Rebuild America’s Schools
is
working for federal
support for local efforts to build, renovate and
modernize America’s
Schools. Support is building in Congress to
modernize schools enabling
students
to achieve and succeed in the 21st
Century global economy.
Modernizing schools creates jobs.
Led by President Obama’s American
Jobs
Act S. 1600 andH.R. 12 introduced
by Senator Reid (D-NV) and
Congressman Larson (D-CT)
school modernization bills include:
·The Rebuilding
America’s Schools
Act H.R. 2394, S.
796
·Fix America’s Schools
Today or
FAST,
H.R.2948, S. 1587
·Emergency Jobs to
Restore the
American Dream
Act, H.R. 2914
The goal of all of all these
bills is: Modernizing,
renovating and repairing schools and generating
American jobs.
The
American
Jobs Act: S. 1600, H.R. 12 Modernizing Over
35,000 Schools – From
Science Labs
and Internet-Ready Classrooms to Renovated
Facilities:
The President is proposing a $25 billion
investment in school infrastructure that will
modernize at least 35,000
public
schools – investments that will create jobs,
while improving classrooms
and
upgrading our schools to meet 21st
century needs. This
includes a
priority for rural schools and dedicated funding
for Bureau of Indian
Education
funded schools. Funds could be used for a range
of emergency repair and
renovation projects, greening and energy
efficiency upgrades, asbestos
abatement and removal, and modernization efforts
to build new science
and
computer labs and to upgrade technology in our
schools. The President
is also
proposing a $5 billion investment in modernizing
community colleges
(including
tribal colleges), bolstering their
infrastructure in this time of need
while
ensuring their ability to serve future
generations of students and
communities. The range of critical
repairs and needed
construction projects would put
hundreds of thousands of Americans – construction
workers, engineers,
maintenance staff, boiler repairman, and
electrical workers – back to
work.
The American Jobs Act will
be
debated in the Senate this
week. Please contact your Senators to
express your support for
the
American Jobs Act and modernizing your schools.
The Rebuilding America’s
Schools
Act, H.R. 2394
(Rangel-NY) and S. 796(Rockefeller-WV)
will extend
Qualified School
Construction Bond, (QSCB) and Qualified Zone
Academy Bond (QZAB)
programs to
continue important financial support QSCBS and
QZABs are currently
giving
school districts to build, renovate and modernize
schools across
America.
Qualified School
Construction Bonds:
Jobs are
being created as School construction projects
continue across the
country with
support from Qualified School Construction Bonds.
Qualified School
Construction
Bonds (QSCBs) financed $6.8 billion to modernize
schools in 2010 and
are
financing $2.1 billion in school construction
projects to build and
renovate
schools and generating JOBs in 2011. States
using QSCBs in 2011
are: California, Ohio, Michigan, New York,
Kentucky, Wisconsin, Oregon,
Massachusetts Pennsylvania and Texas. These 2011
QSCBs are from 2009
and
2010 allocations. Extending the Qualified
School Construction Bond
program
will continue to modernize schools in states such
as Montana, Florida,
Virginia, Arizona, Missouri, Utah, North Carolina,
Maine, Vermont,
South
Carolina, Illinois and every state needing modern
schools.
Fix America’s Schools Today
or FAST,
S. 1587
sponsored by Senator Brown (D-OH) , H.R. 2948
sponsored by
Congresswoman
DeLauro (D-CT). Funded through existing
Title I formulas, school
districts would be required to use federal funds
for deferred
maintenance,
repairs and component or system replacements to
existing facilities or
to
supplement their current maintenance and repair
efforts so that public
school
buildings and grounds are operated in a healthy
and efficient manner.
The
FAST proposal offsets its initial cost over 10
years by ending tax
breaks for
fossil fuels.
Emergency Jobs to Restore
the
American Dream Act
sponsored by Rep. Schakowsky (D-IL), a
cost-effective plan to put over
2
million people to work for two years. A key
piece of
Congresswoman
Schakowsky’s bill is: The School Improvement Corps
to create 400,000
construction and 250,000 maintenance jobs by
funding positions created
by
public school districts to undertake school
rehabilitation
improvements. The
legislation will also provide assistance to help
repair schools in
states hit
by natural disasters.
Rebuild America’s
Schools urges you to call Member of Congress and
Senators to ask that
they
support and co-sponsor these bills to help
modernize your schools and
create
jobs in communities across America.
Thank you for your support of
Rebuild
America’s Schools.
MODERNIZING SCHOOLS SUPPORTS
STUDENTS AND GENERATE JOBS
September 3,
2011
Modernizing American
Schools Helps Students and Creates Jobs
Rebuild America’s Schools is working for
federal support for
local efforts to
build, renovate and modernize America’s
Schools to enable students to achieve and
succeed in the 21st
Century
global economy. Rebuild America’s
Schools wrote to President Obama requesting that
his Jobs Plan include
school facilities in our country’s infrastructure
priorities as we all
work to
generate JOBS and build America’s
economy.
An
Editorial
in
the New York
Times about Jobs Creation makes a
critical point that job
creation is more
important than budget cuts. The need for
school construction is
cited as
one of the national needs that are worth
fighting for to create
jobs. The Times points out that
public school buildings
in
the United States are on average over
40 years old and in need of an estimated $500
billion in repairs and
upgrades.
Efforts to enhance our nation’s
school facilities as part
of our
country’s infrastructure priorities include:
Qualified School
Construction Bonds:
Qualified
School
Construction Bonds (QSCBs) are financing $2.1
billion in school
construction projects to build and renovate
schools and generating
JOBs. States
using QSCBs in 2011 are: California, Ohio,
Michigan, New York,
Kentucky, Wisconsin, Oregon,
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Texas.
These QSCBs are from 2009 and 2010
allocations. Extend the
Qualified
School Construction Bond program so these bonds
can continue to
modernize
school in states including Montana, Florida,
Virginia, Arizona,
Missouri, Utah,
North Carolina, Maine, Vermont, South Carolina,
Illinois and every
state
needing modern schools.
The
Rebuilding
America’s Schools Act, H.R. 2394 and S. 796
will extend Qualified School Construction Bond,
(QSCB) and Qualified
Zone
Academy Bond (QZAB) programs to continue important
financial support
QSCBS and
QZABs are currently giving to school districts to
build, renovate and
modernize
schools across America.
Fix America’s Schools Today,
or FAST is an
example of a $50 billion school renovation
program that would employ
500,000 workers.
Funded through existing Title I formulas
school districts would
be
required to use federal funds for deferred
maintenance, repairs and
component
or system replacements to existing facilities or
to supplement their
current
maintenance and repair efforts so that public
school buildings and
grounds are
operated in a healthful and efficient manner. The
FAST proposal
offsets its initial cost
over 10 years by ending tax breaks for fossil
fuels.
Emergency Jobs to Restore
the
American Dream Act
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) will introduce the
Emergency Jobs to Restore
the
American Dream Act, a cost-effective plan to put
over 2 million people
to work
for two years. A key piece of Congresswoman
Schakowsky’s bill is:
The
School Improvement Corps to create 400,000
construction and 250,000
maintenance
jobs by funding positions created by public school
districts to do
needed
school rehabilitation improvements. This will also
provide assistance
to help
repair schools in states hit by natural disasters.
MODERNIZING SCHOOLS
IN AMERICA
WILL GENERATE JOBS
March 28,
2011
Qualified
School
Construction
Bonds
Building
and
Modernizing
Schools
School districts across the
country
are making great use of
the Qualified School Construction Bond program
started by the 2009
American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In 2010, QSCBs
financed over $6.67
billion in
school construction projects across America.
For example, 125 Texas,
37 Michigan, 78
Ohio
and 62 Missouri school districts
are using QSCBs
to build, renovate and modernize schools. State
authorities in Tennessee,Massachusetts,Pennsylvania,
West
Virginia and New York
issued QSCBs to finance school construction
projects in their states.
Rebuild America’s Schools is
collecting information about
the successful usage of Qualified School
Construction Bonds (QSCBs) and
Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZABs ) to build,
renovate and modernize
schools
in states across the country.
Please select a state below to see how
QSCBs are being used in many states.
Rebuild America’s
Schools is
also
collecting information about how the QSCBs are
being used in other
states and
school districts.
The Treasury Department has released the 2010
state allocations for the
Qualified Zone Academy Bonds and the Qualified
School Construction
Bonds. The 2010 allocations are:
America's children
deserve
modern
schools. Students need modern, technologically
updated schools to
prepare them and our nation for the global
economy of the 21st
Century.
Every school day, an estimated 14 million
American
children
attend deteriorating public schools. Roofs leak.
Ventilation is
poor. Heating and air conditioning systems do not
maintain
reasonable temperatures. Lighting is inadequate.
Plumbing is a
constant problem. Some school buildings do not
meet basic local and
state codes for health and safety.
Public school modernization will help local
communities
provide
modern, safe and energy efficient schools.
Students in their
modernized workplaces will better develop the
educational skills
necessary to succeed in the 21st century
workforce. Modern, safe
and green schools will also benefit student and
staff health and
help advance the nation’s goal for increasing
energy
efficiency. Modern school facilities are also an
integral part of
raising student performance.
Rebuild America’s Schools
is a coalition of national organizations and
school districts
working to create federal support to help local
communities build,
renovate and modernize schools. The purpose
of Rebuild
America’s Schools is to build national and local
support for
federal school infrastructure initiatives.
Rebuild America’s Schools
contends that federal partnerships are necessary
as local
communities struggle to finance, build, and
modernize school
facilities to address the economic and educational
challenges of
the 21st Century.
Rebuild
America's
Schools continues to work for federal
support for modernizing
our
nation’s schools.
Major improvements are being
made in
the Qualified School
Construction Bond and Qualified Zone Academy Bond
programs.These
programs are providing federal financing
for over $12 billion in School Construction
Bonds for states and school districts to
build new schools,
renovate,
repair and modernize existing schools and
establish innovate academic
programs.
Rebuild America's
Schools
believes it is
critical that states
and school districts respond to this federal
effort. School
districts
in
every
state
should
be
fully
using
the
Qualified
School
Construction
Bonds
and
Qualified Zone
Academy
Bonds to provide 21st Century modern
technologically energy
efficient schools for their communities and
students. Modernizing
our
schools
will
improve
students’
success
while
helping
to
revitalize
local
economies
by
generating
much
neededjobs in the construction
industry,
ranging from architects and engineers to roofing
contractors and other
construction
workers who build, renovate and repair schools.Modern
energy
efficient
green
schools
will
help
local
communities
increase
opportunities
for
all
students
to
develop the educational
skills
necessary to achieve and succeed in the 21st
century.
HIRE ACT Improves Qualified School
Construction Bonds and Qualified ZoneAcademy
Bonds By Giving A
CASH Payment Equaling of 100 % Interest
Rebuild America's
Schools worked
successfully
for the
Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act,
HIRE Act, P.L.111-147 which
extends
the
Build
America
Bond
direct
payment
subsidy
provisions
to
the
Qualified
School
Construction
Bond
(QSCB)
and the Qualified Zone Academy Bond
(QZAB) and other
tax credit programs.
The
HIRE
Act
passed
by
Congress
and
signed
by
President
Obama
creates
jobs
by
extending
the “Build
America
Bond
” cash
payment interest
option to QSCBs and QZABs making school
construction programs much more
affordable. The HIRE Act also provides payroll tax
relief for
businesses that
hire new workers, extends the Highway Trust Fund;,
and allows expense
deductions
for small businesses. The
HIRE ACT school
construction bond improvements will make the
Qualified School
Construction Bond
and the Qualified Zone Academy Bond programs more
attractive to school
districts and to investors. These changes will
make it easier for
school
districts in every state to useQSCBs
and QZABs to build, moderize, repair and renovate
schools.
Qualified
School
Construction
Bonds
(QSCB)
and
Qualified
Zone
Academy
Bonds
(QZAB)
are
now
eligible
for
the
Build
America
Bond interest subsidy payment
established in the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Currently,
QSCBs and QZABs
receive a
tax credit as an interest subsidy. Under the
new HIRE Act
provision school
districts have the option of choosing
to
use a cash interest payment subsidy equal to
100% of the interest on
the bonds.This
is the principal
feature
of the
Build America Bonds that make these bonds so
successful; and attractive
to the markets.Build
America Bonds now
constitute over 20 %
of the municipal bond market.
Local Cost Savings: The new QSCB
and
QZAB cash payment provisions will make the QSCBs
and QZABs easier to
use, more
attractive to potential buyers and most
importantly the 100% interest
cash
payment will reduce the cost of the bonds for the
local school district
and
community. The
federal interest cash
subsidy will save districts substantial interest
costs creating greater
opportunities to build, rehabilitate, repair, and
modernize schools
while
generating construction related jobs in local
communities in every
state and
district that uses these bonds.
Simply Put:This is a cash subsidy
equal to 100% of the
interest on the school bond.This will
help build schools and allow districts to use
local funds that would
been used
to pay the bond interest for other education
purpose such as keeping
teachers
in the classrooms and essentialprograms
available for students.
States and
Districts Act
Are Starting to Use Qualified School
Construction Bonds Build
Schools
Many States and school
districts are
acting quickly to use
Qualified School Construction Bonds. Michigan,
Wisconsin,
Utah, Arkansas and Florida are issuing their
2010
allocations to
school districts across these states. New York
will
be making
allocations to districts late this summer.Some
states
such
as Pennsylvania, Alabama,
Colorado, Delaware, and Tennessee
are issuing their Qualified
School Construction Bond allocations as state
bonds and then
distributing the
funds to local school districts for local school
construction projects.
Tennessee
financed its 2009
$170 million Qualified School Construction Bond
allocations for 17
school
districts including Memphis
which received a direct 2009 QSCB allocation of $
41.7 million.June
16, 2010 is the deadline for school
district project applications to the Tennessee
State School Bond
Authority for Tennessee’s
$204.8
million
2010
QSCB
allocation.
Earlier this month Pennsylvania
distributed $602 million to 46 school districts. Pennsylvania
estimates that this
will save the
districts – and taxpayers–
an estimated
$513 million in financing costs. The 46 school
districts have plans for
101
projects which meet those priorities; 63 projects
will reduce energy or
water
consumption; 28 will improve early childhood
education facilities and;
27 will
increase access to applied learning labs.
American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act
April
5,
2009
State
Bond Allocations
and Guidelines for Qualified School
Construction
Bonds and QZABs
Treasury and IRS
issued
the state allocations for Qualified School
Construction Bonds and
Qualified Zone Academy Bonds. See QSCB
allocations and QZAB
allocations. In addition, guidance
for Build America Bonds
have been issued. See Bond
Guidance.
February 14, 2009
The final
economic
stimulus package in the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act approved
by
Congress late Friday, includes financing and
funding for school
construction,
modernization, renovation and repair.
The
tax
provision of
the legislation includes $24.8 billion for
Qualified School
Construction Bonds
and for the expansion of the Qualified Zone
Academy Bond program. The
new
Qualified School Construction Bonds will be for
school construction,
renovation, repair and site acquisition. This is
almost the entire bond
authorization called for in the America’s
Better
Classrooms Act. Congressman Charles Rangel
(D-NY) Chair of
the
House Ways and Means Committee, Congressman Bob
Etheridge (D-NC),
Senator Jay
Rockefeller (D-WV) and Senate Finance Committee
Chair Max Baucus (D-MT)
were
key advocates for the school construction bonds
which are
supported by
President Obama.
Senate
politics
stymied
the effort for direct school modernization
grants to school
districts.
The House of Representatives sought to provide
$14 billion for school
renovation and repair grants that school
districts could use within 60
days to
start modernizing schools and classrooms to
generate construction jobs.
The
Senate, needing three votes to pass the entire
economic recovery
package, dropped
its $16 billion school modernization funding
provision. The Senate also
resisted the House effort to include $6.7
billion in the final package
for
modernization. School modernization was the last
issue decided in the
conference.
The
final
agreement added
funding for school modernization as one of the
purposes in a $53.6
billion
State Stabilization Fund. These funds will
be available for
school
modernization if state and local officials
decide to use the funds to
modernize
schools. Governors will control 18.2 % of those
funds which can be used
for public
safety and education purposes including public
school modernization,
renovation
and repair and for higher education renovation
and repair. Local
school
districts which will receive the remaining 81.8
% of the State
Stabilization
funds can use Stabilization funds for school
modernization as well as
for education
programs such as the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA), Title
I No Child Left Behind, and Perkins
programs.
The American
Recovery
and Reinvestment Act is a big step for the
financing of school
construction
bonds to help build, renovate and repair our
nation’s schools and for
funding
of school modernization.
Rebuild
America’s
Schools
thanks
all
who
are
working
so
diligently
for
the
funding
and
financing
for
school
construction
and
modernization. We now will work with
Congress and
the Obama Administration to finish the work of
helping states and
communities build
and modernize the
schools and classrooms
our students need to succeed in the global
economy of the 21st
Century.
January
29,
2009
The
House of
Representatives passed the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act, (
ARRA), (H.R. 1) on a vote of 244 to
188 on January 28.
School modernization is half way home.
The Senate is scheduled to
take up the Senate Appropriations and
Finance Committees ARRA packages
on Monday February 2.
Please
contact
members of the Senate to support the
American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act.
Please thank
those
Members of the House who supported the ARRA. As always
Rebuild America’s Schools thanks
President Obama, House Chairs Rangel,
Obey, and Miller and Senate
Chairs Baucus and Inouye as well as
Speaker Pelosi, Senate Majority
Leader Reid and Senators Rockefeller,
Byrd, and Harkin.
January
22,
2009
House Committees
Approve
$42.4 billion to fund and finance grants and
bonds for School
Construction,
Modernization, Renovation, and Repair
The House Appropriations Committee
chaired by Congressman
David
Obey
(D-WI) approved the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act whichincludes
$14 billion for grants to modernize, repair and
renovate public
elementary and
secondary schools in school districts in every
state. The Committee
bill also
provides $6 billion to modernize, renovate, and
repair facilities at
institutions
of higher education.The
American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act will now
move to the House of
Representatives
for approval on January 28th.
In
additional
action,
the House Ways and Means Committee chaired by
Congressman
Charles
Rangel (D-NY) passed the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Tax Act
(HR 598) which authorizes $22.4 billion
in school construction
bonds to build,
modernize, renovate and repair schools in every
state.
The
American
Recovery
and
Reinvestment
Act combining the Appropriations and Ways
and Means
committee
bills will move to the
House of Representatives for approval on January
28th.
Please
contact
Members
of
the
House
of
Representatives
to
support
the
American
Recovery
and
Reinvestment
Act.
Senate
Committees
Provide
$23.3
for
School
Modernization
in
American Recovery and ReinvestmentAct
The
Senate
Appropriations
Committee
released a summary of the Committee’s American
Recovery
and
Reinvestment Act. The Senate bill includes $
16 billion to
repair,
renovate and construct public schools in ways that
will raise energy
efficiency
and provide greater access to information
technology, and $ 3.5 billion
to
improve higher education facilities.
The
Senate
Finance
Committee
is providing $ 10 billion for Qualified
School Construction Bonds, tax credit
bonds, and is increasing the
allocations for Qualified Zone Academy
Bonds to $
1.4 billion for 2009 and 2010.
The Senate
Appropriations
and Finance Committees are scheduled
to meet on January 27 to start Senate action on
the American Recovery
and
Reinvestment Act.
The differences
between
House and Senate funding levels
under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(AARA) will be worked
out by a
Conference Committee after the House and Senate
pass their different
versions
of the ARRA.
If we all continue our efforts,
the
final passage of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will invest
substantial federal
support
in the modernization of our nation’s schools.
Rebuild America’s
Schools’ Review of Major School Construction
Proposals in
110th Congress (2007-2008)
H.R. 3021 the 21st Century Green
High-Performing Public
School Facilities Act of 2008.
The
bill authorizes $6.4 billion in 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
funds will be
directed to states to provide grants to local
school districts for
the modernization, renovation or repair of public
school
facilities. H.R. 3021 gives the U.S. Department of
Education 30
days to distribute appropriated funds to states
and 30 days to the
states to distribute the construction grants to
school districts.
The bill would also provide additional support for
Gulf Coast
schools still recovering from Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita. H.R.
3021 passed the House of Representatives on June
4, 2008 by a vote
of 250-164.
S. 1942 the Public School Repair and
Renovation
Act,
sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA),
provides $1.6 billion
in grants to communities that continue to struggle
to fund needed
school facility repairs. This legislation builds
on the Emergency
School
Repair
Program which was funded at $1.2
billion when Congress first authorized it in 2000.
Under the
Emergency School Repair Program, states and school
districts
successfully used $1.2 billion to repair and
renovate public
schools in 2001 and 2002.
The House
version, H.R. 3902, sponsored by Congressman Dave
Loebsack was
incorporated into H.R. 3021 the 21st
Century
Green High-Performing Public School Facilities
Act.
H.R. 2470 the America's Better
Classrooms Act
(ABC)
sponsored by Representatives Rangel, Ramstad,
Etheridge, has 221
House cosponsors. The ABC Act is a $25 billion
program designed to
provide interest-free loans to expand incentives
for public school
construction and renovation. The program provides
a tax credit to
the purchaser of bonds saving the local school
district the cost of
the interest of the bond. The Senate companion
bill is S. 912
sponsored by Senator Rockefeller (D-WV).
The estimated ten year cost to the Treasury of the
full $25 billion tax credit bond program is $6.7
billion. The ABC bill
builds on the
successful Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB)
program.
2008 Stimulus packages in House and Senate -
Congress
Considered Billions in Funding for School
Construction: This year Congress has
definitely seen the
importance of including school construction as
part of economic
stimulus legislation. Congress extended the
Qualified Zone Academy
Bond program and included very important rule
changes making the
school renovation and repair tax credit bonds more
marketable to a
broader market. On September 26, the House of
Representatives
passed a stimulus package, HR 7110, providing $3
billion for school
facilities using the structure of H.R. 3021, the
21st
Century Green High-Performing Public Schools
Facilities
Act. The vote on HR
7110 was
264-158.
The
Senate
considered
a stimulus package, S. 3604 that included $2
billion
using the mechanism of Senator Harkin’s Public
School Repair
and Renovation Act.
In
October,
Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate
Appropriations
Committee Chair Robert Byrd D-WV) developed a
$100.3 billion
economic stimulus package that included $2.5
billion for school
renovation and repair.
While the Senate
has not taken up this package Senate leaders have
said that this
package will be part of the discussions
with the economic team of
President-elect Obama as an economic recovery
package is prepared
for Congressional action early next year.
Rebuild America’s
Schoolsseeks
support
for
school
construction
components
in
a
2009
Obama
Economic
Stimulus
Program:
$10-20 billion in school construction
support
to be
provided through a combination of appropriated
grants such
asthe
21st
Century Green High-Performing Public School
Facilities Act of 2008;
the Public School Repair and Renovation Act
and tax credit bonds through the America’s
Better Classrooms Act.
Civil Engineers
Give Schools Another
'D'
Crowded schools and deteriorating school
facilities
contribute
significantly to the erosion of the quality of
American life,
according to an analysis by the nation’s civil
engineers. In
its latest evaluation of 12 categories of
infrastructure, the
American Society of Civil Engineers gave a grade
of D to schools
and to the overall infrastructure.
It’s uncertain, the report said, whether schools
can
handle a growing enrollment and the smaller class
sizes required by
the No Child Left Behind Act. Public school
enrollment in school
year 2003-04 was 48,173,924, up by 394,000 the
year before.
Estimates of the funds needed to bring school
facilities to good
condition range from a low of $127 billion to a
high of $268
billion.
The report said $1.6 trillion should be spent
over the
next five
years to alleviate potential problems with the
nation’s
infrastructure. “Americans are spending more time
stuck in
traffic and less time at home with their
families,” William
Henry, ASCE president, said. ASCE issued its first
"report card" in
2001.
The first step in addressing the condition of the
nation’s
schools is a realistic and ongoing needs
evaluation, the report
declares. The latest Department of Education
assessment of needs
was in its publication, “Condition of America’s
Public
School Facilities: 1999.” The report said, “While
school operations and facilities are primarily
state and local
concerns, their performance is an issue of
national
importance.” It called for a regular update of the
1999
report.
The report concluded: “Given that children are
our most
precious commodity, we should accept nothing less
than the best
conditions for our schools. ASCE strongly believes
that governments
at all levels should make primary and secondary
education a
priority, and should provide the resources to
support the necessary
infrastructure.”
Among ASCE’s recommendations are the following:
* Expand federal tax credits to support increased
use of
school
construction bonds;
* Continue and increase federal grants for
high-poverty, high-need
school districts;
* Consider direct federal funding of school
construction;
* Encourage school districts to explore
alternative financing;
and
* Encourage school districts to adopt regular,
comprehensive
construction and maintenance programs.
Qualified
Zone
Academy
Bonds: Available Now to Renovate and
RepairSchools
The Taxpayers Relief Act of 1997 included a tax
provision that
for the first time establishes Qualified Zone
Academy Bonds (QZAB)
to assist local school districts with school
renovations and other
purposes. QZABs provide up to $400 million per
year in bond
authority in 2006 and 2007 for schools in targeted
zones or where
35% or more of the students are eligible for free
or reduced
lunch.
Since 1998, $4 billion in QZAB bond allocations
have
been
provided to the fifty states and territories.
QZABs have been used successfully in virtually
every state.
The Rebuild
America's
Schools Coalition is building on this
starting
point to establish a comprehensive national
program to address the
pressing school modernization needs in virtually
every community in
America.
Congress
Extends Qualified
ZoneAcademy Bond Program (QZAB)
Congress passed a two year extension of the
Qualified
Zone
Academy Bond (QZAB) program for 2008 and 2009.
Included in the Emergency Economic
Stabilization Act, H.R. 1424
in
a section extending expiring tax provisions, the
two year QZAB
extension totals $800 million. QZABs allow school
districts to
issue interest-free bonds for the repair or
modernization of public
school buildings. Bond buyers receive federal tax
credits in lieu
of interest. The legislation extending the QZAB
program also
contains modifications to arbitrage rules which
will make the bonds
more marketable and allows the tax credits to be
stripped and sold
in a secondary market.
The U.S. Treasury allocates QZABs to the states
based on
their
low-income school population and state education
agencies assign
the bonding authority to their local school
districts. To be
eligible, 35 percent of the students in the
schools to be served
must receive free or reduced-cost lunches under
the federal school
lunch program.
At present, QZABs can be used for school
modernization
and
renovation, but not for new construction. Proposed
legislation
would allow its use for new construction such as
building new
school buildings and additions to an existing
building. Rebuild
America's Schools strongly supported
the continuation of the QZAB program. See
QZABs.
AmericansFavor National
SchoolRebuilding
Program
A significant majority of Americans favor a
national
public
policy directed at rebuilding the country's aging
schools and
understand the positive effect on students of such
construction.
Eight in ten surveyed would support an expanded
federal role in
rebuilding schools and in new school construction.
This support
cuts across gender, age, income and politics.
A telephone survey conducted by Opinion Dynamics
Corporation on
behalf of Rebuild America's Schools reached 900
registered U.S.
voters obtained by random digit dialing, and found
that those
surveyed are ready to accept an increased federal
role in funding
new school construction. Eight in ten supported an
expanded federal
funding role to assist localities with rebuilding
and maintaining
public schools.
The average public school
building is
well
past 40 years of age and cannot meet the demands
of modern
technology. Of the nation’s 80,000 public school
buildings,
at least one-third need extensive repair or
replacement and
two-thirds have troublesome environmental
conditions such as the
presence of asbestos or lead in water and paint.
Roofs leak..
Ventilation is poor; heating and air conditioning
systems
don’t work. Lighting is inadequate; plumbing is a
problem.