Following the summer break, the Inside RISD program resumed by presenting a behind the scenes look at all that goes into maintaining the 70 buildings in the district.

The presentation was hosted at the Administrative Annex on Greenville Avenue, a perfect venue for exploring the nuts and bolts of a very large operation.

With 55 campuses included in those 70 facilities, there were lots of Insider Tips!

Inside RISD was initiated in 2006 as a way to give parents and community leaders an in-depth look into the district.

Every year, members are asked to commit to 10 sessions, held once a month.

According to RISD Director of Communications Tim Clark, this is one of the most popular sessions.

"This session always has the best attendance. It's all about student services, security, transportation, maintenance of our schools, all the ‘behind the scenes’ stuff that parents would not particularly know about or pay attention to."

"There are a whole lot of really good, hard working people who do things off-hours, and during the summer especially, to assure our classrooms are safe, comfortable and suitable for instruction."

INSIDER TIP #1: Before any project can be initiated, whether requested from the school or the PTA, it must go through an approval process.

RISD needs to assure that the project fits in with what’s going on at the particular campus and that it will be able to properly maintain the project down the road.

INSIDER TIP #2: The official name of the color of the approximately 200 school buses in use by the district is..."School Bus Yellow."

During the Facility Services overview Executive Director, Michael Longanecker, cited that there’s not a lot of turnover among the 65 maintenance people, 30 groundskeepers, and 300 custodians in the department.

When asked about the most far-reaching building issue in the district, Longanecker said, "Ten years ago, fiber optics was our most forward project. We are now in the process of installing instant wireless connectivity in all classrooms, Spring Valley Elementary being the first."

INSIDER TIP #3: No surprise here. Energy costs account for the biggest Facility Services expense.

With $23 million needed for updates this year, the district wants to make the best use of the funds it has.

Instead of paying 30% or more for outside consulting, projects are being handled in-house now.

Maintenance crews use pocket PC’s tied into a computerized maintenance management system. This ensures accurate tracking of every job, from work order to completion, making it paperless and eco-friendly to boot.

Jerre Boling, Bond Project Manager, explained.

"We know our buildings very well. We know our schools, we know the contractors."

"We've got two buses ‘tricked out’ - they’re like moving hardware stores! Once we get work orders from a school, we can go there with all our equipment and supplies and get everything done in a day."

INSIDER TIP #4: As part of $10.8 million in bond money, upcoming projects will include upgrades to the Berkner Natatorium and A/C systems, the Apollo athletic tracks and electrical improvements on seven campuses.

Next up was a look at how campus security operates.

The 2011 bond allowance, has enabled the district to update its campus video surveillance system.

Upgrades include refitting interior monitors to ceiling height and raising exterior cameras to 12 feet off the ground to deter vandalism, and installing 32" monitors, capable of maintaining footage for up to 30 days at the front doors of each campus.