As children across the country begin a new school year, their schools’ facilities and equipment aren’t as modern as they should be, due to sharp cuts in state funding for school capital projects over the past decade. As a share of the economy, state capital funding for schools — for example, to build new schools, renovate and expand facilities, and install more modern technologies — was still down 31 percent in fiscal year 2017 (the latest year for which we have data) compared to 2008, when the Great Recession took hold. That’s the equivalent of a $20 billion cut. (See graph.)