A parent in our school talked about this campaign which is desperately needed! The hallways are dark, there's no air conditioning, the heat is suffocating in some rooms and doesn't work in others...
It's unconscionable that children are subjected to this every day. The Governor and Mayor must not visit these schools much, or everyone is so used to these depressing buildings that they don't notice anymore.
We can change it.

If children could vote, they would vote hands down for better school buildings. And it's not just what's easily noticeable, like the lack of temperature control or drinkable water. It's the insidious stuff, like poor air quality, that puts teachers and children (one-third of whom are asthmatics) at a disadvantage.

Could you imagine the uproar coming from downtown offices if every professional had to work in the conditions that our children are exposed to every day? It would never be tolerated. But it's okay for four-year-olds and developing young people to suffer through? It's all about political will!

The Baltimore City schools is an asset for children to learn and develop skills that they will carry throughout their lives and if they can't come to a school they is not falling apart, clean drinking water, healthy lunches and great teachers then it is a loss cause. A building that is falling apart is not safe. Education is needed more than any thing for children and without the proper environment they will not be able to achieve their goal.

A parent at my school explained the campaign to rebuild all these schools. Why are the Governor and Mayor sitting by while our children sit in suffocating heat, walk down dark hallways, can't see out of the cloudy windows? Children in other counties do not have to endure these conditions! Baltimore has accepted these conditions for too long and this needs to change.

In my opinion, Baltimore City has more potential than most cities I hae worked in for two decades. There is TALENT in Baltimore. If the leaders, in Baltimore, truly believe in the residents of this great city ANYTHING is possible. It's a matter of priority and making a decision to RADICALLY change how the education system in operated. I can help!!

Unfortunately there will not be major changes in infrastructure in either Baltimore City or Baltimore County schools, which have the oldest infrastructures in the state, until there is the political will to pay for infrastructure improvements. Politicians in the city and the county will not vote to increase funding for schools until they think their jobs are on the line if they don't. Funding should and could come from a variety of sources, including Obama's jobs bill, that calls for billions to be invested in school infrastructure, borrowing money with interest rates at historic lows, modest tax increases (property and income taxes have not been raised in Baltimore County for over 20 years, and we are paying the price now with our infrastructure problems), and innovative financing, such as borrowing money from a local bank and repaying the loan with interest saved on new energy efficient systems (Carroll County public schools). Bottom line: we get what we pay for. Don't vote for any politician who is not willing to stand up and vote for more funds for school infrastructure.

I am please to see the support that we are receiving for the push for better schools in Baltimore City which is long over due. In the past, there have been a lot of talks but nothing major was being done to upgrade the schools around the city except for closing some of the schools down which has caused some over crowding in others. I also would like something to be done with how some of the schools recieve money for their budget at the beginning of the school years by gettting as many kids as possible and after receiving the monies then will advise some of the students that they will do better at other local schools around the baltimore area as a way of dropping them from their attendance role because of low performance.