Economic Recovery Solutions for Schools

February 20, 2009

With Education in Fiscal Crisis-The $50 Billion Stimulus Funds for Education provides timely help for Schools

By Dr. Appu Kuttan
NEF Chairman

So far school districts are considering the most obvious targets for cutting—for example Virginia’s Fairfax County is considering class size increases, eliminating certain high school sports, while Los Angeles Unified school district has already reduced 600 administrative jobs. What can be done?

First some creative thinking is overdue for schools—just as technology has made a quantum difference for improving business efficiency, reforming entire industries such as banking, travel, music, photography etc—technology inventiveness needs to be applied to schools:

Textbooks are a huge expense for schools— schools spent $4.4 billion for textbooks in the 2006-07 school years, according to Eduventures. While that's only a fraction of the total costs schools incur each year, the amount is significant.
Rather than have students face back problems carrying huge tomes around it is time that we required that all textbook companies provide digital versions of their books and lower the costs of their textbooks accordingly. For years colleges have used open-source materials, with instructors designing and giving away material such as lecture notes and exams. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology boasts that virtually its entire catalog is available through " open courseware. According to USA Today, Florida one of the top five textbook markets in the USA may soon approve “Free-Reading,” a remediation program for primary-school

Controlling energy costs begins with a simple audit. According to the US Department of Energy, school energy costs are estimated at approximately $110 per student per year, depending on region and climate conditions. “Total utility costs, including fuel, water, waste water, and trash, averages $140 per student. Energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions can yield savings of up to $50 per student per year. School districts can save 30% to 40% on annual energy costs in new schools and 20% to 30% in renovated schools by integrating energy efficiency and renewable energy measures.” Willing partners include local utility companies and incentives to spend money on high performing recyclable energy production are available through the Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) program. The result is healthier teaching environment and according to the US Department of Energy’s research “improved student performance”

Schools can maintain existing infrastructure and modernize without incurring borrowing costs by taking advantage of the federal zero interest Qualified Zone Academy Bond program and take advantage of partnerships that can provide a 10 percent match to create a special academy to enrich the curriculum. Within the next few months, an additional $2.2 Billion will be available for this program divided according to numbers of children in poverty in the 50 states. The program is targeted so that only schools with 35 percent of students receiving free and reduced lunch are eligible. The program can cut the cost of any project by half—through the magic of not having to pay the interest costs on borrowed capital. We know that this program also creates jobs—and that one dollar invested in the schools this way creates $5 extra dollars of new economic activity –making a strong impact in both rural and urban America where such an infusion of capital is so badly needed.

NEF is ready to work with School Districts across the Nation to create an action plan for U.S. economic recovery via effective deployment of $50 billion Stimulus funds available to school districts including $2.6 billion total QZAB funds. To do our share in the national economic recovery, NEF has set aside $260 million to provide the 10% QZAB match required by Federal law to school districts. For assistance, please contact Dr. Laurence Peters, NEF QZAB director at 703-823-9999 or lpeters@cyberlearning.org.