During summer months, educators in the past used the time to implement new programs and improvements for students and teachers. But, in the last few years, with funding slashed, most educators across the country simply try to uphold standards in a cost-effective manner. A recent poll conducted by Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup found that the greatest challenge to education is funding.

It is interesting to see how school districts throughout the country are spending what funding they do receive. Some common trends include the following:

Data Systems

Educators have invested what funds they have in data-driven technology. On the federal, state and local levels, new data systems are being used for tracking student progress and teacher performance. 

[more]

Quasi-governmental entity will oversee city's technology projects

Caswell Holloway

Plagued by problems and cost overruns on computer/technology projects, the city of New York has decided to create a quasi-governmental entity to oversee the city's technology projects. The proposed entity is expected to be able to operate outside the city's procurement regulations and out of the harness of legislative oversight.

Deputy Mayor Caswell Holloway said he expects the new entity could save the taxpayers of New York millions of dollars. It can do so, he says, by eliminating the need for the city to hire high-dollar private sector contractors to design, develop and execute technology projects. He insists the city should be able to handle these chores itself. "The city should have an ability to do this," said Holloway.

Holloway cited several examples of tech projects gone wrong in the city, many times because of department officials being reluctant to turn over even the smallest amount of control on tech projects. Some examples where tech projects did not operate smoothly are development of a 911 dispatching system, with the city's new timekeeping system and it new personnel system. Because agency officials were not keen on "change," some of the projects ended up causing expensive delays and hundreds of millions of dollars in overruns.

The "NYC Technology Development Corporation" is aimed at addressing those issues. The initiative calls for any project that has a price tag of more than $25 million, or any project that is more than $5 million but involves more than one agency will come under the control of the corporation, from beginning to end. The corporation would be responsible for design, dealing with vendors, installation and training.

Just like the city's Economic Development Corporation that operates under a contract with the city to engage businesses, landowners and vendors for the city, the NYC Technology Development Corporation also will not be subject to the level of contracting rules as the city, nor will it be under City Council oversight like city agencies are. It is also anticipated that vendors can be chosen more quickly in cases where competitive bidding is not required

.

The new corporation is not without its detractors. Some say it could lure current city tech employees away from city employment, while others say it could lead to corruption because of lack of transparency. However, Holloway has vowed there will be full transparency. He and others involved in the project said they hope to deliver 6-10 projects before the start of 2014.

Economy of scale expected to result in efficiencies, savings of tax dollars

John Falone

Just like there's safety in numbers, 18 courts in California are seeing there is savings in numbers too. Those courts are teaming for online procurement services and the economy of scale means money saved. The Superior Court of California in Riverside County is sponsoring a Shared Procurement Services Pilot Project and providing a procurement specialist available to the 18 courts. They will all share procurement services, resources and materials and will be able to take care of their procurement needs electronically. All will be using an online electronic procurement system.

The pilot project is the result of recently enacted California Judicial Branch Contract Law regarding procurement policies and procedures for courts throughout the state. "Under the new law, courts will be conducting more competitive procurements than ever before, which may be particularly challenging for small- and medium-sized courts," said John Falone, trial court procurement specialist of the Superior Court of California, County of Riverside.

The system includes a Web site with current project lists and those planned in the future. Thus, courts participating in the pilot will be able to piggy-back on already planned procurements and get goods and services at the better price because of volume of sales. In addition to goods being bought online, the service also includes links to templates for contract manuals, purchasing forms and other documents. A library of previously created bids will be at their disposal so they can be used and reduce the preparation time for getting together a solicitation or RFP. The courts also can set public notices and bidding can be completed online once the timeline is set by the participating entity.

Hoping new rules will clarify labor rates, prevent windfalls to primes

Doing away with "unintentional windfall payments" to prime contractors at the expense of subcontractors is the goal of proposed amendments to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's acquisition regulations.

DHS officials say the amendments will:

• Ensure that prime contractors include in their bids separate, individual labor hour rates for each category of labor to be performed by the prime, each subcontractor and other affiliates of the prime contractor under common control; and
• Ensure that contractor and subcontractors describe their process for accounting for overtime hours for laborers who are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The "windfalls" can occur when work by subcontractors is billed at the prime contractor's labor rate. DHS is accepting comments on the proposed rule change until Oct. 22.

New Jersey colleges could get millions to spend on projects on campuses

Chris Christie

Action by the New Jersey State Legislature and hoped for passage of a voter referendum authorizing borrowing for college capital improvement projects could mean millions of dollars for New Jersey's university system. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie recently signed legislation that dissolved the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and shifting its assets to Rutgers and Rowan universities, giving more status to both. "It makes a much stronger Rutgers completing for the best students in the country, a stronger Rutgers that competes for federal grant dollars with other higher education institutions across the country, a stronger Rutgers in terms of the economic engine that it will be for everyone across the state," said Christie. A successful November ballot referendum would authorize $750 million in borrowing for campus projects. An additional $549 million in bonding authority has already been approved, but not yet spent, so that money also would be available for capital projects.

Tennessee city preparing to build $20.95M new school facility

Murfreesboro (Tennessee) City Schools is planning construction of a new 130,000 square foot, $20.96 million new school. The project got a boost recently when the City Council approved a five-year capital improvement plan. The plan, which goes through the 2016-2017 school year, includes $258.7 million for 92 projects, one of them being the school. Some $950,000 has been approved for purchase of land for the school. The land purchase is expected this year, with construction expected during the 2013-2014 school year. The new school would relieve overcrowding at two other schools. The new K-6 school, the city's 13th, will be designed like two other schools. It will also feature geothermal heating and cooling.

Austin Peay State University planning new $16 million football stadium

Tim Hall

Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, is planning to build a new $16 million football stadium it plans to  have completed in time for the 2014 football season. It will replace the Governors Stadium on the university's main campus. The Tennessee Building Commission recently approved the construction of the stadium, which will have 10,000 more seats than the old stadium that was built in 1946. Stadium when it was built in 1946."The new football stadium is a great step forward both for our football program and for the university in general," said Austin Peay President Tim Hall. He said not only will it be a new facility that will improve the face of the campus, but it will also be an asset for recruiting new football players and attracting new students. He said it will be part of a "collegiate environment, which will help them succeed, both in the classroom and out of it." Funding for the new stadium will come from $8 million in institutional funds and existing debt service, $5.5 million in debt financing through Tennessee school bonds that will be paid through revenues from skybox rentals and $2.5 million in private donations. Construction will begin with the demolition of the west side of Governors Stadium after the end of the 2013 season. That area will be rebuilt to include skyboxes. The other side of the stadium will have minimal upgrades while the football field will be resurfaced. 

 

Texas school district approves land purchase for sports complex

Kenn Franklin

New Caney (Texas) ISD has approved a $3.5 million offer to buy more than 28 acres to build a new sports stadium. Voters in the district approved a $97.5 million bond referendum in May that included land and a new 9,500-seat stadium. New Caney ISD Superintendent Kenn Franklin said because the district serves two Class 4-A schools and the area's population is expected to double over the next two decades, "We felt it was time to look at future needs of the district." The land was purchased from a developer and was a modification of an apartment component planned for the community. Officials are hopeful the stadium will bring more interest to shopping and dining in the immediate area and also help bring the community together. New Caney ISD officials are currently meeting with architects to design the stadium. The facility will be used for football, soccer and community events. To facilitate space for a professional-sized soccer field, there will be no track at the stadium. Groundbreaking for the facility is expected as early as January of next year.

 

Mississippi county looking for funding for courthouse upgrades

Wayman Newell

Officials in Lauderdale County (Mississippi) are looking for revenue sources to deal with the ongoing problems associated with the aging of the county courthouse. "It looks bad and there are a lot of people from out of town, and our own residents, who see this," Supervisor Wayman Newellsaid. "Something needs to be done and we are trying to get this project going without it being a burden to the taxpayer." But because the structure is also an historic landmark, county officials are limited in what they can and can't do to the building. The county recently was awarded a grant for a little over $100,000 to pay for a survey of the courthouse and courthouse annex and other county buildings. Half of the roof of the courthouse has already been resurfaced, and bids for resurfacing the other half will be issued soon. Newell said the county is putting away money for renovations, but it is likely to cost millions. The fund was boosted recently by the sale of a county property to a private school in Meridian. Officials also are looking at selling timber on county property as a means of raising additional funds. County officials say the projects will likely have to be done in stages.

 

Tennessee Lottery seeking to build new 75,000-square-foot headquarters

The Tennessee Lottery has issued a request for proposals for developers to build a new 75,000-square-foot lottery headquarters in Nashville. The current home of the lottery is the 65,000-square-foot residence in the Metro Center. State law requires that the headquarters reside in Nashville. The RFP also includes 225 parking spaces, with six of them covered and is looking for a location with access from all parts of the state and preferably close to a major interstate highway intersection. Jones Lang LaSalle has been hired to handle the lottery's real estate needs. 

 

Project to deepen Savannah River channel carrying $652 million price tag

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved a $652 million deepening of the Savannah River. The channel will be deepened so that super-sized container ships can traverse the channel. Those larger ships are expected by 2014 as a result of the expansion of the Panama Canal. A final decision is expected on the Savannah project in November. The dredging is expected to take four to five years and port authority officials are hopeful the project will be completed by 2016. The cost projection is about 20 percent more than Congress authorized for the project, so additional funds will have to be appropriated. The state's share of the project will be $198 million. Nearly 50 percent of the funds, about $311 million, will be spent on environmental mitigation. A total of 24 million cubic yards of sediment is expected to be removed to deepen the waterways from 42 to 47 feet.

 

Bond vote could lead to $47 million spent on parks, trails in Utah

Utah's Salt Lake County is taking a $47 million bond issue to its voters in November. If passed, the vote will result in a number of parks and trail projects. Among the projects previously discussed were $11.5 million for the Jordan River Trail, $10 million for a regional park in the southwest valley, $9.5 million for Parleys Trail, $6 million for Wheadon Park in the southeast valley, $5.5 million to buy park property in Magna and $5 million for Lodestone Park in Kearns. The original bond amount being considered was $123 million, but that amount was pared down.

 

Texas Department of Transportation seeking to privatize maintenance

Phil Wilson

Officials with the Texas Department of Transportation are discussing a possible maintenance contract with a private sector firm for part of Interstates 35 and 45 between Dallas and Houston and Dallas and San Antonio. The maintenance contract also would include highways inside metropolitan areas around Dallas and Harris counties. TxDOT will soon issue a request for information to private sector firms interested in performing routine maintenance that could help the agency save money. Officials said there could be more than $90 million in contract work on these highways each year, resulting in a $120 million savings to the agency over a five-year period. That savings then could be put back into other maintenance needs. "Every opportunity to deliver high-quality work and save money means more work can be performed to maintain a safe transportation system for the traveling public," said TxDOT Executive Director Phil Wilson. Wilson noted the tasks to be performed include roadside mowing, litter removal, sign replacement, pothole patching and minor resurfacing, etc. The TxDOT maintenance workers assigned to these areas of the state would be freed up to concentrate their efforts on other priority work in those regions. 

 

California city seeking bids for water treatment facility upgrades

Bids will be sought by the city of Willits, California, for renovations to its water treatment facility. The $5 million project will be paid for with a $2.8 million no-interest loan and a $3 million grant from the state Safe Drinking Water Revolving Fund. Officials expect to advertise for bids by Sept. 9, with the contract expected to be awarded by Nov. 14. Work on the facility could begin as early as spring of next year. The project includes reworking the existing water treatment facilities that are not able to keep up with the maximum summer demand. A water quality issue in January 2008 led city officials to assure the Department of Health that it would renovate the facility. Plans are to add an additional clarifier and filtration unit and to upgrade the controls of the existing plant.

 

Check out these recent awards:

• The Cornell FW Co. LLC has been awarded a $97.5 million contract by the City of Fort Worth for the design and construction of a police and fire training center and headquarters in south Fort Worth.

• CenturyLink has secured a $20 million task order from the U.S. General Services Administration for a five-year contract to provide VoIP services to GSA Region 8, the Rocky Mountain region's eight offices throughout Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah.

• DiMarino Brothers Contracting has been awarded a $1.27 million contract by the Larchmont, New York, Board of Trustees to start work on upgrades to sidewalks, trees and curbs along Palmer Avenue from the train station to PDQ Mail.

• General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has been awarded an $87.3 million U.S. Department of Defense contract to provide the Air Force with retrofit kits and installations for up to 80 MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles.

• Downey-Goodlein Elevator Corp. was awarded a $1,500,327 contract from New York State for elevator upgrades at the Hughes State Office Building.

• Service Specialist has been awarded a $305,000 contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the operation and maintenance of the Lower Mississippi River Museum and Riverfront Interpretive Site in Vicksburg, to provide staff, interpretive services, general maintenance and landscaping of the building, boat and grounds. The contract has the option for a one-year extension.

• Fessler & Bowman was awarded a $3.6 million contract by the city of Bossier City, Louisiana, to construct road and utility projects designed to accommodate increased traffic from Margaritaville Resort Casino.

• Gemalto has been awarded a second consecutive five-year contract win from the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) to deliver ICAO-compliant electronic eCovers and secure pre-personalization services. GPO will supply the complete electronic passport book and related services to The Department of State for issuance to U.S. citizens.

• Mannon Excavating & Paving Company has been awarded a contract worth approximately $1.3 million by the Clinton (New Jersey) Township for roadwork improvements on Lilac Drive, which runs roughly about 3 miles from River Road, south to Stanton Station Road.

• Clearwater Construction Inc. has been awarded a design-build contract for $3.365 million by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for replacement of the bridge on Route 895 over the Schuylkill (Pennsylvania) River in Auburn.

• Rentenbach Constructors has been awarded a contract for $53 million by the Tennessee State Building Commission for construction and construction management of a new 754-bed residence hall at the University of Memphis. 

South Carolina

• The State of South Carolina is seeking bids for a statewide contract for the purchase of truck bodies (dump bodies, platform bodies and utility bodies) by state agencies and political subdivisions in the state. This is a one-year contract with a one-year renewal option.The maximum contract life is 2 years.
• The South Carolina Information Technology Management Office is seeking bids for maintenance of Coastal Carolina's closed circuit television security system.

Nebraska

• The State of Nebraska is seeking a qualified contractor to provide cleaning/housekeeping services for the Camp Ashland Training Site.
• The State of Nebraska, Nebraska Public Service Commission, is seeking a qualified contractor for the purpose of gathering information to assist the executive director of the Commission in the selection and appointment of a qualified attorney to serve as the Nebraska Public Advocate.

Arkansas

• The Office of State Procurement for Arkansas Disability Determination for Social Security Administration is seeking bids to obtain pricing and a contract for security guard services.
• The State of Arkansas Department of Information Systems is seeking bids for audio and Web conferencing services that must allow agencies to establish an audio/Web conference from any location within the state of Arkansas and allow conference participants from anywhere in the world that has telephone/Internet service.

Idaho 

• The Idaho Division of Public Works is seeking bids to update and repair bathrooms at the Post Dormitory, Idaho State Police in Meridian.
• The Idaho Division of Public Works is seeking bids for renovation of Suites 162 and 239 at the Science Building, Boise State University. The project, in two phases under one contract, includes renovation of suite 162 on the first floor into an animal holding suite for mice, rats, and zebra fish. The suite requires new concrete floor, construction of hallway and five rooms for housing, storage, procedure and ware wash. Suite 239 on the second floor will be for the housing of a variety of birds and requires demolition of the existing interior finishes and construction of new rooms including housing, isolation and procedure/ware wash areas. Both suites require new mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems.

New Jersey

• The State of New Jersey Division of Purchase and Property is seeking bids for the Office of Treasury Technology for an eProcurement System transformation. The project would transform New Jersey's procurement and purchasing systems, moving the state's mainframe-oriented architecture and work routines to a service-oriented eProcurement platform. The new platform must be highly scalable, configurable, responsive and streamlined, and be based on either a vendor-hosted or Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery model.
• The State of New Jersey Procurement Bureau, Division of Purchase and Property on behalf of the Division of Taxation, Department of the Treasury is seeking bids for printing of various tax booklets.
   

Are you a government official who has moved into a new position or to a new agency? Did you recently retire? Were you recently named to an executive-level position at a state-supported college, university or community college? Have you secured a new job as superintendent of a public school? If so, we'd like to hear from you - and so would your friends and colleagues - for our "Where Are They Now" column. Just drop us a line at editor@spartnerships.com and let us know about your previous job and where you are now. This week we feature Thomas Bradshaw.

Thomas Bradshaw

Thomas Bradshaw has a varied background in both the public and private sectors. His public sector experience includes having served as mayor of the city of Raleigh, North Carolina, from 1971 to 1973. He was appointed by Gov. Jim Hunt to lead the North Carolina Department of Transportation in 1977 and served in that capacity until 1981. After leaving the Department of Transportation, Bradshaw served as senior financing manager for transportation, transit, special authority and turnpike projects for a number of states, transportation departments and authorities across the country. He led financing teams on a number of innovative public-private partnerships involving toll road projects, including the first public toll road in California. He has also been active in health care financing in North Carolina, serving as senior banker to a number of health care systems and hospitals throughout the state. The longtime financial expert began his Wall Street career in 1981.He is a former managing director and co-head of the Transportation Group at Citigroup Global Markets Inc, in New York and was a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Raleigh. Bradshaw is a past president of the Southeastern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, former vice president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board of National Academy of Sciences. Bradshaw was recently named executive director of the North Carolina State Ports Authority, and when he takes on that position, will retain his role as North Carolina's Statewide Logistics Director.

 

Judge Wilhelmina Wright (top left), Minnesota Court of Appeals judge, was recently appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court by Gov. Mark Drayton. Felix Appelt (top center), an 18-year veteran of the Victoria (Texas) Police Department, has been appointed police chief of Victoria College, his alma mater. Nitin Pradhan (top right), chief information officer for the U.S. Department of Transportation for the last three years, has announced he is stepping down at the end of the month, with Deputy DIO Tim Schmidt named acting CIO. Ricardo Noguera, who for the last five years has led the city of Visalia, California, affordable housing, economic development and code enforcement initiatives, has been named community and economic development department head for the city of Tacoma, Washington, replacing Ryan Petty, who left in May. Nancy Kerry, who has been with the city of South Lake Tahoe, California, since 2008 and has a dozen years of government experience, has been chosen as the full-time permanent city manager. William Blair Anderson, former deputy sheriff from Carver County, Minnesota, has been sworn in as police chief for the city of St. Cloud. Michael Griffiths (middle right), former director of Dallas County's juvenile justice program, was recently hired as the new executive director of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, replacing Cherie Townsend, who retired in June. Gregory H. Williams (middle center), president of the University of Cincinnati for the last three years, has announced his resignation and Santa J. Ono, the university's provost, has been appointed interim president. Marcia V. Lyles (middle left), superintendent of the Christina school district in northern Delaware, will be the next superintendent of the Jersey City schools. Frank Straub, who recently resigned his post as Director of Public Safety for the city of Indianapolis, has been selected as the new Spokane, Washington, police chief. Juan M. Lopez, an assistant superintendent for human resources at Santa Ana Unified School District, has been selected as superintendent of California's Val Verde Unified School District. Deputy Fire Chief Tim Hileman, who has been a member of the Altoona, Pennsylvania, Fire Department for 16 years, will be the city's new fire chief, replacing Reynold D. Santone Jr., who recently retired. Taylor Eighmy (bottom left), senior vice president for research at Texas Tech University, has been hired by the University of Tennessee as the school's  new vice chancellor for research. Florida A&M University's long-time dean in the School of Architecture, Rodner Wright, (bottom center) has been chosen as the university's new interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. Matt Henderson (bottom right), who joined the Sevierville, Tennessee, Fire Department in 1995 and was promoted to fire lieutenant in 2008, has been selected as the department's new fire chief. Former Sulphur, Oklahoma, city manager Charles Clark was recently hired as the new city manager for the city of Healdton. Flint, Michigan, Deputy Fire Chief Tim Hileman, who has worked for the city's fire department for 16 years, has been selected as the city's new fire chief, replacing Reynold D. Santone, Jr., who recently retired. Burnsville Police Capt. Eric Werner, who has 24 years of law enforcement experience, is the new Rosemount, Minnesota, chief of police, replacing Gary Kalstabakken, who resigned to accept a post with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.