By GREG PAXTON
President, Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation

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.

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