Things Are Looking Up

Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and the light does not seem to be caused by an oncoming train! After quite a few years of tight or non-existent budgets for facility projects, states are once again in the spending mode. Here are some examples.

Ohio: On July 10, The Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) approved over $251 million in state funding for school construction projects. Combined with $279 million in local funding, these projects represent more than $530 million.

California: In March, the State Allocation Board (SAB) announced that it has awarded approximately $372.2 million for 105 school construction projects. In addition, The California Clean Energy Jobs Act (Prop. 39) changed the corporate income tax code and allocates projected revenue to California’s General Fund and the Clean Energy Job Creation Fund. Roughly up to $550 million annually is available for appropriation for eligible projects to improve energy efficiency and expand clean energy generation in schools.

Wyoming: The school facilities department is requesting $360 million in 2015. Topping the list is money allocated for construction, followed by monies needed for major maintenance projects.

New York City Schools: The city’s DOE is proposing a $12.8 billion capital plan for FY2015 through 2019. The plan features the following investments: $4.4 billion for capacity ($3.3 billion for new capacity, $210 million for pre-kindergarten initiative, $490 million for class-size reduction, $400 million for a facility replacement program); $4.9 billion for capital investment ($3.3 billion for the Capital Improvement Program that includes exterior and interior building upgrades and other necessary capital repairs, $1.6 billion for school enhancement projects; $3.5 billion for mandated programs such as remediation and code compliance.

Maryland: The funds available for the Public School Construction Capital Improvement Program for fiscal year 2015 total $325.3 million. This includes $221 million for major construction projects and $93 million for systemic renovation projects.

Washington: On July 15, Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn announced the release of nearly $213 million in capital construction money to school districts throughout the state of Washington. The money, coupled with nearly $381 million in local school district funds, will bring more than $594 million into the state’s economy through school construction.

And the list goes on. With good news on consumer spending, the market, jobs reports and state initiatives like this, it appears that 2015 is going to be a much better year than we have seen in a while!

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Zurn Releases New Ductile Iron Frame Trench Drain System

    Zurn Elkay Water Solutions recently released the newest addition to its Train Drench portfolio, the Ductile Iron Frame Trench Drain System, according to a news release. The product is designed for heavy-duty applications like airports, military, universities, and more.

  • DLR Group Hires Higher Education Business Development Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that Senior Associate Megan Todd will serve as its new Higher Education Business Development Leader, according to a news release. Her responsibilities will include building the firm’s reach and client relationships in the California higher education sector, based out of San Diego.

  • Case Study Highlights Texas District’s Campus Security Upgrades

    The Taft Independent School District near Corpus Christi, Texas, recently partnered with Intech Southwest Services to revamp its campus security technology system, according to a news release. Intech has released a case study on its website detailing the process that advanced the district’s technology by more than 20 years in less than three weeks.

  • Texas A&M Adds ALPR Technology to Parking Solutions

    Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, recently integrated automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) technology into its parking services and enforcement strategies, according to a news release. The university’s Transportation Services division deployed Genetec AutoVu ALPR to manage the campus’ 36,000+ parking spaces.

Digital Edition