|
Join our Team!
We are always seeking team members knowledgeable and familiar with school district needs.
|
|
Protect our Schools
Vote YES on 51
|
|
|
|
Whittier City School District Issues Students iPads
The week of October the 10th was an exciting one for Whittier City School District, who launched its home iPad program. This program, officials say, allows its middle school students to take the tablets home, giving them access to contemporary learning.
By the end of their launch week, more than 1,000 students and their parents at Dexter Middle School checked out their iPads and by the end of December, all students will have an iPad to use in classrooms, with nearly 2,000 middle school students gaining access to their own 64-gigabyte iPad Air 2.
The security system is controlled by District administrators who are monitoring downloading of unauthorized programs or apps and will lock them down in case of theft.
|
Building Energy Efficiency Standards Seminar, 2016
On August 18th, EH&A Associate Carlos Martinez attended the 2016 Building Energy Efficiency Standards seminar presented by Green Technology.
The current energy goals for California with changes to the energy standards for residential and commercial buildings are:
- Zero Net Energy (ZNE) for all new residential construction starting in 2020
- ZNE for all new commercial buildings by 2030.
ZNE is defined by the California Energy Commission as "the amount of energy provided by on-site renewable energy sources is equal to the amount of energy used by the building" over a typical year.
The 2016 Building Energy Efficiency Standards will take effect on January 1, 2017. The changes to the Energy Standards focus on several key areas to improve the energy efficiency of newly constructed buildings and additions and alterations to existing buildings. The most significant efficiency changes to the residential standards include improvements for attics, walls, water heating, and lighting.
The seminar slides can be downloaded by
clicking here.
For more information on the Energy Standards Seminar, contact
Carlos Martinez at 619-309-9958
.
|
Join the Proposition 51 Social Media Campaign
The home stretch for Proposition 51-State School Bond is in full swing! State mailers are out and TV ads continue. Please help us by joining the Proposition 51 Social media campaign.
Voters need to know that Proposition 51 will help their community by:
- Fund all projects on the true unfunded list
- Fund all eligible modernization projects on the acknowledged list
- Fund all eligible new construction projects on the acknowledged list
- Fund approved Community College projects
- Provide state matching funds for eligible local school bond funded projects
- Fund eligible career technical education facilities
- Fund eligible charter school facilities
If you have any questions regarding Proposition 51, please
contact
Vice President
Bob Nicholson
at 858-414-6268
.
|
Former Coronado Unified Superintendent
Jeff Felix Joins the Eric Hall & Associates Team
We are proud to announce that Dr. Jeffrey Felix has joined the team of professionals here at Eric Hall & Associates. Jeff recently retired from the Coronado Unified School District after serving for 19 years as a public school Superintendent.
Dr,. Felix brings a wealth of experience to the team including many building projects, complete school construction projects, assorted back office accomplishments, many change-driven transitions, and ground-breaking technology implementations.
After years of owning his own businesses and then teaching in both private and public sc
hools, Jeff became the superintendent/principal of San Pasqual Union School District in 1997. He negotiated and built a school at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. He then helped design, create, and build an award-winning theme-based school that opened on time one year later with no increases to the budgeted cost. He continued with that same success in Bonsall and in Coronado.
Jeff earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the UC San Diego in 2007. His dissertation and research combined his communication and computer science degrees by studying the effectiveness of teachers blogging with their students as an instructional practice. His research was widely published as it represented the first full study on the use of social media as an instructional practice.
As county chairperson for the Superintendent Technology Advisory Committee, Jeff wrote a white paper detailing the extent of the issues involved in serving the Digital Age student. He still serves on the Board for the Classroom of the Future Foundation. He continues to speak on the Digital Age issues related to education as well as technology infrastructure, one to one ratios in the classroom, BYOD, mastery learning, and personalized learning.
In 2004 he was chosen as the county superintendent/principal of the year by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) and the California School Boards Association. He was named the Superintendent of the Year in 2013 by the same group. He served as Chairman of the San Diego CIF Board of Managers and Chairman of the ACSA Region 18 Superintendents' Roundtable. Dr. Felix also served as an advisor for National University and the Think Tank created by Bill Gates called "bgC3."
Jeff and his wife Debbie have been married 40 years and have two daughters and five grandchildren. He enjoys spending his leisure time playing tennis and golf.
|
Title V School Siting & Design Standards Review
The California Department of Education (CDE) School Facilities & Transportation Services Division met on October 4th and is currently reviewing the School Siting and Design Standards contained in California Code of Regulations on Title V standards. Opportunities for stakeholder input both verbal and written will be scheduled over the upcoming months.
Once the stakeholder meetings have concluded, the CDE will review all gathered perspectives and create draft regulations. At that time, the State Board of Education will be requested to open the public commenting period.
|
|
Concrete Delivery Legislation (AB 219)
Assembly Bill 219 (Daly, Chapter 739, Statutes of 2015) adds Section 1720.9 to the Labor Code. This bill expands the definition of public works under the California Prevailing Wage Law to include:
...the hauling and delivery of ready-mixed concrete to carry out a public works, contract, with respect to contracts involving any state agency, including the California State University and the University of California, or any political subdivision of the state.
Section 1720.9 defines the term ready-mixed concrete
and specifies that the rate of pay shall be the current prevailing wage "for the geographical area in which the factory or batching plant is located" as determined by the Department of Industrial Relations. The statute also requires a written agreement between the party hauling or delivering ready-mixed concrete and the party that engaged its services. The agreement must specify compliance with the Prevailing Wage Law.
Finally, section 1720.0 requires the hauling or delivery company provide certified payroll records under Labor Code section 1776(a) to the party that engaged its services and to the general contractor within five working days after the employee has been paid, accompanied by a written time record. The time record must be certified by each driver for the performance of job duties.
In conclusion,
ready-mix producers estimate that the cost of concrete for projects under AB 219 would increase by 30 to 40 percent. That's a big hit to every city, county, transit and transportation agency in the state. Caltrans estimated $1 million annually in administrative costs just to administer the bill, and an additional $35 million in maintenance. For the taxpayer, the bill would reduce the state's ability to fund roads at a time when key legislators are seeking to restore transportation funding mechanisms. (Source: Associated General Contractors of California / AB 219 (Daly) Could Cause a Chain Reaction for Public Works Projects)
|
|
State Allocation Board Update
The State Allocation Board (SAB) last met on October 17, 2016. The minutes from the August 17, 2016 meeting were approved unanimously.
The Executive Officer, Lisa Silverman, provided updates on the following:
On August 17, 2016, $78.7 million was approved for 20 projects from 14 school districts. 19 projects must submit Form SAB 50-05 by November 15, 2016.
Seismic Mitigation Projects
: There are two items on the consent agenda to provide unfunded approvals: Buena Park Elementary School District ($541,571 for rehabilitation) and Hemet Unified School District ($6,012,331 for replacement).
Upcoming Priority Funding Filing Round:
Will begin on November 9, 2016 and close on December 8, 2016. Requests will be valid from January 1, 2017 through June 30, 2017. There are currently six projects for six school districts on the Unfunded List (Lack of AB 55 Loans) totaling $12.3 million that could submit a request for participation this filing round.
Consent Agenda:
The consent agenda was approved unanimously. Items included, but were not limited to the following:
Facility Hardship Program Proposed Regulations for Funding Historical Buildings:
The Board approved a technical change to the regulatory amendments approved by the Board on August 17, 2016 for funding historical school buildings under the Facility Hardship program.
Facility Hardship / Rehabilitation Program:
The Board approved five Facility Hardship projects for placement on the Unfunded List (Lack of AB 55 Loans), including two Seismic Mitigation Program projects and three rehabilitation projects.
Financial Reports
: The following reflects remaining bond authority for Unfunded Approvals made at the October 17, 2016 meeting.
|
SFP Program
|
Prop. 1D
|
Prop. 55
|
Prop. 47
|
|
New Construction
|
$0.8 million
|
$8.5 million
|
$11.1 million
|
|
Seismic Repair
|
$72.2 million
|
---
|
---
|
|
Overcrowding Relief
|
$14.0 million
|
---
|
---
|
|
Modernization
|
$4.8 million
|
$0.0
|
$0.0
|
|
Career Technical
|
$13.6 million
|
---
|
---
|
|
High Performance
|
$0.0
|
---
|
---
|
|
Charter School
|
$33.1 million
|
$3.9 million
|
$4.3 million
|
The next SAB meeting will be held December 5, 2016
CASH Update
CASH held their Fall conference October 17-through October 19, 2016.
Please visit the web sites for
SAB
and
CASH
for information on upcoming meetings and the status of funding.
For additional information on this article, please contact Vice President, Bob Nicholson at (858)-414-6268.
|
|
|
We are pleased and honored to provide services, support, and guidance necessary for the success of all California school districts and county offices of education.
All the best,
Eric Hall, President
Eric Hall & Associates
cell (760) 519-8531
|
|
|
