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Nevada School District Moves Ahead with Construction

School News — Mon, 18 May 2020 17:42:47 +0000

By Lisa Kopochinski

RENO, Nev.—The Washoe County School District in Reno, Nevada is moving ahead with more than $600 million in construction projects—including a $200 million high school— despite the current coronavirus pandemic and uncertain tax revenues.

District Chief Financial Officer Mark Mathers told local media that the district has planned and factored in a decrease in sales tax, the main source of its capital projects funding.

“We have begun modeling a recession and the impacts to sales tax revenue because of that recession,” he said in a statement.

An increase of sales tax in Washoe County in 2016 from the WC-1 ballot initiative — from 7.725 percent to 8.265 percent — gave the district more than $3.8 million a month for construction projects.

In fiscal years 2016 through 2020, the district took in nearly $150 million in sales tax revenues. However, this income could plummet during the economic shutdown as many businesses remain closed per Nevada Gov. Sisolak’s orders. The district has calculated budgets to see a drop of as much as 34 percent in sales tax revenues in fiscal year 2021.

However, the school board approved a five-year capital projects plan that includes a new high school on part of Wildcreek Golf Course in north Reno, and expansions at Swope and O’Brien middle schools.

“It is very exciting,” said Chief Facilities Management Officer Adam Searcy of the new Procter Hug High. “They are working feverishly out there to build this new school. On a budgeted project such as the construction of a new high school—as terrible as the circumstances have been in all other walks of life—we caught a good break on the timing for that project.”

He added that initial bids for parts of that project have come in lower than anticipated.

The five-year capital projects budget includes:

$307 million in major projects such as school construction
$63 million in capital renewal projects for paving and upgrading current schools
$120 million in debt services for paying back borrowed money for previous projects
$27 million in program administration including salaries
$20 million in operations and equipment

While the district is anticipating revenues falling $50 million or more a year from WC-1, it is moving forward with plans to bring in $38 million in fiscal year 2021.

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A Safe Solution to Protecting Schools

On Dec. 14, Adam Lanza shot 20 students and six faculty members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The incident is the second deadliest mass shooting by a single person in American history and one of the latest in a series of school shootings, prompting a renewed nationwide debate about gun control and the protection of American students.
While the debate continues, Hardwire Armor Systems has come up with a solution: bulletproof whiteboards and clipboards.
The Pocomoke City, Md.-based armor manufacturing company was founded in 2000 to develop, test and field armor protection for U.S. military ground vehicles, aircraft boats and personnel. Two years ago, the company made a clipboard version of the armor for law enforcement officials, and last summer, that line of defense was created as a 1-pound backpack insert for students to use. However, online customer feedback felt it was a heavy burden for kids to bear and could possibly have a negative psychological effect on them.
When the Sandy Hook shooting happened, George Tunis, Hardwire’s CEO, realized that it was really the adults who needed the armor and came up with the bulletproof whiteboard as a result. “When I drop my kids off at school, I put them in the hands of the adults at that school. Their job is to educate them, keep them safe, keep them fed, and until I pick them up, those adults are in charge of my kids,” Tunis said. “If we equip and train the adults, we empower the adults.”
Implementing Bulletproof Products
The material used for the bulletproof whiteboards and clipboards is MIJ Level 3A, which means it can stop any handgun, shot gun or small-caliber rifle. The whiteboards are about the same size as a police shield, 18 inches by 20 inches, while the clipboards are 10 inches by 13 inches. Both are light enough for teachers and students to write on it, also making it a useful tool in the classroom. The whiteboards even have different style handles that make the boards easy to hold up during discussions.
“I remember going to school it was hard enough as it was, and Sandy Hook really did add a lot of fear to the equation, so we wanted to take away from that. Psychologically, we wanted the armor to blend in for the children, and most importantly for the teachers we wanted to make something that was useful because in a crisis it needs to be handy, available and familiar. It needs to be something that they’re using every day,” Tunis said.
Twelve prototype schools, including ones in Virginia, Maryland and Minnesota, have been given the armor, and teachers are using them at their desk to plan out homework assignments, weekly schedules or the day’s lesson.
So far the feedback has been very positive: “The majority of teachers would do just what the teachers at Sandy Hook did — absolutely anything to protect their students. Ballistic whiteboards make that prospect easier,” said Charlotte Orlando, kindergarten teacher for Virginia’s Fairfax County Public Schools, in a statement.
Basic Training
Hardwire provides a two-hour training, conducted by retired secret service agents, for the teachers using the equipment. While the training encourages teachers to follow their school procedures, it adds a few extra ones to follow. Some of it involves assessing the situation, whether teachers should decide to stay put or evacuate. If they do stay put, the training teaches them where to position the kids and how to use the shield, and in the event they’re confronted with a shooter, how to use the shield as a defensive tool. “At Sandy Hook, those adults did every single thing right, but in the end they literally had to throw themselves at the bad guy and they didn’t have any equipment to be able to do that. It’s like having a fire, not having a fire extinguisher and just throwing yourself on it to put it out. Just one piece of equipment makes all the difference, so we teach the teachers how to use that one piece of equipment to put the fire out,” Tunis said.
The training also includes teaching the teachers how to work in teams. For instance, during an evacuation, basic military tactics can be used. According to Tunis, the military does not use a general order to evacuate a building. Instead, the military comes up with names for their exits so that they can tell each other where exactly to evacuate, but at schools, the exits are usually not labeled by location.
“We’re helping them understand the logistics of an attack. You want them to evacuate away from the problem, not towards it,” Tunis said. “In front of the students, you need the teachers with the shield and behind the students with the shield. On the outside, you should have the teachers surrounding the students with the shield. That’s just a basic lesson from nature.”
Training, for the most part, has been administered to the adults; however, teachers in middle and high schools are talking a lot about the devices with students as a means to teach science and physics because the “science behind [the speed of a bullet] is fascinating. Most people don’t realize that a 9 mm handgun has no more energy than a little league pitch at 45 miles per hour,” Tunis said.
“Now that we have bulletproof shields in our classrooms, I feel a lot safer knowing that we aren’t completely defenseless to an attack on our school. I believe that other schools should follow our example because this could potentially save a lot of people’s lives one day,” said Charlie Pritchard, ninth grader at Worcester Preparatory School in Berlin, Md., in a statement. “It’s good to know that if a gunman attacks our school that the students are able to protect themselves and one another.”
The Future of Bulletproof Armor
Another product that Hardwire is rolling out at schools is the bulletproof peel-n-stick door, a whiteboard door panel that can be applied to any standard door. It’s about 60 inches by 34.5 inches and can also be used for daily instruction, teaching and communication.
“If I had a vision for what whiteboards can do in schools, it’s a nonlethal piece of defense that can go in every adult’s hands. A larger, peel-n-stick version can go on the doors and the door becomes bulletproof. Then, you have two layers of defense, and the name of the game is buying time for the first responders to get there,” Tunis said. “It’s amazing what 92 empowered and equipped people can do to a man with a gun. Instead of being a crowd at the mercy of a bad guy, you’ve got the angry villagers coming after Frankenstein.”
So far, the equipment at the 12 prototype schools has been funded through the Adopt-a-School program, a partnership between Hardwire and the nonprofit Maryland Hawk Corporation that encourages corporations to sponsor a school or teacher through a tax deductible donation.

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National Attention Focused on School Safety

The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School now has districts and policymakers throughout the country rethinking school security policies.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller recently announced his support toward a bill that pushes school corporations to enter into formal relationships with local law enforcement. Even though the bill was not originally intended as a response to the devastation in Newtown, Conn., Zoeller and state senator, Peter Miller noted that the legislation would be the state government’s first formal proposal to address increased school safety in Indiana.

“In light of the recent tragic events in Connecticut, we know school safety is a subject parents and the public are very concerned about,” said Zoeller in a statement. “In a needs assessment researching school safety last fall, educators and law enforcement leaders indicated they would like to make school resource officers available in more schools. Many have asked, ‘What can Indiana do now to enhance school safety?’ And this is something legislators can do in early 2013.”

Indiana is not alone when it comes to proposing legislation to make schools safer. It comes as no surprise that Connecticut is also among the states to propose new policies. Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy has recently appointed Hamden Mayor Scott Jackson as chairman of a newly formed committee, School Security Advisory Commission. The role of the commission will be to review current policy and make specific recommendations in the areas of public safety, with particular attention paid to school safety, mental health and gun violence prevention, according to the governor’s office.

“Shortly after the initial horror and the immediate grief over what occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, there was one question on the lips of many of our residents: ‘How do we make sure this never happens again?’ It’s the right question, even as we recognize that despite our best efforts, bad things will happen,” Malloy said in a statement.

By forming the new commission in Connecticut, Malloy hopes to tighten up security and also other factors that could have played a role in the recent tragedy.

“This commission will look for ways to make sure our gun laws are as tight as they are reasonable, that our mental health system can reach those who need its help, and that our law enforcement has the tools it needs to protect public safety, particularly in our schools,” Malloy said.

National Debate

President Obama also voiced his deepest condolences for the 26 victims and their families, and promised to approach gun reform in a serious way.

Obama presented three gun control provisions in which he supports, including a ban on assault riffles, a ban on high-capacity magazines and a requirement for background checks at gun shows.

“My response is something has to work,” said Obama during an interview with Meet the Press. “And it is not enough for us to say, ‘This is too hard, so we’re not going to try.’ So what I intend to do is to call all the stakeholders together. I will meet with Republicans. I will meet with Democrats. I will talk to anyone.”

As the National Rifle Association (NRA) proposed placing armed guards at schools around the country, it sparked a national debate about not only ongoing gun control issues, but also shined the spotlight on what that means in terms of school safety. The NRA stood firm on their stance that passing tougher gun laws is not the answer; instead the organization suggested more guns may mean greater security for children in schools.
“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” said Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the NRA in a press conference.

While most districts opposed the statements made by the NRA, others felt it may not be so far off, including Superintendent Steven Engravalle of Fort Lee School District in Hamburg, N.J.
Engravalle said in a statement that he believes the only way to prevent tragedies is to have “the threat and presence of a trained law enforcement officer;” however, he continued to say, school officials, “can never be 100 percent sure of anything.”

“I would do everything in my power to put a police officer in each building,” said Engravalle in a statement. “I think that’s the only way to do it.”

Solutions for Safety

While Congress and the NRA are battling on the political level, technology company iThinQware Inc. has developed a less aggressive way to ease the worries of students, parents, faculty and staff. The company has developed an app in hopes of bringing an increased sense of security to users.
iThinQware Inc., based in Addison, Texas, has developed the iWatch, a mobile app that has had previous success with police departments, sheriff’s offices, the U.S. Army, the Department of Homeland Security and universities and public schools throughout the country.

The app allows students and users alike to proactively communicate information about suspicious behavior or activities directly to law enforcement. The goal of the app is to stop crimes before they happen. The app is part of iPredict, a software suite developed by the company which allows any person of any age, with almost any smartphone, to report suspected criminal activities, respond to police requests for information, or submit photos or videos anonymously from smartphones directly to the officers investigating a specific crime, according to the company.

“We see the debate over gun controls, and offer another way to safeguard our community,” said Dan Elliot, president and inventor of the iWatch in a statement. “By our way of thinking, NRA means ‘Neighborhoods Reach for the App,’ not the gun.”

Reviewing Safety in Schools

Although no formal laws have been made to-date in terms of school safety, districts throughout the country are taking a closer look at their security measures after the tragedy in Newtown.

In Connecticut, a new $92 million high school is set to open this fall, designed by Tai Soo Architects; however, in the light of the Newtown tragedy, there are now some small changes in plans to adhere to greater security, according to Guilford High School Building Committee Chairman Scott Pinckney. Although changes will be made, Pinckney stated the details could not be released.

In response to the outpour of methods, theories and policies of how to better protect children in the wake of the Newtown tragedy, the International Union of Police Associations, AFL-CIO, has issued a policy paper detailing their reaction to the aftermath and a general plan for the future.

The union, which represents rank and file police officers throughout the country, recommended a number of measures including a plan for schools to develop better entrance controls and more solid lockdown facilities and to practice regular lockdown drills designed to get students to safe places quickly during an emergency, according to the International Union of Police Associations.

The union claimed that this type of safety training could be accomplished by having school administrators work with their local law enforcement professionals to devise these emergency response plans and train their employees to react appropriately and spontaneously during these emergencies.

There have been comments made about arming school staff and personnel, and in response the union stated, “…attempting to provide what promises to be extremely limited training and then arming civilian employees will endanger both those armed personnel as well as the children we are committed to protecting.”

While many ideas are being thrown around in the wake of these tragedies, the union cited an example that has proven to show merit in the past, and perhaps can resurface. The report cites a 1970 practice when schools in California hired off-duty police officers that qualified for state teaching credentials, to teach civic classes at inner city schools. The program not only improved security at the institutions, but also gave troubled students an opportunity to interact with a law enforcement officer in a learning environment, according to the report.

With all the chaos surrounding the shooting, the report stated, “It is time for a meaningful, thoughtful dialog to take place that addresses all of the circumstances that led to and tragically resulted in the blood bath we witnessed and continue to grieve in Newtown.”

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CEFPI to Host School Security Summit

WASHINGTON — In light of the recent focus on school security issues following the tragic events in Newtown, Conn., and in an effort to help the school community understand the key issues of school security as it relates to the built environment, the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) will convene a School Security Summit on Feb. 6, 2013, in Washington, DC.

CEFPI will bring stakeholders together, including educators, administrators, government agencies, elected officials, non-governmental organizations and security experts, with the goal of creating a best practices document addressing school security as it relates to the planning, design and operational protocol of the physical environment. Thoughtful planning and design can support safer school objectives on existing campuses as well as new K-12 construction.

CEFPI members are the front-line decision-makers regarding the built environment, advocating the modernization of school facilities to support 21st century learning. The organization embraces a diverse group of professionals with one single goal — building healthy, safe, high performance and sustainable learning environments that enhance student and teacher performance and support culture and community vitality.

Many school officials are asking the tough but necessary questions about their own district’s stance on safety: Is it effective? Are our children safe? By attending the summit, many officials may get answers on how to improve current systems in order to prepare for the unimaginable.

Not only will members of the summit receive valuable information, but they will be able to take these ideas back to schools in order to better accommodate students, teachers, faculty and staff. The built environment can help everyone at the school thrive by promoting the highest in education, while providing equal safety and security to match.

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