Spending on school building, which is largely funded locally, declined 8.7% over the past 12 months.
Category: News
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
Report – Oklahoma schools destroyed by tornado were poorly constructed
An analysis of two Oklahoma schools that were leveled by an EF5 tornado last spring has revealed significant construction errors and code violations.
Ready for Growth in Wentzville, Mo.
The Wentzville R-IV School District hosts just 283 freshmen in the newest high school this year, but it will be filled with students in the near future, as the fastest-growing district in Missouri continues to see booming enrollment. Liberty High School is the third high school in the district, which has been adding 500 students annually. The school ultimately will host up to 1,200 students.
Solar canopy could save district $2 million
A Massachusetts school district expects to save about $2 million over two decades with a solar canopy, with about $100,000 of those energy savings occurring in the first year.
http://asumag.com/blog/solar-canopy-could-save-district-2-million
Decision to Rescind Agreements Leads to Protests
Thousands of charter school advocates in New York rallied in the capital city of Albany last week to protest a decision by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to rescind a handful of agreements that allowed charters and other schools to share space, rent-free, with other public schools in his city.
Although the recently inaugurated mayor decided to move forward with a majority of the co-location agreements under his jurisdiction, he denied space to two charter schools set to open next fall and withdrew an agreement with one existing middle school. All three are part of the Success Academy charter school network, a city-based network of 22 schools run by Eva S. Moskowitz, an outspoken critic of Mr. de Blasio.
