Virginia’s top politicians from both sides of the aisle are putting up a united front to push a bill that allows communities to use tax credits to rehabilitate schools.
Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner, both Virginia Democrats, penned an op-ed piece for Politico along with Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and former Govs. Tim Kaine and George Allen imploring Congress to act on the bill that would allow private funds to be used to modernize historic buildings to include schools.
Kaine, a Democrat, and Allen, a Republican, are the frontrunners in the race for U.S. Senate and have spent months trading barbs, but on this issue the two found common ground.
These restrictions are preventing major — and much needed — renovations at a time when the average K-12 facility is considered obsolete, built for a 20th-century curriculum when our children need a 21st-century education. It is time we improve those schools by fixing this policy. In Virginia, we’ve seen firsthand what this change can do.
Webb and Warner introduced the bill in early October that would provide a 20 percent federal tax credit for private developers who partner with communities to improve older school buildings. McDonnell, Cantor, Allen and Kaine quickly moved to get behind the legislation. At the time, Warner and Webb said U.S. schools need $500 billion in repairs and upgrades. Every $1 billion spent would create about 10,000 jobs, they said.
The federal tax credit can be coupled with Virginia’s 25 percent tax credit for historic building rehabilitation.
