Inside: Furniture

Georgia district allots millions for school furniture

The DeKalb County (Georgia) school board has approved a $7 million expenditure for furniture in its school buildings and other facilities.

The district is seeking to spend up to $5 million from March 2025 to March 2026; the administration also asked for an additional $2 million through March 2025 to cover immediate needs.

“The increased spend limit request is to address the $1.8 million in backordered student furniture” at 104 schools, according to the school board agenda. In addition, the school system has about $820,000 worth of backordered furniture for principals, administrative staff and other office spaces at 21 schools.

Furnishing collaborative learning environments

Modern trends in classroom design call for different ways of furnishing classrooms and other learning environments.

"To optimize twenty-first-century teaching methods such as project-based learning and personalized instruction, space should be adaptable to allow multiple learning activities to occur simultaneously," the Califonia Department of Education says in its guidance on flexible learning environments.

The guidance says that a key element in creating a collaborative learning environment is flexible furniture that accommodates various teaching and learning styles.

"Children have a developmental need for movement, and flexible school furniture allows students to shift position, rock, rotate, and roll," the guidance says. "Chairs and tables with wheels and adjustable standing desks offer students the choice of sitting or standing during the school day and provide alternatives for various activities, learning styles, and special needs."

Other examples that create a flexible learning space include soft seating, beanbag chairs, low tables, mobile carts and cabinets.

Outfitting a space with flexible furniture can transform existing classrooms into collaborative learning spaces, the guidance says.

New Jersey district sends surplus furniture to the Dominican Republic

The Camden City (New Jersey) district moved students out of Eastside High School last year as it embarked on a $105 million project to tear down the building and construct a modern campus to replace it.

The new high school will be outfitted with new furniture and equipment, and the district had been expected to dispose of the furnishings left behind—desks, chairs, whiteboards and other fixtures.

Then it received a letter from officials in the Dominican Republic, TAPinto Camden reports. The Caribbean nation, which had previously received donated firefighter equipment from the Camden Fire Department, asked the school district if it was able to donate any surplus supplies for needy Dominican schools.

Officials from the district and the city worked with the Consulate of the Dominican Republic of New Jersey to provide the used furnishings. The Dominican consulate is handling all transportation and associated expenses for the donation, the district says.

Meanwhile, students from Eastside will be housed in a former elementary campus until construction of the new Eastside is completed in 2029.

Market Growing

The U.S. school furniture market size was estimated at $2.06 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a 6.2% a year from 2025 to 2030.

Grand View Research says technological advancements to support digital devices, such as laptops and tablets, are reshaping furniture needs in modern classrooms. The demand for school furniture in the years to come will emphasize adaptable, durable, and technology-friendly designs, the researchers say.

As students spend more time on laptops and other electronic devices, furniture that promotes good posture and focuses on comfort will enhance student concentration and productivity and help prevent long-term health problems.