Clinton to Seek $5 Billion for School Repairs

To help fix the nation’s crumbling schools, the Clinton administration will propose spending $5 billion to help districts pay for repairs and new construction, an Education Department official said.

President Clinton is expected to announce the four-year school construction program today, just two weeks after a General Accounting Office report documented a need to patch roofs, fix plumbing and make other repairs in hundreds of school buildings nationwide.

The program, the latest in a series of education programs that Clinton has championed in this election year, would need Congress’ approval.

Under Clinton’s proposal, school districts could apply for federal subsidies to offset up to 50% of the cost of financing new construction or renovation, according to the official, who released details of the program on condition that he not be identified.

An estimated $1.25 billion a year would be available for four consecutive years to jump-start repair and new building projects in the nation’s 80,000 public schools, the official said.

The administration will propose to finance the program with proceeds from auctions of communications licenses, which so far have raised $20 billion for the Treasury.