Education is a top priority to millions of American families, and parents should be empowered to choose a safe and effective education for their children. To serve that goal, The Heritage Foundation has published the Education Freedom Report Card, to serve as a guide for assessing education freedom in each state.

Our report card measures four broad categories (School Choice, Transparency, Regulatory Freedom, and Spending) that encompass more than two dozen discrete factors. //

Public school teachers make up just half of all education jobs. //

Since 1950, public school enrollment is up 100%, teacher jobs are up 243%, and administration jobs are up 709%. //

K-12 spending is up 3X since 1970, with no meaningful academic gains.

The steel railings of the Peace Bridge, which spans the Niagara River between Buffalo, NY, and Fort Erie, Ontario, are protected from corrosion by a 95 percent zinc-rich topcoat. Initially specified for touch-up of rust spots in the late 1960s shortly after the installation of hot-dip galvanized railings, the material was used to coat the entire railing in 1975 and again in 1986. In the summer of 1990, the railings were pronounced in excellent shape with no visible signs of rust in a 150-page condition report compiled by the Buffalo, NY consulting firm of DeLeuw, Cather & Company.

The total length of the Peace Bridge and terminals is 4,000 ft (1,200 m). It is located in a hostile environment where it is exposed to harsh winters, high winds, violent storms from Lake Erie, and a small amount of road salt (10 percent mixture with grit). The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority owns and operates the Peace Bridge, which is the largest single crossing between the U.S. and Canada (accommodating 8,500,000 vehicles per year).

Built in 1927, the steel arch-and-girder bridge originally had steel-reinforced cement railings, which were replaced with the present hot-dip galvanized railings in 1964-1965.

After 5 years of service, the hot-dip railings were showing blushing, and the authority decided to use a cold galvanizing compound to touch up the blushing. The condition of the bridge is monitored closely by extensive annual inspections by independent consulting engineering firms and the Authority staff.