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Watkins: Taking School Infrastructure National
from MIRS, September 9, 2002
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State Superintendent Tom WATKINS is urging Gov. John ENGLER to
use his influence as the immediate past president of the
National Governors Association to call for a national school
infrastructure bill to renovate and build new schools across
America.
In a Sept. 4 letter, Watkins continued his lobbying for $15
billion in capital improvements he claims are needed in
Michigan schools. Watkins brought up the poster child of
crumbling schools, Hamtramck, where students hold band
practice in the boiler room of a school built in 1930. School
buildings leak vertically and horizontally, have lead pipes,
asbestos, are heated by coal and do not meet current fire
marshal standards, he wrote.
“It would be unacceptable for your three daughters or my two
children to attend the unsafe, unfit, ill-equipped schools
that too many of our children are forced to attend,” Watkins
wrote. “The gap between the have and have-nots is as wide as
it is inexcusable and unacceptable.”
Watkins pointed out that the $1 billion sewer bond proposal
made the November ballot, but a similar $1 billion bond
proposal for school infrastructure stalled in the House. This
forced Watkins' question, “Do we value sewers more than our
children?”
Governor spokesman Matt RESCH said Watkins was wise to send a
copy of the letter to each member of Michigan's Congressional
delegation since they are in a position to introduce
legislation. On the local front, Resch pointed out that
Proposal A, which Engler actively supported in 1994, calls for
a school bond loan program that 450 of the state's 560 school
districts have already taken advantage of. Since 1994, this
program has nearly tripled in size from $4 billion to $11
billion.
Yes, schools like Hamtramck and other school districts do face
special challenges, but so has Detroit Public Schools. Despite
those challenges, the financial manager has seen through the
construction of several schools in that district, Resch said.
“I'm not saying there aren't challenges, but Proposal A did
allow for infrastructure increases,” he said. “And the school
bond loan program is available.”
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