[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 126 (Thursday, August 2, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10792-S10793]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Clinton, and Ms. 
        Mikulski):
  S. 1942. A bill to amend part D of title V of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide grants for the renovation of 
schools; to the Committee on Health, Education, labor, and Pensions.

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Public 
School Repair and Renovation Act. I offer this legislation to meet the 
urgent need for support to repair crumbling schools in disadvantaged 
and rural school districts.
  We all agree that school infrastructure requires constant 
maintenance. Unfortunately, far too many schools have been forced to 
neglect ongoing issues, most likely due to lack of funds, which can 
lead to health and safety problems for students, educators and staff. 
The most recent infrastructure report card issued by the American 
Society of Civil Engineers gives public schools a ``D'' grade. Now, I 
don't know many parents who would find ``D'' grades acceptable for 
their children. So why on earth would we stand by while the state of 
the buildings in which our children learn are assigned such a grade?
  Despite the declining condition of many public schools, Federal grant 
funding is generally not available to leverage local spending. In 
fiscal year 2001, the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and 
Education Appropriations Subcommittee which I then chaired, I was able 
to secure $1.2 billion for school repair and renovation. I continue to 
hear nothing but positive feedback from educators across the country 
about that funding.
  But that one-time investment amounted to nothing more than a drop in 
the bucket compared to the estimated national need. In 1995, the 
General Accounting Office reported that the nation's K-12 schools 
needed some $112 billion in repairs and upgrades. A more recent study 
by the National Education Association put the estimate as high as $322 
billion.
  I have been heartened by the recent boom in local and State spending 
on

[[Page S10793]]

school facilities. However, the distribution of these recent 
investments has been overwhelmingly slanted to the most affluent 
communities which are better able to fund new investments without 
outside assistance. A 2006 study released by the Building Educational 
Success Together, BEST, coalition found that the quality of your 
child's school is dependent upon his or her racial or ethnic background 
and whether they live in a rich or poor neighborhood.
  Local spending on school facilities in affluent communities is almost 
twice as high as in our most disadvantaged communities, as measured on 
a per-pupil basis. The report also found that school districts with 
predominantly caucasian enrollment benefited from about $2000 more per 
student in school repair and construction spending than their peers 
living in school districts with predominantly minority enrollment.
  The Public School Repair and Renovation Act addresses that inequity 
by targeting school renovation grants to those communities that have 
struggled to fund needed repairs. The bill builds on the model States 
found successful in the fiscal year 2001 program. States would receive 
funding based on their most recent Title I allocation to initiate a 
competitive grant program targeted to poor and rural school districts. 
States have the discretion to require matching funds from the local 
district bringing the potential funding to much more than the $1.6 
billion Federal investment.
  I would like to thank my colleagues, Senators Kennedy, Clinton, and 
Mikulski for signing on to this bill. In addition, I am pleased to 
report this legislation has the support of a diverse group of national 
education organizations representing teachers, school boards, school 
administrators, and principals.
  The Public School Repair and Renovation Act takes a much needed step 
forward in fixing the inequity in public school facilities. Something 
is seriously wrong when children go to modern, gleaming movie theaters, 
shopping malls, and sports arenas, but attend public schools with 
crumbling walls and leaking roofs. This sends exactly the wrong message 
to children about the importance of education.
  I hope that my colleagues will support the Public School Repair and 
Renovation Act.
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