Facilities

Don Shalvey, ‘fearless’ charter school pioneer and mentor, dies at 79

March 18, 2024

Shalvey created the state's first charter school, its first multi-school network, Aspire Public Schools, and left his imprint on the charter sector and its leaders.

John Fensterwald

Property-poor districts demand fairer funding for school facilities

February 22, 2024

Lawyers representing organizations in property-poor school districts are pressing Gavin Newsom and legislators over a school bond for the November ballot.

John Fensterwald

Rainy day fund would bail out schools, community colleges in Newsom's 2024-25 state budget

January 10, 2024

California faces a $38 billion state budget deficit, but, with rosier revenue estimates, it’s less than the Legislative Analyst had forecast. The rainy day fund can fill in most of the gap for schools and community colleges.

John Fensterwald

California education issues to watch in 2024 — and predictions

January 4, 2024

Cheers! A state budget deficit will create financial stress for schools; contentious statewide ballot issues will create stress for voters.

John Fensterwald And Yuxuan Xie

Commentary

Newsom's veto enables charters to remain close to the communities they serve

October 18, 2023

Newsom says bill would have unfairly increased facilities costs.

Rich Harrison

Winds, rain, flooding close dozens of schools serving more than 100,000 students in California

March 15, 2023

Schools in 18 counties were shut down on Tuesday; the Central Coast was hit the hardest. A breached levy in Pajaro, next to Watsonville, will put a middle school out of commission for the year.

John Fensterwald

Commentary

Reactions to the governor's higher education budget proposals

January 17, 2023

Leaders representing all segments of California’s education system share their reactions to the governor’s 2023-24 January budget proposal for California's public college and university systems.

EdSource staff

Powerful winter storms delay return to school for thousands of California students

January 10, 2023

The return to school Monday from winter break was chaotic or delayed across California as heavy rains and strong winds prompted evacuations and school closures.

Diana Lambert

California school districts pass $20 billion in construction bonds, but some rural areas say no to higher taxes

December 22, 2022

Fear of a recession, worries about inflation and “pandemic polarization” produced some very close votes, but in the end, 70% of ballot issues won.

John Fensterwald And Carolyn Jones

Commentary

Let's design early education facilities now to meet the challenge of climate change

October 14, 2022

Children aren't responsible for climate change, but they'll experience the worst of it unless we make sure the places they'll spend growing and learning are prepared to protect them.

Angie Garling, Jeff Vincent, Isabelle Donohoe and Joe Fretwell

Kid cooks and tasty lunches: One elementary school's recipe for survival

January 6, 2022

No frozen pizza on the menu at Pacific Elementary in tiny coastal Davenport. The fifth and sixth grade chefs cook from scratch, luring families to enroll in their school.

John Fensterwald And Andrew Reed

Commentary

How state leaders can advance climate-resilient schools now

January 4, 2022

California needs a master plan to provide safe and inspirational spaces for children to learn that are protected from disruptions caused by climate change.

Jonathan Klein and Lisa Patel

Several options, big decisions loom for funding school construction

December 29, 2021

A 40-year-old initiative putting a ceiling on state spending may restrict how a budget surplus can be used; one option is capital spending on schools.

John Fensterwald

Commentary

To ensure safe schools for all, we need statewide cleaning standards

September 29, 2021

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of keeping school facilities clean and well-maintained.

Max Arias

Commentary

Facing wildfires and pandemics, California must invest in ensuring clean air in schools

July 29, 2021

For schools to adapt to the health threats from our rapidly warming climate, they need improved heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems that filter pollution and infectious particles from the air.

Zoe Lew, Lisa Patel and Erika Veidis