Sec. 2. Findings
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/bill/114/s/1505/is/section-2·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: Providing safe, healthy, and modern public elementary school and secondary school facilities is a crucial component of improving student academic performance and retaining effective, high-quality educators. The Department of Education reports that a growing body of research has linked student achievement and behavior to the physical condition of school buildings. The 2013 Infrastructure Report Card compiled by the American Society of Civil Engineers gives the Nation’s public schools a D grade.
In 2014, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that a majority (53 percent) of the Nation’s elementary schools and secondary schools are in need of renovations, modernization, or repairs to be brought into good condition . The estimated cost for this work is $197,000,000,000, or an average of $4,500,000 per school. From 2000–2008, approximately $20,000,000,000 was spent annually on school construction; since the start of the Great Recession in 2008, that spending has declined by half, to approximately $10,000,000,000 per year by 2012.
In 1998, the Department of Education reported that the average age of a public elementary school or secondary school building was estimated to be 42 years old. Due to the absence of national data on school facilities for more than a decade, a complete picture of the condition of the Nation’s schools remains mostly unknown. According to the 2006 report Greening America’s Schools: Costs and Benefits , green schools use 33 percent less energy and 32 percent less water than conventionally built schools, generating financial savings of about $70 per square foot.
On average, green schools save $100,000 per year on operating costs.