| A rational funding formula provides resources which address the significant facility maintenance issues which school districts across the state face. Research would indicate that school districts should be spending between two and four percent of actual replacement costs annually on facility maintenance. Improved access to deferred maintenance funding saves taxpayer dollars by avoiding the costs associated with paying interest on long-term debt, the most common funding source used to address these costs today.
—A Framework for a New
Minnesota Education Funding Formula
P.S. Minnesota (November 2006)
October 2007 - School facilities needs estimated at $4.6 billion - In their most recent report card of American infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s bridges a “C” grade, noting that the cost of eliminating bridge deficiencies is $9.4 billion per year for the coming 20 years. The same report awarded U.S. schools a “D” grade, noting that deferred maintenance in our schools nationwide has been estimated as high as $268 billion, Association of Metropolitan School Districts (page 2) (ASCE Report Card).
January 30, 2006 - 2005-06 Building Age Reports, Minnesota Department of Education.
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