Schools

Overview

School facilities represent the second largest sector of public infrastructure spending, after highways, and yet there is no comprehensive national data source on K-12 public school infrastructure. What data is available indicates that 53% of public school districts report the need to update or replace multiple building systems, including HVAC systems. More than one-third of public schools have portable buildings due to capacity constraints, with 45% of these portable buildings in poor or fair condition. Meanwhile, as a share of the economy, state capital funding for schools was down 31% in fiscal year 2017 compared to 2008. That is the equivalent of a $20 billion cut. The best estimates indicate a minimum of $38 billion annual funding gap for public school facilities across the country. Meanwhile, public schools often serve a secondary function as emergency shelters and community resource facilities during man-made or natural disasters, and facility upgrades are needed to effectively fulfill this important community purpose.

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Highlights

There are approximately 84,000

public schools with nearly

100,000 buildings in the U.S.

Nearly 41%

of schools reported issues with

HVAC systems

Four in 10 public schools

do not have a

long-term facility plan

Capacity & Condition

There are approximately 84,000 public schools with nearly 100,000 buildings in the U.S. with a projected enrollment of 56.8 million by 2026. Every community across the U.S. has public school buildings and facilities. They are used not only for learning, libraries, sports, and feeding children, but also for community meetings and as emergency centers and shelters. To provide a safe and healthy environment that is conducive to learning for children of all ages, school buildings need to be in good condition and provide adequate spaces, natural light, working heating and air conditioning, clean water, and modern technology to fulfill a host of other functions.

Capacity & Condition

There are approximately 84,000 public schools with nearly 100,000 buildings in the U.S. with a projected enrollment of 56.8 million by 2026. Every community across the U.S. has public school buildings and facilities. They are used not only for learning, libraries, sports, and feeding children, but also for community meetings and as emergency centers and shelters. To provide a safe and healthy environment that is conducive to learning for children of all ages, school buildings need to be in good condition and provide adequate spaces, natural light, working heating, and air conditioning, clean water, and modern technology to fulfill a host of other functions.

A 2015 Congressional Research Service reportconcluded that national data on the condition of school infrastructure and the investment needs are extremely limited and outdated, and comprehensive findings remain elusive. There is no consistent federal data collection process to aggregate information on the condition of schools. Furthermore, the data that is collected is based on a wide variety of assumptions and definitions regarding both conditions and needs.

School facilities represent the second largest sector of public infrastructure spending, after highways, and yet there is no comprehensive national data source on K-12 public school infrastructure. The most comprehensive data available is a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) survey for the 2012-2013 school year.The U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) issued a limited, one-time survey of school districts in 2020, which found that 53% of public school districts needed to update or replace multiple building systems, reinforcing the findings of the NCES report that found that 53% of public schools needed to spend money on repairs, renovations, and modernizations to bring the infrastructure into good overall condition. Nearly 41% reported issues with HVAC systems, a significant concern for facilities where children routinely spend eight hours a day.

The NCES report, while older, was more comprehensive and found that 14% to 32% of school systems reported permanent buildings’ systems/features that were rated in fair or poor condition. Among the 31% of public school systems with portable (temporary) buildings, 29% to 45% were rated as being in fair or poor condition. Additionally, outdoor features were rated as fair or poor, including school parking lots and roadways; fencing; bus lanes and drop-off areas; outdoor athletic facilities; and outdoor play areas/playgrounds.

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Operations & Maintenance

State and local governments face a constant challenge to keep pace with operations and maintenance and the need for new school construction, in addition to accommodating improved health and safety standards, stronger accessibility requirements, and new technology. Great strides have been made in infusing technology into schools and into the instructional process. Some school districts have invested heavily in the infrastructure required to accommodate technology. As the COVID-19 pandemic illustrated, investments in technology are critical to ensure continued learning, yet despite progress, many school districts have not been able to keep pace. Meanwhile, school districts need to upgrade HVAC systems and add capacity to classrooms with outdoor classrooms, temporary buildings, or leasing new space, all with limited budgets.

The GAO estimates that while 65% of school districts have assessed their facilities within the past 10 years (86% of those do so yearly), 16% of districts have not done so within the past 10 years. Planning is often lacking, as four in 10 public schools do not have a long-term facility plan in place to address operations and maintenance. Better planning through life-cycle cost analysis will lead to a better allocation of resources. Such analysis should review costs associated with planning, funding, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning.

Funding & Future Need

An estimated 55% of districts use local revenues as their primary source of funding for school facilities, compared to 36% that use state funds. The most common source of local funding is property taxes, which are used in 77% of school districts. Other local funding comes from grants, bonding, other taxes, and public-private partnerships.

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Funding & Future Need

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that as a share of the economy, state capital funding for schools was down 31% in fiscal year 2017 compared to 2008. That’s the equivalent of a $20 billion cut. Thirty-eight states cut school capital spending as a share of the state economy over the 2008-17 period, in many cases drastically.

Between 1994 and 2013, school systems spent $925 billion (in 2014 dollars) on maintenance and operations and $973 billion from their capital budgets for new school construction and capital projects to improve existing schools. This combined spending totaled $99 billion a year. However, it is estimated that the nation should be spending about $145 billion per year to maintain, operate, and renew facilities so they provide healthy and safe 21st-century learning environments. School districts need to spend $58 billion annually to maintain and operate the current inventory of public school facilities so they are clean and in good working order. On the capital side, the nation should be spending an estimated $77 billion per year to regularly upgrade existing facilities’ systems, components, fixtures, equipment, and finishes as they reach the end of their anticipated life expectancy; systematically reduce the backlog of deferred maintenance that has accumulated; and alter existing facilities to respond to changing educational requirements.

Current investment levels, compared to what needs to be spent on school infrastructure, leave an estimated gap of $46 billion in funding needs, based on 2014 dollars and estimates. The 2021 number is undoubtedly higher, especially in the face of the loss of revenue faced by school systems due to the 2020 pandemic and tax revenue losses.

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Public Safety & Resilience

To serve their primary purpose and provide a safe and effective learning environment for the nation’s K-12 students, public schools need to be in good condition.

Public Safety & Resilience

To serve their primary purpose and provide a safe and effective learning environment for the nation’s K-12 students, public schools need to be in good condition.

All schools (new and existing) should be designed to withstand seismic, wind, and flood events. State and local governments must support the widespread adoption and enforcement of modern building and infrastructure codes, such as ASCE 7: Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures. ASCE 7 describes the means for determining flood, tsunami, snow, rain, atmospheric ice, earthquake, wind, and other loads and their combinations for general structural design. ASCE 7 is continuously updated to reflect our changing world and to make infrastructure more resilient in the face of new challenges.

Public schools often serve a secondary function as emergency shelters and community resource facilities during man-made or natural disasters. This critical function has a significant role in public health, safety, and welfare, and requires facilities to be maintained to function in emergencies and help communities recover quickly. Schools require upgrades to effectively fulfill this important community purpose, including windows that can withstand high winds, structures designed to survive earthquakes, and rooms specifically designed as shelters from tornados.

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Raising the Grade

Solutions that Work

The U.S. Department of Education should coordinate with state agencies and local school districts to obtain and publish nationwide statistics on school infrastructure at regular intervals.

School districts should focus on Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) principles in the planning and design processes to evaluate the total cost of projects.

Design new campuses for the lowest net present value cost that includes lifecycle O&M in addition to capital construction.

Implement building condition assessment of existing school infrastructure.

Budget for the total cost of ownership and train facilities staff to implement these policies.

School districts should develop capital planning frameworks that can be nimble and responsive to changing technologies and demographics, in order to optimize learning environments and consider the holistic needs of the community.

Continue to encourage school districts to adopt regular, comprehensive major maintenance, renewal, and construction programs, and implement preventive maintenance programs to extend the life of school facilities.

Explore alternative financing for public school facilities, including lease financing, as well as ownership and use arrangements, to facilitate school construction projects.

View Report Sources

21st Century School Fund Inc., U.S. Green Building Council Inc., and the National Council on School Facilities, “State of Our Schools: America’s K-12 Facilities,” 2016.

Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, “Projections of Education Statistics to 2026.” April 2018.

Congressional Research Service, “School Construction and Renovation: A Review of Federal Programs and Legislation,” updated August 31, 2020.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, “Condition of America’s Public School Facilities: 2012 –13,” NCES 2014-022, March 2014.

K-12 Education: School Districts Frequently Identified Multiple Building Systems Needing Updates or Replacement,” file:///G:/GRA/Word/Report%20Card/2021%20Report%20Card/Categories/Schools/GAO%20Report%20June%202020.pdf GOA-20-949, June 2020.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “School Infrastructure Needs a Funding Infusion.” April 17, 2018.

21st Century School Fund Inc., U.S. Green Building Council Inc., and the National Council on School Facilities, “State of Our Schools: America’s K-12 Facilities,” page 4, 2016.

PHOTO ATTRIBUTIONS

Photos courtesy of Kevin Longley, Emily Feenstra, Maria Matthews, and Brian Pallasch