Page 9 - School Planning & Management, January/February 2019

2019 FACILITIES & CONSTRUCTION BRIEF
EDUCATIONAL CONSTRUCTION SPENDING
The total dollar value of education construction work done in the U.S. (including all 50 states and the District of Columbia) is estimated to have exceeded $98.9 billion in 2018. That is a 9-percent increase from the actual amount spent on education con- struction in 2017.
IT’S TIME TO MODERNIZE AMERICA’S PUBLIC SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE
Every weekday, 56 million children
and adults set foot in a public school. That is one in six of all Americans. Half of these schools need some form of repair, especially in urban and rural areas.
More than one in four of the nearly 100,000 public K-12 schools in the United States, are in poor or unsatis- factory condition. Finding additional funding for fixing these school facilities is inherently challenging. The federal government provides almost no sup- port for this vital part of the country’s infrastructure.
Public schools are the second largest sector of America’s infrastructure, after roads and highways. Local communi- ties and states spend $49 billion a year on capital investment in public school buildings. But that’s $38 billion a year less than they need.
Some states do what they can to help. Some don’t or cannot. This invest- ment gap impacts education, health, safety, security, the environment, and, ultimately, the future of our country.
Recent polls indicate that a majority of Americans strongly support investing more in public infrastructure. President Trump and many members of Congress have made infrastructure a top legisla- tive priority. A one-time federal invest-
ment of $100 billion over 10 years for locally controlled public schools would benefit children, families, and communi- ties across America.
This investment would result in better schools, thousands of local con- struction jobs in every state, broadband for rural communities, lower costs for school maintenance and operations, stronger local economies, and resilient public facilities ready to serve in time of disasters. And it can be done in a way that does not diminish local control of public schools.
There are a number of groups and organizations that are working to get the president and Congress to include public schools in any federal infrastruc- ture legislation. One of them is the \[Re\] Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition (BASIC), which includes non- partisan organizations and individuals who support federal funding to help underserved public school districts modernize their facilities.
To find out more about this infra- structure issue or to get involved, visit www.buildUSschools.org.
— Information in this article is used, with permission, from the 21st Century School Fund—www.21csf.org.
YEAR
TOTAL
(Millions of Dollars)
2004
$ 74,251
2005
$ 79,687
2006
$ 84,929
2007
$ 96,758
2008
$ 104,891
2009
$ 103,203
2010
$ 88,405
2011
$ 84,986
2012
$ 84,673
2013
$ 79,059
2014
$ 79,681
2015
$ 83,518
2016
$ 91,953
2017
$ 90,734
2018
$ 98,891
Educational construction spending includes expenditures for new buildings and structures, additions, renovations, rehabilitations, major replace-
ments (such as the complete replacement of a roof or heating system); mechanical and electrical installations; site preparation, and outside con-
EDUCATIONAL CONSTRUCTION
struction of fixed structures or facilities such as sidewalks, parking lots, and utility connections. Educational facilities include preschools, primary/
secondary schools, higher education facilities, trade schools, training facilities, and other educational spaces including museums and libraries.
EDUCATION CONSTRUCTION (Millions of D\[oMllaris)llions of Dollars\] $110,000
$100,000 $90,000 $80,000 $70,000 $60,000 $50,000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 / SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 9