 CASE
STUDIES
Regulatory Reform Issues
School districts across California face the unenviable task of
building and modernizing thousands of public schools to relieve
existing student overcrowding, and accommodate growth in student
enrollment. Unfortunately, there are numerous obstacles to building
new schools. Financial obstacles in which urban school districts
have difficulty accessing state bond funds. Environmental concerns,
where debates rages over the assessment and clean-up of contaminated
sites necessary to build safe schools. Regulatory issues, such
as the Field Act, which imposes onerous earthquake requirements
on all school construction. Land scarcity issues, in which urban
areas have very few parcels of available land to accommodate a
school.
New Schools / Better Neighborhoods is finding new and practical
ways to address these problems. This section provides analysis
of the various regulatory issues, and provides recommendations
for both short and long term policy changes to produce a more
efficient school construction process.
|
