Alaska owns dozens of crumbling schools. It wants underfunded districts to take them on
-- NPR.org State of our Schools Alaska Pr: 11/17/2025 [
abstract]
For more than a decade, the Kuspuk School District asked Alaska's education department for the money to fix a rotting elementary school. The school, in the small and predominantly Indigenous community of Aniak in western Alaska, was in deep need of repairs. The nearby Kuskokwim River had flooded the 88-year-old building several times. The walls were moldy. Sewage was leaking into a space below the school's kitchen.
In 2018, the department finally approved the school district's $18.6 million funding request to build a new elementary school wing onto Aniak's middle and high school building, which was owned by the state.
But on Page 4 of the funding contract for the project, Alaska's education department included a catch.
"The State would only build the new school if the local school board agreed to own it when completed," former superintendent James Anderson said in an email to KYUK Public Media, NPR and ProPublica.
-- Emily Schwing
-- NPR.org State of our Schools Alaska Pr: 11/17/2025 [
abstract] For more than a decade, the Kuspuk School District asked Alaska's education department for the money to fix a rotting elementary school. The school, in the small and predominantly Indigenous community of Aniak in western Alaska, was in deep need of repairs. The nearby Kuskokwim River had flooded the 88-year-old building several times. The walls were moldy. Sewage was leaking into a space below the school's kitchen.
In 2018, the department finally approved the school district's $18.6 million funding request to build a new elementary school wing onto Aniak's middle and high school building, which was owned by the state.
But on Page 4 of the funding contract for the project, Alaska's education department included a catch.
"The State would only build the new school if the local school board agreed to own it when completed," former superintendent James Anderson said in an email to KYUK Public Media, NPR and ProPublica.
-- Emily Schwing
Proposed bond would ease cramped Inola school buildings
-- KJRH.com Oklahoma: 11/16/2025 [ abstract]
-- KJRH.com Oklahoma: 11/16/2025 [
abstract] INOLA, Okla — The Inola community will vote on a $60 million school bond proposed by Inola Public Schools on Nov 18.
Early voting started Nov 13.
According to Superintendent Jeff Unrau, the bond is aiming to help students study more efficiently, as overcrowding has become an issue.
“We're just totally out of classrooms," he said. "Our faculty, our elementary administration, and our elementary teachers and faculty just do a great job of maintaining what we can do.”
school buildings
Proposed bond would ease cramped Inola school buildings
Inola PS School bond
By: Isabel Flores
Posted 6:10 PM, Nov 16, 2025 and last updated 11:04 PM, Nov 16, 2025
INOLA, Okla — The Inola community will vote on a $60 million school bond proposed by Inola Public Schools on Nov 18.
Early voting started Nov 13.
WATCH: Proposed bond would ease cramped Inola school buildings:
According to Superintendent Jeff Unrau, the bond is aiming to help students study more efficiently, as overcrowding has become an issue.
“We're just totally out of classrooms," he said. "Our faculty, our elementary administration, and our elementary teachers and faculty just do a great job of maintaining what we can do.”
Superintendent Unrau said fifth-grade students have had to be moved to the high school building, with many students already having to study in portable trailers.
He also said there are a few other things the school would have to focus on building.
-- Isabel Flores
Early voting started Nov 13.
According to Superintendent Jeff Unrau, the bond is aiming to help students study more efficiently, as overcrowding has become an issue.
“We're just totally out of classrooms," he said. "Our faculty, our elementary administration, and our elementary teachers and faculty just do a great job of maintaining what we can do.”
school buildings
Proposed bond would ease cramped Inola school buildings
Inola PS School bond
By: Isabel Flores
Posted 6:10 PM, Nov 16, 2025 and last updated 11:04 PM, Nov 16, 2025
INOLA, Okla — The Inola community will vote on a $60 million school bond proposed by Inola Public Schools on Nov 18.
Early voting started Nov 13.
WATCH: Proposed bond would ease cramped Inola school buildings:
According to Superintendent Jeff Unrau, the bond is aiming to help students study more efficiently, as overcrowding has become an issue.
“We're just totally out of classrooms," he said. "Our faculty, our elementary administration, and our elementary teachers and faculty just do a great job of maintaining what we can do.”
Superintendent Unrau said fifth-grade students have had to be moved to the high school building, with many students already having to study in portable trailers.
He also said there are a few other things the school would have to focus on building.
-- Isabel Flores
How are Connecticut schools using fuel cells 'to promote energy efficiency?
-- CT Insider Connecticut: 11/15/2025 [ abstract]
-- CT Insider Connecticut: 11/15/2025 [
abstract] Educational institutions across Connecticut, from public schools to colleges and universities, continue searching for ways to make their buildings and campuses more environmentally sustainable.
More are installing fuel cells — a form of technology that produces electricity, water and heat through a chemical reaction, without harmful emissions.
Some institutions, like the University of Connecticut, have been using fuel cells for years, and others, like Hamden High School, are turning to them now. Hamden High recently installed its first fuel cell.
"Hamden, the town and schools, come out a big winner. ... We have a cleaner outcome that offers clean energy, reliable energy and resilience in the event of a disaster," said Gary Hale with Daisy Solutions LLC, which helps schools use clean energy.
Daisy Solutions works with the Area Cooperative Educational Services, a regional organization that serves 25 school districts in south central Connecticut, to bring renewable energy to school districts.
-- Jessica Simms
More are installing fuel cells — a form of technology that produces electricity, water and heat through a chemical reaction, without harmful emissions.
Some institutions, like the University of Connecticut, have been using fuel cells for years, and others, like Hamden High School, are turning to them now. Hamden High recently installed its first fuel cell.
"Hamden, the town and schools, come out a big winner. ... We have a cleaner outcome that offers clean energy, reliable energy and resilience in the event of a disaster," said Gary Hale with Daisy Solutions LLC, which helps schools use clean energy.
Daisy Solutions works with the Area Cooperative Educational Services, a regional organization that serves 25 school districts in south central Connecticut, to bring renewable energy to school districts.
-- Jessica Simms
School consolidations, ordered in 2007, are shattering as towns seek local control
-- The Maine Monitor Maine: 11/15/2025 [ abstract]
It’s four steps down, 18 to go.
Three towns in Oxford County took the fourth step last week when voters approved a referendum article to pursue withdrawal from Regional School Unit 10.
The long path ahead is now set. The Maine Department of Education has outlined a 22‑step timeline that towns must follow to withdraw from a school district. The first step came when an ad hoc committee was formed to explore secession.
The Nov. 4 vote marked the fourth step. The total vote was 920 in favor and 609 opposed.
If the process runs its course, the next time voters in the three towns would be involved is the 16th step, which is holding a special town meeting in each community to vote on the agreement of withdrawal. If the agreement passes, the final six steps would involve certification and notification of the results.
Special town meeting votes do not always match early referendum results, but for now the three towns have voted to pursue withdrawal.
The Nov. 4 votes pushed the project into the fifth step, requiring town clerks to officially notify Superintendent Deborah Alden of RSU 10 and Commissioner Pender Makin of the Maine Department of Education of the results. The commissioner, in turn, is expected to direct the towns to appoint a committee to prepare an agreement of withdrawal.
That is the sixth step, and it could come quickly.
-- Bob Neal
-- The Maine Monitor Maine: 11/15/2025 [
abstract] It’s four steps down, 18 to go.
Three towns in Oxford County took the fourth step last week when voters approved a referendum article to pursue withdrawal from Regional School Unit 10.
The long path ahead is now set. The Maine Department of Education has outlined a 22‑step timeline that towns must follow to withdraw from a school district. The first step came when an ad hoc committee was formed to explore secession.
The Nov. 4 vote marked the fourth step. The total vote was 920 in favor and 609 opposed.
If the process runs its course, the next time voters in the three towns would be involved is the 16th step, which is holding a special town meeting in each community to vote on the agreement of withdrawal. If the agreement passes, the final six steps would involve certification and notification of the results.
Special town meeting votes do not always match early referendum results, but for now the three towns have voted to pursue withdrawal.
The Nov. 4 votes pushed the project into the fifth step, requiring town clerks to officially notify Superintendent Deborah Alden of RSU 10 and Commissioner Pender Makin of the Maine Department of Education of the results. The commissioner, in turn, is expected to direct the towns to appoint a committee to prepare an agreement of withdrawal.
That is the sixth step, and it could come quickly.
-- Bob Neal
Six elementary schools could be merged into three buildings in Pueblo School District 60
-- CPR.org Colorado: 11/14/2025 [ abstract]
-- CPR.org Colorado: 11/14/2025 [
abstract] A proposal to merge some elementary schools and create neighborhood resource centers is under consideration in Pueblo's District 60.
The plan involves combining the student populations from six D60 facilities in three areas of the city, according to a recent press release. The vacated buildings would then be repurposed for pre-schools, staff training and what the district is calling community resource hubs.
This so-called rightsizing proposal will help address declining student numbers across the district and repurpose underutilized buildings, according to a website for the project. The district began the process to address these issues, along with budgetary concerns and input from the public, about a year ago.
-- Shanna Lewis
-- Shanna Lewis
Charter school companies target Manatee school facilities under new state law
-- Bradenton Herald Florida: 11/14/2025 [ abstract]
Two charter school companies submitted letters to the School District of Manatee County indicating interest in taking over district facilities under a new state law. On Tuesday, Florida’s “Schools of Hope” law went into effect, which allows charter school companies to “co-locate” in unused or underperforming public school facilities. The School District of Manatee County received letters from two companies vying for the same spaces.
Both companies are interested in using Lincoln Memorial Middle School and the Sara Scott Harllee Center as “co-location” sites and transforming them into charter schools. If the facilities are chosen as viable sites, a charter school company could occupy the space while the School District of Manatee County would be responsible for providing cafeteria services, utilities, busing and custodial services.
-- Carter Weinhofer
-- Bradenton Herald Florida: 11/14/2025 [
abstract] Two charter school companies submitted letters to the School District of Manatee County indicating interest in taking over district facilities under a new state law. On Tuesday, Florida’s “Schools of Hope” law went into effect, which allows charter school companies to “co-locate” in unused or underperforming public school facilities. The School District of Manatee County received letters from two companies vying for the same spaces.
Both companies are interested in using Lincoln Memorial Middle School and the Sara Scott Harllee Center as “co-location” sites and transforming them into charter schools. If the facilities are chosen as viable sites, a charter school company could occupy the space while the School District of Manatee County would be responsible for providing cafeteria services, utilities, busing and custodial services.
-- Carter Weinhofer
Effingham County voters approve continued ESPLOST funding for school improvements
-- WSAV.com Georgia: 11/14/2025 [ abstract]
EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) – Effingham County residents voted to continue the Educational Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST), keeping funding in place for school construction, facility upgrades and safety improvements across the district.
“Our community is growing, and people want nice schools. They want nice facilities for their children,” district spokesperson Tiffany Altman said.
The one-penny sales tax does not raise property taxes, but it does help the district fund major projects. Altman said those funds have already made a significant impact.
“A lot of our schools have been upgraded recently with new air conditioning systems or new wings. We’ve added a lot of new additions and new wings to a lot of our elementaries because our school and our community’s growing and we needed the space. Nobody wants kids crammed in a classroom,” she said.
One of the largest projects underway is Creekside Elementary, a new school expected to open in fall 2026.
-- Nakya Harris
-- WSAV.com Georgia: 11/14/2025 [
abstract] EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) – Effingham County residents voted to continue the Educational Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST), keeping funding in place for school construction, facility upgrades and safety improvements across the district.
“Our community is growing, and people want nice schools. They want nice facilities for their children,” district spokesperson Tiffany Altman said.
The one-penny sales tax does not raise property taxes, but it does help the district fund major projects. Altman said those funds have already made a significant impact.
“A lot of our schools have been upgraded recently with new air conditioning systems or new wings. We’ve added a lot of new additions and new wings to a lot of our elementaries because our school and our community’s growing and we needed the space. Nobody wants kids crammed in a classroom,” she said.
One of the largest projects underway is Creekside Elementary, a new school expected to open in fall 2026.
-- Nakya Harris
County school board renews debate over artificial turf vs. grass fields during proposed capital budget review
-- Bethesda Today Maryland: 11/13/2025 [ abstract]
-- Bethesda Today Maryland: 11/13/2025 [
abstract] Six high schools are set to get either new synthetic turf fields or replacement fields as part of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) proposed six-year capital improvements program (CIP), a plan that sparked debate among county school board members Tuesday over whether the district should move forward with turf or explore installing more natural grass fields.
MCPS Athletics Director Jeffrey Sullivan and Capital Budget and Projects Manager Donald Connelly joined the school board Tuesday to talk about the proposal for fields during a CIP work session at the school board headquarters at 15 W. Gude Drive in Rockville. They discussed the costs, benefits and drawbacks of natural and turf fields as part of the board’s review of the district’s $2.7 billion proposed CIP plan.
In recent weeks, the board has held several work sessions to review the proposed CIP, and is expected to vote on the proposal during its Nov. 20 business meeting.
The CIP calls for the district to spend $15 million during fiscal year 2027 for six turf installations or replacements. The amount also includes money for three or four playground replacements.
-- Ashlyn Campbell
-- Ashlyn Campbell
Lafayette Parish School Board advances plans to replace portables with new classroom wings
-- KATC.com Louisiana: 11/13/2025 [ abstract]
The Lafayette Parish School Board on Thursday advanced plans to remove long-standing portable classrooms from campuses parishwide, citing safety concerns and growing community support for replacing the temporary structures with permanent buildings.
“We truly are investing in the infrastructure in Lafayette Parish,” LPSS Superintendent Francis Touchet said during the meeting.
One of the board’s major actions was declaring several portable buildings as surplus, a step that allows the district to advertise them for sale and eventually remove them from school property.
“That’s a process that’s going to take a couple of years,” said Tracy Wirtz, the district’s communications and public relations specialist.
District officials say the move is part of a broader effort to ensure all students are housed in brick-and-mortar facilities. Many of the portable buildings, originally intended as temporary solutions, have remained on campuses for decades.
“They were never supposed to be permanent fixes,” Wirtz said. “But they stayed there, and for a number of years folks in Lafayette have said we want those portable buildings gone.”
-- Christina Mondragon
-- KATC.com Louisiana: 11/13/2025 [
abstract] The Lafayette Parish School Board on Thursday advanced plans to remove long-standing portable classrooms from campuses parishwide, citing safety concerns and growing community support for replacing the temporary structures with permanent buildings.
“We truly are investing in the infrastructure in Lafayette Parish,” LPSS Superintendent Francis Touchet said during the meeting.
One of the board’s major actions was declaring several portable buildings as surplus, a step that allows the district to advertise them for sale and eventually remove them from school property.
“That’s a process that’s going to take a couple of years,” said Tracy Wirtz, the district’s communications and public relations specialist.
District officials say the move is part of a broader effort to ensure all students are housed in brick-and-mortar facilities. Many of the portable buildings, originally intended as temporary solutions, have remained on campuses for decades.
“They were never supposed to be permanent fixes,” Wirtz said. “But they stayed there, and for a number of years folks in Lafayette have said we want those portable buildings gone.”
-- Christina Mondragon
RPS resumes work on a master facility plan as needs continue to grow
-- Richmonder.org Virginia: 11/13/2025 [ abstract]
-- Richmonder.org Virginia: 11/13/2025 [
abstract] Richmond Public Schools officials are picking back up work to outline their major upcoming projects for the next 10 years.
Patrick Herrel, the division’s new chief operating officer, presented the Richmond School Board with a schedule outlining the development of the division’s 10-year master facility plan at this month’s general Board meeting.
The plan is expected to be created over the next year in four phases that will heavily include community input, Herrel said. He wants it to balance the need to build new facilities, maintain existing ones and respond to demographic shifts that will lead to changing enrollment numbers.
Under a plan set in place by former Mayor Levar Stoney, RPS will receive lump-sum payments of $212.2 million in 2029 and $237.8 million in 2034 to be used for school construction.
“I mean, $200 million, given how expensive a single building can be to build, can go very, very quickly. And we need to make disciplined and smart decisions about when does it make sense to address deferred maintenance versus when does it make sense to build new?” Herrel told The Richmonder in an interview.
-- Victoria A. Ifatusin
-- Victoria A. Ifatusin
Emergency response program maps LeRoy school district buildings for first responders
-- WGLT.org Illinois: 11/12/2025 [ abstract]
-- WGLT.org Illinois: 11/12/2025 [
abstract] The LeRoy school district now has enhanced, data-rich school maps, allowing first responders to more quickly respond to emergencies.
Through collaboration with the Emergency Telephone System Board [ETSB], Metcom and Western Illinois University, all LeRoy schools and athletic facilities will have up-to-date info to provide emergency workers. This Geographic Information System [GIS] is provided to schools at no cost because of a grant provided by Illinois State Police. This makes LeRoy the first school in McLean County to do so.
All district property, including all three school buildings in the district and off-site locations like athletic facilities, is mapped to eliminate guesswork for first responders. The maps show data points like room numbers, exit doors, key landmarks, lockdown zones and treatment needs like where an Automated External Defibrillator [AED] or gas shutoff valve can be located. Color coding is also used for fast orientation. Many of these data points are not shown on a standard building layout.
-- Braden Fogerson
-- Braden Fogerson
Prince William schools have saved $83 million in energy costs in the past 13 years. Here's how
-- InsideNOVA Virginia: 11/12/2025 [ abstract]
Prince William school officials recently provided insight on nearly $83 million in energy cost savings the division has amassed since 2012.
The eight-figure savings were revealed as part of a comprehensive presentation on the division’s energy and sustainability initiatives
Jessica Weimer, the division’s supervisor of energy management and sustainability, said at the School Board's Nov. 5 meeting the energy and sustainability program is framed by three pillars: building efficient infrastructure, conserving resources and reducing waste.
The division’s goals include integrating environmental literacy, using buildings as teaching tools, reducing emissions and designing and constructing the first net-zero energy school, which is the forthcoming Occoquan Elementary School replacement.
For energy conservation, the division recently completed a feasibility study for potential electrification of its white fleet work vehicles.
-- Emily Seymour
-- InsideNOVA Virginia: 11/12/2025 [
abstract] Prince William school officials recently provided insight on nearly $83 million in energy cost savings the division has amassed since 2012.
The eight-figure savings were revealed as part of a comprehensive presentation on the division’s energy and sustainability initiatives
Jessica Weimer, the division’s supervisor of energy management and sustainability, said at the School Board's Nov. 5 meeting the energy and sustainability program is framed by three pillars: building efficient infrastructure, conserving resources and reducing waste.
The division’s goals include integrating environmental literacy, using buildings as teaching tools, reducing emissions and designing and constructing the first net-zero energy school, which is the forthcoming Occoquan Elementary School replacement.
For energy conservation, the division recently completed a feasibility study for potential electrification of its white fleet work vehicles.
-- Emily Seymour
More than $250 million requested in annual statewide school safety report
-- WV Metro News West Virginia: 11/12/2025 [ abstract]
-- WV Metro News West Virginia: 11/12/2025 [
abstract] Schools across West Virginia are requesting more than a quarter of a billion dollars in state funds for school safety improvements during the 2025-26 school year.
That figure was revealed on Wednesday at the West Virginia Board of Education’s meeting with the presentation of the 2024-25 West Virginia School Safety and Security Report.
“Local counties spent $40,709,676 last year, and then we are requesting $252 million moving forward,” School Facilities Director Micah Whitlow said.
All 55 county school systems, six multicounty vocational centers, two charter schools, and the West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind made funding requests for school security. According to Whitlow, that daunting number comes in part due to larger figures requested by state legislators.
“The legislature in the past years has asked what it would cost to put security cameras in all the schools. Some of these numbers include things that the legislature has asked for numbers for, so it kind of has a few different levels of requests there,” he said.
-- Daniel Woods
That figure was revealed on Wednesday at the West Virginia Board of Education’s meeting with the presentation of the 2024-25 West Virginia School Safety and Security Report.
“Local counties spent $40,709,676 last year, and then we are requesting $252 million moving forward,” School Facilities Director Micah Whitlow said.
All 55 county school systems, six multicounty vocational centers, two charter schools, and the West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind made funding requests for school security. According to Whitlow, that daunting number comes in part due to larger figures requested by state legislators.
“The legislature in the past years has asked what it would cost to put security cameras in all the schools. Some of these numbers include things that the legislature has asked for numbers for, so it kind of has a few different levels of requests there,” he said.
-- Daniel Woods
Schools’ facilities spending far less than regional average, report finds
-- Yale News Connecticut: 11/11/2025 [ abstract]
-- Yale News Connecticut: 11/11/2025 [
abstract] The New Haven Board of Education on Monday discussed a report which found that the school district spends $1.70 per square foot on district buildings — a figure that is between roughly 38 percent and 57 percent of the nationally recommended $3 to $4.50 and between 43 percent to 49 percent of what other school districts in suburban Connecticut spend on maintenance: on average, between $3.50 and $4.
The report, first presented to the Board of Education’s finance and operations committee last week by Chief of School Operations Paul Whyte ’93, offers a closer look at the district’s funding shortfalls, which district leaders have cited in their responses to complaints about deteriorating school facilities, unmet repair requests and other maintenance issues throughout NHPS.
“Good intentions don’t fix roofs,” Matt Wilcox, the chair of the finance and operations committee, said at the board meeting. “The funding to hire people to fix roofs is necessary.”
The funding shortfalls account for long-standing complaints about facilities in NHPS, Wilcox said.
-- Sabrina Thaler & Gillian Peihe Feng
-- Sabrina Thaler & Gillian Peihe Feng
Cleveland's school district plans to empty out 18 of its buildings. Remaking them could be tricky
-- News 5 Cleveland Ohio: 11/11/2025 [ abstract]
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s consolidation and cost-cutting plan, announced last week, calls for shutting 18 of its buildings – and dropping a handful of leases.
As families, teachers and administrators prepare for major changes to the district’s footprint, neighbors are wondering what’s next for the buildings that get left behind.
Across the city, developers and nonprofits have turned former schools into apartments and, in one case, a manufacturing training center. But other properties owned by CMSD are still sitting vacant, despite years of attempts to find new uses – and the money for renovations.
On Thursday, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said the consolidation presents “a unique opportunity” to reimagine surplus real estate. Standing with CMSD CEO Warren Morgan, flanked by pastors who endorsed the downsizing plan, Bibb said there’s more news to come.
-- Michelle Jarboe
-- News 5 Cleveland Ohio: 11/11/2025 [
abstract] The Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s consolidation and cost-cutting plan, announced last week, calls for shutting 18 of its buildings – and dropping a handful of leases.
As families, teachers and administrators prepare for major changes to the district’s footprint, neighbors are wondering what’s next for the buildings that get left behind.
Across the city, developers and nonprofits have turned former schools into apartments and, in one case, a manufacturing training center. But other properties owned by CMSD are still sitting vacant, despite years of attempts to find new uses – and the money for renovations.
On Thursday, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said the consolidation presents “a unique opportunity” to reimagine surplus real estate. Standing with CMSD CEO Warren Morgan, flanked by pastors who endorsed the downsizing plan, Bibb said there’s more news to come.
-- Michelle Jarboe
‘We Can’t Function Like This’: Senators to Reexamine School Maintenance System
-- The St. Thomas Source U.S. Virgin Islands: 11/11/2025 [ abstract]
-- The St. Thomas Source U.S. Virgin Islands: 11/11/2025 [
abstract] When Senate President Milton Potter walked through Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School last week, he didn’t need anyone to explain why students and teachers have been calling for help. The smell of mold lingered in the halls. Buckets caught condensation dripping from ceiling vents. Windows and doors were cracked open in classrooms just to keep the air moving, even as the heat built up inside.
Speaking with the Source afterward, Potter said he was shocked by the extent of the damage — a situation, he added, that “can’t continue” and demands urgent, coordinated attention.
“We definitely can’t function like this,” Potter said, calling for an honest dialogue among all agencies responsible for school infrastructure. “One thing that’s clear is that the relationship between the Bureau of School Construction and Maintenance and the Department of Education is not working in the way it’s perceived to be. The Senate has to have a discussion about what can be done in the interim.”
-- Ananta Pancham
-- Ananta Pancham
Memphis district could seek $750 million county bond for school repairs
-- Chalkbeat Tennessee Tennessee: 11/11/2025 [ abstract]
-- Chalkbeat Tennessee Tennessee: 11/11/2025 [
abstract] Memphis schools’ facilities committee wants a $750 million bond from the Shelby County government to help fund long-term building repairs and closures.
It’s one of many proposals that the group will be presenting to the Memphis-Shelby County school board for approval next week. But there’s a long way to go before those recommendations are put into action.
“This is preliminary, and this is ongoing,” committee co-chair Natalie McKinney said in a meeting Monday.
MSCS leaders are expected to present initial plans on Dec. 16 for what could be a decade-long process of school closures and renovations. This comes after an independent study found this spring that Memphis schools need over $1.6 billion in maintenance repairs over the next 10 years.
-- Bri Hatch
-- Bri Hatch
Alaska's public schools can serve as emergency shelters. The buildings are in crisis
-- KMXT.org State of our Schools Alaska Pr: 11/10/2025 [ abstract]
-- KMXT.org State of our Schools Alaska Pr: 11/10/2025 [
abstract] On a Sunday morning last month, James Taq'ac Amik was huddled on a small bridge with his girlfriend. At 4 a.m., they had scrambled into an 18-foot aluminum motor boat, fleeing floodwaters from a massive storm surge that inundated Kipnuk, a village of 700 people in the heart of western Alaska's sprawling Kuskokwim river delta.
"I couldn't make it up. I tried, but the wind was too strong to try and go by boat, so we ended up staying on the bridge for five hours," Amik said. Things only grew more dramatic. "The houses started drifting away around 5:30 a.m.," Amik said. "There was still lights in them, there was people in them."
When they set out, the couple was planning to head to Kipnuk's public school, the largest building in the Alaska Native Yup'ik village. At least that building, they hoped at the time, would be secure.
-- Emily Schwing
-- Emily Schwing
Renovate or close? District seeks feedback on long-term options for Harpswell’s only public school
-- Harpswell Anchor Maine: 11/10/2025 [ abstract]
-- Harpswell Anchor Maine: 11/10/2025 [
abstract] The local school district is seeking public input about whether its long-term plans should include a major renovation of Harpswell’s only public school or closing the school and busing Harpswell students to another town.
The option of closure is hypothetical, part of a broader discussion about the district’s long-range facilities master plan. Maine School Administrative District 75 — serving Harpswell, Topsham, Bowdoin and Bowdoinham — is holding a series of public forums to gather feedback.
Two meetings already took place at Mt. Ararat High School, in Topsham, on Sept. 22 and Oct. 20. A third and final public forum to gather residents’ feedback is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 17, at the high school.
Harpswell Community School is the town’s only public school. West Harpswell School closed in 2011. A charter school called Harpswell Coastal Academy operated in the former West Harpswell School for 10 years before closing in 2023.
-- J. Craig Anderson
-- J. Craig Anderson
RUSD Schools Get Upgraded Playgrounds, New HVAC Systems
-- The Riverside Record California: 11/07/2025 [ abstract]
-- The Riverside Record California: 11/07/2025 [
abstract] Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) has completed almost half of the 48 districtwide maintenance projects slated for completion between 2024 and 2026.
That’s according to a report shown at Thursday night’s board meeting highlighting the finished upgrades and upcoming repairs across several of RUSD’s campuses.
“I’ve been with the district for 29 years and, [in] all of those years, we’ve done maybe three [or] four projects [per year] and we were very proud of that,” Reggie Royster, the district’s director of maintenance, operations and transportation told the board at the November 6 meeting. “[But] 21 projects in a year, that is incredible.”
-- Daniel Eduardo Hernandez
-- Daniel Eduardo Hernandez
Preparing School Heating Systems Before Winter Hits
-- Facility Executive National: 11/07/2025 [ abstract]
-- Facility Executive National: 11/07/2025 [
abstract] Reliable heating performance is essential to keeping schools and campuses safe, comfortable, and focused on learning. For education facilities teams, preparation before the first deep freeze isn’t just about mechanical systems—it’s about ensuring that students, educators, and staff can go about their days without disruption.
When freezing temperatures arrive, classrooms, residence halls, cafeterias, and offices all depend on heating systems that deliver consistent warmth from the first cold morning onward. Yet too often, the first blast of winter reveals boilers, pumps, and controls that were not fully prepared. The result can be cold classrooms, frustrated occupants, and emergency repair calls that interrupt instruction and strain resources.
The key to avoiding these issues is a proactive, structured approach to heating readiness. By combining preventive maintenance, testing, and ongoing operational awareness, education facilities professionals can enter the season confident that their facility’s heating assets—and the learning environments they care for—will perform when needed most.
-- Doug Kessler
-- Doug Kessler
Fort Myers Beach Mayor asks school district to give town Beach Elementary for charter school
-- Fort Myers Beach Florida: 11/05/2025 [ abstract]
-- Fort Myers Beach Florida: 11/05/2025 [
abstract] Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers has proposed to the Lee County school district that the Fort Myers Beach Elementary School be turned over to the town to be operated as a municipal charter school and that the school district provide the town $12 million to build a new municipal charter school. The proposal was made at the end of today’s mediation session between the town and school district at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Bonita Springs.
Allers asked the school district’s administration and school board member Bill Ribble during the mediation meeting to lease the school to the town for $1 for 100 years for the town to operate a municipal charter school out of the historic school while the town builds a new elementary school building to be used as a municipal charter school.
-- Nathan Mayberg
-- Nathan Mayberg
New state funding could bring a new elementary school to Middleton
-- Idaho6 News Idaho: 11/05/2025 [ abstract]
MIDDLETON, Idaho — After yet another failed attempt to pass a school levy, Middleton School District may still have a path forward to build its long-awaited new elementary school—this time, without raising local taxes.
Related | Middleton School District levy would prevent teacher cuts while adding two armed officers to schools
“Our levy didn't pass, obviously disappointed that it didn't pass,” said Superintendent Marc Gee. “There's any number of reasons why that happened, but what it comes down to is we put it out there to our patrons and they said no.”
Just days before Tuesday’s election, the district was approved for $11.1 million from the Public School Facilities Cooperative Fund, a state program that helps school districts build or repair facilities when they can’t raise funds locally.
The district plans to combine that $11 million with $8 million in state modernization funds, which together would cover roughly two-thirds of the cost to build a new elementary school.
-- Victoria Rodriguez
-- Idaho6 News Idaho: 11/05/2025 [
abstract] MIDDLETON, Idaho — After yet another failed attempt to pass a school levy, Middleton School District may still have a path forward to build its long-awaited new elementary school—this time, without raising local taxes.
Related | Middleton School District levy would prevent teacher cuts while adding two armed officers to schools
“Our levy didn't pass, obviously disappointed that it didn't pass,” said Superintendent Marc Gee. “There's any number of reasons why that happened, but what it comes down to is we put it out there to our patrons and they said no.”
Just days before Tuesday’s election, the district was approved for $11.1 million from the Public School Facilities Cooperative Fund, a state program that helps school districts build or repair facilities when they can’t raise funds locally.
The district plans to combine that $11 million with $8 million in state modernization funds, which together would cover roughly two-thirds of the cost to build a new elementary school.
-- Victoria Rodriguez
Cleveland Schools announces massive consolidation plan to close 23 buildings
-- Cleveland.com Ohio: 11/05/2025 [ abstract]
-- Cleveland.com Ohio: 11/05/2025 [
abstract] CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland Schools expects to close 23 buildings and operate 29 fewer schools under a sweeping restructuring plan that would amount to the district’s largest overhaul in decades.
Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Warren Morgan said the changes are necessary to confront steep drops in enrollment, rising operating costs and a looming $150 million deficit. Changes would take effect before the 2026-2027 school year.
The plan, introduced to the school board Wednesday night, would save CMSD at least $30 million annually if approved. Those savings would mostly come from the district cutting administrative staff, including principals and assistant principals, on account of reducing the number of schools.
Morgan told cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer that the number of teachers should stay roughly the same as CMSD’s footprint shrinks, but some layoffs and new hires may occur, as the schools need different personnel.
-- Sean McDonnell
-- Sean McDonnell
Ferndale School Board approves Capital Facilities Plan
-- Ferndale Record Washington: 11/05/2025 [ abstract]
-- Ferndale Record Washington: 11/05/2025 [
abstract] FERNDALE — The Ferndale School Board approved the city’s Capital Facilities Plan during its Oct. 28 meeting. The plan looks at needed and planned projects, both with and without funding.
Between 2025-2032 there is about $40 million in planned minor capital renovations. These would be funded through the district’s general fund, impact fees, a potential capital facilities levy, bonds and grants.
Ferndale School District is facing a deficit in classroom space when looking over a 20-year period, especially at the elementary level.
According to Assistant Superintendent for Business and Support Services Mark Deebach, the new high school brings in possibilities and flexibility in addressing potential space issues at the high school level.
Due to this deficit there is about $150 million in major unfunded capital projects.
In 2030, the transportation building will need to be remodeled and a new North Bellingham Elementary School will need to be built.
The transportation building was initially slated for work with the 2006 bond attempt, but never happened and the building has only worsened with time. According to Deebach, some busses do not fit in the shop.
-- Racquel Muncy
-- Racquel Muncy