USGBC to GAO: 'Schools need over $271 billion in maintenance fixes'

The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released its first “State of our Schools” report, highlighting the critical need to modernize school facilities to meet current health, safety and educational standards.

The report, featuring a foreword by former President Bill Clinton, states that schools are currently facing a $271 billion deferred maintenance bill just to bring the buildings up to working order – approximately $5,450 per student.

The last comprehensive report on America’s school facilities was conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 1995 and indicated that 15,000 U.S. schools were circulating air that at the time was deemed unfit to breathe. The USGBC report calls on the GAO to conduct an updated survey on the condition of America's schools in order to paint a more complete picture of the scale and scope of today’s needs. The USGBC report also estimates that the cost to both bring schools into good repair and address modernization needs is $542 billion over the next 10 years for Pre-K-12 school buildings.

"The places where our children learn matter. This report is a critical first step to taking action and creating healthy, sustainable school buildings," said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. "Schools are the backbone of our communities, and it is unacceptable that we would allow any of our children to show up in classrooms that compromise their ability to learn. We must do more."

"Approximately 50 million students attend the nearly 100,000 public elementary and secondary schools in the United States. Many of these schools barely meet today's standards, yet it’s been an astonishing 18 years since the last comprehensive study on school conditions was conducted," said Rachel Gutter, director, Center for Green Schools at USGBC. "We are confident Congress will take up the charge to commission a new report on the state of educational facilities across the country. We can’t continue to ignore a problem just because we don’t understand the extent of it."

The Center for Green Schools at USGBC is urging the GAO to commission another survey on the condition of America’s schools, with support from 24 organizations, including the 21st Century School Fund, the American Federation of Teachers, the American Lung Association, the National Education Association (NEA) and the National PTA, among others.

"Our job—as educators, as parents and as elected officials—is to remove barriers so that all students can succeed," said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. "This means investing in the right priorities. Children need and deserve safe and healthy environments so they can learn. It’s not more complicated than that.”

Key recommendations from the report include:

• Expand the Common Core of Data (a set of academic expectations collected annually by

the National Center for Education Statistics that define the knowledge and skills all

students should master by the end of each grade level) to include school level data on

building age, building size and site size.

• Improve the current fiscal reporting of school district facility maintenance and operations

data to the National Center for Education Statistics so that utility and maintenance

expenditures are collected separately.

• Improve the collection of capital outlay data from school districts to include identification

of the source of capital outlay funding and distinctions between capital outlay categories

for new construction and for existing facilities.

• Provide financial and technical assistance to states from the U.S. Department of

Education to incorporate facility data in their state longitudinal education data systems.

• Mandate a GAO facility condition survey take place every 10 years, with the next one

beginning immediately.

Please visit centerforgreenschools.org/stateofschools to download the full report.

About the Center for Green Schools at USGBC

The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council is making sure every student

has the opportunity to attend a green school within this generation. From kindergarten to

college and beyond, the Center works directly with staff, teachers, faculty, students,

ambassadors, elected officials and communities to drive the transformation of all schools into

sustainable places to live and learn, work and play. For more information, visit http://centerforgreenschools.org .

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future

through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. USGBC works toward its mission of

market transformation through its LEED green building certification program, robust educational

offerings, a nationwide network of chapters and affiliates, the annual Greenbuild International

Conference & Expo and advocacy in support of public policy that encourages and enables

green buildings and communities. For more information, visit usgbc.org.

Panelists participating in a recent webinar hosted by the Urban Institute discussed various actions that could help alleviate the nation’s affordable housing crisis. Among the possible remedies: inclusionary zoning policies, various reforms to increase local affordable housing stock, and fees on new development to offset the impact on public infrastructure.

More than the sum of its parts, the building enclosure is a collection of integrated assemblies that work in concert to shield the interior from the elements.

4 steps to a better building enclosure

Dividing the outside environment from the interior, the building enclosure is one of the most important parts of the structure. The enclosure not only defines the building’s aesthetic, but also protects occupants from the elements and facilitates a comfortable, controlled climate. With dozens of components comprising the exterior assemblies, from foundation to cladding to roof, figuring out which concerns to address first can be daunting.

Multifamily Housing | May 16, 2023

Legislators aim to make office-to-housing conversions easier

Lawmakers around the country are looking for ways to spur conversions of office space to residential use.cSuch projects come with challenges such as inadequate plumbing, not enough exterior-facing windows, and footprints that don’t easily lend themselves to residential use. These conditions raise the cost for developers.

BIM and Information Technology | May 8, 2023

BIM Council seeks public comments on BIM Standard-US Version 4

The Building Information Management (BIM) Council is seeking public comment on an updated national BIM standard. NBIMS-US V4 has been three years in the making and is scheduled to be released this fall.

The U.S. Supreme Court as composed June 30, 2022 to present. Photo: Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

Regulations | May 8, 2023

Supreme Court case likely to have huge impact on Clean Water Act

A case before the Supreme Court will likely determine how the Clean Water Act is interpreted and the ruling could open up new areas for development within or adjacent to wetlands.

Codes and Standards | May 8, 2023

New ASHRAE standard defines ‘zero energy’ and ‘zero carbon’ buildings

ASHRAE has released a new standard that defines the terms ‘Zero Energy’ and ‘Zero Carbon’ to describe buildings. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 228-2023, Standard Method of Evaluating Zero Net Energy and Zero Net Carbon Building Performance, sets requirements for evaluating whether a building or group of buildings meets a definition of “zero net energy” or a definition of “zero net carbon” during operation.

Sustainability | May 1, 2023

Increased focus on sustainability is good for business and attracting employees

A recent study, 2023 State of Design & Make by software developer Autodesk, contains some interesting takeaways for the design and construction industry. Respondents to a survey of industry leaders from the architecture, engineering, construction, product design, manufacturing, and entertainment spheres strongly support the idea that improving their organization’s sustainability practices is good for business.

Office Buildings | May 1, 2023

Office building owners face potential legal liabilities when adding new workplace amenities

Many landlords in the war for tenants have turned to offering new amenities such as conference room services, fitness centers with nutritionists, and high-end food and beverage offerings. To provide new services, landlords often engage with third-party vendors, which can present thorny legal liability.

Codes and Standards | May 1, 2023

Hurricane Ian aftermath expected to prompt building code reform in Florida

Hurricane Ian struck the Southwest Florida coastline last fall with winds exceeding 150 mph, flooding cities, and devastating structures across the state. A construction risk management expert believes the projected economic damage, as high as $75 billion, will prompt the state to beef up building codes and reform land use rules.

Currently Reading

USGBC to GAO: 'Schools need over $271 billion in maintenance fixes'

Tags

Contractors | May 26, 2023

Affordable Housing | May 17, 2023

Sponsored | Building Enclosure Systems | May 16, 2023

Multifamily Housing | May 16, 2023

BIM and Information Technology | May 8, 2023

Regulations | May 8, 2023

Codes and Standards | May 8, 2023

Sustainability | May 1, 2023

Office Buildings | May 1, 2023

Codes and Standards | May 1, 2023

Most Popular Content

Magazine Subscription

Get our Newsletters

Follow BD+C: