Baltimore city schools have $2.45 billion in facility needs

From The Baltimore Sun: Fifty public schools in the city of Baltimore are so dilapidated or underused that they should be closed or rebuilt, according to a new report that identifies $2.45 billion in school infrastructure needs across the city. The findings were used by school officials to launch a 10-year campaign to modernize the system's buildings. The assessment of the system's 182 campuses rated the system's overall infrastructure — as well as 69 percent of the schools — as "very poor." It also found that more than a third of the school system's available space was going unused.

MORE...from CBS Baltimore: Part of the money will come from a tax on bottled beverages, which Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has signed in to law. It increases the tax on items such as soda and water to 5 cents a bottle. Video: