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As another school year approaches, one thing that’s top of mind for moms is our kids’ health and safety at school. That includes breathing clean air in their classrooms and having a comfortable temperature that is conducive to learning.
Unfortunately, the Colorado Department of Education estimates the average age of Colorado’s public school infrastructure to be 40 years old, putting students and staff at risk of exposure to poor air quality and other toxins like mold and legacy toxics such as lead, asbestos, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); extreme temperatures; inadequate lighting; and excessive noise conditions.
Aging heating and cooling systems have been associated with decreased performance of students and staff due to classrooms that are too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter. Some schools are even forced to close during extreme heat days, reducing school days and learning. In addition, old HVAC systems that rely on fossil fuels produce greenhouse gas emissions, adding to our polluted air and an uncertain future for generations to come.
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Colorado’s schools also face a funding issue. There is rarely enough money in school budgets to fix aging infrastructure. In fact, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimated in 2020 that Colorado’s schools faced a $14 billion funding gap for capital construction. Fortunately for Colorado schools, federal funding offers many grants and tax credits to schools, providing a once in a lifetime opportunity through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to help schools close this gap and bring updated HVAC systems to districts around the state.
For example, the Renew America’s Schools program helps districts build capacity and perform energy audits, as well as plan and implement energy improvements like new HVAC systems, solar arrays and other energy efficient systems that will make classrooms healthier and save districts money that can be put back into the classroom.
Over the past two years, Mountain Mamas has been working to bring federal funding into Colorado to improve our schools by encouraging districts to apply for funds and connecting them with resources. Districts often say that applying for federal funding takes time and resources that smaller or underserved districts don’t have. The first round of Renew America’s Schools funding did not see a single Colorado school district awarded, in part because of lack of capacity to apply, not lack of need.
Aging heating and cooling systems have been associated with decreased performance of students and staff due to classrooms that are too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter.
This last legislative session, the Colorado General Assembly passed House Bill 24-1307 , HVAC Improvements for Public Schools, which was designed to help public schools across the state to leverage federal funding for HVAC improvements by connecting school administrators to grant writers, matching funds, and workforce to help them remain competitive for the federal funding. The voluntary program would have laid out standards for HVAC assessments to ensure that schools could install efficient, cost-saving systems to reduce energy bills and emissions. Unfortunately, this important legislation was vetoed by Gov. Jared Polis, blocking a great resource for smaller and underserved school districts to access funding they so desperately need.
Parents want to ensure our kiddos have the healthiest and most conducive learning environments possible and are therefore encouraging school districts to seek out funding like future rounds of the Renew America’s Schools program, funds for electric school buses and other state and federal opportunities. We also hope the state will continue to seek out ways to help smaller and underserved districts access those resources for the sake of our kids’ health today and a clean climate tomorrow.
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