Public Schools to Get $6.4 Billion in Green Improvements

Public schools across America are in serious need of TLC. Pitifully low budgets mean some schools don’t even have clean drinking water, let alone up-to-date textbooks. But, Congress just passed a piece of legislation that might just save school districts enough money to get back on track. $6.4 billion has been earmarked for green projects in public schools, modernizing buildings so they’re more energy efficient.

From CNN, via The Good Human:

The measure passed 275-155 in a largely party-line vote, and will now move to the Senate for further review.

Among other things, the bill allocates substantial funds for improvements along the Gulf Coast, where many school districts are still struggling to repair buildings damaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The committee says the bill would require that 100 percent of the funds go toward green projects by 2015, which is the final year of funding under the bill.

“All students and teachers deserve safe and healthy learning environments, but too often, their schools are literally falling apart,” said Rep. George Miller, D-California, who is the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and one of the bill’s sponsors.

“This legislation is a victory for students, workers and our planet. It will help improve educational opportunities and boost student achievement, it will help transition us toward a green economy by making our classrooms more environmentally friendly,” he said.

Of course, Republicans criticized the high cost, never able to look beyond today and see what tomorrow will bring. They also have a problem with the ‘increasing role of federal government’, claiming that the power to construct and renovate schools is a ‘fundamental right’ of state government.

It’s easy for old, rich white men whose grandchildren are more than likely enrolled in private schools to complain about such things while millions of school kids sit in public schools with sagging roofs, mold in the walls, peeling vinyl floors and other major problems. The American Society of Engineers says that one-third of America’s schools need extensive repair or replacement. This $6.4 billion is just a small fraction of the $112 billion the ASE says is needed to bring the nation’s public schools into an overall good condition.

Rachel Gutter of the U.S. Green Building Council emphasizes the benefits:

“The typical green school saves $100,000 a year on direct operating expenses. In school terms, that’s enough to hire two new teachers, purchase 200 new computers or 5,000 textbooks,” Gutter said.

“So these are major savings. And that’s just one year. The typical school lasts 40 years. And when you do the math, it starts to become some serious savings. … It pays for itself after a few years of operation.”

Link [CNN] via [The Good Human]
Photo credit: Flickr user woodleywonderworks

Some Rural Students get 4-Day School Week Due to High Fuel Costs

Some rural students across the nation are getting what many of us working adults wish we could have – a four-day week. High fuel costs have made it extremely expensive for schools to manage paying for transportation and cooling. Cutting out one day per week has made it possible to avoid eliminating important school programs and to preserve staff in areas like Kentucky, New Mexico and Minnesota.

From Reuters:

“For rural school districts where buses may travel 100 miles round-trip each day, there certainly are transportation savings worth considering,” said Marc Egan, the director of federal affairs at the National School Boards Association.

Egan said about 100 schools in as many as 16 states have already moved to a four-day school week, many to save money on transportation, heating and cooling.

Nevada’s White Pine School District switched just one of its schools to a four-day week three years ago. Now, with energy costs soaring, four other schools in the district are following suit.

“We’re looking at it district-wide with energy costs being at the forefront of the conversation,” said Bob Dolezal, superintendent of Nevada’s White Pine County School District, which is facing a 14 percent budget cut due to a shortfall in state funding.

Damn, how I would have loved having a four-day week when I was in school. The Reuters article doesn’t specify how the schools make up for that lost time – longer days? Shorter summer? Either way, I bet the kids are thrilled to have a three-day weekend. Four-day school week FTW!

Link [Reuters]
Photo credit: Flickr user 416 Style

Virginia High School Catches 280,000 Gallons of Rainwater Annually

While many of us have yet to even install rainwater barrels outside our homes, some people are saving a dramatic amount of water with giant barrels placed outside public buildings like schools and office buildings.  The Langston Brown Community Center and High School in Arlington, Virginia has two 24-ft tall 11,000-gallon cisterns to catch and store rainwater, which capture up to 280,000 gallons per year.  One tank is located at the back of the school and the other is in front, covered with panels to make it blend in seamlessly with the building.

Schools are such a great place to deploy this kind of green technology.  It teaches the kids early on never to let resources go to waste, and makes it such a normal everyday thing that they will hopefully grow up to use these resource-saving measures in their daily lives without question.  Way to go, Langston Brown!

Link [Metaefficient]