Goldman, Allen, call for public-private approach to school renovations
An outspoken Democrat and former Republican governor of Virginia are advocating a public-private approach to paying for costly school renovations and say they already have financial commitments for what would be Virginia’s largest local school modernization program.
Paul Goldman, a former chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party, and George Allen, a Republican who served as governor from 1994 to 1998, promote in an op-ed article in today’s New York Times the creation of a School Modernization and Revitalization Credit they dub a “Smart Credit.“
Allen and Goldman are calling on President Barack Obama and Congress to change a federal historic rehabilitation tax credit to spur school renovations. Goldman and Allen said that with the change, buildings could be sold to private investors, modernized and leased back to school systems. That credit is currently available only to investors who want to renovate a building for a different use.
“We have talked to business investors,“ Allen and Goldman wrote. “If Congress will amend the law, we already have the money pledged to modernize more schools, at one time, than has ever been done in any locality in Virginia’s history.“
A similar tack was taken in the renovation of the Maggie Walker High School Building in Richmond to make it the home of the Governor’s School for International Studies. The tax credit was allowed in that instance because the building was renovated from a local school into a regional facility, Allen and Goldman said.
“Critics may scream that our approach ‘sells our schools’ to the private sector,“ Allen and Goldman said in their op-ed. “But what national interest is served by denying local officials access to private capital to provide schoolchildren the opportunities they deserve?“
Allen and Goldman also said changing the law to allow the tax credit could create “hundreds of thousands” of jobs and provide a needed boost to the economy.
Goldman and Allen are scheduled to discuss their proposal at a news conference set for this afternoon at the State Capitol.
They said their proposal would eliminate the “corridors of shame” Obama recently referenced in a speech to the national NAACP in which he said, “the dream of a world-class education is still being deferred across the country.“
Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate for governor, issued a statement this morning saying he supported the Goldman-Allen initiative.
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Reader Reactions
I think this is a great idea. If you take the emotional side out of it, this makes all of the financial sense in the world. Basic economics will tell you to own the appreciating assets and lease the depreciating assets. Single purpose facilities like most municipal buildings, including schools, depreciate not appreciate.
Plus, the ability to use the SMART credit means that the school district saves roughly 30% on the cost of the renovation. How is that a bad deal?
There are a couple of aspects the this. The first is that currently the school district can’t use tax right-offs to rehab old buildings the way private entities can. Schools could greatly benefit by being able to access some of these programs. Seems wrong that they can’t. The second aspect of selling to a private entity seems unnecessary.
Goldman and Allen forgot to mention that they had outsourced their brains (and ample mouths) to big business. I think they should come clean on that.
Unbelievable. Has no one told them about VITA / NG?
Outsourcing government functions to companies who’s primary goal is to maximize profits is always a Bad Idea for the taxpayer.
How would this be any different than allowing investors to purchase tax free municipal bonds? Seems to be a good idea to me versus simply taxing folks at an ever increasing rate. The real problem has been folks in charge of budgets playing a shell game with revenues collected and deferring renovations and repairs until the only solution is to raze and rebuild. No wonder today’s younger generation believes everything is disposable.
Outsource it! Outsource it! Outsource it!
Great, another strategy for disinvesting in public education. My guess is that Goldman has been hired to run Allen’s next campaign for office and the two are testing out some campaign messages.
So the United States taxpayers have spent $690 billion fighting a war in Iraq, based on what has been proven to be outright lies, and now “private industry” is being asked to fund “public” education?
Am I hearing this right?
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