February 1, 2008

Just How Do They Propose To Make Portable Classrooms More Energy Efficient?

Today's edition of the subscription-only Tennessee Journal reports that Gov. Phil Bredesen has flip-flopped on using surplus lottery revenue for school construction.

With well over $400 million sitting in lottery reserves - much of it accumulated before the scholarship program had matured - Bredesen indicated several weeks ago he wouldn't resist the idea that some of it could be for K-12 construction. Republican lawmakers pushed last year to divide up $100 million among the state's school systems. Bredesen proposed instead that $100 million be set aside as collateral for county school borrowing to improve interest rates. Neither plan passed.

When he unveiled his budget Monday, the governor recommended that interest earnings from $200 million go toward need-based college grants but offered no K-12 construction proposal.

Now, energy efficiency is a desireable thing, but prioritizing it above much-needed basic school construction seems a bit like putting the cart before the horse. This report released Oct. 30 by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) calculates that Tennessee needs at least $3.6 billion spent on new infrastructure for public education - that means new, expanded or renovated school buildings - between now and 2009.

"Estimated costs to upgrade all facilities at existing schools to good or better
condition ... now stand at $608 million," TACIR said. (You can read the education section of the TACIR report here.

Other interesting data from the report: Two-thirds of Tennessee’s public school systems and about one-third of its 1,693 schools have portable or temporary classrooms. Nine school systems have more than 10 percent of their classes in portables.

The best way to improve the energy efficiency of portables would be to replace them with energy-efficient permanent structures.