20 Billion in Federal Investment in School Infrastructure
Would Provide Major Boost to Education, Economy

‘Sick,’ Crumbling Schools and Lack of Modernization
Hurt U.S. Students’ Global Competitiveness, Study Suggests

Media Contact: David Roscow, 703-276-2772 x21

Washington – Public schools are falling behind in basic repairs and maintenance
of buildings and grounds, and are failing to make crucial improvements such as
adding science labs, particularly in low-income communities, according to a
study by Mary Filardo for the Economic Policy Institute. Federal investment to
modernize infrastructure would stimulate the struggling economy by creating
quality jobs, boost student and teacher morale and alleviate the financial
burden of maintenance backlogs from states and school districts, the study
concludes.

An infusion of federal investment also would help close student achievement
gaps and improve the basic quality of teaching and the productivity of
teachers, said EPI President Lawrence D. Mishel. “The issue is not just the
buildings themselves, but what our society needs to get from the schools,” he
said. “To graduate students who will successfully compete globally, we need
world-class facilities, not crumbling buildings that don’t meet basic safety
standards.”

While no one single entity keeps track of the state of infrastructure in the
nation’s 97,000 public schools, Filardo, director of the 21st Century School
Fund, gathered data from a number of sources to reveal how states and
localities are struggling to keep up with both basic maintenance and
infrastructure modernization.

Many of the key educational initiatives designed to give our nation’s children
the tools and knowledge they need have facility-related implications,
including:
• Improving early childhood education and adding full-day kindergarten,
particularly beneficial in low-income areas, require changes in classroom
design. Bathrooms and furniture should be designed for young children, with
easy access to the outdoors and additional space for extra adults and gross
motor play.
• Schools need voice, video and data highways throughout their facilities and
electrical upgrades to support computers, audio-enhanced classroom technology,
smart boards and other technology aids.
• In an effort to improve U.S. science skills, the National Science Teachers
Association recommends that students spend 50 percent of class time in
hands-on, inquiry-based lessons that require uniquely adaptable learning spaces
(labs), access to indoor and outdoor space for research, environmental study
and reflection. Many schools are limited in reaching this goal by their
current infrastructure.

“Public school buildings are community-based facilities that often define and
anchor neighborhoods and communities,” Filardo said. “Their physical state
says a lot about how we feel about our kids, communities and the future.”

States and school districts are struggling to maintain these facilities. Their
budget shortages mean that custodial, maintenance and repair budgets often are
under-funded, and maintenance may be deferred over a period of years. For
instance, the Portland Public Schools estimate an $800 million maintenance
backlog. Los Angeles Unified Schools estimate a $5 billion backlog.

A federal investment of $20 billion not only would help eliminate some of this
deferred maintenance, but also would generate 250,000 skilled jobs and increase
demand for nearly $6 billion in materials and supplies, EPI says. A ready pool
of workers is available to do the work, since 360,000 construction workers lost
their jobs over the past year. This economic stimulus would be an ancillary
effect of an investment aimed at improving the health of student and faculty
populations, and making the school environment more conducive to high-quality
teaching and learning.

“Investment in school infrastructure naturally would have a positive impact on
the national economy,” Mishel said. “But Americans also expect the federal
government to assume a long-term responsibility to ensure that school districts
– particularly those with high proportions of low-income, special education and
English-language-learners – have adequate resources to provide appropriate
schooling.”

Just as the federal government contributes, on average, 10 percent of local
school districts’ operating budgets, Filardo proposes that the federal
government provide a comparable amount for capital expenditures, roughly $5.9
billion annually.

“Think of it this way: How are our students supposed to compete in a global
economy when they are trying to learn in buildings that are making them and
their teachers physically sick and uncomfortable, lack necessary modern
upgrades and are eyesores in their neighborhoods?” Filardo asked.

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan
think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on
working people in the United States and around the world. EPI's mission is to
inform people and empower them to seek solutions that will ensure broadly
shared prosperity and opportunity.