According

to a new national study including schools in Georgia, the

gap in academic achievement between rich and poor schools

is greatly reduced in smaller schools compared to larger

schools. This is powerful information with important

implications, especially in Georgia where, under the

state's funding formula, more than 100 smaller, older

school buildings have been closed since 1986. While

student performance is key, it is not the only reason to

encourage the preservation of Georgia's neighborhood

schools.

Across the

country, schools, which were once the center of community

life, are now being built mostly at the fringe of our

communities, further and further from town. Construction

of large schools on the outskirts of communities not only

gobbles up land, but also this pattern of school sprawl

is not cost effective. The cost of new construction for

schools is frequently higher than rehabilitation or

additions to existing schools. Costs also increase

because all students must be bused to these new schools,

which are too far away for walking or biking.

Georgia's

formula for more than $250 million in allocations for

school construction is tilted in favor of new

construction and discourages rehabilitation of older

neighborhood schools, while providing no help for ongoing

maintenance. Communities that want to keep and

rehabilitate their older, neighborhood schools, rather

than build new ones, often cannot get the money they

need. Existing schools have frequently had to adopt

innovative sharing techniques to provide open space and

meet codes. Even when existing schools are in districts

that are landlocked - and cannot build on the urban

fringe - receive state dollars, renovation is funded at a

lower level than is new construction. This hurts all of

Georgia's older in-town school districts, many of which

are economically challenged. School districts in Georgia

that have a strong commitment to their neighborhood

schools have passed up state funding and use only local

money to rehabilitate or add on to their existing school

building. But the worst feature of the formula is that each school can

receive state funds for rehabilitation just one time! The

Funding Committee of the Governor's Education Reform

Study Commission has recommended eliminating this

provision.

Georgia's

school funding formula does not encourage smart growth.

Rehabilitation is generally less expensive than new

construction, plus it requires little or no costly

infrastructure improvements. Several states in their

smart growth/growth management policies favor renovating

existing schools in established neighborhoods and

communities and constructing additions to existing

schools rather than developing a new school on a new

site. In 1991, Maryland spent 34 percent of its school

construction funds on existing schools. Maryland's Public

School Construction Program developed in 1995 emphasized

renovation of existing buildings. By 1998, 84 percent of

Maryland's funds for school construction was used for

improvements to existing facilities. In addition, its

Aging School Program allocates state funds for old

schools. The older the school building, the more money is

available for rehabilitation in Maryland. In Georgia, the

reverse is true. Maryland encourages investing in

existing infrastructure. Georgia does not.

Alabama,

North Carolina, Tennessee , Indiana, Massachusetts,

Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Utah are seeking

changes to school construction policy to focus on reusing

historic school buildings. Several states have

established a procedure similar to that instituted in

Georgia in 1997 to require an annual inventory of

facilities and real estate and assessment of future

needs.

Neighborhood

schools are generally buildings of character. Each serves

as a critical connection for communities - the common

bond linking residents to their community history. These

schools are an important and functional community asset

that shouldn't be discarded. There is a need to build new

schools in growing districts, but there is value in

reinvesting in older schools and changing state policies

to ensure that goal. The Georgia Trust recommends that

Georgia bring schools back into our communities and

enhance the involvement of communities in our schools.

[This

editorial is an excerpt from Greg Paxton's testimony

before the Governor's Education Reform Study Commission.

The

Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation is the country's

largest statewide nonprofit preservation organization,

with nearly 9,000 members. The Georgia Trust's mission is

to promote an appreciation of Georgia's diverse historic

resources and provide for their protection and use to

preserve, enhance and revitalize Georgia's communities.

For more information,visit www.georgiatrust.org .