FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 1999

CONTACT:
Jacqueline C. Leavy, Executive Director
312-939-7198

Overcrowded and substandard schools continue to be a major national problem, according to a new study by the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group (NCBG). Crowding and school facility improvements plague many of the nation’s school systems – large and small – despite local governments efforts to step up the pace of school construction.

The release of Rebuilding Our Schools Brick By Brick comes as Congress wraps up another session without passing comprehensive, nationwide school construction legislation.

The core of the new report is a detailed case study of the strengths and shortcomings of the Chicago Public Schools’ $2 billion Capital Improvement Program – considered one of the nation’s most far-reaching school improvement programs. So far, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has spent over $800 million on repairs and new construction since the building boom began in 1996. But despite these successes, 41 percent of all high schools are still overcrowded along with one-third of elementary schools.

The overcrowding pressures – both locally and nationally – are only going to get worse. Nationally, the U.S. Dept. of Education predicts that 800,000 more students will enter U.S. public schools by 2004. Chicago officials are expecting to see about 34,000 additional elementary school students enter the system over the next five years. In Chicago alone, NCBG estimates it will cost between $1.3 billion and $2 billion just to eliminate overcrowding. That figure does not include the resources still needed to upgrade technology, build lunchrooms, finish general repairs, or to accelerate new construction to keep pace with escalating student enrollments.

"After two decades of neglect, CPS has really turned the corner when it comes to fixing its school buildings," said NCBG Board President Mildred Wiley. "But much more needs to be done, and local school districts need outside financial help to provide adequate, well-equipped facilities that prepare all our children for the future."

Chicago’s situation is indicative of the national school facilities crisis, the study concludes. Since 1995, when the U.S. General Accounting Office estimated the nation’s school repair needs at $112 billion, local school districts have completed only about $12 billion of the needed maintenance. Factoring in overcrowding makes the burden on local governments even greater. Because local school districts can no longer shoulder the burden alone, NCBG is calling on the U.S. Congress to move quickly to pass effective, equitable school construction legislation that benefits all of our nation’s school districts. The report includes a detailed summary of proposed federal school construction legislation, as well as summaries of school construction campaigns in such cities as New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Detroit.

"We have a direct national interest in the quality of our school facilities," said NCBG Executive Director Jacqueline Leavy. "Overcrowded and inadequate schools create serious barriers to learning, and that puts our country at a disadvantage in today’s high-tech economy. America’s future economic prosperity will depend largely on how well we meet the challenge of educating our children."