Dive Brief:
- The decline in school construction and expansion in the aftermath of the Great Recession has made it more difficult for parents to find good schools for their children to attend, according to Bloomberg, as construction spending dropped since the crash while enrollment continued to increase by 4%.
- Spending declined in the aftermath of the recession because education infrastructure is largely funded by local revenue, which drastically declined, and state and federal cuts to education increased the problem alongside a disinclination by local governments to borrow money despite low interest rates.
- Only three states (Georgia, Florida and Texas) went over the minimum construction and maintenance spending levels needed to keep pace with basic standards, according to the 21st Century School Fund, while 18 states spent less than 60% of the necessary funding.
Dive Insight:
States that have cut back on education infrastructure spending may be endangering the possibility of future tax revenue. While good schools are typically maintained on the back of robust local revenue, families are also attracted to an area by quality schools, and an area lacking that amenity may lose out on the development of a strong tax base. States need to invest in schools to ensure the safe and productive learning for students, but it also ensures a greater opportunity for economic health and stability. This is particularly true for low-income communities, where local tax revenue is diminished, placing a greater burden on state and federal funding. More robust funding of school infrastructure can be an investment that, in the long term, could eventually take the primary weight of funding off the state.
The issue of onerous college student loans can also diminish a tax base that would more adequately fund local schools. Millennial college graduates in the workforce are increasingly considering a choice not faced by predecessors. With the expanded amount and size of loans that students take on, graduates may forego buying homes in order to pay down their loans. Though financially prudent on the part of the graduate, it forestalls the next generation of homebuyers, leaving legislators and communities without an incoming base that will continue to support schools with revenues from property taxes.