House Approves Legislation to Modernize America’s Public School Buildings
Bill Would Help Improve Education, Revive Struggling Construction Industry, and Fight Global Warming

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC -- Public school buildings around the country would receive much-needed renovations and modernization under legislation approved today by the U.S. House of Representatives.

By a vote of 250 to 164, the House passed the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act (H.R. 3021), which provides funding to states and school districts to help ensure that school facilities and learning environments are safe, healthy, energy efficient, environmentally friendly, and technologically up-to-date. The bill would also provide additional support for Gulf Coast schools still recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“Substandard conditions in many schools make it harder for teachers to teach and children to learn,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “We must invest in making every school building a place that communities can be proud of and where children will be eager to learn. This legislation begins to make that investment, and at the same time, it boosts the economy by creating new construction jobs and helps the environment by making our schools more energy efficient. This legislation is a win for children, workers, and the planet.”

“This bill would help our teachers teach and our students learn, create jobs, and protect the environment,” said U.S. Rep. Dale E. Kildee (D-MI), the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education. “And, by providing the resources to ensure that students, teachers and principals have safe, healthy, modern, energy efficient, and environmentally friendly learning spaces, this bill would send children the message that we truly value every one of them.”

“I am so thrilled that Congress made this crucial investment today in education, our children and our future,” said U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler (D-KY), who introduced the legislation. “This bill is a home run. Not only will it provide vital money for our nation’s struggling schools, it will help the environment and stimulate the economy, creating jobs that cannot be shipped overseas.”

“The condition of our nation’s school facilities can have an immense impact on the ability of our children to learn and the quality of education they receive,” said U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA), a member of the Education and Labor Committee.  “By improving our schools and making upgrades using green technology, this legislation will create new jobs and help improve student health, learning ability, and productivity.  I am proud to have worked with Chairman Miller, Mr. Kildee, and Mr. Chandler to make certain a significant federal investment is made to improve, repair and rebuild our nation’s crumbling schools.”

A number of studies in recent years have estimated the necessary investment to bring all schools into good condition. In 2000, the National Center for Education Statistics said it would take a $127 billion investment, concluding that 75 percent of schools were in various stages of disrepair. Last month, the 21st Century School Fund called for a $140 billion federal investment in school facilities to bring all school districts up to the level of the highest-income districts, followed by an ongoing, annual federal investment.

While Congress provided $1.2 billion in funding for emergency school repairs in 2001 and provided additional resources for schools devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Bush administration has not provided direct funding for general school construction in any of its budgets over the last eight years. As a result, schools have been forced to rely mostly on state and local funding for any repair or renovation projects.

H.R. 3021 authorizes $6.4 billion for school renovation and modernization projects for fiscal year 2009. To further encourage energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources in schools, the bill would require that the majority of funds for school modernization be used to support projects that meet widely recognized green building standards.

In addition, the legislation would help boost the economy by creating jobs in the nation’s construction industry, one of the industries hit hardest by the recent economic downturn. The legislation would ensure fair pay for workers by applying Davis-Bacon prevailing wage protections to all grants awarded for school improvement projects.

In the Gulf Coast, where public schools still face hundreds millions of dollars in unmet need in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the legislation would authorize additional, separate funds – half a billion dollars over five years.

For more information on H.R. 3021, click here.

The 21st Century High-Performing Public School Facilities Act is supported by a broad coalition of organizations, including the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, the American Federation of Teachers, the American Association of School Administrators, the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, the California Small School Districts Association, Californians for School Facilities, the Council of the Great City Schools, the Green Building Initiative, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, the International Union of Operating Engineers, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, the Mason Contractors Association of America, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Education Association, the National School Boards Association, the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, the Parent Teacher Association, the Rebuild America’s Schools Coalition, and the U.S. Green Building Council.

###

FOR PRESS INQUIRIES
Contact: Aaron Albright / Rachel Racusen
2181 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-226-0853