November 2016 General Election – Coalition for Adequate School Housing

State Allocation Board Update

Posted on June 28, 2017 by CASH

June 28, 2017

On Wednesday, June 28, the State Allocation Board (SAB) met to hear issues related to actions taken at their meeting on June 5, 2017 (approval of “Option 1”). Specifically, under Action Items, the agenda included “Regulatory Amendments for Increased Program Accountability” and “Regulatory Amendments for the Financial Hardship Program.” Under Informational Items, the agenda included “School Facility Program Application Processing.” The following is a summary of each agenda item.

Regulatory Amendments for Increased Program Accountability

At its June 5th meeting, the SAB approved a grant agreement template and conforming regulatory amendments. Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) staff indicated that necessary changes would need to be presented to the SAB if the budget trailer bill was enacted (AB 99 was subsequently signed by the Governor). This item seeks SAB approval for the revised template grant agreement. The item was APPROVED with no discussion.

Regulatory Amendments for the Financial Hardship Program

These proposed regulatory amendments would allow districts seeking Financial Hardship assistance to submit a request for funding without a pre-approved Financial Hardship status. This would allow a Financial Hardship approval process by accepting the Form SAB 50-04 when districts are ready to submit, and conducting a Financial Hardship review at the time the application is processed, prior to placement on the Unfunded List. CASH has advocated for this improvement to the Financial Hardship Program for many years and fully supports this proposal. This item was APPROVED with no discussion.

School Facility Program Application Processing

At their June 5th meeting, the SAB directed OPSC staff to begin processing the Applications Received Beyond Bond Authority List, as well as newly submitted applications. In this item, OPSC staff presented information to the SAB on how they will process the projects previously on this list, as well as Approved Applications for new construction and modernization projects received on or after April 1, 2017, that are now on the OPSC workload list. Included in the approval of “Option 1” was the requirement that districts must recalculate their enrollment and SFP eligibility. CASH strongly objects to this action. CASH Vice Chair Julie Arthur (Palm Springs USD) testified that CASH believes that the provisions of “Option 1” are inconsistent with statute, and asked the SAB to revisit the issue. No request to revisit “Option 1” or action was taken on this item because it was not an Action item.

The next SAB meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 23, 2017.

~ CASH Staff

Posted in Construction, Energy, Finance, General, Legal, Legislation, Maintenance & Operations, Planning & Architecture, Proposition 51, State Agency, Uncategorized, Water 2016 School Facilities Bond Initiative, 2016 State School Bond Initiative, Californians for Quality Schools, Charter School Facilities Program, Coalition for Adequate School Housing, CQS, Department of Finance, DIR, Division of the State Architect, DSA, Kindergarten Through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2016, November 2016 ballot, November 2016 General Election, November 2016 State School Bond Initiative, office of public school construction, OPSC, Prop 51, Proposition 51, SAB, School Facility Program, school finance, SFP, state allocation board, State School Bond, State School Bond Initiative, statewide school bond, Yes on 51, Yes on Proposition 51

Quarterly Message from the Chair

Posted on April 25, 2017 by CASH

April 25, 2017

Continuing Our Success

“A school building is more than a physical structure providing housing, light, heat, and shelter from the elements; it is the expression of the community’s commitment to education.”

– Donald Leu

It is my honor to have been chosen to lead the CASH organization at this critical and exciting time. I would like to thank the CASH Board for showing their faith in me, and particularly our outgoing chair Jenny Hannah. We all know Jenny as a kind and compassionate leader, and we have also learned that she can be relentless in the pursuit of the issue that is the foundation of our organization: that the state of California must be a partner in providing resources for communities to build and maintain schools. Her leadership and effort during the Proposition 51 campaign contributed significantly to its success. Thank you, Jenny, for working in the best interests of the students and teachers of California. You made Middle Earth proud.

Posted in Proposition 51, Uncategorized 2016 School Facilities Bond Initiative, 2016 State School Bond Initiative, Californians for Quality Schools, Coalition for Adequate School Housing, CQS, Kindergarten Through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2016, November 2016 ballot, November 2016 General Election, November 2016 State School Bond Initiative, office of public school construction, OPSC, Proposition 51, School Facility Program, SFP

OPSC Stakeholder Meeting on Front-End Grant Agreements for the SFP

Posted on March 30, 2017 by CASH

On Thursday, March 30, 2017, the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) held a stakeholder meeting in Sacramento to review OPSC’s draft grant agreements for the School Facility Program (SFP). The OPSC is planning to receive stakeholder input, and then take the item to the State Allocation Board (SAB) on its April agenda scheduled for April 26, 2017. This is a key document that needs to completed before Proposition 51 funds become available for school districts projects. CASH’s Board of Directors goal on OPSC’s proposed front-end grant agreement is to ensure that the grant agreement and audit guide are consistent with one another so that districts understand the rules and expectations throughout the entire life of the project. Further, CASH is requesting concurrent adoption of the Administration’s trailer bill language by the date of the April SAB Board meeting. CASH believes that such coordination is necessary to allow for the establishment of clear expectations while facilitating swift implementation of Proposition 51. Joe Dixon, Tom Duffy, and Ian Padilla attended the stakeholder meeting to represent CASH.

The substance of the meeting discussion was OPSC receiving and responding to stakeholders concerns. While the meeting included discussion of many significant policy and technical issues, the overarching concern expressed by stakeholders was to distinguish between what are clarifications to the existing process and what are changes to the existing process. In addition, stakeholders expressed concern that there has been insufficient time to provide quality input on the proposal and requested additional opportunities to provide feedback. In response, OPSC staff stated that they are open to additional written input and would look into the possibility of another stakeholder meeting, but that they wanted to ensure they had adequate time to prepare the document for presentation at the April SAB meeting.

~ CASH Staff

Posted in General, Legal, Legislation, Proposition 51, State Agency 2016 School Facilities Bond Initiative, 2016 State School Bond Initiative, Californians for Quality Schools, Charter School Facilities Program, Coalition for Adequate School Housing, CQS, Kindergarten Through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2016, November 2016 ballot, November 2016 General Election, November 2016 State School Bond Initiative, office of public school construction, OPSC, Proposition 51, SAB, School Facility Program, SFP, state allocation board, State School Bond, State School Bond Initiative, statewide school bond, Yes on 51, Yes on Proposition 51

38th Annual Conference Summary

Posted on March 20, 2017 by CASH

March 17, 2017

The CASH 38^th Annual Conference on School Facilities was outstanding! Held February 20-22, 2017, the positive energy from the more than 2,000 attendees was palpable throughout the Sacramento Convention Center and Hyatt Regency Hotel in Sacramento. Once again, the Trade Show sold out, we had a long list of sponsors and overall attendance increased more than 12 percent!
Thank You Exhibitors and Sponsors!

CASH would also like to thank the 41 sponsors and nearly 200 exhibitors for supporting the 38^th Annual Conference, as well as the following exhibitor weblink participants:

Allana Buick & Bers, Inc. – http://abbae.com
Alten Construction, Inc. – altenconstruction.com
T. Mancini Co., Inc. – www.btmancini.com
DMG North, Inc. – dmgn.com
Envise – http://enviseco.com
Eric Hall & Associates – erichallassociates.com
Extron Electronics – extron.com
Grand Slam Safety, LLC – grandslamsafety.com
Harris Construction Co., Inc. – http://harrisconstruction.com
Infinity Communications – infinitycomm.com
MBS Engineering, Inc. – mb.services
McGuire and Hester – mcguireandhester.com
Mondo – mondoworldwide.com
Sage Renewable Energy Consulting – sagerenew.com
Terracon Consultants, Inc. – terracon.com
Terraphase Engineering – http://terraphase.com
US Airconditioning Distributors – us-ac.com
W2W Sport – http://w2wsport.com

NextGen Experience

Attendees visited the NextGen Experience in the Trade Show to touch, feel, and experience the possibilities of flexible learning environments firsthand while conversing with vendors about integrating the flexible learning spaces into to their projects.

CASH would like to thank Jim Kisel, Lindsay Hayward and Kate Mraw with LPA, Inc. for their time and expertise designing this unique learning lab. We would also like to thank the following vendors for outfitting the space:

AFE Sports/AstroTurf/Rekortan
Balfour Beatty Construction
Buzzi Space
Campbell Keller
Cisco
LPA
MeTEOR
Mondo
Office Depot
Paragon
Shaw Contract
VS America

Highlights of the Conference included:

Workshops, Clinics and Roundtable Discussions

This year’s Conference included more than 40 workshops and clinics, and 30 roundtable discussions on hot topics and current issues, including finance, school construction, high performance and planning. The annual workshop for first-time attendees and new members was very well attended. At the very popular M&O Technology and Demonstration Fair and Reception, attendees received hands-on learning about the maintenance technology areas of solar, security, energy savings and more.

Monday, February 20

Golf Tournament

The Golf Tournament drew many golfers, despite the challenging weather. The sportsmanship and tenacity was evident, and a great time was had by all!

CASH Maintenance Management Certification Program

The more than 40 participants of the CASH Maintenance Management Certification Program presented their final maintenance plans on the morning of Monday, February 20. That afternoon, they received their Certificates of Completion during the graduation ceremony. Congratulations graduates!

Welcome Reception

During the Monday evening Welcome Reception, attendees had their first opportunity to visit the Exhibitors and NextGen Experience in the Trade Show, and network with their industry colleagues.

Tuesday, February 21

Tuesday morning, attendees were able to choose from workshops on current issues and hot topics, roundtable discussions, and the open Legislative Advisory Committee meeting. The Trade Show also reopened Tuesday morning and remained open throughout the day; attendees flocked to dessert service after lunch and concluded the evening during the reception.

Opening General Session and Lunch

CASH Chair Jenny Hannah welcomed the attendees to the Opening General Session and Lunch. Jenny thanked everyone for supporting Proposition 51 saying, “we could not have done this without the support of everyone in this room and others who could not be here today.” She also debuted the 2016 Summary of the Organization’s Work, which details the organization’s accomplishments over the past year, and announced the Regional Training Course Series, a new educational program by CASH.

CASH Vice Chair Don Ulrich then provided the Conference Overview.

Student Design Awards

Past Chair and Outreach Committee Chair, Mike Vail, and CASH Board Member David Miranda, presented the Student Design Awards to:

First Place: Michael Kramer, NewSchool of Architecture and Design
Second Place: Kyle Stevens, NewSchool of Architecture and Design
Third Place: Jamie Nguyen, Cal Poly Pomona

CASH/AIACC Leroy F. Greene Design and Planning Awards

Don Ulrich and Jana Itzen presented the CASH/AIACC Leroy F. Greene Design and Planning Awards, click here for a video of the 2016 winning projects.

James L. Murdoch Lifetime Achievement Award

Past Chair Dave Doomey, Founding Chair Gene Hartline and current Chair Jenny Hannah presented the prestigious James L. Murdoch Lifetime Achievement Award to Nina Boyd, Orange County Department of Education, for her many years of service to CASH.

Networking Dinner

The Networking Dinner on Tuesday, immediately following the reception in the Trade Show, was the place to be, where attendees continued conversations while enjoying food and beverages on the third floor of the Convention Center. Live entertainment was provided by the Rio Americano High School Band!

Wednesday, February 22

General Session and Networking Breakfast

The morning convened with the General Session and Networking Breakfast. Treasurer and Board Member Lyn Gruber presented the annual report on the fiscal health of the organization. She informed the attendees that this would be her last Treasurer’s Report, as she had finished her tenure on the Board of Directors, and made the announcement that Board Member Dwayne Mears had been appointed Treasurer. Lyn Gruber introduced State Senator Janet Nguyen. Senator Nguyen began her remarks by stating “I want to ensure the Government is working for the people, bringing together different perspectives and always working toward compromises that will benefit all sides.” Click here for a summary of the Senator’s remarks.

Closing General Session and Lunch

After welcoming attendees, Jenny Hannah eloquently delivered her parting message as Chair, noting “CASH has done great work, but there is much to do.” She introduced the incoming Chair, Don Ulrich, Clovis USD, and passed the gavel.

Don addressed the audience with his vision for the future of CASH: to continue working with the State Legislature and agencies to provide resources for school facilities that serve every child in California. He also shared the need for Proposition 51 implementation, to get the funds to local school districts as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Don announced the formation of a nonprofit foundation, the California School Facilities Research Institute, with goals of studying: the connection between quality facilities and their impact on student learning and success; next generation learning facilities; and the link between school facilities and community prosperity and success.

He ended with a quote from Donald Leu “a school building is more than a physical structure providing housing, light, heat, and shelter from the elements; it is the one expression of the community’s commitment to education.”

Next, Joe Dixon, Past Chair and Chair of the Nominating Committee, presented the Nominating Committee report. He asked the membership for approval of Julie Arthur, Palm Springs Unified School District as the incoming Vice Chair and the slate of new Board Members:

John Baracy, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc.
Alan Reising, Long Beach USD
Randy Rowles, Bakersfield City SD

John Baracy, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc.

He also thanked the Board Members whose terms have come to an end and presented Service Awards to:

Lyn Gruber, Koppel and Gruber Public Finance
John Peukert, San Bernardino City USD

Board Member Rob Pierce then presented Member Service Awards to the following, for their dedication and contributions to the organization:

Bob Chase, Division of the State Architect (retired)
Larry Ferchaw, Cooperative Strategies
Pat Gunn, Lozano Smith
Nathaniel Holt, Pomona USD
Andrea Roess, David Taussig & Associates
Julie Zimmerman, BakerNowicki Design Studio

Dave Walrath then recognized the following for their dedication to the passage of Proposition 51: the California Building Industry Association, Stutzman Public Affairs, Meridian Pacific and Mike Vail.

Post-Conference Debriefing

The Post-Conference debriefing was held immediately following the General Session. More than 30 attendees provided feedback and suggestions on this year’s Conference and ways to improve for next year. If you are interested in serving on the Annual Conference Planning Committee, please contact CASH staff member Lisa Church at (916) 448-8577 or lchurch@m-w-h.com.

Save the Date

Mark your calendar for the 39^th Annual Conference on School Facilities, February 26-28, 2018, at the Sacramento Convention Center and Hyatt Regency Sacramento.

~ CASH Staff

Posted in General, Proposition 51, Uncategorized 2016 School Facilities Bond Initiative, 2016 State School Bond Initiative, Coalition for Adequate School Housing, Division of the State Architect, DSA, Kindergarten Through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2016, November 2016 ballot, November 2016 General Election, Proposition 51

State Allocation Board Meeting Notes – January 2017

Posted on January 27, 2017 by CASH

January 25, 2017

Minutes

The minutes from the December 5, 2016, meeting were approved unanimously.

Executive Officer Statement

Lisa Silverman provided updates on the following:

Charter Round Opening: A new Charter School Facilities Program (CSFP) round will open and applications will be accepted from February 6, 2017, through June 5, 2017. $500 million is now available with the passage of Proposition 51. Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) staff will be providing a webinar and workshops on the CSFP application process.
August 2016 Priority Funding Apportionments: On August 17, 2016, $78.7 million was approved for 20 projects from 14 school districts. 19 projects were required to submit Form SAB 50-05 by November 15, 2016; two projects worth $932,070.50 did not. They were returned to the Unfunded List (Lack of AB 55 Loans) and given a new Unfunded Approval date of November 15, 2016.

Posted in Construction, Finance, General, Legal, Maintenance & Operations, Planning & Architecture, State Agency, Uncategorized 2016 School Facilities Bond Initiative, 2016 State School Bond Initiative, Californians for Quality Schools, Coalition for Adequate School Housing, CQS, Department of Finance, Emergency Repair Program, ERP, Kindergarten Through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2016, November 2016 ballot, November 2016 General Election, office of public school construction, OPSC, Prop 51, Proposition 51, SAB, School Facility Program, school finance, SFP, state allocation board, State School Bond, State School Bond Initiative, statewide school bond, Yes on 51, Yes on Proposition 51