Kansas City Public Schools’ Post

To help parents prepare for the start of the new school year here are some of your questions answered. ❔Is it back to school as normal this week? The vast majority of schools will start the new school year as planned. Your child should attend school as normal at the start of term, unless your school has contacted you and advised otherwise. ❔What is RAAC and what’s changed? RAAC = Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete. A building material used from the 1950s - mid-1990s. In cases as recent as August RAAC has failed so the government has advised schools to vacate areas where it's present. ❔Is my school affected? Most schools are unaffected and will operate as normal. If your child’s school has been affected you will have received information from them directly. ❔Why has this been done now? We have been helping schools to manage the potential risks of RAAC since 2018. However, in cases as recent as August, buildings containing the material have failed unexpectedly, requiring decisive action in order to keep staff and pupils safe. ❔What if my child’s school is one of those affected? The impact on each school affected is varied. Some will only need to close small parts of the building and will stay open. The few affected more significantly will be supported by the government to put alternative plans in place. To keep up with the latest updates and what we are doing to help schools and colleges, click here 👇 https://ow.ly/iHQr50PHg1q In addition, keep in touch with your child’s school. The safety of pupils and staff will always be our top priority.

Sharing with my FM network in the education sector. A handy, downloadable eguide from SFG20 offering tips and tricks on how to sure up your maintenance strategy for 2024

The Puyallup School District prioritizes the maintenance and upkeep of our equipment and facilities to ensure they serve our students and staff well for as long as possible. While we strive to extend the lifespan of buildings and equipment, it's important to recognize that our Capital Budget does have a limit. Understanding our equipment's and facilities' expected lifespan allows us to plan and budget effectively. Anticipating when we'll need to replace equipment, update technology, or renew building materials (predicted renewals) is crucial for maintaining safe and functional schools. However, unexpected events like broken pipes or heating failures may require us to redirect funds from planned projects to address immediate safety concerns. Unfortunately, this can result in postponing maintenance (deferred maintenance) elsewhere, potentially leading to higher costs in the future. To ensure we are good stewards of taxpayer dollars, we focus on staying current with maintenance tasks and prioritizing necessary repairs and replacements. By doing so, we can manage costs more effectively and ensure optimal learning environments for our students. Renewing and updating our facilities, whether through refurbishments or technological advancements, represents a strategic investment in the future of education in our community. For more information about the Capital budget, please visit our website at https://lnkd.in/gif4tEJ5.  *The average life of a building component or system can be longer or shorter depending on the materials and equipment installed when the building was built.  

As champions of health and safety, we find ourselves faced with a pressing issue that requires immediate attention. Many American schools are grappling with hazardous conditions, including exposure to harmful substances like asbestos, lead, and mercury; contaminated soil or groundwater; and deficient infrastructure causing mold growth and poor indoor air quality. These conditions pose serious threats to the health and well-being of our children, teachers, and staff, and obstruct the central goal of our schools: learning. AIHA is proud to support the recent reintroduction of the Rebuild America’s Schools Act (H.R. 5049/S. 2608).  The Rebuild America’s Schools Act makes critical investments in the future of our country by funding HVAC improvements, plumbing upgrades, high-speed broadband internet upgrades, and more in our nation's schools through $130 billion in direct grants and school construction bonds. Our schools need Congress to act.  Please take a moment to contact your Members of Congress and urge them to support and pass the Rebuild America’s Schools Act by using the AIHA’s Grassroots Advocacy Center: https://lnkd.in/e-QiecV3

Minimising the impact of fire on children's education should be a first priority. Despite the no. of school fires continuing to rise, the installation of sprinklers are still not mandatory in schools in England or Northern Ireland. In Scotland, they are required by law in newly constructed school buildings and are a condition of government grant funding in Wales. Our Chair, Iain Cox, discusses why this must change in our featured article in RICS publication here: https://bit.ly/48FcofF #ThinkSprinkler #FireSafety #BuildingRegulations

Why isn't England mandating sprinklers in schools? In February 2021, insurer Zurich Municipal discovered through a freedom of information request, that only 8.5% of new schools constructed in England since 2015 were equipped with sprinkler systems. Since then, we've seen the no. of fire incidents in primary and secondary schools escalate from 250 in 2020/21 to 341 in 2021/22. We must invest in better fire safety measures to protect our children's education. Read my thoughts in this latest RICS article here: https://bit.ly/48FcofF #ThinkSprinkler #Education #FireProtection

School budgets are under increasing pressures, and many of the repairs that are needed to support deteriorating buildings are being delayed. With at least 21,500 schools in the UK still containing asbestos, it’s essential to make sure your asbestos management plan is up to date to provide support and training to those who are using and managing the building. You don’t have to work with asbestos to be at risk, but your duty holder needs to have a plan in place for when risks, such as these, might occur. #asbestos #ukschools #education #occupationalexposure

School Facilities Are Aging! More data from 2021 in the Education Week. Great information that provides a glimpse into aging school district infrastructure. Top four systems found to be in fair or poor condition include: 1.) Windows 2.) Plumbing 3.) HVAC 4.) Roofing Remember, there is a direct link between condition of school facilities and student performance. Schools in better condition report better student behavior and performance. Still accurate in 2024?

Here's the problem: Aging facilities, combined with limited budgets, have resulted in an estimated $270 billion needed for infrastructure repairs to U.S. schools. Here's the solution: Funding opportunities through federal and state programs like #CalSHAPE mean that #k12schools have access to the funds needed to tackle any deferred maintenance projects, creating healthy and productive learning environment for students and staff. If you need any help sourcing available funding and/or upgrading your school's infrastructure, just give us a call! We're currently partnering with 50+ school districts and have helped secure more than $8 million in grants. We'd love to help your district as well. #ThisIsElectrificationIntegration https://lnkd.in/ghrJU_JX

I think all new schools should be set up with all electrical and plumbing accessible to be repaired or updated in the future. The rooms should be setup so that in the future apartments or businesses could occupy the school without major changes. Even though there would be some added expenses in the building of the school, in the future the school could be leased or sold at maybe a profit to the school district.