(The Center Square) – In some schools across the state, students walk the same halls that children of Civil War soldiers once did – a fact lawmakers find shameful, not venerable.
House Education Committee Chairman Peter Schweyer, D-Allentown, represents one such school in his district: Harrison-Morton Middle School, built in 1874, and on track to graduate its 150th class next year.
Then there’s Furness High School in south Philadelphia, where visible mold grows in the hallways, said Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Royersford.
“I walked into that building and went ‘oh my goodness, how are we sending children to this building?’” he said. “There was no air conditioning, no bathroom stalls, no toilet paper. You couldn’t drink the water in the building.”
“And I thought, this is not an environment that’s conducive to education,” he added. “And how do our teachers show up to work every day in this environment and keep these kids involved?”
That’s why, Schweyer said, he introduced House Bill 1408 – a proposed program that envisions a new era for state support of school construction, renovation, and maintenance.
“This is not unique across Pennsylvania,” Schweyer said during a committee meeting Wednesday. “There are schools across the state that have mold, lead paint, asbestos, don’t have access to internet, are not accessible to students in wheelchairs or have other special needs and – it’s about time the commonwealth starts investing in this.”
Insurmountable structural problems sank Pennsylvania’s old program, PlanCon, where districts spent a decade in line waiting for grants to fund new buildings or extensive renovations. There was also no focus on maintenance for HVAC repairs, roof replacement, and other smaller projects that could extend the lives of existing facilities.
PlanCon 2.0 already exists in state law, but has never been funded. Schweyer’s bill changes that, though it’s unclear exactly how much money the state would invest. Supporters estimate that at least $15 billion to $20 billion worth of projects exist, though the figure could be much higher.
Republicans, while generally supportive of the idea, said the proposal needs fine-tuning before they’d vote in favor.
“We are actually excited to address this issue and continue to work on it,” said Minority Chairman Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford. “I have lived through when PlanCon does not work. I have lived through when schools are in a pipeline that has no funding.”
Topper later told The Center Square he’s hopeful that a final bill would establish a timeline for approving and funding grants that would be limited to a few years. Doing so would prevent the costly backlog that plagued PlanCon and left districts waiting for promises the state couldn’t keep.
The bill now moves to the House floor for further consideration.
