[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 16, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5019-S5020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Kennedy, 
        Mr. Reid, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Levin):
  S. 905. A bill to provide incentives for school construction, and for 
other purposes, to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce legislation today 
with my good friend and colleague from Iowa, Senator Harkin, to deal 
with the issue of overcrowded and dilapidated schools. In March I 
offered an amendment in the Senate Finance Committee that was very 
similar to the legislation that we are introducing today. I am sorry 
that the amendment failed on a 10-10 vote in the Committee, but I am 
hopeful that we can come together to find a way to pass school 
construction legislation during this Congress.
  The need for school construction assistance is great. Three-quarters 
of the public schools are in need of repairs, renovation, or 
modernization. More than one-third of schools rely on portable 
classrooms, such as trailers, many of which lack heat or air 
conditioning. Twenty percent of public schools report unsafe 
conditions, such as failing fire alarms or electric problems.
  At the same time the schools are getting older, the number of 
students is growing, up nine percent since 1990. The Department of 
Education estimates that 2,400 new schools will be needed by 2003 and 
public elementary and secondary enrollment is expected to increase 
another million between 1999 and 2006, reaching an all-time high of 
44.4 million and increasing demand on schools.
  It's increasingly difficult to have meaningful reform in schools that 
are falling apart at the seams. Research does show that student and 
teacher achievement lags in shabby school buildings, those with no 
science labs, inadequate ventilation, and faulty heating systems. Older 
schools are also less likely to be connected to the Internet than 
recently built or renovated schools. Facilities are vital to 
implementation of research-based school reform efforts. We know, for 
example, that students learn more effectively in small classes, but 
school districts cannot create smaller classes or hire more teachers 
unless there is a place to put them.
  Many schools are trying to offer more robust curricula, including 
music, physical education and classes in the arts, but their ability to 
provide these programs is hampered if there is no space to house them.
  Almost every State in the Nation has implemented curriculum 
standards, calling for advanced work in science and technologies, but 
some schools are so old that their electrical wiring cannot support 
enough computers for the students and their science facilities are so 
antiquated that students cannot perform the experiments required to 
learn the state's curriculum.
  Some school districts are looking to implement universal preschool, a 
service that we know enhances children's school preparedness and which 
a study published in last week's Journal of the American Medical 
Association confirmed makes children more likely to complete high 
school, less likely to need special education or grade retention 
services while in school, and more likely to avoid arrest as young 
adults, but the lack of available facilities is often prohibitive. If 
we are serious about encouraging research-based, meaningful, effective 
education reforms, and if we are serious about doing our part to help 
local districts run safe schools, a commensurate investment in school 
facilities is imperative.
  The America's Better Classroom Act, is similar to legislation 
introduced in the House by Congressman Rangel and Congresswoman Johnson 
that has 158 cosponsors. Our legislation allows the Federal government 
to issue $24.8 billion in school modernization bonds through a formula-
based allocation to states and through expansion of the Qualified Zone 
Academy Bond, QZAB, program. The bill also includes a $200 million set-
aside for Bureau of Indian Affairs schools for two years to help school 
replacement projects at schools funded or run by the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs.
  Our bill would allocate 60 percent of $22 billion in bonds to states 
based on school-aged population. The remaining 40 percent of the bond 
revenue would be directly allocated to the 125 school districts with 
the largest number of low-income students based on ESEA Title I 
funding.
  States and local school districts are investing in school 
construction, but it is clear that they still need our help. Annual 
construction expenditures for elementary and secondary schools have 
been growing. But local and state budgets have not been able to keep up 
with demand for new schools and the repair of aging ones. Unless school 
leaders can

[[Page S5020]]

persuade their wary voters to pass such bond referendums or raise local 
taxes, though, there's often little hope of change. Until the last few 
years, the plight of state and local leaders had not received much 
attention from Washington. Last year we came together to respond to 
their call by funding a $1.2 billion grant program and this year we 
should come together again and pass legislation that continues our 
commitment to help local districts with their repair and renovation 
needs.
  It is a tragedy that so many of our Nation's students attend schools 
in crumbling and unsafe facilities. According to the American Institute 
of Architects, one in every three public schools in America needs major 
repair. The American Society of Civil Engineers found school facilities 
to be in worse condition than any other part of our nation's 
infrastructure.
  The problem is particularly acute in some high-poverty schools, where 
inadequate roofs, electrical systems, and plumbing place students and 
school employees at risk. Last month I visited the Westford Public 
School District in Massachusetts. School facilities were a big concern 
for this semi-rural town which has seen its student population sky 
rocket in recent years, but has not experienced comparable property tax 
revenues. In order to meet the fiscal demands of new school 
construction, the town is foregoing replacement of large, drafty 
windows from the early 1950s and is relying on pre-fab trailers to 
serve as an elementary school.
  The Wilson Middle School in Natick, MA was built for approximately 
500 students and currently houses 625. The school has no technical 
infrastructure, it has no electrical wiring to allow the integration of 
computers in the classroom. The classrooms are 75 percent of the size 
of contemporary classrooms and were built with chairs and desks fixed 
to floor. Classrooms like these make it near-impossible for teachers to 
use modern-day teaching methods which rely heavily on student 
collaboration and interaction. The school also lacks science 
laboratories, making it impossible for students to do hands-on work and 
experiments.
  Natick High School, like many aging school buildings around the 
Commonwealth, needs to have its basic infrastructure updated: 
electrical wiring, heating, plumbing and intercom systems are among the 
many components of the school in need of modernization. Also, the 
science labs are presently unable to meet the demands of updated state 
curricula. Natick put in place a prototype lab, and saw remarkable 
changes in students' interest and ability to experiment in science.
  I am very pleased to be introducing this legislation today with 
Senator Harkin, and it is my sincere hope that we can come together 
again on the issue of school construction and pass legislation that 
addresses this Nation's critical need for school repairs and 
renovation, and that we can do it as a part of a broader package of 
honest and tough reforms which focus, above all else, on the goal of 
empowering our schools to raise student achievement.

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