‘Crumbling’ Schools Spur Democrats to Renew Infrastructure Push
Students at Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre enter their school building through a shed, a safety precaution in case part of the school’s crumbling façade falls at the wrong moment.
Two elementary schools closed in Arizona after the district found structural defects that could pose safety risks to students. And in Baltimore, students wore coats to class after heaters broke. Some schools didn’t bother to open.
“It’s hard to educate people in schools that are crumbling,” said Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), who introduced a $100 billion school infrastructure bill in 2017 that was co-sponsored by 119 House Democrats but stalled in the GOP-run House. “In a lot of areas that’s unfortunately what’s happening.”
With the new Democratic majority this year, Scott holds the gavel of the House Education and Labor Committee and plans hearings to show the need for better buildings and how many jobs can be created. Infrastructure is also a major priority for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). They’ll need to persuade Republicans who traditionally view school buildings as a state and local responsibility.
The federal government currently spends money to repair schools only in cases of disasters. That leaves states and localities pouring billions of dollars into fixing buildings each year, about $46 billion short of the needs, according to a 2016 “State of Our Schools” study by three groups: 21st Century School Fund, the National Council on School Facilities, and the U.S. Green Building Council.
While a federal study from the National Center for Educational Statistics found that three-fourths of schools were in good or excellent condition or better, at least half of all school districts said their facilitiesneeded major repair.
Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg, a staff attorney with the Public Interest Law Center which is suing Pennsylvania over inadequate funding for schools, said the state alone can’t get schools to where they need to be.
“Our federal government has the power to really knock this out,” he said. “There might not be a constitutional obligation, but there would sure seem like there’s a moral obligation to get it done.”
`LIKE AN OLD CAR’
About 32 percent of school districts reported there were fewer funds available in 2017 than 2016 in a survey of 133 school districts by the magazine School Planning and Management. Only 12 percent said more funding was CONTINUE READING: `Crumbling’ Schools Spur Democrats to Renew Infrastructure Push