Education Week - March 22, 2023 - 6

In Pennsylvania, where a judge recently
declared the state's overall school funding system
unconstitutional, testimony submitted by low-wealth
districts included images of students seated at desks
in hallways because all the classrooms were full
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found
last year that schools in Maryland's Baltimore City
district, overwhelmingly attended by Black and
low-income students, are older and in more dire
need of expensive repairs-including an estimated
$34 million needed to resolve building problems that
pose an immediate health and safety risk-than
anywhere else in the state.
And in North Carolina, a judge has ordered state
lawmakers to pass a new statewide school bond for
construction, the first in the state since the late 1990s.
Without it, districts have to lean on local taxpayers
to fix their buildings, said Kris Nordstrom, senior
policy analyst for the North Carolina Justice Center's
Education Law Project.
" It's not surprising in the history of this country
that when those limited funds are being distributed,
it's not benefiting the kids who need it the most: the
kids who don't have that political pull that comes with
generational wealth, " Nordstrom said.
How districts are dealing with
major facilities challenges
In 2019, 53 percent of school districts reported to
the U.S. Government Accountability Office that they
needed to replace multiple building systems, such
as heating or plumbing infrastructure; 41 percent
needed major HVAC upgrades.
Since then, thousands of districts have devoted
substantial portions of their federal COVID relief
funds to long-awaited projects like upgrading
ventilation systems, fixing leaky roofs, and replacing
outdated technology. An Associated Press analysis
found that poorer districts were far more likely than
their wealthier counterparts to invest these funds in
facilities upgrades.
Slightly more than half of school and district leaders
who answered the EdWeek Research Center survey
said one major facilities challenge is navigating
the skyrocketing cost of labor and materials for
construction and renovation projects.
And for many, finding enough workers to keep
school buildings humming is a challenge that's only
grown more difficult since the pandemic began,
said Keith Watkins, director of facilities for the New
Rochelle district in New York.
At one time, his 107-person maintenance staff was
missing 11 key employees. More recently, applicants
have started to return in greater numbers-but many
lack the wide range of qualifications, including having
passed required state exams, for the positions they seek.
" I think we need to be in the business of making
sure everyone is successful, " Watkins said. " Providing
6 | EDUCATION WEEK | March 22, 2023 | www.edweek.org
How would you describe the number of employees who work to
maintain the facilities in your district or school?
1%
11
Very insufficient
Somewhat
insufficient
Somewhat
sufficient
Very sufficient/just
what we need
Too much/beyond
what we need
29
26
34
*Results show responses from teachers, principals, and district leaders
SOURCE: EdWeek Research Center survey, February 2023
on-the-job training, assigning somebody a mentor,
that would go a long ways for people feeling confident
that for the job they're looking to attain, they have the
skills to do it. "
Watkins' district offers overtime pay for workers
to clean and address building issues at night and
on weekends. But not every district can afford the
cost of additional labor from already-overworked
employees.
When key facilities positions aren't filled, workers
have little time to focus on pursuing big projects.
" You're going to do the things you have to do because
you don't have enough people to sort between the stuff
you should be doing proactively and preventatively
versus reactively, " said Lander Medlin, president and
CEO of APPA, formerly known as the Association of
Physical Plant Administrators, a membership
organization for facilities chiefs in K-12 schools, colleges
and universities, and other public institutions.
Medlin calls this approach " deferred capital
renewal. "
" You're basically compromising the longest life
cycle you could have gotten out of that system, "
she said.
What can the government do?
A lack of financial support from the state and
federal governments and local taxpayers were the
next most commonly cited school building-related
challenges in the EdWeek Research Center survey.
President Joe Biden's 2021 proposal to supply
schools with $100 billion in grants and bonds to
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Education Week - March 22, 2023

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