Construction spending for education expanded modestly but steadily through March, while at the same time growth for other institutional construction had stalled earlier in 2009.
Education spending is now at or near the peak for this building cycle. The value of education starts is off 9% year-to-date compared to 2008. April starts fell 14% to the lowest total in more than three years. BD+C projects a 3–4% dip in education construction spending into early 2010, and then a recovery by the end of next year, which will bring spending up to early 2009 peak levels. Public education spending is up 6.4% in the past year but spending in the smaller, private sector dropped 0.4%. Funding for private education projects is very sensitive to current economic conditions, specifically tuition payments from current income and investment earnings.
College construction spending is up 12.2% from a year ago, but K-12 spending is up only 3%. Colleges boosted spending for instructional space 20.6% over the past year. Dormitory spending was up only 5%. These increases are the result of the relatively rapid expansion of community colleges and part-time programs for working adults. The small expansion of K-12 construction spending was entirely for high schools, which is up 7.9% over the last year. Middle school construction spending was steady, while elementary spending fell about 3%. These differences mirror enrollment changes. The peak enrollment is now in the 10th grade, which puts more pressure on high schools.
The reason the education construction recession is relatively modest is largely due to nearly $200 billion in state and local government aid included in the stimulus plan. This money is being paid out quickly because it's not linked to specific projects. These new funds offset the huge negative impact of reduced tax receipts in FY 09–10. Without the stimulus funds, a deep recession in public education construction would occur in 2009–10. Instead, most of the recession will be offset, with the balance deferred to 2011–12.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 40 Performing Arts Center and Concert Venue Engineering Firms for 2023
KPFF Consulting Engineers, Morrison Hershfield, ME Engineers, Thornton Tomasetti, and Arup top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest performing arts center and concert venue engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 60 Performing Arts Center and Concert Venue Architecture Firms for 2023
Populous, DLR Group, Gensler, HGA, and Perkins Eastman top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest performing arts center and concert venue architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 40 Museum Construction Firms for 2023
Turner Construction, Clark Group, Bancroft Construction, STO Building Group, and Alberici-Flintco top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest museum and gallery general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 40 Museum Engineering Firms for 2023
Arup, KPFF Consulting Engineers, Alfa Tech Consulting Engineers, Kohler Ronan, and Thornton Tomasetti top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest museum and gallery engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 70 Museum Architecture Firms for 2023
SmithGroup, Gensler, Ayers Saint Gross, Quinn Evans, HGA, and Cooper Robertson head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest museum and gallery architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2024
Top 40 Religious Facility Construction Firms for 2023
Crossland Construction, Haskell, Big-D Construction, Whiting-Turner, and JE Dunn Construction top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest religious facility general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Religious Facilities | Feb 6, 2024
Top 50 Religious Facility Engineering Firms for 2023
KPFF Consulting Engineers, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Langan, Kimley-Horn, and Morrison Hershfield top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest religious facility engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2024
Top 80 Religious Facility Architecture Firms for 2023
Parkhill, FGM Architects, GFF, Gensler, and HOK top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest religious facility architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Museums | Jan 30, 2024
Meier Partners' South Korean museum seeks to create a harmonious relationship between art and nature
For the design of the newly completed Sorol Art Museum in Gangneung, South Korea, Meier Partners drew from Korean Confucianism to achieve a simplicity of form, material, and composition and a harmonious relationship with nature. The museum is scheduled to open on February 14. It is the firm’s first completed project since restructuring as Meier Partners.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | Jan 17, 2024
Waterproofing deep foundations for new construction
This continuing education course, by Walter P Moore's Amos Chan, P.E., BECxP, CxA+BE, covers design considerations for below-grade waterproofing for new construction, the types of below-grade systems available, and specific concerns associated with waterproofing deep foundations.
