Obama Administration: American Jobs Act Shows Benefits for Schools

The Obama Administration has released a report and interactive map outlining the educational benefits of the American Jobs Act.

The Obama administration has released a report and an interactive map outlining the estimated benefits that public school districts across the states would receive if Obama’s American Jobs Act is passed by Congress.

The American Jobs Act: Creating Jobs through Investments in Our Nation’s Schools provides an analysis of the physical disrepair of American school buildings and the difficult budget climate that school districts are trying to cope with.

Through the American Jobs Act, the Obama Administration has proposed $25 billion to renovate over 35,000 public schools across the states and $5 billion to upgrade infrastructure at America’s community colleges.

$30 billion will also be put aside to keep hundreds of thousands of educators in the classroom.

“Upgrading America’s schools is a smart investment,” Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said.

“There’s a short-term return in the form of jobs to do the work, and in the long term our students—and our country—will benefit from modern facilities and technology.”

Through the act, $30 billion will be available to enhance the condition of public schools, with $25 billion allocated to K-12 schools. Rural schools and Bureau of Indian Education funded schools will be priorities as part of the act, and $5 billion will be used to upgrade infrastructure at community colleges across the country.

“Congress should act now and pass the American Jobs Act, to improve our schools, create jobs, and prepare our students for 21st century careers,” said Melody Barnes, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.

School districts nationwide estimate $271 billion in deferred building maintenance, or more than $5,000 per student.

The $30 billion in funding that will be made available to support nearly 400,000 education jobs as originally voted down by Congress in October. However, the act would look to prevent layoffs, while also allowing educators to be hired or rehired.

Over the 12 months ending October 2011, nearly 60 percent of all local government job losses were teachers and education personnel, says a press release.

Comments

tanya

December 20, 2011 at 10:27 am

Student need funding who are almost done with their edition. finishing their education is the main objection not getting free money to take up space in the class room. The students that do not intend to work in their line of education are waisting their time and the schools time. Education is obtained with determination or everybody would have a B.A. degree. lets get strict on that and give the money to student who plan to contribute to our american work force, thank you, tanya

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Obama Administration: American Jobs Act Shows Benefits for Schools | International Education News | Renascence School International | Panama City | private preschool, elementary school, middle school

December 20, 2011 at 10:34 am

[...] across the states and $5 billion to upgrade infrastructure at America’s community colleges.”(more) Comments (0) Go to main news [...]

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Joe

December 20, 2011 at 5:34 pm

Does more spending actually lead to improvement? Before we pour another load of money down this black hole, is there any viable research that shows that what our school need is more money recklessly and uselessly spent? How appropriate that this Obama proposal comes right on the heels of the study that shows that DoE is driven mostly by ideology and not results.

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Linda Brees

December 20, 2011 at 6:01 pm

Nothing that Obama is proposing is controversial. Curriculum improvement? Hiring more teachers? Rehabbing school buildings? That’s considered ideologically-driven policy where you live, Joe?

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February 29, 2012 at 10:48 am

[...] of 2009; a White House Community College Summit in the fall of 2010; and just five months ago, $5 billion to renovate community colleges in the administration’s most recent jobs [...]

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