Washington D.C. - June 6, 2023––With $42 million in new funding from the fiscal year 2023 omnibus, the U.S. Department of Education for the first time is building capacity to help states and districts address long standing structural inequities in our nation’s public school facilities. On June 2nd, 2023, it released two requests for proposals for demonstration grants to states for capacity building, known as the Supporting America’s School Infrastructure (SASI) Grant Program, and for a national clearinghouse and technical assistance center, the National Center on School Infrastructure (NCSI) Grant Program. The [Re]Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition (BASIC) is extremely pleased to see Congress and the Administration taking these critical steps to begin improving our Nation’s schools. 

Mary Filardo, Executive Director of the 21st Century School Fund, co-founder of BASIC, and a recognized national expert on school infrastructure stated: ”The Congress and the President have done more in the last three years than in the last two decades to help school districts address health, safety and the inequities found in the quality of elementary and secondary school buildings and grounds. We are extremely pleased that the U.S. Department of Education is now in the process of creating a new $2 million National Center on School Infrastructure and a $40 million dollar grant program to build state capacity to support local school districts that need to fix thousands of outdated and unsafe school buildings. This is an important step forward and the result of a twenty year campaign to get the federal government and states more fully engaged in creating modern, safe, healthy, green school facilities that equitably serve our nation’s public school children.” 

Mike Pickens, Executive Director of the National Council on School Facilities, an organization of state education facility directors, and a former director of the Office of Facilities at the West Virginia Department of Education, expressed how important the new funding will be for states: “This U.S. Department of Education funding will jumpstart state efforts to help low wealth and high need school districts improve the operations, maintenance, and capital management of their buildings and grounds. Our public school facilities serve millions of children, teachers and other adults every day. We need well-maintained and modern facilities so they are educationally suitable, healthy for occupants, energy efficient, and resilient in the face of climate and human threats. Well maintained facilities are also economical.”

Ally Talcott, the Executive Director of BASIC, stated, “Our coalition is extremely grateful to Senator Jack Reed, Ranking Member Bobby Scott, and key appropriators for their steadfast leadership which has built the foundation for these key investments that are now a reality. Building national and state capacity to help districts is an appropriate federal role for the U.S. Department of Education. BASIC calls on Congress to continue its support for technical assistance to states, but also urges Congress to pass the Rebuild America’s Schools Act (RASA) and provide $130 billion in school facility improvements targeted to our most underserved school districts.” 

Contact: Mary Filardo - MFilardo@21csf.org - 202-285-8947