Plight is a textbook case for energy reform

Fewer field trips. Higher lunch prices. Greater numbers of school closures and smaller numbers of teacher hires. These are the harsh realities facing America’s schools this fall as they face the unrelenting crush of high energy prices.

Before Congress adjourned — over strong Republican objections — for the month of August, my colleagues and I launched a Web-based Back to School Energy Survey to learn more about how our nation’s schools were preparing for the upcoming school year under the looming threat of unprecedented energy costs. Now, as students and teachers all around the country settle into their classrooms, we have the results of that survey.

Fully 90 percent of survey respondents said high gas prices were having an impact on back-to-school preparations in their communities, with 72 percent saying that impact was “very significant.”

Forty-eight percent of those who took the survey said their schools were eliminating field trips and after-school activities; 37 percent saw bus routes being cut, with 23 percent noting increases in the price of a school lunch. Five percent said their schools were reducing the number of school days each week, and 7 percent saw an increase in online course offerings.

Another 22 percent described other ways in which their schools were being forced to cut back because of high energy prices, from cutting teachers and programs to raising taxes and closing schools.

Our country is facing serious educational challenges. We’re falling behind our international peers in math and science. Although test scores are on the rise, achievement gaps remain between disadvantaged students and their more affluent peers. Too many students are struggling just to learn the basics, and too few families have the freedom to choose the school that will best meet their children’s needs. With all these challenges and more, the last thing school leaders should be worried about is whether they can afford to fill the school bus tank or keep the classroom lights on.

Yet that’s exactly the question being answered all across the country today by principals, superintendents and local school boards grappling with the high price of energy. The price of diesel fuel, on which many school buses run, remains well above $4 per gallon, about 40 percent higher than this time last year. The price of home heating oil is projected to average $4.13 per gallon this season, a significant challenge for schools in the Northeast that — like many families — rely on this energy source to provide heat through the cold winter months.

Schools are facing other energy hurdles as well. Charter schools, for instance, often operate in older buildings or facilities that were not designed to maximize a school’s resources. These reform-oriented public institutions are unable to engage in the type of long-term planning and budgeting available to traditional public schools, making them particularly sensitive to fuel price fluctuations.

This is exacerbated by the fact that charter schools nationally receive just 78 cents on the dollar compared to traditional public schools.

In the face of these daunting prospects, it seems that the most pressing piece of education legislation this year is an energy bill. In fact, 96 percent of those who completed the Back to School Energy Survey answered “yes” to the question, “Should Congress be doing more to lower gas prices and promote long-term American energy independence?”

Like workers, small businesses, and families, our schools would benefit from enactment of the American Energy Act (H.R. 6566), a bill to increase the supply of American-made energy, encourage conservation and greater energy efficiency, and promote next-generation fuels. Together, these steps will help lower the price at the pump and reduce America’s costly and dangerous dependence on foreign energy sources.

There are plenty of legislative proposals that would improve educational opportunity. Republicans have introduced bills in the 110th Congress to expand parental choice in education, increase state and local flexibility, strengthen a program that helps disadvantaged children learn to read, and reward teachers for classroom success. But at a time when schools are being forced to slash their budgets just to keep the power on, it is vital that we act now to address soaring energy costs through a comprehensive approach that will stabilize the market in the short term by making clear that we are committed to energy independence in the long term.

“Please help us!”

“Something more must be done to help us.”

“Please help.  Keep up the fight for us.  We need an energy policy.”

These are the words of Americans crying out for help. Nearly 1,000 individuals, from school officials and community leaders to parents and taxpayers, completed our Back to School Energy Survey and shared stories of how our schools are paying the price for Congress’s failure to pass comprehensive energy reform. The lesson here should be simple: It’s time for Congress to act.

McKeon is ranking member of the House Committee on Education and Labor.