As soon as the winds that left seven students in Moore, Okla., dead last month had calmed, and more storms blew through the same area less than two weeks later, questions about the safety of schools in a region labeled Tornado Alley rose amid the rubble. While better design of new schools and thorough emergency training and practice may be in…

President Barack Obama is putting new money to save educators' jobs and help states refurbish aging school facilities at the center of a nearly $450 billion plan to jump-start the sluggish economy. The author talks about the president's plan which is sure to face hurdles in a politically polarized Washington where one house of Congress is…

Some two months after enactment of the federal economic-stimulus package, school facilities directors are still trying to piece together how much money will be available under the measure for school construction projects, what it can be used for, and when it can be accessed. Before President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion American Recovery…

Efforts to reinvent public education in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina have drawn such interest that it's easy to lose sight of some very concrete changes that will become obvious over time: A generation of brand-new school buildings is rising across the city. New Orleans is in the early stages of a construction spree both to build and…

This article reports that years of rising fuel and materials costs, compounded by current budget shortfalls and uncertainty about the marketability of construction bonds, have made school facilities directors eager to reap the benefits of President Barack Obama's economic-recovery initiative, which is slated to include federal money for building…

Construction bonding authority--a technical, and often obscure, source of capital funding for school districts--has emerged as a hot ticket for those looking to finance school facilities work under the federal government's economic-stimulus program. School districts left out of the loop for direct funding are lining up for some of at least $24…

More than 100 public schools in New Orleans were flooded in the hours after the hurricane struck. The roughly two dozen schools that did not fill up with water suffered wind and rain damage. It was a devastating blow to old, already battered school buildings that were among the most rundown in the country. The devastation created an unprecedented…

The world of charter school facilities is sometimes strange. Many charter operators have had to show considerable creativity and resourcefulness in finding a place to educate their students, whether it's a former K-Mart or car dealership, a church facility, or space in an office complex. Obtaining and paying for adequate facilities are often big…

This paper, Part 3 of a three-part series examining the boom in the construction and renovation of K-12 schools and the continuing challenges that communities face in getting the facilities their students and educators need, describes the demanding career aspects of school administrators who oversee construction projects. Building schools requires…

This article features a report on states and school districts spending almost $600 billion on building and renovating schools from 1995 to 2004, an amount that far exceed earlier expectations. The report also emphasized the uneven facilities spending between minority and affluent districts. Besides receiving the least money for facilities, the…

Explores some of the problems associated with coal burning boilers in educational facilities and the extent of their use in the New York City public school system. Also highlighted are some of the changes and issues schools encounter when they convert from coal to oil or gas. (GR)

After violence in poor immigrant neighborhoods shook the country last year, France responded by focusing more resources on schools facing the most pressing disadvantages. This article discusses on a project dubbed as "ambition reussite" or ambition success, which refocuses the extra resources granted to needy schools under France's…

Discusses how state courts are forcing states to shift their focus of funding for school facilities to the neediest school districts. State problems in prioritizing the distribution of school funds are examined. (GR)

Argues that there is no clear association between greater school facility improvements and higher boosts in the levels of student achievement. (GR)

Examines why tribal leaders are saying that deteriorating Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools are a symbol of the Federal government's unfulfilled pledge to the education of Native-American children. Discusses the Santa Fe Indian School to illustrate the numerous safety and deterioration concerns faced by the BIA and the BIA's difficulties in…