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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
05/15/2024 12:01 PM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20230&cosponId=41034
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House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: June 15, 2023 11:31 AM
From: Representative Peter Schweyer and Rep. MaryLouise Isaacson, Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler
To: All House members
Subject: Adequate and Safe School Facilities Program
 
It is an unacceptable fact that many Pennsylvania students lack adequate school facilities. Our kids are being asked to learn in hot classrooms, windowless closets, buildings with leaky roofs, or in some cases, facilities that will literally make them sick through exposure to mold or asbestos. The Commonwealth Court reiterated, in its decision declaring our system of funding public education to be unconstitutional, that safe and adequate facilities are an important component of a thorough and efficient system of public education. It’s past time we ensure this constitutional promise for all students.
 
As policymakers, the good news is that we do not have to start from scratch. In 2019, the General Assembly enacted PlanCon 2.0, which was the result of the bipartisan and unanimous recommendations of the PA Public School Building Construction and Reconstruction Advisory Committee. PlanCon is the state’s school construction reimbursement program, and the new and improved version has a streamlined application process, an updated reimbursement formula, and an incentive for high-performance building standards. My legislation opens PlanCon 2.0 for the first time so that the state can help school districts with new construction and major renovation projects.
 
But our school facilities needs extend beyond new construction and major renovations. Our schools need help with maintenance – things like roof repairs, HVAC systems, and asbestos remediation – that regular PlanCon does not cover. My proposal makes changes to the maintenance grant program that is already in law, but that has never been funded. Under my proposal, school districts, career and technical schools, and intermediate units can apply to the Commonwealth Financing Authority for a maintenance grant for 75% of a project’s cost, capped at a maximum grant of $5 million.  
 
Please join me by co-sponsoring this legislation that will help ensure adequate and safe school facilities for all of our students.
 


Introduced as HB1408