*Last updated March 2001

School districts all across the country are dealing with the twin problems of school repair and overcrowding. Crumbling, overcrowded schools are not limited to big cities. Suburban and rural school districts often have the same types of problems, sometimes even more severely than large urban centers. Nor are these school facility problems limited to a single area of the country. Every region of the country is struggling to cope with overflowing classrooms and dilapidated buildings that suffer from years of neglect.

This fact sheet summarizes the "National Problem" and "National Solution" section of the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group’s recent report on school overcrowding and repair – Rebuilding Our Schools Brick By Brick. Read the Executive Summary, Download the complete copy of the report (pdf), or call NCBG at 312-939-7198 to have one sent to you.

Schools in Disrepair

The most comprehensive assessment of the nation’s school facilities was completed in February 1995 by the U.S. General Accounting Office. The report estimated that the nation needs to invest approximately $112 billion in its school buildings just to make basic repairs. At that time, the GAO estimated that 14 million children attended the 25,000 schools in serious disrepair. The GAO’s cost estimate does not include the cost of eliminating the overcrowding problem.

Since the GAO released its report, U.S. school districts have completed about $12.2 billion in school repairs and modernization. But according to two recent studies, the school facilities problem remains severe. A MONTH study by the U.S. Dept. of Education estimates that it would cost $127 billion just to repair America’s schools – and that doesn’t include the bill for eliminating overcrowding. Another study – released in May by the National Education Association – puts the bill at a much more daunting $322 billion.
 

U.S. Dept. of Education, Condition of America’s Schools: 1999, http://www.nces.ed.gov/ or 877-4ED-PUBS

National Education Association, Modernizing Our Schools: What Will It Cost?, http://www.nea.org/, 202-822-7400

Overflowing Classrooms

There has never been a national study that documents the extent of overcrowding in the United States. But school districts from every corner of the country — from New York City to Miami to Detroit to Los Angeles -- report that there are simply too few classrooms to adequately educate all the students. The recent DOE study concludes that 22 percent of U.S. schools – over 17,000 facilities, are overcrowded.

And the problem is only going to get worse. Enrollment in America’s public schools has increased for 14 straight years, and set new records in each of the last four years. The U.S. Dept. of Education predicts at least seven more years of enrollment growth. While U.S. school districts spent $13 billion on new schools and addition in 1998, and plan to spend $34.2 billion more by 2001, this investment only makes a small dent in the problem.

For more on what the Federal Government is doing to help our nation's schools see National Legislation.