Updating schools in the United States a billion-dollar affair

Clinton and the Center for Green Schools urged a Government Accountability Office assessment on what it would take to get school buildings up to date to help students learn, keep teachers healthy and put workers back on the jobs. The last such report, issued in 1995 during the Clinton administration, estimated it would take US$112 billion to bring the schools into good repair and did not include the need for new buildings to accommodate the growing number of students.

The Center for Green Schools' researchers reviewed spending and estimates that schools spent US$211 billion on upkeep between 1995 and 2008. During that same time, schools should have spent some US$482 billion, the group calculated based on a formula included in the most recent GAO study.

That left a US$271 billion gap between what should have been spent on upkeep and what was, the group reported. Each student's share? Some US$5,450.

To update and modernize the buildings, the figure doubles, to US$542 billion over the next decade.

“We have a moral obligation,” said Rachel Gutter, director of the group affiliated with the U.S. Green Building Council. “When we talk about a quality education, we talk about the “who” and the “what” — teachers and curriculum — but we don't talk about the “where.” That needs to change.”

Her organization is urging the Education Department to collect annual data on school buildings' sizes and ages, as well as property holdings.

“It's a secret that we're keeping because it's shameful and embarrassing to us as a country,” Gutter said.

Horror stories abound about schools with roofs that leak, plumbing that backs up and windows that do little to stop winds.

“Would you send your kids or grandkids to one of these schools?” asked National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel, who supported the report along with the 21st Century School Fund, the American Federation of Teachers, the American Lung Association and the National PTA.

The report does not assign blame for schools' disrepair but the problems often start at the local and state levels. In most cases, schools are funded by local property taxes and they are reliant on their neighbors' wealth and willingness to fund their schools. A National Center for Education Statistics found large disparities between schools in areas of high poverty and those in more affluent areas.

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	Judge strikes down New York sugary-drinks size rule

NEXT ARTICLE
Colorado Senate gives seal of approval to curb 'blood-soaked' violence

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit