Jay Rockefeller: “today I am introducing two key education initiatives designed to promote quality education across our country and…”

“today I am introducing two key education initiatives designed to promote quality education across our country and respond to the compelling needs in our schools. When I meet with teachers and parents, and even business leaders in West Virginia, everyone is concerned about the condition of our school buildings and the importance of qualified committed teachers working in those classrooms. To address these clear and compelling needs, I am introducing two education bills. The first initiative, America's Better Classroom Act of 2003, is a school construction initiative to respond to the overwhelming needs for school construction. The Department of Education reports that the average public school building is 42 years old. In 1995, GAO estimated that we needed $112 billion for school construction and renovations. A more recent survey in 2001 in the Journal of Education Finance indicates that the need is increasing, and the unmet need for school infrastructure over the next decade is over $200 billion. My State of West Virginia will need as much as $2 billion for school construction and renovations. America's Better Classroom Act provides the financial tools to help build and renovate our schools. It will continue the Qualified Zone Academy Bonding, QZAB, Program that has helped economically disadvantaged communities. This provision would provide $2.8 billion to continue and expand the successful QZAB Program.”