Across the United States, aging schools are in dire need of repair, and for many, patchwork maintenance is the only way to keep facilities operational as administrators and facilities managers balance limited budgets with pressing needs.
School budgets are complex, and disparities in funding have become a topic of dispute in the state courts. The widespread neglect of aging buildings, driven by insufficient funding, can impact the health and comfort of occupants and even influence enrollment numbers. This puts underfunded schools in a cycle that can be difficult to break.
To better understand why schools are in the state they’re in and what facilities managers can do despite these overwhelming challenges, Facilities Management Advisor spoke to Brandon Payne, executive director of the National Council on School Facilities.
The State of School Infrastructure
Many of America’s public schools are approaching 50 years old on average, and about one-third have never undergone major renovations, replacements, or additions. The 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave K-12 public schools a D+ grade, illustrating the severity of the situation for some schools. The report also featured a photo of a boiler from the 1930s—nearly a century old—that is still in service in a public middle school.
“There’s nothing you can’t do with money and manpower” in facilities management, said Payne. But both are often in short supply. He added that many times, he has seen schools make difficult decisions, such as capping or cutting off water supply to sinks or delaying toilet replacements until the new budget year.
Cost of Deferred Maintenance
A decline in preventive maintenance inevitably leads to increased deferred maintenance. Many schools rely on ad-hoc preventive maintenance, rather than normal schedules, Payne said— addressing problems as they arise, like making sure doors and windows work and changing air filters when possible. Preventive maintenance helps with new facilities and equipment, but Payne noted it’s far harder to bring them back once they’re decades old. “We did not get to this point in K-12 school facilities overnight, and we won’t get out of it by tomorrow morning,” he said.
Deferred maintenance can be compounded by changing community needs over time, which can dramatically increase costs when repairs that were not necessary initially become unavoidable emergencies. Payne illustrated his point with an example of drainage pipes buried underneath a grassy field decades ago, which would later become an athletic complex. The weight of the stands, equipment, and spectators would eventually crush the pipes underground, requiring substantial resources and time to repair.
Pain added that a strong investment case for facility upgrades involves a few factors, such as a stable community population to keep the school occupied for another 25 years and when things like plumbing and wiring are already in good condition. He said that schools can then focus on the “envelope” of the building by replacing new windows, doors, and HVAC systems.
Complexity of School Budgets
Most school facilities rely on state or local funds, with federal dollars typically limited to supplemental, one-time grants to improve or build new school infrastructure, such as HVAC upgrades funded during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Payne explained that facilities management budgets are carved out of the overall school budget, generally allocating only 5-10% for operational costs, such as utilities, maintenance, and fuel for buses. He said that additional discretionary funds account for about 5% of the total budget and are limited, drawing from the same funding pool as the provision of software for students.
For many school districts, building a new school to replace a crumbling one is not an option. Most states lack consistent funding for new construction and are unable to compensate for a lack of maintenance funds by building new ones; Payne said that most states don’t have consistent funding to build a school, instead relying on local bonds, which often result in rotating state attention among districts. As a result, deferred maintenance becomes the norm.
Top Facilities Needs in Schools
K-12 schools need an additional $429 billion in funding beyond current allotments from 2024 to 2033 to fix infrastructure issues, according to the ASCE report. The most critical needs to bring schools up to code are to upgrade water systems to remove lead and install cooling systems.
A substantial number of school districts must also upgrade their interior lighting, roofs, safety, or security systems, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Well-maintained schools provide more tangible benefits for students, resulting in higher daily attendance rates, lower dropout rates, and improved academic results, with test scores increasing between 3% and 17% as building conditions improve.
Colleges and universities face similar pressures, needing up to $950 billion in capital funds between 2024 and 2033, according to a 2024 Moody’s Ratings report.
Facilities Management: What Can Be Done?
Given these budgetary constraints, facilities managers must be highly strategic in addressing needs.
1. Prioritize the “Frontline” Work
Payne said that making sure custodial work is adequately staffed and resourced is crucial. These frontline workers have the most consistent oversight of facilities and are often the first to detect and report issues that require preventive maintenance. Payne emphasized the value of hiring skilled labor for preventive tasks, but noted that schools’ tight budgets make it difficult to compete for top talent.
2. Emphasize Preventive Maintenance and Smart Inventory Management
Key preventative maintenance tasks include safety system checks, equipment cleaning, and maintaining an organized inventory of parts and supplies. Payne said that proper training and lean operational principles can help stretch limited resources to reduce waste and inefficiencies. He even stressed the details, such as reducing windshield wiper usage on school vehicles to save fuel costs, which can be redirected to classroom needs.
3. Communicate and Coordinate
Working with limited resources makes effective communication and coordination across departments and campuses essential to avoid duplication of effort or items that could be stretched across facilities.
4. Prioritize Maintenance
Payne said that facilities managers should consider the cascading effects of neglected repairs, such as a leaking roof that causes ceiling and floor issues, leading to wall and foundational cracks.
He noted that facilities managers should always put fire and safety issues at the top of their to-do list, such as addressing frayed electrical wires, followed by roof repairs, which can lead to extensive interior damage and additional costs. Any Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) issues, like deteriorating ramps, must also take priority. Interior maintenance, from flooring to ceiling tiles, often falls by the wayside during tighter budget years.
Unique Strategies and Long-Term Solutions
To avoid facility foibles like those we’re seeing now, some states are experimenting with schools that occupy multi-use facilities, integrating services like medical or dental offices, which can improve the sustainability of the facilities by sharing the load, or forming public-private partnerships to ease the burden of costly maintenance.
Recent state efforts, such as Michigan’s investment in facility audits and Tennessee’s annual infrastructure reporting, are offering unique models for better school facilities oversight and planning. Federally, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021 established a grant program to help high-need districts, with funding more than doubling in its inaugural year, from $80 million to $178 million.
Payne said that facilities managers, staff, and the community can also apply pressure to school purse-holders and have a voice in what repairs and new construction should be prioritized with a facilities master plan.
While there are no easy solutions to school budget constraints, strategic prioritization, preventive maintenance, and out-of-the-box partnerships can help schools extend the life of their buildings and provide safer, healthier learning environments for students.
Ali Hickerson is a freelance journalist, content writer, and strategist based in Brooklyn, N.Y. Outside of Facilities Management Advisor, Ali’s recent bylines on health and workplace issues have crisscrossed the country and helped advocate for programs and policies that work to create a healthier, more humane, and equitable world.