Instruction Trumps Square Footage

John Locke Foundation

RALEIGH — North Carolina can avoid large, expensive school buildings while working to improve student performance, according to a report recently released by the John Locke Foundation.

“School buildings don’t educate children,” said Dr. Michael Sanera, research director and local government analyst at the foundation. “Our students would be better off if educators spent more time arguing about what goes on inside school buildings than about building construction.”

Sanera’s report highlights a public charter high school in Tucson, Ariz., that ranked third in Newsweek’s list of the nation’s top 100 high schools, even though its square footage and building costs were far less than the typical N.C. high school. Only one North Carolina school ranked in the top 50 in the magazine’s top 100 list.

I don't understand why North Carolina spends so much money on building these elaborate schools... I would just put in a modular or "pod" village like they are going to do on a temp basis in Guilford County as they rebuild Eastern Guilford High School.