At this point it is uncertain as to whether the infrastructure reconciliation package in Congress will include ANY funds for school construction, repair and upgrades, even though the need for ventilation and social distancing in our classrooms is more evident than ever. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives School Infrastructure a D+ grade, while a 2020 US GAO survey found that more than half of all districts need to update or replace multiple buildings. Too many schools are extremely overcrowded, and in NYC alone, nearly half a million students are packed into schools at or over 100%. It makes no sense to provide funds to expand preK, as this federal package does, without helping to provide any space for it, or else this will worsen school overcrowding and increase class size.

Please send a message to your members of Congress today, urging them to include at least $100 billion in the infrastructure reconciliation package for school construction, modernization and repair.