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NEA Communications 202-822-7200

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 6, 1998

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As America's students head back to school, what kinds of buildings will they see? If the National Education Association (NEA) had its way, all youngsters would be learning in modern, sparkling classrooms with small class sizes and new computers linked to the Internet. But for some 14 million American schoolchildren, that vision is an elusive dream.

"The condition of our public school buildings is a national crisis, and it demands a national solution," says NEA President Bob Chase. "The American public agrees - and wants Congress to help states and local school districts address this overwhelming problem."

Almost two-thirds of America's 80,000 public schools need "extensive repair, overhaul or replacement of at least one major building feature," according to the U.S. General Accounting Office. Last March, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the physical condition of America's public schools a grade of "F" - lower than roads, bridges, or hazardous waste sites.

Government and independent estimates put the cost of modernizing America's public schools - for repairs, replacement, new construction, and making them technology-ready - at more than $200 billion. Rising enrollments are producing large class sizes, and many districts have resorted to purchasing portable classrooms. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that 6,000 new schools will be needed by 2006 to handle the overflow of children.

And, at the dawn of the 21st century, only 27 percent of American classrooms - and only 14 percent of those serving largely poor and minority students - are wired for Internet access.

Congress has thus far blocked passage of the NEA-backed Public School Modernization Act, which would provide investors with tax credits to subsidize some $22 billion in zero-interest bonds for modernizing the nation's schools. Fifty percent of the bonds would go to the states, and 50 percent would be reserved for the 100 school districts with the largest numbers of low-income children. The act would also subsidize school building modernization in designated enterprise or empowerment zones (Qualified Zone Academy Bonds - QZABs). States and local school districts would issue the bonds. The legislation would cost the federal government $3.3 billion between fiscal years 1998 and 2003, and $9 billion cumulatively through fiscal year 2008.

"The time is now for school modernization," says Chase. "The need is crystal clear. Polls show Americans want this problem solved, and they want the federal government to be an active partner with state and local governments in solving it."

Chase contrasts the stalled school modernization effort with Congress's recent swift passage of a massive highway construction bill: "If we can afford $220 billion to rebuild the nation's highways, we can afford one-tenth that amount to educate our children in modern schools, with small classes and new computer technology."