The Challenges of Funding Schools and Infrastructure

Nowhere are the long-term challenges facing the state more acute, or more important, than in these areas.  As much as $60 billion may be needed to meet all of the state’s needs in these areas.  These core issues underline the inability of revenues to keep up with needs, and the blurred division of revenues and responsibilities between state and local government.

In education, the state is responsible for paying for the operating costs of schools, while county government must pay for construction.  Unfortunately, state support is often inadequate, leading to additional operating support from counties, while counties in urban areas can’t keep up with construction, which has led to demands for the state to help out (demands met, in part, through lottery funding).

When it comes to roads, which at present are primarily a state responsibility, the state’s main source of revenue is the gas tax.  Unfortunately, not only is it incredibly unpopular, but also it can’t keep up with our needs, due in part to the rise of more fuel-efficient vehicles.  In the future new methods will employed to pay for roads, including tolls, and new responsibilities for road construction will placed on counties, although at present counties have no way to pay for it.

Finally, local authorities are entirely responsible for paying for water and sewer, where there are hundreds of small, inefficient and unsound systems that must be upgraded.  Often, the fees paid by users cannot cover operating costs, let alone pay for upgrades.  Many expect the state to provide loans or grants, although no one has able to say where these monies will come from.