John,

Senate Democrats are on the verge of finalizing the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan, totaling $3.5 trillion, which will pave the way for President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. These plans will be the first step toward transforming our economy and will represent the most significant legislation to expand support for American families since the era of the New Deal and the Great Society.

After years of disinvestment, and then the pandemic, it is vitally important for us to invest in school infrastructure immediately. We already know that insufficient prioritization of infrastructure, along with the climate crisis, have resulted in crumbling school buildings, unsafe drinking water and unhealthy air for too many children.

That is why I recently sent a letter to the Senate saying that school infrastructure funding must be a part of the $3.5 trillion Jobs and Families package to rebuild and strengthen our nation. Will you send a letter to your senators right now too, so they know that we’re counting on them to vote to include school infrastructure funding?

I’m sure many people are wondering what these investments would look like. I’ve been to schools in places like Philadelphia where the windows don’t open. I’ve been to schools without proper ventilation, which the pandemic reminded us is unacceptable. I’ve also been to schools that have been retrofitted and used innovative green techniques to make them not just clean and safe for students but also environmentally conscious.

Our nation’s children have been in dilapidated school buildings for too long. If our lawmakers fail to invest now in school infrastructure, they’re saying the buildings our students learn in don’t matter. They’re saying it’s OK for some schools to have mold or crumbling walls and ceilings. We need to do better by our children. I want every school to be a place where kids feel safe and welcomed, where they have the freedom to thrive.

Investing in school infrastructure right now will create jobs. It will help our students. It will help our planet. It will help our economy. And it will help upgrade our facilities at the very moment our kids, teachers and school staff are starting the hard work of post-pandemic recovery. Nothing says safe and welcoming to our kids more than facilities that are, in fact, both safe and welcoming.

But it’s up to you and me to fight for it.

Write your senators now and tell them we must fully fund school infrastructure in the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT president