The history books will show that New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg seized control of the city's sprawling public school bureaucracy and its 1.1 million students on July 1, 2002. But it was 18 months later when New Yorkers got their first real taste of what mayoral control and accountability were supposed to be about: when reports of escalating…

The quality of a school building plays a critical role in student academic achievement as well as teacher retention. Yet, the majority of U.S. public schools are in poor physical condition, and nearly one-quarter are overcrowded, pressuring school systems to invest in both improving existing facilities and adding new facilities to accommodate…

Generally, construction projects undertaken by school districts in New York State are financed in part by state aid. The Education Department's Facilities Planning unit approves state aid for school-district construction projects outside New York City. This report presents findings of an audit that evaluated whether the Unit management's oversight…

The building program of a school district is one of the most important activities in which a school board of education, local administration, faculty, and citizens can become involved. The building program requires large sums of money and has a direct bearing on both the quantity and quality of the educational program. This guidebook provides…

New York City's public school system was challenged during the 1990s by fiscal pressures that coincided with a surge in student enrollment. The focus of this report is how the City's schools performed under these combined pressures. There were four major conclusions relating to disappointing school performance: school buildings grew more crowded;…

This book offers and examines a number of suggestions for school architecture. The book consists of a review of 22 school projects from around the United States. The text opens with a brief history of school design in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but the focus throughout the book focuses on several distinct elements: designing schools…

This eighth edition of "Wisconsin School Buildings" contains basic data and floor plans for each new construction project reported as being completed during 1991-93. It includes 146 projects, 46 of which were new free-standing buildings. A survey of Wisconsin school districts provides evidence of a continuing need in planning for…

PROCEDURES WHICH LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS MUST FOLLOW FOR PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED UNDER FEDERAL VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ACTS ARE PRESENTED. THE GUIDELINES COVER (1) STATE ORGANIZATION, (2) PROGRAM OF VOCATIONAL INSTRUCTION, (3) ANCILLARY SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES, (4) CONSTRUCTION WITH SPECIFIC APPLICATION TO AREA VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS, (5) A…

CAREFUL PLANNING FOR THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MAXIMIZES THE USE OF SPACE TO PROVIDE CHILDREN WITH FREQUENT CHANGES IN ACTIVITY AND A WIDE VARIETY OF EXPERIENCES. IN THE PLANNING PROCESS, SPECIAL CONSIDERATION IS GIVEN TO LONG RANGE DEVELOPMENT THUS PREVENTING OVERBUILDING AND UNDERBUILDING. THE PLANT SHOULD FIT, THROUGH INCREASING UTILITY BY…

NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED STANDARDS FOR THE EVALUATION OF MINIMUM SAFE PRACTICE OR FOR DETERMINING THE PERFORMANCE OF MATERIALS OR SYSTEMS OF CONSTRUCTION HAVE BEEN COMPILED AS AN AID TO DESIGNERS AND LOCAL OFFICIALS. THE CODE PRESENTS REGULATIONS IN TERMS OF MEASURED PERFORMANCE RATHER THAN IN RIGID SPECIFICATION OF MATERIALS OR METHODS. THE AREAS…

IN PLANNING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, A GROUP OF TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT FORMULATED A SET OF EDUCATIONAL SPECIFICATIONS AS A GUIDE FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD'S DELIBERATION IN DETERMINING THE CHARACTER AND QUALITY OF EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN IN AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. THE PRESENTATION INCLUDED--(1) A…

Steps in planning the school plant are outlined and described. Topics covered are--(1) the school plant program, (2) characteristics of a good school building, (3) financing and constructing the building, (4) the role of various state agencies, (5) Kentucky laws pertaining to planning, financing, and construction of school buildings, (6) Kentucky…

Abstracts of 17 publications in the ERIC system concern the financing of school construction programs for new buildings, renovations, and additions. (MLF)

Academic Building Systems (ABS) is an architectural planning and design method which allows the construction owner to respond to the need for less expensive structures, economically adaptable to the changing conditions of the academic world, by providing the owner with the maximum controls over the variable cost factors in educational facility…

School buildings must not only be designed for today's educational programs, but must be structurally sound and adaptable to accommodate programs developed in the future. This publication is intended to provide school facility planners with a source of information that will be of assistance to them in the planning process and to indicate methods…