January 4, 2016
Kindergarten through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2016
In response to the lack of state funding for school facilities, the Coalition for Adequate School Housing (C.A.S.H.) has qualified a State School Bond for the November 2016 statewide General Election ballot. C.A.S.H. will proceed with its State School Bond on the General Election ballot in November 2016.
The 2016 State School Bond would provide $9 billion for New Construction ($3 billion) and Modernization ($3 billion) projects, as well as Career Technical Education ($500 million), Charter Schools ($500 million), and Community Colleges ($2 billion).
In addition to the State School Bond, there will be multiple initiatives on the November 8, 2016 Statewide General Election Ballot. We will need to rise above the fray! We need every school district and county office to pass a resolution in support of the 2016 State School Bond. Attached is a sample resolution.
Thank you to all of the school districts and county offices of education that have passed the school board resolutions supporting the 2016 State School Bond.
For more information or to contribute, please visit www.cashissuesstateschoolbond.com.
We look forward to your continuing support to pass the State School Bond on November 8, 2016.
DSA Irrigation Efficiency Regulations Effective January 1, 2016
Effective January 1, 2016, new construction and building addition projects submitted to the Division of the State Architect must comply with the new irrigation efficiency regulations aimed at reducing water consumption. These regulations were approved on a temporary basis on July 21, 2015. Since that time, DSA has worked with stakeholders, including C.A.S.H., to refine and implement the program. The revised regulations will likely go before the Building Standards Commission at a meeting in early 2016.
In December, DSA issued DSA Procedure PR 15-03: Compliance with CalGreen Outdoor Water Use Regulations. This procedure provides additional information on implementation of the new program, including definitions, scope and thresholds for compliance, and submittal requirements. The procedure also provides some detail on flexibility provisions that will allow for banking of work done at other sites, and it indicates that temporary housing does not trigger the regulations. DSA has also indicated that they will allow districts to receive credit for projects back to 2010 that can demonstrate compliance with MWELO requirements in place at the time of the project. This provision is not included in the new procedure.
The regulations were subject to a 15-day public comment period from November 23, 2015 to December 8, 2015, providing time for feedback on changes under consideration by the Building Standards Commission. The changes align with the recent revisions to the Model Water Efficiency Landscape Ordinance (MWELO) adopted by the Department of Water Resources, which require compliance for building construction and additions with a footprint of 500 square feet or greater. DSA adopted this approach, but limited the 500 square foot trigger to construction that is part of a new campus or a previously un-landscaped area (i.e. fallow or non-irrigated land). For projects on rehabilitated landscape areas, the regulations apply for building footprints of 1,600 square feet or greater. When triggered, projects are required to complete landscape project area equal to 75% of the square footage of the building footprint. The proposed revisions also provide the option to use a prescriptive compliance approach for landscape areas between 500 square feet and 2500 square feet. This option provides a checklist model and lighter documentation load for districts.
The State Water Resources Control Board is considering updates to its own regulations, developed in response to the Governor’s Executive Order on drought response. These updates would adjust requirements for inland California, providing an easing of reduction mandates of up to four percentage points per water agency. The revisions are scheduled for consideration by the Water Board in February.
Air Resources Board: Cap-and-Trade Proceeds
The Air Resource Board’s (ARB) Second Cap-and-Trade Auction Proceeds Second Investment Plan: Fiscal Years 2016-17 and 2018-19, which establishes “investment priorities” for the expenditure of state cap-and-trade proceeds, did not initially include schools. In partnership with the Green Schools Initiative (GSI) and the School Energy Coalition (CEC), C.A.S.H. successfully advocated for schools being eligible to apply for funding under the Investment Plan. The program will allow schools to participate in the Investment Plan’s major areas of focus, including Transportation and Sustainable Communities, Natural Resources and Waste Diversion, and Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency. C.A.S.H. also recommended that a streamlined and integrated school program be created to ensure school district participation. This is a big victory for the education community, as schools are natural partners in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Administration will use this plan to develop its Cap-and-Trade State Budget proposal to be introduced in January 2016, and C.A.S.H. will continue to support the inclusion of schools.
C.A.S.H. 37th Annual Conference
Registration is still open for the C.A.S.H. 37th Annual Conference, being held February 22-24, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento and Sacramento Convention Center. Join the more than 1,000 school facilities professionals that will convene in Sacramento for education, innovation and networking opportunities. Highlights of the Conference will include: the NextGen Experience, a hands-on simulated learning space where attendees gather to discover the latest advancements in classroom design right on the trade show floor, and the Networking Dinner, held Tuesday evening following the close of the trade show.
Hotel reservations are also still being accepted. For more information or to register, please visit the C.A.S.H. website, www.cashnet.org/meetings/2016_Annual_Conference/2016AnnualConference.htm or call the C.A.S.H. office at (916) 448-8577.
Show your support! Become an Annual Conference sponsor and exhibitor today! Don’t miss your chance to be a part of the premier school facilities conference. Trade show spaces are selling quickly. To secure your sponsorship and booth space, contact Laurie Eaton, leaton@m-w-h.com or call (916) 448-8577.
Save the Dates! C.A.S.H. Happy Hour/Networking Mixers
Join your fellow school facility professionals for happy hour/networking mixers! Make sure to save these dates:
- January 14, 2016, 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Networking Mixer and Film Screening)
Offices of NAC Architecture,
837 North Spring Street, Third floor,
Los Angeles, CA 90012 - January 28, 2016, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Fire Rock Grill
11275 Folsom Boulevard
Rancho Cordova, CA 95742 - February 11, 2016 – Inland Empire
Location TBD
For more information, contact Mike Vail at (949) 498-8993.
~ C.A.S.H. Staff
