Auxiliary Adviser

"Providing Services That Power Education"
Volume 3, Issue 8
May 2003

In This Issue
A Needed Investment
High Performance Buildings
Mark Your Calendar
Complimentary Breakfast
Energy Education Awards
Maintenance Regions
School Connection
Welcome
Training Schedule
Safety Toolbox Talks

A Needed Investment
Towards the end of April 2003, the Wake County Public School System gave county commissioners a prioritized list of school facilities needs and what it will take to provide a long-term solution for addressing those needs. An investment of $867 million in Wake's buildings is needed over the next four years just to keep from falling behind.

The needs list includes: building 20 new schools to accommodate the 3,500 additional students joining WCPSS each year, repairing or replacing critical building systems in 67 schools, and completing whole-building renovations at 20 campuses and systemwide improvements and re-roofing projects at 89 schools.

"We know that the proposed scope of this four-year plan is a large investment, but the needs are great and the benefit to student achievement is substantial," said Don Haydon, associate superintendent for auxiliary services. "Our schools need long-term solutions, not mere band-aids."

With full-funding, WCPSS will be able to ensure healthy, quality educational spaces for all students; reliable, efficient building systems; new schools to address student growth; renovations at existing schools to meet 21st century needs; and school buildings that support educational programs.

The district based the data-driven plan on the county government's enrollment projections, a professional engineering firm's building assessment of existing campuses, and internal assessments from principals and facilities and maintenance staff. School needs were prioritized according to health and safety, building condition, site condition, and educational programs.

"We will continue to work with the county commissioners and their staff to inform them about these needs and the impact they will have on the future success of Wake County's children, and to define the scope of the bond referendum proposed for fall 2003," said Haydon.

High Performance School Buildings
As one of the first districts to incorporate high performance design guidelines into school building projects, the Wake County Public School System was invited to share its successful experience at the Council of Educational Facility Planners International's Southeast Regional Conference, April 13 - 17. Over 140 people traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to study Wake's example and learn how to improve the design, construction and operation of their own school facilities.

Mike Burriss, assistant superintendent for facilities, and Mike Nicklas, with Innovative Design, served as panel leaders. While Nicklas - whose firm designed Durant and Dillard middle schools with daylighting and other energy-efficient features - discussed pre-design and design issues, Burriss focused on incorporating sustainability guidelines into school administration, construction and maintenance.

Burriss brought in architects and a contractor to speak on civil design, site work and the commissioning process. He also asked Jyoti Sharma, facility planning director, to explain her role in helping develop the sustainability (or green) guidelines and share site design information.

WCPSS and the Triangle J Council of Governments worked with representatives from Durham, Orange and Wake counties to develop High Performance Guidelines for public facilities built in the Triangle area. Released in February 2001, the guidelines focus on ways to save energy and water, reduce the use of materials, reduce indoor pollutants, and save taxpayer dollars. Guidelines cover 45 topics and range from waste management to erosion control.

"We're successful here in Wake County because our community is supportive and we all work together," said Burriss. "All our municipalities are using the Triangle J guidelines. In fact, most of them are already requiring certain guidelines that relate to retention ponds and storm water management."

The Triangle is one of the first places people worked together across jurisdictional boundaries to write and adopt a uniform set of guidelines, said Burriss. WCPSS is proving a valuable resource to representatives from other schools districts - such as Charleston, SC; Fairfax, VA; and Nashville, TN - that are interested in adding green initiatives to their programs.

WCPSS incorporated many sustainability features into the new schools and renovation projects in PLAN 2000. "With one of the largest building programs in this jurisdiction, we feel it's important for us to set an example and be responsible with our resources," said Sharma.

Sharma cited several examples of successful sustainability projects underway in Wake schools. The new high school set to open in Knightdale will include as many high performance guidelines as possible. Innovative Design will incorporate the guidelines into all their buildings, including the renovation project at Millbrook Elementary in 2003.

Apex Elementary School's major renovation and addition project involves a massive recycling effort. In July 2002, construction crews demolished several classroom buildings and the cafeteria. Over 80 percent of the crushed rubble is being recycled and more than 50 percent will go back into the new structure (and parking lot), scheduled to open for the 2003-04 school year.

A few of the other green features WCPSS is incorporating into the project include: limiting potable water for landscape irrigation by using drought resistant plants; improving the school's energy efficiency by installing light shelves, which increase the amount of sunlight in the classrooms by bouncing the light onto ceiling tiles; and allowing storm water to pass through natural, vegetative treatment areas.

Sharma also explained the Green Building Evaluation System and how projects earn points depending on which and how many of the features are included in the facility's design. Once the points are tallied, a facility may earn a "green" title ranging from Bronze, to Silver, and up to Gold and Platinum. She hopes Apex Elementary will be designated a "Bronze" building.

WCPSS staff also led roundtable discussions, gave presentations and were available to answer questions. Sheri Green, facility planning supervisor, held a discussion on working with the community to orient new projects; Becky Romine, furniture and equipment specialist, and Elizabeth Sharpe, facility planner, gave a joint presentation on whether to use carpet or tile in classrooms; and Buddy McCarty, environmental health and safety supervisor, answered indoor air quality and integrated pest management questions.

Mark Your Calendar
Child Nutrition Employee Appreciation Week
And National Teacher Appreciation Week
May 5 - 9

National Teacher Appreciation Day
May 5

Mother's Day
May 11

Memorial Day
May 26

Complimentary Breakfast
To help ensure students come to class ready to perform well on end-of-grade tests, the Child Nutrition Department is offering a complimentary, well-balanced breakfast to all third- and eighth-graders on the morning they take the test.

Good nutrition contributes to a child's ability to learn, and a growing body of empirical evidence backs up this fact. Children who have an empty stomach will have lower attention spans and increased errors on tests. What students eat for breakfast is just as important as eating the meal. A recent study demonstrated that children who ate inadequate breakfasts performed as if they had eaten no breakfast.

"We hope students take advantage of our offer for a convenient and healthy test day alternative to the sleepy brain," said Elaine Hunt, senior director for child nutrition. "We want school meals to truly serve education every day."

Students in schools on the traditional calendar and year-round students on track one take end-of-grade tests May 12 - 16. Students in year-round schools on tracks 2, 3 and 4 take end-of-grade tests June 9 - 13.

Four Wake Schools Win Recognition for Energy Education
Four Wake County schools won recognition for promoting energy education and will be honored at the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Youth Awards Program in Washington, D.C., June 20 - 23, 2003. Knightdale Elementary School was selected as a finalist on the national level and won School of the Year for North Carolina. Fox Road, Lockhart and North Ridge elementary schools will also be recognized for their energy conservation projects.

NEED panelists judged entrants based on scrapbooks showing what projects they have done throughout the year to promote energy education. Awards are given to the winner and runner-up in the elementary, junior and senior levels; and rookie awards are given at each level for schools in their first year of the NEED program.

NEED's "Kids Teaching Kids" approach encourages students to teach their peers and communities about energy in fun and innovative ways.

Last year, Lockhart and Knightdale elementary schools tied for National Elementary of the Year, and Fox Road Elementary won National Rookie of the Year. North Ridge Elementary and Green Hope High were also recognized.

Maintenance Regions on Track
The expansion of Wake's regional maintenance program, which involves grouping campuses into clusters and establishing satellite maintenance locations within existing schools, is moving ahead as scheduled. Greg Clark, director of general services, says he expects to have the northern and western areas fully staffed by July 2003.

Clark sent a letter and met with each principal affected by the expansion to explain the concept of the program, its goals and the significant benefits that will result.

An area facility manager (AFM) and three multi-task employees (MTE) maintain a cluster of five to eight schools, with four or five clusters forming a region. The AFMs report to a regional facilities manager (RFM), who reports to a director.

"By being closer to the schools they serve, technicians become more familiar with the facilities in their cluster," said Clark. "Reducing travel and troubleshooting time allows them to accomplish more work orders."

He has already hired all the AFMs for the northern and western regions. This week, the RFMs and AFMs will interview for MTEs to serve in their clusters and then bring their recommendations to Clark.

In 1998, M&O piloted the regional maintenance program in the southern part of Wake County. Because of that success and the great response from school leaders, WCPSS created the Eastern Region during the summer of 2002.

The two new regions in the north and west should be in place this July and the final, central region is scheduled to open the following summer.

Northern Region - James Wellman, RFM
Eastern Region - Ed Stolzenberg, RFM
Western Region - Gregg Alston, RFM
Southern Region - Ken Mangum, RFM

School Connection
On May 1, 2003 the Wake school system broadcast its first monthly program, The School Connection. Each month the 30-minute news magazine program highlights programs or activities in our schools, features employees who make a difference for Wake students, offers insight into an educational issue, and provides answers to parents' questions. Each program ends with an artistic performance by a student group.

The School Connection airs on Time Warner Cable Channel 10 in Raleigh on Fridays at 12:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 3:30 p.m. It also airs on Channel 11 in Raleigh on Mondays at 10:30 a.m., Thursdays at 12:30 p.m. and Fridays at 12:30 and 6:00 p.m. In Cary, the School Connection airs on Channel 11 on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 3:30 p.m.

In addition, the show will broadcast before the repeat airing of the Board of Education meeting a few days later at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

For more information visit www.wcpss.net.

Welcome
Environmental Health & Safety
Mike Poole, Jr. joined the Integrated Pest Management team, within the Environmental Health and Safety Department. Most recently, Poole was a multi-task employee with the Fuquay High cluster, and has four years of experience with the Buildings and Grounds Department. You may contact him at 664-5618 or at mpoole2@wcpss.net.

Facilities
Terry Purdie, project assistant with Heery International, resigns May 19, 2003. She continuously does a great job on all her projects and will be missed. The new project assistant, Michele Collier, began cross training with Purdie, May 1, to ensure a smooth transition. For the next few weeks, Purdie and Collier will share the same phone number, 856-3733. Collier's e-mail is macollier@wcpss.net.

After serving as facility planning's secretary on a temporary basis since last fall, Deborah Kafu has officially been named the department's new secretary. Kafu may be reached at 856-8280 or via e-mail at dkafu@wcpss.net.

Maintenance & Operations
Please welcome Melanie Hensley as the new secretary for the Buildings and Grounds Department. Hensley may be reached at 856-8010 and by e-mail at mhensley@wcpss.net.

Safety Toolbox Talks Topics
May - Confined Spaces
1st Week: Respirators #180
2nd Week: Signs #181
3rd Week: Permits (Safety Manual)
4th Week: Carbon Monoxide #12
5th Week: Four Gas Monitor

June - Falls
1st Week: Ladders #61
2nd Week: Scaffolding #116
3rd Week: Slips, Trips and Falls #60
4th Week: Fall Protection - Harnesses
5th Week: Spill Prevention #111

Stay Informed
The Auxiliary Adviser is e-mailed to subscribers in the school system; and posted on the intranet, Internet, and Auxiliary Services Tao bulletin board. A hard copy of the Adviser is also posted on bulletin boards in the Maintenance and Facilities Buildings, placed in each maintenance shop's box, and one is sent to the head custodian and child nutrition staff at each school.

To have the newsletter e-mailed to you directly, simply send an e-mail with "subscribe" in the subject line, to kwood@wcpss.net.

Auxiliary Services Division
Vision
Providing Services That Power Education

Mission Statement
Provide quality facilities and support services to ensure safe, healthy, inviting and optimal learning environments.

Goals
1) Recruit, develop and retain a qualified and high quality workforce.
2) Provide and maintain quality facilities and support services that result in a safe and healthy learning environment.
3) Effectively communicate successes, challenges and needs.