It is well-known that most students in public schools in Maryland do poorly in reading and math. But less well-known is the poor condition of schools, even though over the past five years, state funding has exceeded $3 billion.

Last year the Comptroller of Maryland, in a remarkably forthright report, stated, “81% of schools are functionally unreliable or need repairs.”

The Interagency Commission on School Construction, known as IAC, the state agency which allocates school construction funds to school districts, concluded a few months ago, “Overall facilities conditions are below desired levels and declining.”

A new national report suggests local governments may face another long-term fiscal challenge that rarely appears in budget headlines: the growing cost of replacing aging public assets already in service.

A recent analysis from Merritt Research Services estimates that US cities carry more than $1 trillion in infrastructure and capital asset obligations tied to aging roads, buildings, equipment, and other public assets. The report attempts to measure the replacement cost of assets that continue operating after consuming much or all of their expected useful life.

In April, the Illinois General Assembly passed House Bill 4739 to improve the indoor air quality for schools, WAND News reported. This plan requires school districts to ensure that all active classrooms are equipped with air-quality monitors.

Advocates expect the state to spend roughly US$10 million to buy monitors for classrooms statewide. The plan would also require the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to work with the Illinois Department of Public Health to create a document explaining the values of good indoor air quality for districts.

In a significant change of stance, Gov. Phil Scott and his team appeared likely to agree not to push for mandated mergers if lawmakers agreed to accelerate the path to voluntary mergers and a new education funding formula.

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Plaintiffs in Rodriguez v. State of California argue that the state’s match for modernizing schools denies low-wealth districts a fair share of funding. 
They want to suspend state modernization funding until the court rules on the merits of their case.
An injunction might pressure Gov. Gavin Newsom to settle the case before he leaves office. 

School districts across Kentucky face challenges as they craft their budgets for the 2026-2027 year, and falling state funding is a primary reason why. Recent projections from the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) show that two-thirds of Kentucky school districts expect to receive less from the state to support the core funding formula (known as SEEK) in 2027 than they are receiving currently. The challenges school districts face become even greater when considering inflation, which has spiked recently with the rise in gas prices. Adjusting for inflation, 95% of districts will receive fewer state SEEK dollars in 2027, and 89% will receive less on a per-pupil basis.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Texas Education Agency released its annual audit report on school safety and security in Texas.

The agency told ABC13 that school districts are tasked with strengthening school security and ensuring they're prepared for emergencies.

Around 90% of the school districts and campuses in Texas had no issues with the initial phases of security preparedness, according to the report.

Payette Superintendent Glen Croft knew voters in his district might not go for an increased plant-facility levy, but he thought they would support raises for paraprofessionals and other staff members who make less than burger flippers at local fast food joints.

Instead, voters rejected both the plant-facility and supplemental levy proposals.

“The community is very tax sensitive,” Croft said, noting that Payette County has one of the lowest property tax rates in Idaho

The Island is less than two weeks away from voting on its most expensive building project ever. And on the eve of the consequential vote, with only a few more public discussions left on the docket, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) building committee posed a question to themselves, one that many Islanders have asked for months: Why does this project cost so much?

Across the country, K-12 school districts face a growing paradox. The need to modernize aging buildings has never been more urgent, yet traditional funding sources are increasingly constrained.

America’s school infrastructure is aging and underfunded by tens of billions annually, which is creating urgent pressure to modernize facilities to support safe, effective learning environments. Research by the World Research Institute links outdated infrastructure to declines in student health, attendance, and academic performance. To add to that, rising construction costs, deferred maintenance, and heightened expectations for technology enabled learning environments collide against tight operating budgets and taxpayer sensitivity.

These tough decisions for school districts seem to be impacting everyone – from rural areas to suburban and urban areas. District leaders point to budget pressures, aging facilities and declining enrollment.

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) signed a slew of school-focused bills on Monday aimed at strengthening schools and supporting students.

On Monday, May 18, Spanberger held a ceremonial signing of the bipartisan legislation at an event at Highland Springs High School in the eastern part of Henrico County, with a goal of addressing the teacher shortages and school construction processes.

CHEYENNE — As student enrollment continues to decline around the state, lawmakers met Tuesday to discuss volatile insurance markets and school facility funding formulas that impact education in Wyoming going forward.

The Wyoming Legislature’s Select Committee on School Facilities met to evaluate the state’s multi-billion-dollar portfolio of K-12 buildings. Lawmakers wrestled with how to maintain “right-sized” schools in a “boom and bust state” while addressing growing frustrations over charter school leasing and local infrastructure demands that drive up construction costs.

Since the late 1950s, Pfc. James D. Price Elementary School has educated thousands of military students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade.

Located on the Howard Cantonment Area of U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), the school is full of heart but has long shown its age.

The facility lacks a production kitchen to prepare hot lunches for students and other school infrastructure considered ordinary in the modern day.

That’s about to change, though, after the Department of War last September approved an $8 million grant for Yuma Elementary School District (YESD) # 1 to partially fund construction of a new building. 

The Alaska House approved a capital budget totaling about $2.51 billion, with roughly $1.84 billion expected from federal receipts.

The largest construction categories include $323.4 million for drinking water and wastewater work, $148.3 million for K-12 school repairs and construction, and $42.5 million for University of Alaska projects.

The finance package is larger than last year’s lean capital plan, but it still does not erase Alaska’s long-running deferred-maintenance backlog.

The Alaska House has advanced a roughly $2.5 billion capital budget for fiscal 2027, pushing forward a construction package centered on repairs, public facilities, and federally backed infrastructure work statewide.

The Alaska Beacon reported on May 15, 2026, that the House passed the bill 24-16 and sent it back to the Senate, which had previously approved its own version 19-0. Senate aides told the Beacon they did not expect senators to object to the House’s additions.

Columbus City Schools announced $60 million in capital improvement projects at a Monday morning press conference. Planned projects include heating and air conditioning replacement, roof replacements and parking lot improvements at 11 schools.

America’s schools are crumbling.

There’s black mold in buildings in Alaska and Maine. Classrooms in New Jersey and Texas lack proper heating and cooling. And there are persistent plumbing problems in Idaho and Pennsylvania.

America’s aging school infrastructure is by one measure a nearly $90 billion problem. Federal leaders have acknowledged it since at least the 1980s but have declined to address it. Local school districts and state governments also haven’t solved it — in some cases, even after being ordered by a court to do so.

It’s a problem so big that one congressional candidate running to represent parts of Philadelphia — where the cost of repairing and upgrading public schools could cost up to $10 billion — is making it the centerpiece of his campaign. After struggling to find solutions in the Pennsylvania Legislature, state Sen. Sharif Street, a Democrat, believes only the federal government has the resources to tackle this issue. He thinks a $500 billion block grant proposal could find bipartisan support in a Congress and a country deeply divided on the federal government’s role in education.

The Arkansas State Board of Education approved Thursday an emergency rule to implement new legislation governing the creation of newly formed smaller school districts. During April’s session, lawmakers approved legislation outlining the process for providing funding and separating assets when a school district detaches from a district it was previously consolidated with to form an isolated district.

Stacy Smith, Deputy Commissioner of the Arkansas Department of Education, told the board the emergency rule expands access to funding that has been provided to districts after they are consolidated or annexed. Under the change, the funding would also be available to a district that lost territory due to a detachment.

JUNEAU — The Alaska House voted Friday to adopt a capital budget that would allocate nearly $150 million toward K-12 school building repairs and construction.

The bill directs nearly $350 million in state funds to infrastructure investments across the state, more than doubling Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s original proposal of spending $159 million in state funds on such projects.

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 290 this week, sponsored by State Senator Tom Patton (R-Strongsville) and State Senator Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester), requiring public and private schools in Ohio to install an exterior master key lock box to ensure law enforcement have access to the building in case of an emergency.