Less money for new schools in capital plan released today

The city’s new five-year capital plan for school construction and repairs just went online. At 185 pages, it’s a lot to digest, but one thing is immediately clear: This plan, titled “Building on Success,” is not at all as “robust” as the current capital plan, which ends next year.

In June 2004, the city launched a $13.1 billion school building program. In the five years beginning in 2010, the city plans to spend only $11.3 billion — and that figure will have significantly less purchasing power due to rising construction costs and inflation rates. “We cannot afford to continue spending at the same levels as in recent years,” the plan reads.

I’ll have more details about the plan tomorrow, including answers to the questions I posed earlier today, but in the meantime I’m interested in what GothamSchools readers think stands out about the plan.