Where students learn can have a dramatic impact on what they learn. The condition of school facilities can be as critical a factor in student achievement as quality teachers, high standards, and a challenging curriculum. Students learn best when they are in safe, modern schools, with smaller classes and up-to-date technology.
Yet, as we enter the 21st century, many students across the country are still attending schools built in the first half of the 20th century. Many students attend schools plagued by leaky roofs, faulty wiring, and outdated plumbing. Too many students spend years in "temporary" trailers, because existing school buildings simply cannot accommodate rising enrollments. And, too many students attend schools that lack even the most basic electrical and telecommunications equipment necessary for connection to the Internet or the use of exciting new education technologies.
A recent National Education Association (NEA) study, Modernizing Our Schools: What Will It Cost?, documents a national school facilities crisis. The NEA study estimates the cost of repairing, renovating, or building school facilities, and installing modern educational technology at $322 billion—nearly three times previous government estimates, and roughly ten times what states currently spend.
School modernization costs vary considerably from state to state, given differences among patterns of enrollment growth, age and condition of infrastructure, and regional cost differences. Overall, the five states with the highest total unmet school modernization needs—New York, Ohio, California, New Jersey, and Texas—account for more than 40 percent of the total national need. The problem affects both urban and rural areas. States with large urban populations, such as New York state, generally face high construction costs and have a high concentration of older school buildings. Yet, states with more rural populations also have significant school infrastructure needs. For example, substantial enrollment growth contributes to the high costs in Utah, ranked 10th in total unmet school modernization needs in the NEA report.
States bear the primary responsibility for school modernization. Some states have recognized the need and have passed legislation to address school facilities needs. Between 1994 and 1997, the number of school infrastructure funding bills passed by state legislatures nearly quadrupled, from 18 bills in 1994, to 70 bills in 1997. Yet, despite this increased attention to school infrastructure needs, state spending falls well short of the documented need. The growing crisis, exacerbated by rising enrollments and an infrastructure in which the average building is over 43 years old, demands immediate, increased attention at both the state and federal level.
States need to make both an immediate and long-term investment in school modernization. A number of states have used recent economic prosperity to amass substantial surpluses. Creating reserve funds in preparation for times of economic decline is a prudent fiscal policy. But, it is equally sensible to put some of today’s excess funds into the education of our children, an investment that will pay dividends to society long into the future.
Ensuring modern, safe, well-equipped school facilities, however, requires not merely an immediate investment, but ongoing funding. States will need to enact permanent financing structures for funding school modernization—structures that have as a long-term goal the same level of support the state currently provides to school districts for operating costs. Modernization funding structures also need to include plans for providing ongoing training and support for school staff in integrating technology into daily classroom activities.
States also need to institute plans for regular assessment of school facilities, so as to avoid future crises and ensure a continued focus on modernization needs. Only about half the states have conducted school infrastructure assessments in the last five years, and most states lack cost estimates for installing and updating educational technology.
Yet, even if states make immediate investments in school modernization and create permanent funding structures for ongoing investments, the magnitude of need will likely continue to eclipse state efforts. Ensuring all students a safe, modern learning environment requires a state-federal partnership, allowing states to combine their own resources with those provided by the federal government to meet the growing school modernization need.
Every student deserves to spend the day in a safe, modern school staffed by education professionals who have the training and expertise to assist students with the mastery of academic and technological skills. Given the enormity of unmet funding needs for school modernization, a substantially larger, longer-term state role, with increased federal assistance is essential. Any less will jeopardize our ability to prepare students to live and work in the 21st century and will threaten our nation’s ability to compete in the global economy.
For more information on the NEA study or on state-by-state school modernization needs, click on the NEA website.
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