EdLabor Journal

Below are estimates of the amount of funding that each state and school district would receive to modernize, upgrade and repair school facilities under the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, if it were to be enacted.  These are estimates only based on available and current data and may not reflect exact allocations that states or school districts receive when these funds are actually allocated. 

Preliminary estimates from the Congressional Research Service (as calculated on May 5, 2009):

Click here to download state-level data (PDF, 10KB) »
Click here to download school district-level data (PDF, 676KB) »

On Thursday, May 14, the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, will hold a hearing to examine how improvements to child nutrition programs can help fight the nation’s childhood obesity crisis.

Child nutrition experts across the board agree that childhood obesity poses the greatest threats to the nation’s physical and financial health. Today, one-third of U.S. children and adolescents, about 25 million, are obese or overweight. Child nutrition programs provide children with access to low-cost, nutritious food to support healthy growth and development. 

The House is scheduled to vote this week on the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act.  The bill would make critical investments to provide more students with modern, healthier, more environmentally-friendly classrooms. It would also support hundreds of thousands of new construction jobs and invest more than half a billion dollars for school facility improvements in the Gulf Coast, where many schools still face considerable damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

In Saturday's New York Times, they have an editorial entitled: The Dropout Crisis. In it, the editorial board noted that:

The soaring dropout rate is causing the United States to lose ground educationally to rivals abroad and is trapping millions of young Americans at the very margins of the economy.

Nationally, only 70 percent of students graduate from high school with a regular high school diploma. Approximately 10 percent of high schools in this country produce close to half of these dropouts. As the NY Times continues:

Many of this country’s large urban high schools are rightly called “dropout factories” because more students leave school than graduate....The dropout crisis presents a clear danger to national prosperity.

There will be a full committee hearing tomorrow at 3pm Eastern to examine how policies for addressing the high school dropout crisis and improving graduation rates can strengthen America’s economic competitiveness.

President Obama has challenged every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. And today he made it easier by ensuring that those receiving unemployment benefits won't lose them if they return to school. (from the AP article)

Currently, people who are out of work and want to go back to school have to give up their monthly unemployment check. And if they decide to return to school, they often don't qualify for federal grants because eligibility is based upon the previous year's income.

In addition to making it easier for those out of work to return for additional training, President Obama has been pushing for a transformation of the federal loan program to save taxpayers money and ensure stability for students. This USA Today editorial explains why this reform is important.

The student lending market is far smaller than the housing market. But it raises a similar question: Does it make sense for the government to pump its education dollars through banks — which divert some of the money for their own profits, wine and dine college financial aid officers to get on "preferred lender" lists, and lobby Washington to keep the spigot open?

The administration estimates it can save as much as $94 billion over 10 years by eliminating middlemen and lending directly. Even if that number is exaggerated, it reflects how inefficiently taxpayers' money is being spent. Banks shouldn't need major subsidies to issue guaranteed student loans.

To learn more about President Obama's proposal click here.

On Tuesday, May 12, the Committee will hold a hearing to examine how policies for addressing the high school dropout crisis and improving graduation rates can strengthen America’s economic competitiveness.

Nationally, only 70 percent of students graduate from high school with a regular high school diploma. Approximately 10 percent of high schools in this country produce close to half of these dropouts. In his first address to a joint session of Congress, President Obama called on lawmakers to address the dropout crisis.

On Thursday, May 7, the Committee will hold a hearing to examine how federal agencies can help child care, schools, colleges and workplaces prepare for the H1N1 flu virus and future pandemics. The hearing will also provide an update on how schools and workplaces are being affected by and responding to the current outbreak.

WHAT:         
Hearing on “Ensuring Preparedness Against the Flu Virus at School and Work"

WHO:            
Jordan Barab, Acting Assistant Secretary, Occupational Safety and
Health Administration, Washington, DC
Ann Brockhaus, Occupational Safety and Health Consultant, ORC Worldwide, Washington, DC
Jack O'Connell, Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Department of Education, Sacramento, CA  
Miguel Garcia, Registered Nurse and member, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Los Angeles, CA
Bill Modzeleski, Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, Department of Education, Washington, DC
Dr. Anne Schuchat, Deputy Director for Science and Program (Interim), Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA

WHEN:         
Thursday, May 7, 2009
10:00 a.m. ET
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:      
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

On Wednesday, May 6, the Committee will consider legislation that will provide the nation’s public schools with billions of dollars in funding for much-needed repair, renovation and modernization projects, while breathing new life into local economies.  

The 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act could create as many as 136,000 new construction jobs nationwide, according to calculations by the Economic Policy Institute, while boosting student achievement by creating healthier, safer, and energy-efficient learning environments. Studies show there is a correlation between facility quality and student achievement. The legislation also would provide significant aid for Gulf Coast Schools still recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

WHAT:         
Full Committee Mark-Up of H.R. 2187 “21st Century Green High-Performing Public School”

WHEN:         
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
10:00 a.m. ET
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:      
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Improving Education, Creating Jobs, Fighting Global Warming

School buildings should be safe and healthy learning environments for children. But according to recent estimates, America’s schools are hundreds of billions of dollars short of the funding needed to bring them up to good condition. Research shows a correlation between school facility quality and student achievement. Modernizing school buildings would help revive our economy by creating jobs and preparing workers for the clean energy jobs of the future. And by upgrading school buildings to make them more energy efficient and more reliant on renewable sources of energy, modernized school buildings can also help reduce the emissions that contribute to global warming. Congress already has endorsed these principles by making green school modernization, renovation and repair part an allowable use of funds under the state fiscal stabilization fund in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Click here to download estimates of the amount of funding that each state and school district would receive under H.R. 2187 if it were to be enacted »

The 21st Century Green High-Performing Public Schools Facilities Act (H.R. 2187) would:

Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 5, the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness will hold a hearing to examine best practices for improving adult education and family literacy. This is the fourth hearing the committee is holding as it works toward reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act, which provides job training, education programs, vocational rehabilitation and other services to Americans.

WHAT:         
Hearing on “"New Innovations and Best Practices under the Workforce Investment Act"
 
WHO:            
David Beré, president and chief strategy officer, Dollar General Corporation, Goodlettsville, TN
Kathy Cooper , policy associate, Office of Adult Basic Education, Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, Olympia, WA
Martin Finsterbusch, executive director, VALUE, Inc.  (Voice of Adult Learners United to Educate), Media, PA
Donna Kinerney, Ph.D., instructional dean, Adult ESOL & Literacy Programs, Montgomery College, Wheaton, MD
Roberta Lanterman, program director, Long Beach Family Literacy, Long Beach, CA
Stephen Reder, Ph.D., university professor and chair, Department of Applied Linguistics, Portland State University, Portland, OR
Gretchen Wilson, Grammy winning recording artist and GED graduate, Nashville, TN

WHEN:         
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
10:00 a.m. ET
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:      
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.