![Sample our Humanities journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5939/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Humanities.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
In this paper, we contribute to the literature on school facility funding by examining California’s facility funding formula and assessing how the current state system facilitates meeting annual investment standards in facility stewardship and upkeep. To do this, we quantify the total school square footage of school facilities and then calculate the current replacement value (CRV). For our analysis, we adhere to industry standard benchmarks of 3 percent of CRV for maintenance & operation (M&O) and 4 percent of CRV for capital renewal. Overall, we find California school districts fail to adequately and equitably invest in school facilities upkeep leaving more than half of students attending subpar school facilities. Additionally, we show that nearly forty percent of school districts do not have enough taxable property wealth to raise capital funds. Looking ahead, educator leaders must prioritize equalizing school facility funding formulas to reduce educational funding inequities between school districts.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the following for thoughtful reviews of earlier drafts: Julien Lafortune, Mary Filardo, Steve English, and Rick Simpson. We also express gratitude for the research and editorial support provided by: Semhar Gebrekristos, Lily Neinstedt, and Hannah Jackson.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 We arrived at an estimated square foot replacement cost of $517.76 by looking at numerous data points. First, in 2016 the national State of Our Schools report (Filardo Citation2016) used $400/sf for California, based on a survey of state-level school facility offices across the country. Adjusting this figure to 2020$ using the Turner Construction Index, is $522 (2016 to 2020 index inflator = 1.305). Second, we obtained detailed cost data on 21 recent school construction projects in California from Colbi Technologies. These projects averaged close to, but slightly less, than the first method. Erring on the conservative end we used the lower number.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Jeffrey M. Vincent
Dr. Jeffrey M. Vincent is a director at the Center for Cities + Schools and the director of the National Center on School Infrastructure, both in the Institute of Urban and Regional Development at the University of California, Berkeley.
Kevin Quintero
Kevin Quintero is a doctoral candidate in the School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley.