Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Finally!

  • By Deborah P. Moore
  • 02/01/14

This year, 2014, looks to be a good year for education. After five years or more of funding cuts to education, many of our governors are reporting a budget surplus — and education spending is on their lists! According to the fall 2013 Fiscal Survey of the States released in December by the National Association of State Budget Officers, “State budgets are expected to continue their trend of moderate improvement, making fiscal 2014 the fourth consecutive year of general fund spending growth. In contrast to the dramatic state budget declines during and immediately following the Great Recession, budgets have stabilized and significant fiscal distress continues to subside for most states.” Forty-three states have enacted spending increases for higher education.

Stabilization and growth — albeit slow growth — is also echoed in the outlook for college and university construction. This month’s issue includes the College Planning & Management 2014 College Construction Report. What you will see this year is that college construction completed in 2013 totaled $10.93 billion, more than $1 billion more than was spent in 2012. An increase is also seen in projected starts for 2014. Throughout the past six or seven years, many institutions made up for their shortfalls in funding by deferring capital improvements and postponing capital projects, leading to a pent-up demand. It appears this may be coming to an end, boding well for the future of college and university construction. The growth may be slower than many would like to see, but there is growth!

This trend is also echoed in the 2014 forecast on construction spending by the Associated General Contractors (AGC). Although not directed specifically at school construction, the forecast — based on a survey of 800 firms — states that construction spending is expected to rise between 8 percent to 10 percent in 2014, with the industry possibly adding between 250,000 and 350,000 jobs this year. According to Stephen Sandherr, the AGC’s CEO, contractors are more optimistic about 2014 than they have been in a long time and many firms plan to begin hiring again, while relatively few plan to start making layoffs.

I am an eternal optimist. And as boring as it may be to many of you, I enjoy analyzing the data and looking for connections and trends. Based on what I see here I feel fairly confident in saying that the worst is behind us — finally!

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • DFW-Area District Opens New Replacement Middle School

    The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District near Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new replacement middle school campus, according to a news release. The new facility for Wayside Middle School, originally established in 1964, was built on the site of the former district administration building and funded through Bond Proposition A in 2023.

  • blurry image capturing students navigating crowded hallways between classes

    How Human Behavior Data Is Reshaping Campus Facilities Management

    The ebb and flow of students, faculty, and administrators across a campus have a larger impact on maintenance, cleaning, and sustainability than many realize.

  • New Arizona Fine Arts School Reaches Construction Milestone

    Construction of the new Hilltop School for the Arts and Theater in Litchfield Park, Ariz., recently hit a significant milestone, according to a news release. The Agua Fria High School District held a beam-signing ceremony to celebrate the building’s topping out, or the placement of its last structural beam.

  • LSU Breaks Ground on $200M Residential Project

    Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La., recently broke ground on a new residential complex, according to university news. The South Quad residential project will consist of two buildings and add a total of 1,266 beds for freshmen students. The development comes with a price tag of $200 million, and it’s scheduled to open to students in fall 2027.