NSBA urges Congress to help districts build new schools
04/08 -- Congress is considering legislation to help local school districts build new schools, and make schools more energy efficient and ready to be equipped with the latest technology.
NSBA believes such assistance is urgently needed and is calling upon Congress to include school construction in the next economic stimulus package, which would be aimed at boosting the economy and providing timely fiscal relief and infrastructure assistance to local and state governments.
“America’s local school districts are affected by the economic downturn and need immediate federal assistance for school repairs and modernization,” NSBA Associate Executive Director Michael A. Resnick wrote in a letter to Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee.
Meanwhile, long-term school facilities needs have been neglected for years. The U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics estimates the unmet need for school construction and renovation is $112 billion.
The only federal assistance available for school facility needs is the Qualified Zone Academy Bonds program (QZAB), which is up for reauthorization this year. The program currently provides $400 million in bond authority to states for school repairs and modernization but does not cover new construction.
Several bills have been introduced in Congress to provide more assistance for school construction, including America’s Better Classrooms Act (H.R.2470 and S.912). It was introduced by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Sen. John Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) and has bipartisan support from 230 members of Congress.
The bill would authorize $25 billion in tax credits for investment in bonds for the construction, rehabilitation, and repair of public schools; land acquisition for public schools; and for certain academic programs in eligible lower-income communities.
At a hearing on school facility needs Feb. 13, House Education and Labor Committee Chair George Miller (D-Calif.) said: “As state and local tax revenues shrink, states and cities will look to make up that budget shortfall by cutting spending. . . . We can help mitigate the economic damage by investing in school construction projects that will create jobs and inject demand into the economy.”
Miller cited a report from a group called Building Educational Success Together (BEST) that found “millions of students in substandard and crowded conditions, particularly in schools serving low-income and minority students.”
He also cited a study from the Government Accountability Office that found nearly 30 percent of schools have unsatisfactory ventilation, which can exacerbate asthma and other health problems.
During the hearing, Paula J. Vincent, superintendent of the Clear Creek Amana school district in Iowa, cited research compiled by the Iowa Association of School Boards that found higher levels of student achievement at schools with updated facilities and good air quality.
Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-Ore.), chair of the newly created Green Schools Caucus, testified that “green schools create a healthy environment that is conducive to learning while saving energy, resources, and money.” On average, a green school saves $100,000 a year, she said.
Several members of Congress who testified at the hearing urged Congress to exempt school construction from the Davis Bacon Act. The law requires workers on federally supported projects to be paid “prevailing wages,” which inflate project costs.
Reproduced with permission from
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