NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Congressman Bobby Scott (D, VA-03) toured his alma mater, looking at recent renovations and holding his old school as an example of what investing in school infrastructure can do for students.
Scott is currently pushing for a bill he sponsored called "Rebuild America's School Act of 2023." In it, he is hoping Congress will set aside $130 billion to repair, rebuild, and replace what he calls crumbling schools across America.
"There are serious deficits all over the country in terms of maintaining schools and building new schools; too many people have been taught in trailers, too many schools are dilapidated, and many schools are 40, 50, 60 years old!" said Scott.
Booker T. Washington Middle School recently underwent renovations that added new resources like a marine lab and a new library.
The school's principal, Karen Bazemore-Person, gave the Congressman a tour of all the new changes. She later said she has noticed an impact on the students since opening the school back up.
"I had one student tell me this is her second home," said Bazemore-Person. "Hearing that fills me with joy because we want our schools to be nurturing and welcoming and a place that they want to be."
Scott hopes Booker T. can serve as an example of what schools could be. According to his sponsored bill's fact page, "54 percent of school districts across the country must replace or update major systems in more than half their buildings."
The bill would attempt to tackle items such as this and would require states to provide public databases about the condition of their public school facilities.
If the legislation is passed it would invest $100 billion in grants and $30 billion in bond authority targeted at high-poverty schools with facilities that pose health and safety risks to students and staff
The bill has been introduced on Capitol Hill, but has not gone up for a vote yet in the House or Senate.