If you're the owner of a home or business, you're probably no stranger to the issue of capital improvements. Physical structures get creaky.
Equipment wears out.
Substances once considered harmless, like asbestos and lead paint, turn out to be bad ideas. At some point, it's time to tackle those inevitable and expensive realities. For public schools across the country, it appears that time has come. In cities and in rural areas, students are heading off each day to aging facilities with poor ventilation, antiquated plumbing, substandard heating or lighting, and inadequate electrical wiring for computers or other technology. Many schools are plagued with environmental hazards such as asbestos and lead.