In 1998 California voters passed Proposition 1A that provided state funds for modernization and new construction. The state funding from the proposition requires a match from local school districts. These state funds were intended to last through 2002. Many communities in California will have to build more than one elementary school, more than one middle school and more than one high school per year. School districts and voters in California are struggling to provide the resources to meet these documented needs.
Federal support does help.
Some of the successful QZAB projects include a Technology Academy in the Pomona Unified School District, the Center for Advanced Research and Technology in the Clovis and Fresno Unified School districts, and two Computer Certification Academies in the Baldwin Park Unified School District. An extension or expansion of the QZAB program would be quickly utilized in California and other states as well. But, state and local resources cannot address the magnitude of the problem. There is a role for the federal government. Maintaining our public schools and providing students safe schools and classrooms is in the national interest.