President Obama has included a provision in his proposed American Jobs Act that would pour billions into public schools across the country, with a special emphasis on rural schools. According to a White House fact sheet, his proposal would amount to a $25 billion investment in infrastructure for 35,000 public schools. An additional $5 billion would be provided to community colleges.
The fact sheet cites a backlog of school maintenance and repair projects totaling between $270 to $500 billion, and says overstretched districts in the nation's poorest areas have to defer repairs, forcing students and teachers into overcrowded classrooms with little or outdated technology in buildings that average 40 years old.
The money would allow districts to upgrade facilities, make renovations and emergency repairs, upgrade "greening" and energy efficiency, complete asbestos abatement and removal, participate in modernization efforts to build new science and computer labs, upgrade technology infrastructure in our schools, and make upgrades to continue shared spaces as adult vocational and job development centers.
Almost 40 percent of the money would go to the 100 largest high-need schools, or those with the most students living in poverty. The remaining 60 percent of funds would be given to states to disperse. The amount each state gets will be determined by its share of funding from Title I, the main federal program for school in poor areas. They would have to distribute the funds by September 30, 2012 and give priority to rural districts.
Some Republican leaders have denounced Obama's overall proposal, saying he should roll back regulations that they say "kill American jobs" if he wants to keep people working. Andy Sullivan of Reuters reports that House Republican Leader Eric Cantor said he wouldn't support the proposal because it's "akin to the stimulus bill," and he didn't think the American people would want it.
To read the fact sheet, and see a chart outlining the amount of money to which each state is entitled, the number of jobs these projects are likely to create and the amount community colleges in each state could receive, click here.
The fact sheet cites a backlog of school maintenance and repair projects totaling between $270 to $500 billion, and says overstretched districts in the nation's poorest areas have to defer repairs, forcing students and teachers into overcrowded classrooms with little or outdated technology in buildings that average 40 years old.
The money would allow districts to upgrade facilities, make renovations and emergency repairs, upgrade "greening" and energy efficiency, complete asbestos abatement and removal, participate in modernization efforts to build new science and computer labs, upgrade technology infrastructure in our schools, and make upgrades to continue shared spaces as adult vocational and job development centers.
Almost 40 percent of the money would go to the 100 largest high-need schools, or those with the most students living in poverty. The remaining 60 percent of funds would be given to states to disperse. The amount each state gets will be determined by its share of funding from Title I, the main federal program for school in poor areas. They would have to distribute the funds by September 30, 2012 and give priority to rural districts.
Some Republican leaders have denounced Obama's overall proposal, saying he should roll back regulations that they say "kill American jobs" if he wants to keep people working. Andy Sullivan of Reuters reports that House Republican Leader Eric Cantor said he wouldn't support the proposal because it's "akin to the stimulus bill," and he didn't think the American people would want it.
To read the fact sheet, and see a chart outlining the amount of money to which each state is entitled, the number of jobs these projects are likely to create and the amount community colleges in each state could receive, click here.
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