In many poor rural and urban school districts, aging buildings suffer dangerous deficiencies, without a sufficient tax base to fund improvements. President Clinton unveiled a $5 billion initiative that would fund a four-year repair and construction project for public schools; however, the plan must make its way through Congress. (MLF)

Describes the stages of capital project planning and development: (1) individual capital project submission; (2) capital project proposal assessment; (3) executive committee; and (4) capital project execution. (EV)

Describes the three-phase process of developing a new school facility for the Wilmington Montessori School in Delaware. Focuses on the unique school design requirements of Montessori schools and the collaboration between the architect, the school board, and the administration. Offers suggestions for selecting an architect, hiring a construction…

The Energy Star Buildings program assists school districts in reducing energy costs. Traditional and creative funding opportunities are outlined. For the voluntary program, the Environmental Protection Agency provides no-cost technical support, software, workshops, technology updates, and other tools to all participants. (MLF)

Discusses efforts by the Venezuelan government to improve the nation's school infrastructure through the Bolivarian Schools Project administered by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. The project set educational principles which are guiding current school building efforts. (EV)

Discusses the usefulness of a well-defined master plan to community colleges and explores trends in master planning that place more emphasis on issues that attract and retain students; these include the first impression, a sense of place, a concern for the environment, student housing, parking, and partnership zones. (EV)

Describes several methods and products to reduce excess reverberation and background noise in school areas, including music rooms, classrooms, gyms, offices, and natatoriums. (EV)

Asserts that a well-conceived master plan is an essential tool for shaping a school's physical evolution and advancement in concert with its strategic aspirations, focusing on the master plan for the Spence School, an independent K-12 girls' school in New York City, and noting that the Spence School's master plan is applicable to other schools,…

Discusses how the safety-related ruling by the National Federation of State High School Associations to eliminate the option of using 18-inch starting platforms in pools less than 4 feet deep may affect operators of swimming pools and the swim teams who use them. (EV)

Describes how, with thorough planning, focus, teamwork, and discipline, school systems in Houston and San Diego have proven that they can manage massive and complicated construction programs without becoming mired in financial and bureaucratic difficulties. (EV)

Provides detailed data on higher education construction in 2002, concluding that college construction reached an all-time high of $11 billion. Indications are that colleges will be doing at least that much construction in the years to come. About 36 percent of that number is going into renovations of existing structures. (EV)

Modernization or reconstruction programs can be coordinated by developing a relocation plan for each school site. A relocation plan is a detailed outline of the proposed work to be accomplished in a planned sequence to accommodate the educational needs of the school during the project. (MLF)

Describes the advantages of EPDM, a single-ply rubber roofing system, and the experience of using it in reroofing eight public schools in the Logansport, Indiana, School District. (MLF)

Roofing is one of the major expense items in school district maintenance budgets. Outlines steps to take in project planning, developing budget estimates and specifications, and completing a roofing project on time. (MLF)

Interviewed day-care center directors to determine injury rates. Found that injury rates were relatively low and that many of the injuries that occur in this setting are probably minor. Suggests that lowering height of playground equipment and providing more resilient playground surfaces could further reduce injury risks. (HTH)