ÌÇÐ͝Âþvlog

Special Report
School Climate & Safety Infographic

Data: U.S. School Buildings: Age, Condition, and Spending

November 28, 2017 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

How well are America’s public school buildings and other facilities holding up? How much is the nation spending to build and maintain them? Is it enough? And just who’s bearing the costs?

Here’s some data to fuel that discussion gleaned from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Department of Education, and a 2016 joint report from the 21st Century School Fund, the National Council on School Facilities, and the Center for Green Schools.

BRIC ARCHIVE

Overall Condition

BRIC ARCHIVE

Maintenance & Operation Spending

14sr facilities maintenancerevised

SOURCES: National Center for Education Statistics; “State of Our Schools, 2016" 21st Century School Fund, National Council on School Facilities, Center for Green Schools; Education Week Research Center

IMAGES: Getty

A version of this article appeared in the November 29, 2017 edition of Education Week

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
Smarter Tools, Stronger Outcomes: Empowering CTE Educators With Future-Ready Solutions
Open doors to meaningful, hands-on careers with research-backed insights, ideas, and examples of successful CTE programs.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
Improve Reading Comprehension: Three Tools for Working Memory Challenges
Discover three working memory workarounds to help your students improve reading comprehension and empower them on their reading journey.
Content provided by 
Recruitment & Retention Webinar EdRecruiter 2026 Survey Results: How School Districts are Finding and Keeping Talent
Discover the latest K-12 hiring trends from EdWeek’s nationwide survey of job seekers and district HR professionals.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

School Climate & Safety Leader To Learn From One Leader’s Plan to Cut Chronic Absenteeism—One Student at a Time
Naomi Tolentino helps ÌÇÐ͝Âþvlog in Kansas City, Kan., support strong school attendance.
9 min read
Naomi Tolentino Miranda leads a meeting on student attendance at J.C. Harmon High School on Jan. 16, 2025 in Kansas City, Kansas. Tolentino Miranda showed school administrators recent data reflecting positive progress in combating chronic absenteeism.
Naomi Tolentino leads a meeting on student attendance at J.C. Harmon High School on Jan. 16, 2025 in Kansas City, Kansas. Tolentino showed school administrators recent data reflecting positive progress in combating chronic absenteeism.
Erin Woodiel for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Q&A What a 'Positive, Proactive Approach' to Chronic Absenteeism Looks Like
A Kansas City, Kan., leader explains how her district shifted its approach to chronic absenteeism.
6 min read
Naomi Tolentino Miranda walks into J.C. Harmon High School on Jan. 16, 2025 in Kansas City, Kansas. Tolentino Miranda is the Coordinator for Student Support Programs and often visits school administrative teams to check on their progress combating chronic absenteeism among their students.
Naomi Tolentino walks into J.C. Harmon High School on Jan. 16, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. Tolentino is the coordinator for student support programs and often visits school administrative teams to check on their progress in lowering chronic absenteeism among their students.
Erin Woodiel for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Opinion Schools Can’t Just ‘Return to Normal’ After a Climate Disaster
This is what’s missing when education leaders urge schools to return to normalcy too soon after crises or disasters.
Jaleel R. Howard & Sam Blanchard
5 min read
A jungle gym melted and destroyed by the Eaton Fire is seen at a school, Jan. 15, 2025, in Altadena, Calif.
The Easton Fire melted a jungle gym outside a school in Altadena, Calif.
John Locher/AP
School Climate & Safety Interactive School Shootings in 2025: How Many and Where
Education Week tracked K-12 school shootings in 2025 with injuries or deaths. See the number of incidents and where they occurred.
2 min read
Sign indicating school zone.
iStock/Getty