Can you spell; P-R-E-V-A-I-L-I-N-G W-A-G-E ??

State is 3rd in school construction

by Keith Ervin Seattle Times staff reporter While some local school officials complain they don't have enough money to refurbish aging schools or keep pace with enrollment growth, Washington ranks third on a list of the states that spent the most on school construction from 1990 to 1997.

Washington, spending an average of $854 a student each year, placed behind Nevada ($934) and Florida ($877). The lowest-spending state was Connecticut, at $37 a student, according to the March 3 report by the General Accounting Office (GAO). Oregon spent $378 a student.

Nationwide, states and local school districts spent $25 billion in 1997, up from nearly $18 billion in 1990. The average spent was about $473 a student over the eight years measured by the report.

Mike Currie, director of school facilities and construction for the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, said he had not seen the GAO's figures, but questioned its Washington construction total of $6.1 billion from 1990 to 1997. He estimated Washington spent closer to $4 billion.

Much of the nation's school spending was driven by population growth. First-ranked Nevada led the nation in growth in student enrollment.

But in Washington, renovation or replacement of older buildings also played an important role. Seattle, for instance, is spending $360 million to repair or replace 19 schools, some built before 1910.

Some areas, including parts of King, Snohomish, Pierce, Clark and Spokane counties, are still struggling to build schools to accommodate new students. But Currie said spending has shifted more to modernizing older schools.

School districts around the state will ask voters Tuesday to approve tax measures that would raise $400 million for school construction.

Fixing the worst schoolhouses has been a top goal of the Clinton administration, which continues to push Congress to spend federal money on a program to fix schools in poor urban or rural areas. The report noted that the average school building is 42 years old.

"The nicest places our children see are theaters and shopping malls and the worst things they see are public schools; what does that say to them?" Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said in committee debate last week over renewing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which covers most federal spending for school programs.

-- Mark Stilson (mark842@hotmail.com), March 10, 2000

Answers

I think construction money comes from a separate budget. Many schools have been built without a thought about funds for adequate maintenance. It's just another example of the government inefficiency.

I'm looking forward to the charter school initiative. All the important decisions about education are made at the state level. The special interests in Olympia have the legislature in a death grip. That's why nothing changes even though everyone knows that the quality of our children's education has been in a death spiral. Bringing control back down to the local level is one important reform.

The other key to reform is empowering parents. A voucher system is probably the only way we're going to save public education. But if your dead set against vouchers I have another idea. What about a $5,000 per child reduction in their government salary for any state, local or school district employee who puts their child in a private school? And, this salary reduction would apply to members of the legislature as well.

Teachers know how bad the schools they work in are. Teachers are more likely than average to put their own children in private schools. All I'm asking is for public employees to share the consequences of their decisions with everybody else.

-- F Hemingway (pvtc@aol.com), March 13, 2000.

I went to public schools, and every one of them was run down and decrepit. But, that was totally irrelevant. The keys are the teachers and parents. Great teachers are the most important, and caring parents are a close second.

Sure, it's great if a school has wonderful facilities, but parents can pay for a lot of stuff on their own, after school hours.

Likewise, kids can supplement their education by going to the library. Again, it's not the library building that's important, it's the collection of books and the helpfulness of the staff.

-- Matthew M. Warren (mattinsky@msn.com), March 13, 2000.