[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6616-6617]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                          SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION

  (Mr. HOLT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, this morning I am talking about trailers. 
Temporary school buildings. I have visited over 80 schools in my 
district and everywhere I go, parents, teachers, and students all talk 
to me about the problem of overcrowding and the expense of 
construction.
  Just last week, Secretary of Education Riley and I visited Crossroads 
School in a school district where the total student population has 
doubled in the past 11 years from 3,500 students to 7,000 now.
  Mr. Speaker, study after study shows that smaller class sizes produce 
better students. With the median school construction cost for an 
elementary school

[[Page 6617]]

in New Jersey at $13 million, and the price of a new high school at 
more than $22 million on average, these are expenses that our 
beleaguered taxpayers cannot afford. They cannot continue to have 
staggering tax increases year after year.
  So, Mr. Speaker, they are putting up temporary trailers. Temporary 
buildings may be a temporary solution, but they are not cheap. They 
cost nearly $40,000 to install, $6,000 a year to lease, and there is a 
maintenance cost.
  There is also a cost to the students. Trailers may provide more 
space, but do not provide the optimal learning environment for a 
quality education. Because of their long, rectangular shape, students 
have trouble seeing the blackboard, and many do not have Internet 
connections.
  Congress must act to pass legislation that will provide much-needed 
financial assistance to fast growing school districts.

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