Showing posts with label Tax credit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tax credit. Show all posts

Friday, November 22, 2013

Over 60% of Virginia Schools Could Potentially Benefit in Years Ahead From Change to Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit

Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell speaking at...
Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell speaking at CPAC. Please attribute to Gage Skidmore if used elsewhere. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Governor McDonnell Releases Comprehensive Study of All K-12 Facilities in the Commonwealth
817 Facilities 50 Years or Older; Additional 410 Facilities are 40 to 50 Years Old

RICHMOND – 1,227 of Virginia’s school buildings and facilities, more than 60%, are 40 years or older according to a new comprehensive study ordered by Governor Bob McDonnell and concluded at the beginning of this month. The governor today released the results of the study that looked at all existing Virginia public school buildings, including those not currently being used. The study was compiled by the Secretary of Education and the Department of Education. The governor ordered the report in August in order to gain a more accurate picture of the current state of the Commonwealth’s educational infrastructure, and to demonstrate how a change to the Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, to allow for its use in the renovation of older school buildings for continued service as public educational facilities, could benefit the Commonwealth specifically, and the nation in general. To benefit from the Tax Credit a building must be considered historic, and facilities 50 years or older are most likely to qualify.

            The governor’s state inventory found:

Summary of divisions/schools reported:

·         Number of School Divisions reporting (100%):         132
·         Number of schools reported:                                      2,030
·         Number of schools 50 years or older*:                       817
·         Number of schools 40-50 years old*:                         410
·         Total student capacity of buildings:                           842,481


Speaking about the inventory, Governor McDonnell commented, “The Department of Education’s review of Virginia’s public school buildings found 1,227 school buildings and facilities in Virginia that could potentially be eligible, now or in the next ten years, for the Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit. These buildings exist in every region of the state, and service hundreds of thousands of Virginia students.  Eliminating the ‘prior use’ rule is a commonsense, bipartisan issue supported by Senator Mark Warner, Senator Tim Kaine, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe, and many others.  It would enable the private sector to invest in modernizing our schools, while simultaneously saving our localities money.  This inventory demonstrates in real numbers what establishing equity in this existing federal tax policy would mean for our communities and our students, and I hope it will prove to be helpful in the ongoing efforts to get this legislation passed at the federal level.”

Paul Goldman, former Chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, advisor to Governors Mark Warner and Doug Wilder, and longtime proponent of modernizing the federal law, commented, “By fixing a bureaucratic glitch in the IRS code - stuck there for 27 years - Virginia localities could have modern 21st century K-12 facilities at a cost of 35-40% less than the federal government requires them to pay now.”

            The full inventory of schools is available here.
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Friday, August 30, 2013

Governor McDonnell Orders Full Inventory of All Existing Virginia School Buildings and Facilities

English: Governor of Virginia at CPAC in .
English: Governor of Virginia at CPAC in . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Directs Secretary of Education to Conclude Report by November 1st
Results Will Determine How Changes to Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Could Benefit Commonwealth; Will Help Virginia Leaders Advocate for Change to Law to Improve Virginia’s Aging School Buildings

RICHMOND- Governor Bob McDonnell has directed Virginia Secretary of Education Laura Fornash to put together a comprehensive inventory of all existing Virginia public school buildings, including those not currently being used for instruction. The governor has asked for the report in order to gain a more accurate picture of the current state of the Commonwealth’s educational infrastructure, and to demonstrate how a change to the Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, to allow for its use in the renovation of older school buildings for continued service as public educational facilities, could benefit the Commonwealth specifically, and the nation in general.

In the letter the governor writes, “Earlier this week, I met with Mr. Goldman and his team to discuss this matter in greater detail.  We agreed that the elimination of the “prior use” rule to allow private investors to utilize the Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit in the process of renovating aging school buildings for future use in the same capacity, would have a positive impact on Virginia’s students, teachers and parents in communities all across the state. We also agreed that we must continue to work to press federal lawmakers to make this change. In that effort, specific, concrete facts about the true impact of such a change would be extremely beneficial to our federal representatives as they lead this effort.

Therefore, today I am asking you to lead the Department of Education in a review of all existing school buildings, including buildings not currently being utilized, and create a detailed inventory of all building facilities owned or operated for public elementary and secondary education.  The report should include the age, location and current use of each facility and be compiled and submitted to me no later thanNovember 1, 2013.”

The full letter is available here. Results of the review will be made public immediately upon completion.
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