electricity, natural gas, heating oil and water have been steadily increasing. Fort Smith Public Schools has reduced its energy consumption by 25.2%.

As school districts and charter schools begin spending down an unprecedented infusion of federal Covid-relief aid, it looks like nearly $10 billion could go toward a single priority: improving heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

Recent stories in The Wall Street Journal and Kaiser Health News underscore how school districts are scrambling to spend the federal aid on these and other capital projects. While some schools are simply adding new filters, others plan to replace aging systems that haven’t worked well for years.

These repairs can influence how students learn, ensuring classrooms aren't too hot or too cold, and removing conditions that can make students and teachers sick. As I told KHN’s Liz Szabo, “If you look at the research, it shows that a school’s literal climate — the heat, the mold, the humidity — directly affects learning.”

FutureEd’s analysis of spending plans compiled by the Burbio data-services firm of 5,000-plus school districts serving 74 percent of the nation’s public school students shows that about half of the districts plan HVAC projects. Nearly a third of districts expect to spend on repairs to prevent illness, a broad category that includes lead and asbestos abatement, as well as mold and mildew prevention.