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COVER STORIES/SPECIAL REPORTS
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Table of Contents |
| School Maintenance and Operations Report |
| Anyone who does it knows that keeping a school in running condition is not an easy task. Multiply that by the number of schools in a district, and the job is that much more difficult. Here is a look at some districts' custodial and maintenance standards in the categories of cleaning types and frequencies; work schedules and work order procedures; staffing, training, and supervision; and inspections and necessary licensing. |
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CONSTRUCTION
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| Dining Areas and Student Commons |
| The Dalton School, a school with grades K-12, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side, recently completed a complete renovation of its central dining and student commons. To better serve over 1,200 student and faculty lunches, the design needed to solve an acutely congested central corridor and provide more adequate space for circulation and dining. As a counter-point to the urban setting, nearby Central Park inspired a natural or outdoor space conception for the commons to update Dalton's founding progressive spirit. |
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FACILITIES
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| Digital Bulletin Boards |
| New LCD and plasma display systems promote athletic schedules, social events, students' work, emergency communications, and more.Systems can be set up with screens doing different jobs depending on location. Lobby screens can welcome visitors. Classroom screens can display homework assignments. In the faculty lounge, digital signs can announce departmental meetings and report administrative details. |
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BUSINESS
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| Jeff Cryder and Maureen Lally |
Public and private school districts spend $6B each year on energy to power their facilities, according to The Consortium for Energy Efficiency figures. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems comprise approximately 45 percent of that energy use. That's nearly $3B in energy costs every year — not to mention the associated maintenance costs. School district administrators should undertake a more strategic, asset-management focus to new HVAC investments, and use a similar focus when examining other capital investment decisions. |
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TECHNOLOGY
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| There's Much More to Saving Energy |
| Energy is all over the news today. The price of a barrel of oil, the price at the pump, the latest advances in automobile mileage, and "green" homes are front-page stories. The real route to saving energy costs, reducing U.S. dependence on foreign energy sources, and reversing global warming is by reducing the amount of energy our buildings use. |
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SAFETY & SECURITY
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| Caught on Camera |
| Four years ago, Robert Spitz started lobbying the Taos school board for surveillance cameras at the district schools. He was especially concerned about security at the high school. Not only were they trying to avert the usual mischief that high school teens get into, we had a building populated with expensive, highly portable technology, and a lot of night traffic because the school is also used by the University of New Mexico for evening classes. Last year, with a new superintendent at the helm, along with several new board members, the surveillance proposal finally passed. |
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FEATURED COLUMN
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| Projecting Student Enrollment in Tough Economic Times |
| National economic problems are impacting local school districts as states cut back on aid and taxpayers resist increases. On top of the summer's spike in fuel costs, these problems are forcing school districts to make difficult spending decisions. But there is another significant way in which the current recession could affect your schools. It could impact the number of children you will be serving over the next several years. |
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