Statement from Edward J. McElroy, President, American Federation of Teachers, on Passage of 21st Century High-Performing Public School Facilities Act

On April 30, the House Education and Labor Committee passed H.R. 3021, which authorizes $6.4 billion a year to help states and localities improve deteriorating and outdated school buildings, and create over 100,000 well-paying construction jobs.

The bill includes several AFT-supported provisions, including: a requirement that funds be used for projects that meet one of three widely recognized green building standards; a provision allowing states to use a portion of the funds to create statewide databases of school building-related information; an allowance for school districts to waive the green building requirements under certain circumstances, while ensuring that at least 90 percent of funds will be used for green projects by 2013; and an extension of Davis-Bacon wage protections to the construction projects.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Across the nation, states are facing the most serious fiscal crisis in more than half a century, affecting their ability to repair and modernize schools. While the AFT has been calling on Congress to act on this issue for more than a decade, passage of the 21st Century High-Performing Public School Facilities Act (H.R. 3021) demonstrates that Congress is beginning to understand the need for federal assistance to help states and localities improve deteriorating and outdated school buildings.

A safe and modern learning environment is integral to raising student achievement. Preliminary studies indicate that school building conditions have a direct impact on student health and academic performance. These studies also suggest that properly built and maintained schools can have a positive impact on test scores, school operational costs, teacher and school-related personnel attrition, and the environment. Too many students, teachers and other school staff suffer in overcrowded and aging school buildings. Under these conditions, it is extremely difficult to meet and exceed new challenges and expectations.

In 2006, the AFT launched the “Building Minds, Minding Buildings” campaign, releasing a report designed to highlight the inadequate state of many of our public school facilities from the viewpoint of those who work in them. The report offers recommendations for fixing schools and stresses the need for high-performance schools to replace schools with poor conditions that compromise learning and teaching.

For more information on the AFT’s “Building Minds, Minding Buildings” campaign, visit:
www.aft.org/buildingminds.

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