CHINA: China has issued safety guidelines for new schools to be built in areas hit by a devastating earthquake amid widespread anger over poorly constructed schools that collapsed during the May temblor, killing many children. The Education Ministry issued the guidelines to "meticulously and carefully" carry out reconstruction of schools in earthquake-affected areas, a notice on its Web site said. In general, the Chinese government has been praised for its reaction to the earthquake, which killed nearly 70,000 people, mostly in Sichuan province. But grieving parents have angrily accused local governments of having allowed shoddy school construction.

The guidelines said every school in earthquake-affected areas must be assessed, and those considered potentially dangerous must be demolished. "When going through rebuilding, every school in the affected areas should be made to be the firmest and safest, so as to not worry parents and the public," the ministry said. Most schools and kindergartens in affected areas should resume classes in permanent buildings by September 2009, and all should be restored by a year later, it said.

The Education Ministry is working with the Construction Ministry and other relevant departments to establish earthquake-resistant building standards, it said. Parents have protested at numerous schools in Sichuan, calling for explanations of why schools collapsed so easily while nearby buildings were still standing after the magnitude 7.9 quake. Chen Baosheng, a professor of Tongji University, who studies disaster prevention in buildings, said previous construction standards in earthquake-hit areas had not been followed very well. "Now they must be followed and the new buildings must be built up to standards,' he said. "It's not difficult to follow these standards and I think people will follow them." Investigations of school design and construction will be carried out, the Education Ministry said. The best school building plans will be promoted to ensure standardization, it said. Schools should not be built in areas at threat from floods, landslides and other natural dangers, it said.

PENNSYLVANIA: Enrollment is expected to grow in the Elco School District, and district officials are considering various options for its four elementary schools. Judging from recent presentations by the district’s architect, the preferred option is abandoning the historic Myerstown and Schaefferstown elementary schools and replacing them with a new building next to the Elco Middle School to which all students would be bused.
This proposal is a textbook example of unsustainable development – throwing away existing resources, undermining our traditional villages and towns, promoting more busing and encouraging sprawling development in the countryside.

Unfortunately, hundreds of small-town and neighborhood schools have been closed all across the Commonwealth in recent decades, contributing to what the Brookings Institution calls the “hollowing out” of Pennsylvania – disinvestment in older, established areas in favor of new development scattered about the countryside. The district’s architect suggests renovating and expanding Myerstown and Schaefferstown would be more expensive than building one new school. Yet statistics compiled by the Pennsylvania Department of Education going back to 2003 show that new construction is about twice as expensive, per square foot, as renovations and additions, when total project costs are considered.

Renovating existing schools makes so much sense that the Department of Education last year sponsored a brochure entitled “Renovate or Replace” in which the Commonwealth’s top cabinet officers argue that renovating older schools can save tax dollars, reinforce established communities and still provide facilities that meet 21st century education standards. As an added incentive to keep older buildings, the school code was amended in 2005 to provide a 10 percent state subsidy bonus for renovations and additions to existing school buildings.

Ironically, the Myerstown School, built in 1915, and the Schaefferstown School, built in 1936, are much better candidates for renovation as energy-efficient “green” buildings than post-war schools. Both Myerstown and Schaefferstown are constructed of steel, concrete and masonry that can last indefinitely with periodic maintenance and renovations. Their compact, multi-story layout is more efficient to heat and cool than the sprawling one-story school buildings that became fashionable after 1950. Their high ceilings provide plenty of space for new wiring, ductwork and piping. Their large window openings capture plenty of natural daylight, while high-performance glazing will provide the same insulation value as windows in a new building. Moreover, it took a lot of energy to manufacture the materials used to build the schools. All that energy is wasted if the schools are prematurely closed.

That’s why, Secretary Kathleen McGinty of the state Department of Environmental Protection says, a “green” school doesn’t have to be a new school. “In fact, the No. 1 principle of green-building design is to renovate and recycle existing buildings,” she writes in “Renovate or Replace.” Another green-building principle is walkability. In 1970, about half of all American school children walked to school, as they still do in Myerstown. Allen Biehler, state secretary of transportation, notes that Pennsylvania school buses now travel more than 381 million miles annually at a cost of more than $1.1 billion (using 2006-07 school year figures). Busing not only wastes fuel; it generates traffic congestion and puts excessive wear and tear on our highways. “We can’t continue to grow in the sprawling way we have in the past,” Biehler writes in “Renovate or Replace.” Unnecessary busing has also contributed to an alarming rise in childhood obesity, writes Dr. Calvin B. Johnson, state secretary of health. “School districts can assist with efforts to address children’s obesity by keeping walkable neighborhood schools.”

Elco School District owes its citizens a comprehensive feasibility study that thoroughly examines all the options. Unfortunately, it’s often easier for school districts to spend millions for new construction than to be creative with existing resources. When all the facts are considered, I believe, it will make more sense for Elco to renovate its schools rather than replace them.

NEW JERSEY: Everyone can agree that a top priority of any administration is to ensure quality education for our children. A variety of studies have shown that a quality school environment is linked to a quality education. Investing in our schools now is an investment in our state's tomorrow. The investment, however, offers an immediate payoff as well: jobs -- and not only in construction.

Over the next six years, New Jersey's local school agencies are set to spend $1.5 billion on construction and the new state funding bill adds $2.9 billion for the needy Schools Development Authority districts plus $1 billion for all other school districts. The total is $5.4 billion. Of course, those new schools will help to ensure better educational opportunities for children across the state. But the construction spending that will take place will also create jobs -- with economic activity and tax revenue -- right now. And those gains are not limited to the construction sector. According to some estimates, the current pool of school construction money will create more than 5,100 construction jobs in each of the next six years, jobs with decent wages and benefits that will grow our economy and bolster the prospects of many New Jersey families and communities. Beyond the job site, however, that six-year investment will also generate other business activity and employment throughout a cross section of New Jersey's industries.

The U.S. Department of Commerce estimated that almost 17 "indirect" jobs are created per $1 million spent on construction. With our $5.4 billion investment, each of the next six years will see more than 10,000 new nonconstruction jobs from retailers to restaurants and beyond. In all, the money we spend on our schools today will create more than 15,000 jobs per year over the immediate six- year life of this school construction program. The jobs will be held by good New Jersey residents -- honest men and women who work hard, raise good families and spend their time and money in the cities and towns where they live.

What, then, do we really get for our school construction dollars? Plenty. In years to come, we'll have better-educated residents who are ready to work, support the economy and pay their taxes in turn. From 2008 to 2014, we will get the economic benefits of more than 15,000 jobs a year for New Jersey residents. With today's increasingly shaky economy, building schools is an investment that benefits us all -- in construction and elsewhere, both tomorrow and today.

MARYLAND: Recent upgrades to Ridgely Middle school in Timonium include air conditioning of a sort — new windows and upgrades that will permit air conditioning when the budget allows. But without the $900,000 needed to install chillers that make full air conditioning possible, the students roast on hot days, parents say. According to parents, a big part of the problem is that the new windows, which cost $2.7 million, open 30 degrees inward, reducing airflow, while the old ones opened 90 degrees outward. School officials, however, say that there are more windows that open now, actually increasing the amount of air flowing into classrooms.

Rising temperatures last fall sent students and teachers to the nurse with complaints of headaches, nausea and dizziness, according to Julie Sugar, outgoing president of the Ridgely parent teachers association. On Oct. 10, parents say they recorded a reading of 90 degrees in a second-floor classroom when it was 80 degrees outside. This spring, on June 9, they recorded a classroom temperature of 96 degrees. “It’s much prettier, but it’s also much hotter,” said Sugar, who along with other parents cites research that shows the negative effect of excessively hot classrooms on student health and learning.

About half the 171 schools in Baltimore County are fully air-conditioned, according to Michael Sines, facilities director for the school system. Some of the county’s other schools are partially air-conditioned in areas such as computer labs, gyms and administrative offices, he said. The Ridgely Middle renovation project included upgrades that will enable school-wide air conditioning when budgets allow. Upgrades include ventilators in each classroom to process hot and cold air and energy-efficient windows with tighter seals. The $14 million renovation included new ceilings, lights, windows and doors. “The bathrooms have been updated, and the school looks much brighter now inside.,” Sugar said. The problem right now is that the school budget for the fiscal year ending July 2009 does not include that $900,000 for the chillers to make the air-conditioning system operational, parents say. That means that in the interim, classrooms must rely on uncooled air coming through the new ventilators when the windows are shut, which critics say can be noisy and don’t bring in enough air. Or student and teachers must rely, as before, on air coming through the open windows, which now open only 30 degrees inward. Combined with lower ceilings, the new system has resulted in less ventilation and more heat, according to parents.

Sines agreed that the new windows don’t open as wide as the previous ones, partly for safety reasons so that students don’t bump into sharp corners. But he also said that there are more windows that open now than before, resulting overall in more — not less — air flowing into classrooms. The window installation also meets codes that require certain ratios between window size and classroom size, he said. “Maybe the technical books tell you why it shouldn’t be so much hotter, but it is hotter, with temperatures in the 90s,” Sugar said.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA : City officials said that they will halt renovations of 14 schools slated to receive students from schools that have been closed because the D.C. Council has not approved funds to continue the work. Most of the schools on the list are being converted to pre-K-8 and are designated to receive students from buildings that have been shuttered. Preliminary work has been done in anticipation of the contracts being approved. But in a letter to Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D), school construction chief Allen Y. Lew said the council's failure to approve the funds meant he will have to issue immediate "stop work" orders on the jobs. The 14 schools are West, Lasalle, Raymond, Powell, Truesdell, Brightwood, Noyes, Whittier, Cleveland, Shaed, Burroughs and Langdon elementaries and Francis and Browne middle schools.

Gray has held up approval of the contracts until Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso provide more information on the need for the conversions. A spokesman for Gray said he will hold a hearing on the matter as early as next week. Lew and Rhee warned in earlier letters to Gray that the council's inaction threatened the city's ability to open the schools as planned next month. But both officials appear to have retreated from that position. In yesterday's letter, Lew said only that the situation will have "far-reaching impacts" on the city's relationship with construction contractors and architects. Rhee, who said in a Friday letter to Gray that "a successful and timely school opening will be put at substantial risk," took a less urgent tone in a brief interview yesterday evening. "I'm confident we're going to be able to work through this," she said.

NATIONAL : More than $74 million in grants have been awarded to 27 states as part of a joint effort by the U.S. departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice to support schools in creating safe learning environments that promote healthy childhood development and prevent youth violence and drug use. The highly competitive grant program, known as the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative, attracted 355 applications nationally.

Under the initiative, school district, in partnership with their local public mental health agencies, and local law-enforcement and juvenile justice entities, must implement a comprehensive, community-wide plan that focuses on the following elements: safe school environments and violence prevention activities; alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention activities; student behavioral, social and emotional supports; mental health services; and early childhood social and emotional learning programs.

"When children go to school in safe, healthy environments, they can thrive and learn," said U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. "These grants will provide students with enhanced access to services and programs that will help them avoid harmful activities and achieve their potential."

Since 1999, the Education, Justice and Health and Human Services departments have administered the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative, which has provided more than $1.3 billion to local educational, mental health, law enforcement and juvenile justice partnerships. The grants are awarded under the No Child Left Behind Act.

CALIFORNIA: State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced that 21 charter schools will share $9 million in facilities awards. Charters, publicly financed and independently run, complain that facilities typically are their No. 1 problem -- rents are high and space in desirable locations is scarce. The awards are part of the State Charter School Facilities Incentive Grants Program and authorized by the California School Finance Authority, of which O'Connell is a member. The group received 17 applications and made the selections based on need, the number of low-income students, overcrowding, non-profit status and test score data.

The charters can use the money for rents, mortgages or debt service payments for existing or new facilities or toward the purchase, design and construction costs of acquiring land and constructing or renovating a building. The Los Angeles charters that will receive the grants are: Camino Nuevo Charter Academy; Gabriella Charter School; Heritage College Ready Academy High School; Los Angeles Academy of Arts and Enterprise; Crescendo Charter Conservatory; Centennial College Preparatory Academy; Wisdom Academy for Young Scientists; Animo Pat Brown Charter High School; College Ready Academy High School No. 6; Crenshaw Arts Tech Charter High; Oscar De La Hoya Animo Charter High School; Academia Semillas del Pueblo; Animo Leadership Charter High School; Excel Charter Academy and New Heights Charter School

GEORGIA: In January of this year, the Richmond County Board of Education made the wise business decision to sell a number of surplus properties, and to invest the proceeds in the education of our children. Included in the list of properties were four historically significant school buildings -- the old John S. Davidson School on Telfair Street; Martha Lester School on Broad Street; A. C. Griggs School on Grand Boulevard; and the old Sue Reynolds School on Wrightsboro Road.

These four buildings, designed by notable architects and built in 1933 and 1934, are all of architectural significance, and are irreplaceable. Davidson occupies a key location in the Downtown Historic District, and Martha Lester is in the Harrisburg-West End Historic District. Sue Reynolds and A.C. Griggs individually would qualify for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. All four buildings feature design, craftsmanship and materials that cannot be found today. Three of the buildings are in good condition and could easily be put to new uses, while even Davidson, which has suffered severe deterioration has value because of the considerable tax credits available to such a building. These beautiful buildings are not only culturally important, but also are of great economic value to all of us. Augusta's historic neighborhoods are its favorite neighborhoods, and they are Augusta's competitive advantage with respect to other communities. And it is buildings such as these schools that give our city its charm and desirability. If the schools are appropriately restored and put into service by subsequent owners they can add to the vitality of their neighborhoods and to all of Augusta. If these buildings are lost, by being destroyed or defaced, then all Augustans will be poorer for that loss.

VIRGINIA: Making Richmond's aging school buildings handicap accessible isn't as simple as it once seemed. More than two years after agreeing to a court-supervised, five-year plan to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the school system is soliciting bids for another review of its buildings that would be paid for with money that has been set aside for ADA improvements.

The request for bids seeks a firm to assess handicap accessibility in 41 school buildings. The scope of work ranges from parking to toilets to water fountains.

The school system isn't sure it will go through with another study, but if it does, "it will allow us to have another tool," said Aisha Shamburger, the system's ADA coordinator. "It's not stopping anything we're doing." A similar assessment several years ago by Trice Architects of Glen Allen formed the basis of the settlement that was reached after two parents sued over lack of full -- or, in some cases, any -- handicap accessibility in the majority of the city's schools. Recommendations in that report were used to formulate the five-year plan of work that needs to be done.

Shamburger said the city is considering another study because more information is needed on how to bring city schools into full compliance with the settlement. Advocates and school officials agree that there is more work than what was spelled out in the architect's report.
But one of the parents who brought the suit wants more information about a possible study. "As of right now, we don't know the purpose of this [assessment]," said Vicki Beatty, who sued the school system because her neighborhood school couldn't accommodate her handicapped son. "If it's to fill in the gaps, that's OK," she said. "But if it's to try to back-door their way out of the settlement, we're going to oppose it completely."

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA : School officials have warned the D.C. Council that failure to approve $83 million in building repair contracts could leave thousands of children in severely under-equipped schools or stranded altogether when classes begin Aug. 25. In separate letters to council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D), Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and Allen Y. Lew, head of school modernization efforts, said the contracts are critical to the renovation and repair of buildings designated to receive students from the nearly two dozen schools Rhee ordered closed this month because of low enrollment. Thirteen of the schools targeted for work are slated to become pre-K-8 campuses. Work at many of the schools, which got underway when classes ended June 12, involves extensive plumbing and electrical repairs, including the installation of elevators in some buildings. All renovations were scheduled to be completed Aug. 15, 10 days before the start of the academic year. In a letter that Rhee sent to Gray on Friday and that her office released late yesterday, Rhee said contractors retained to do the work on tight summer schedules might be unwilling or unable to complete the jobs because of uncertainty over whether the council will approve the money to pay them.

INDIANA: Eight Lake and Porter county school districts from Merrillville to Tri-Creek to East Porter and Highland have already snagged state approval in the past year for multimillion-dollar projects. They got in before a new law went into effect that calls for a voter referendum on school construction. Several more districts, including Valparaiso, Portage, Union Township and Gary, are bouncing around ideas now about the future of improvements to school campuses and could face voter scrutiny. The law requires approval by voters for building projects more than $20 million for high schools and more than $10 million for other schools.

Valparaiso is still in the early stages of deciding on replacing elementary schools and redesigning the high school, business manager David White said. "If there is a project forthcoming it would require a referendum, but that would be a board decision." Many Valparaiso residents, however, voiced disapproval of the project that would eliminate neighborhood elementaries in favor of three new large schools. In Newton County, North Newton is readying plans to pursue a referendum to improve three elementary schools and the junior-senior high school. Portage Township Schools would be required to have one for its planned addition to Willowcreek Middle School. Portage Superintendent Michael Berta said the district is still deciding on the costs and square footage and might not be ready to seek a referendum until next year.

Berta's not certain the difficult economic times will bode well. "Given the economic conditions we all face right now, I think succeeding with a referendum would be a challenge for the school district -- because of the impact of dollars that would have on people's pockets," Berta said. But the district needs more space to handle student growth. "I'd do my best to build a rationale as to why those facilities should happen," he said.

Union Township also expects to hold a referendum for a new elementary school. They'll talk more about plans July 9. "If we go to referendum, we feel like we have a strong case for taxpayers," Assistant Superintendent Michael Stephens said. "We have aging buildings. We feel we can educate students better in better settings." Projects under the $10 million and $20 million mark will be decided at the local school board level with taxpayers able to file petition remonstrances, Michalak said. If a remonstrance succeeds, the board would be required to wait another year to attempt plans. The state, however, would not be involved.

Going for the smaller dollar projects that circumvent a referendum might be the way some districts, such as Gary, go. However, Chief Finance Officer Robert Beach said Gary has no set plans yet. A feasibility study is nearing completion that will help point out where Gary would need to make repairs or perhaps build anew. "We don't have any history of a referendum. So, I don't have a feel for how it would play out in our school corporation," Beach said. "Generally speaking, it's tough to get a segment of the community to tax themselves for more money."

INDIANA: Indiana property tax law undergoes a sea change effective today. But for all the changes incorporated in House Enrolled Act 1001 – including the process for approving school construction projections – local property taxes remain the only option school districts have for building schools or making major repairs to older buildings. And with the changes in the approval process comes the likelihood of a growing disparity between school districts in fast-growing suburban communities and those in rural and urban areas. It is incumbent on lawmakers, who created the conditions likely to fuel the disparity, to monitor the school construction environment and begin to consider ways to assist needy districts. To ignore the disparity is to risk long and costly court battles over inequitable learning conditions.

Without doubt, controlling school construction debt was a goal of the massive property tax package approved in March. Statewide, the fastest-growing expense for property tax-supported budgets between 2000 and 2006 was school debt service, the repayment of principal and interest on bonds sold to pay for building projects. Those decisions were largely made by the taxpayers within the school districts, but lawmakers catching heat for property tax increases quickly realized that tightening construction controls would be the best way to control debt. They established new rules for capital projects, requiring a voter referendum for K-8 schools costing more than $10 million, for high schools costing more than $20 million and for all other public projects costing more than $12 million or at least 1 percent of the taxing units’ assessed value.

How a school referendum process will affect community discussion over school projects remains to be seen. Opponents will always have the more attractive case: Vote no to keep your taxes down. A petition process requires voters to publicly state their position, while a referendum allows someone to profess support and privately vote no. But schools will be built. In fast-growing suburban areas, where young families move seeking shiny new buildings and higher test scores, schools quickly become overcrowded. School districts in those communities are likely to succeed in a referendum vote because the residents have direct ties to the schools, know the building needs and recognize that strong and attractive schools are in the community’s best interests. The real threat is to other school districts – in cities and rural communities where voters are less likely to have a connection to schools and where the total tax burden makes support of any property tax increase unpalatable. In those cases, projects will be defeated and buildings will deteriorate – pushing families who can afford to move to the suburban districts, where enrollment increases will require more school construction. Those families who can’t afford to move will be left behind in crumbling schools, setting up the inevitable legal showdown. Shortsighted legislators will ignore the consequences; conscientious legislators will begin now to even the school construction playing field.

ALABAMA: Schools Superintendent Dr. Bobby Hathcock said no further monitoring is required by the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, related to a 2002 agreement to make the high school accessible to mobility-impaired people. We’re extremely pleased,” Hathcock said. “I’m glad to meet the requirements for all of our people.” Hathcock said this was an eight-year process. “We needed to make all our facilities accessible to all our people,” he said. “This has been a long process.”

A complaint was filed with the OCR in 2000. “The complainant specifically alleged that the (school) district discriminated against individuals with disabilities by failing to make Pell City High accessible to mobility-impaired persons,” OCR’s letter dated June 13, 2008, states. In 2002, an administrative resolution was reached between OCR and the School System. Hathcock, who was not superintendent at the time the OCR complaint was filed, commended Michael Barber, assistant superintendent, and Gary Mozingo, facilities supervisor for the School System, for their work in bringing the system into compliance. Mozingo said he was hired in 1999, and he was meeting with officials from OCR six months later. He said there were 23 items listed on OCR’s corrective action list. “It was a pretty big ordeal,” Mozingo said. “And it was a learning process.”

He said the two biggest hurdles the School System had to clear were making the old gymnasium and football stadium handicapped accessible. “OCR’s investigation identified accessibility problems in the gym with respect to inaccessible parking spaces, entrance doors, classrooms, restrooms and water fountains,” OCR’s letter states. “In order to resolve the identified issues, the district voluntarily agreed to take corrective measures.” Mozingo said concrete was poured to allow better access to Pete Rich Stadium, as well as new seating and a concession stand that are handicapped accessible. “You’ve got to remember many of our facilities were built in the ‘50s,” he said. The new Pell City Center now provides handicapped accessibility to its state-of-the-art theater and arena style gymnasium. Hathcock and Mozingo said the School System actually benefited from OCR’s involvement, but they said they are glad to put the OCR violations behind the School System. “We all started looking at things more from the eyes of someone who is in a wheelchair,” Mozingo said, adding that the new Williams Intermediate School is fully handicapped accessible. “Believe it or not, this really did help us,” he said.