Infrastructure – School Buildings

Advocate for School Maintainence & Modernization

Building ModernizationQuality of public school buildings and grounds is a health, educational, and environmental equity issue for families and communities. Facilities are not neutral! Many localities do not have a sufficient tax base to maintain their aging schools. 

According to the 2013 Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) study, more than 40 percent of Virginia’s public-school buildings and facilities were built at least 50 years ago, and another 20 percent were constructed at least 40 years ago. The lack of modern internet capacity, electrical connections for laptops, leaking roofs and lack of standard safety measures such as fire sprinklers, and windows that open is a health risk for students and staff and has a direct impact on a student’s ability to learn. 

The 2019 Virginia Senate School Facility Modernization subcommittee estimated it will cost $3 billion to $4 billion to modernize Virginia’s schools. PTA has been an outspoken advocate regarding the critical infrastructure needs of our schools at both the federal and state level. The small amount of aid allocated to the Literary Fund, Virginia’s long-standing method for providing school constuction funding has failed to adequately fund the design and construction of new school buildings or the modernization of existing school buildings.  

  • Virginia PTA believes that schools should be recognized and funded as an important component of our nation’s infrastructure.

  • Virginia PTA calls on the Commonwealth of Virginia to provide substantial and sustained investment to support school renovation, new construction and debt service costs to reduce over-crowding and provide for the regular repair and maintenance or upgrade of aging school buildings.

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QUESTIONS: Email Vice President of Advocacy