Voters in Newtown, Conn., overwhelmingly approved a new $71.3 million school budget with a new $500,000-security plan, the News-Times reported. The plan includes funding for 18 guards – half of them armed, retired police officers – for seven schools.
Category: Recent Additions
Top Green Historically Black Colleges and Universities Recognized
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University were the top green public universities among historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), while Spelman College and Howard University topped the list for private HBCUs, according to a press release from the Building Green Initiative (BGI) at Clark Atlanta University.
http://asumag.com/green/top-green-historically-black-colleges-and-universities-recognized
Hernando Parents Fear Potential School Closures Despite Poor Facilities
At a meeting on April 15, architects explained to parents and board members that the Westside Elementary in Spring Hill, Florida needed major repairs, especially on its roof. The cost of the necessary repairs is about $3 million. The board reminded parents that rain-soaked ceiling tiles had recently fallen in over computers. In his presentation, architect Steve Johnson displayed pictures of water leaking into lighting fixtures. Westside is the most likely of four schools the district could shut down after the school year to save money.
New Study Shows White Roofs are Three Times More Effective than Green Roofs at Fighting Climate Change
A study published in the Energy and Buildings Journal compared three types of roofs – green, black and white – and came to the conclusion that white roofs have great economic benefits, and they are also three times more effective than the other two at fighting climate change.
http://inhabitat.com/new-study-shows-white-roofs-are-three-times-more-efficient-than-green-roofs/
Governments Scale Back Spending on School Construction, Public Safety
Spending on school building, which is largely funded locally, declined 8.7% over the past 12 months.
Pitt Expanding Sustainability Research, Education
A Sustainability Task Force, made up of faculty representatives across the campus, will work to encourage interdisciplinary sustainability research, improve undergraduate and graduate program offerings in sustainability, and strengthen Pitt's reputation in sustainability.
Florida schools may see construction funding increase
Florida schools and colleges may see much needed construction and renovations as a result of pending legislation to provide funding for statewide public school, college and university projects. State lawmakers are advancing a $597 million Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) budget for 2014-15 fiscal year, the Herald Tribune reported.
http://asumag.com/legislation/florida-schools-may-see-construction-funding-increase
Facility Planning – Focused Goals
Sustainable design, LEED certification, energy conservation, small class sizes, staffing, declining enrollment, excess space, closing buildings, deferred maintenance, budget deficits, and operations and maintenance costs are just some of the major building-related issues facing education institutions. So which issues take priority?
One focus should be on reducing energy consumption.
http://asumag.com/constructionplanning/facility-planning-focused-goals
Green Cleaning – Cleaning With Water
The green cleaning movement has accomplished a lot over the past 20 years. This is especially true relative to the chemicals used for cleaning schools and universities. Today, third-party certifications from Green Seal, EcoLogo/UL and U.S. EPA's Design for the Environment Program have made it easy to identify high-performing and cost-competitive "green" cleaning chemicals.
Ohio lawmakers want to ban LEED certification
Ohio lawmakers voted to ban the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) version 4 certification for government building projects, according to Sourceable. LEED v4 standards were adopted by the membership of the U.S. Green Building Council, however Ohio lawmakers believe that the “green building system fails to conform to recognized voluntary standard development procedures,” and thus want to ban the certifications.
http://asumag.com/blog/ohio-lawmakers-want-ban-leed-certification
