Built to Last? An Examination of Deteriorating US School Buildings and Regional Disparities

This study uses the 2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), administered by the US Energy Information Administration, to provide a national profile of US K-12 school building stock and to examine regional disparities in infrastructure modernization. The study isolates 326 K-12 buildings from the CBECS dataset (representing approximately 247,259 school buildings nationally when survey weights are applied) and employs weighted binary logistic regression to assess whether the likelihood of six modernization outcomes — major renovation, roof replacement, window replacement, HVAC upgrades, insulation upgrades, and the presence of window air-conditioning units — varies by US Census region after accounting for building age and size.

Descriptive findings reveal an aging and unevenly maintained school building stock: approximately one-third of schools were built before 1969 and half before 1989. Fewer than half of schools reported completing most modernization activities. Lighting (48.4%) and HVAC upgrades (47.3%) were most common; window replacement (15.3%) and insulation upgrades (17.2%) were least prevalent. Only 43% of schools reported any major renovation since 2000.

Regional disparities were statistically significant across all six models. Compared to schools in the South (the reference category), Midwest schools had notably higher odds of renovation (OR = 5.18) and insulation upgrades (OR = 26.38). Northeast schools were more likely to have undergone window replacement and insulation upgrades but less likely to have completed HVAC upgrades. Western schools showed higher odds of roof replacement but lower odds of window replacement and insulation upgrades.

The article situates these findings within broader literature on inequitable school finance structures, facility management practices, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and the relationship between building conditions and student health and academic performance. The author calls for flexible, regionally responsive federal funding mechanisms to address the uneven distribution of infrastructure modernization across the country.