Crumbling schools don’t provide strong foundations for America’s students

NEA is calling on Congress to put students first and pass the Fix America’s Schools Today Act, which will provide a total of $30 billion to modernize and repair thousands of public schools and community colleges.

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An estimated 14 million American children attend deteriorating public schools. Falling ceiling tiles, leaking roofs, and moldy walls are just a few of health and safety issues in thousands of our nation’s public schools and community colleges. At least a third of America’s 80,000 public schools are in need of extensive repair and at least two-thirds have unhealthy environmental conditions.

“At one point I had a waterfall cascading into a light fixture in the ceiling,” said Reading, PA seventh grade teacher Christopher Meyers. “Kids were sitting in puddles in metal chairs as water hit exposed wires. They were like individual lightening rods. You can’t get any more dangerous than that.” Myers places buckets around the room, pushes student desks out of the way and puts a tarp over his own desk. Then he has to scramble to find a dry, safe room where he can continue his lessons.

According to a Department of Education survey, 43 percent of schools indicated that the poor condition of their facilities interferes with the delivery of instruction. The impact of these conditions also includes increased rates of illness, lower student achievement, as well as reduced teacher productivity. Many NEA members are sending photos, videos and stories into educationvotes.org in an attempt to raise the visibility of deteriorating schools.

"This isn’t about providing luxuries for our students—it’s about providing them with the basics," said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. "We shouldn't have to fight for our students to have safe and healthy learning environments. We need Congress to cut through the current political logjam and do what’s best for our students. This legislation will help students, educators and construction workers. We simply cannot afford to have yet another piece of the American Jobs Act fall away due to partisanship."

NEA is calling on Congress to pass the Fix America’s Schools Today Act, (S. 1597 by Senator Sherrod Brown, D-OH, and H.R. 2948 by Representative Rosa DeLauro, D-CT). This legislation would provide $25 billion for modernizing and repairing public schools and $5 billion for community colleges. These funds would renovate 35,000 school buildings and put more Americans back to work.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, an initial $50 billion school renovation program would employ 500,000 workers — a third of the 1.5 million construction workers now unemployed — and could easily be scaled up. Eliminating just half the backlog in repairs and improvements would, over a period of years, create more than 2 million jobs, while improving the buildings in which our students prepare for the future.

Core Facts

On average, the buildings that house our public schools and community colleges are more than 40 years old and require an estimated $500 billion in repairs and upgrades.
At least a third of America’s 80,000 public schools are in need of extensive repair and at least two-thirds have unhealthy environmental conditions.
Construction and building repair generally create 9,000-10,000 jobs per billion dollars spent. Eliminating just half the backlog in repairs and improvements would, over a period of years, create more than 2 million jobs.
Asthma is a leading chronic illness among children and youth in the U.S. and one of the leading causes of school absenteeism. In 2007, 5.6 million school-aged children and youth (5-17 years old) were reported to currently have asthma. In addition, teachers and custodians have been identified as having higher rates of occupational asthma. (NEA Health Information Network)
An estimated 14 million American children attend deteriorating public schools. Of the existing 80,000 public schools, at least one-third need extensive repair or replacement and at least two-thirds have unhealthy environmental conditions.
According to a Department of Education survey, 43 percent of schools indicated that the poor condition of their facilities interferes with the delivery of instruction. The impact of these conditions also includes increased rates of illness, lower student achievement, as well as reduced teacher productivity.
Teachers in Chicago and Washington, DC reported missing four days annually because of health problems caused by adverse building conditions (with poor indoor air quality being the biggest problem).
A national survey of school nurses found over 40% of the nurses knew children and staff adversely impacted by avoidable indoor pollutants.
Students from 95 New York City Public Schools attended fewer days on average in schools with poor facilities and had lower grades in English Language Arts and Math which could be correlated to lower attendance.
Schools that implement energy-saving strategies – from following green building design to using energy-efficient building components to behavioral change – can reduce energy use by as much as one-third, resulting in major environmental and cost-savings benefits.

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Relevant Files

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Name: moldfactsheet.pdf, Size: bytes, Download

Quotes

"This isn’t about providing luxuries for our students…it’s about providing them with the basics," said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. "We shouldn't have to fight for our students to have a safe, healthy environment to learn and grow in. It's just common sense. Now we need Congress to bust through the current political logjam because our students, educators and construction workers cannot afford to have yet another piece of the American Jobs Act fall away due to partisanship."

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel

"President Obama has made it clear that he's willing to fight to modernize our public school buildings and that he cares about American students and the professionals that work in our schools. Congress needs to stand behind our students to give them -- at the very minimum -- a safe, healthy place to learn and grow in."

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel

"The classroom I was assigned to was a total disaster: the floor of the main area was flooded and the ceiling of the small office was missing most of its tiles. Mold and mildew climbed up the few pieces of furniture remaining in the office. The room stank so badly I had a hard time breathing. How can I be expected to teach five science classes, while providing relevant lab work, if I could not even give my students a healthy classroom to learn in?"

Cheryl B, High School Math Teacher, Santa Fe, NM

(VIDEO) "We have asbestos in our building and carpet that’s in horrible condition that we can’t replace because there might be asbestos under it. Everywhere you go people are just kind of cobbling things together just to get by. It sends a message to our students about how education is valued and about how they’re valued as the future. It’s heard whether you say it out loud or not."

Dianna Beatty, High School Math Teacher, Colorado Springs, CO

(PHOTOS) "I have a science lab on the 3rd floor of a building that was last updated in the 60s. The classroom once had outlets, but right now there are none. I will have to used old microscopes with mirrors because it would be a safety hazard running extension cords. The third floor is the top floor and when it rains, there is a leak in the hallway. Very often the fix is to put a recycling bin (we don't have the logistics to actually have a recycling program at the school) underneath the hole so water doesn't spill all over the floor."

Aviva T, Science Teacher, Oak Park, IL

(VIDEO) “Our district wouldn’t want to admit it but we have a mold issue and air quality issues that they’re very resistant to address due to lack of funding. There are a lot of things that need to be fixed and the problem is the funds to do that. There’s no money to fix it. In my district we have more and more students who do have ailments like asthma that are directly impacted by the state of the schools. We have no choice. They’re going to have to look for the funding and find a way to do it.”

Stacy Yanko, Library Assistant, Hopatcong, NJ