Kildee Introduces School Construction Bill

Today, Congressman Dale E. Kildee and other Democratic Members of Congress introduced the Public School Repair and Renovation Act of 2000. This school construction legislation, initially proposed by President Clinton in his State of the Union speech last month, would leverage $7 billion through grants and loans to high need school districts to fund 8,300 emergency repair and renovation projects.

"As Congress prepares to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), it is vital that we address the emergency and often life-threatening repair and renovation needs that exist in our nation's schools. Too many of our children learn in schools with fire code violations, asbestos and other safety hazards. Allowing this to continue jeopardizes our children's ability to succeed academically, and later in life as adults," said Kildee. "It is my intention, as I did during the last reauthorization of ESEA in 1994, to enact school construction program into law this Congress and respond to the numerous concerns I have heard from school officials, teachers, parents, and students about the condition of their schools."

The Public School Repair and Renovation Act of 2000 would:

• Authorize $1.3 billion annually for grants and loans by the U.S. Secretary of Education to high poverty and high need school districts.
  
  
• Ten percent of funds would be set aside for grants to school districts with greater than 25 percent of children from low-income families.
  
  
• Ninety percent of funds would be available for grants or loans to high need school districts, through a competitive process.
  
  
• All funds would be targeted to school districts which lack the capacity or ability to issue bonds or pay for school renovations directly.
  
  
• Funds would be focused on the most critical repair and renovation projects, such as dangerous electrical, plumbing or asbestos problems, or to address fire code violations.
  
  
• Loans to school districts would not be charged interest and must be paid back in seven years.

In 1995, the U.S. General Accounting Office has estimated that it would cost over $110 billion to bring school facilities in the United States into good overall condition. The National Center for Education Statistics reported that the average age for a school building in 1998 was 42 years and that school districts with high rates of poverty tend to have the oldest of school buildings. The U.S. Department of Education has estimated that at least 2,400 new public schools will be needed by 2003 to accommodate rising enrollments and to relieve overcrowding. According to the National Education Association, Michigan will need $10 billion in spending on school construction and renovation.

Congressman Kildee is third ranking Democratic Member on the U.S. House of Representatives Education and the Workforce Committee. He is the top Democratic Member on the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families which oversees Federal programs for K-12 education, including ESEA and any school construction proposals. ESEA is the premier Federal Education statute providing approximately $14 billion in assistance to states to support high quality education and academic achievement. Congressman Kildee has primarily focused on accountability for educational results, increased teacher quality, class-size reduction and school safety during this Congress.

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