Rebuilding America's Schools

What is Rebuild America's Schools (RAS)

REBUILD AMERICA’S SCHOOLS MISSION

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 was organized in 1997 following the release of the General Accounting Office Report documenting the incredible need in every state for improved school facilities. The GAO Report issued in 1996 estimated over $112 billion in unmet construction requirements for existing schools. Additionally, states and local communities also need to build new schools to meet rising enrollments. Subsequent estimates place total school facility needs including technology at over $300 billion.

Support for education and the schools in which our children learn is not a partisan issue. Leaders on both sides of the aisle in Congress care about what happens in our nation’s schools. This bipartisan interest should lead to a commitment of federal resources to help local communities invest in their schools and school facilities. As school districts across the country strive to meet the student achievement objectives of No Child Left Behind, the federal government should help modernize America's schools. Modern, up to date, schools enhance student achievement.

Rebuild America’s Schools has two immediate objectives:

to work with the Obama Administration and Congress to include financing for school modernization and infrastructure in the accomplishments of the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress.
to continue to build and demonstrate public support for a federal partnership with state and local community efforts to finance the modern school facilities America’s school children must have to successfully achieve in the 21st Century.