Many buildings are simply too old. They used inferior materials. New looks are in. Cookie-cutter classrooms, weedy playgrounds and concrete block walls painted in industrial drab colors are being traded for natural lighting, wood trim, terrazzo floors and brick courtyards. You have full-size rec centers instead of gyms.
Libraries are kind of passe.
Everyone has a media center now. School administrators, faced with increasing educational needs, are bringing in professional architects to help meet them. New schools also are meeting more community demands than ever. The new high-tech South Bend high school, which features a day care center for the children of teachers and students, also has lighted tennis courts and a wellness center open to residents. Taxpayers have paid once for a school building.