Thomas Breen File photo
Climate activists outside City Hall in 2019.
The Board of Education has accepted climate activists’ challenge to reduce the public schools system’s carbon footprint — by unanimously approving a new “climate emergency” resolution put forward by the New Haven Climate Movement (NHCM).
The school board took that vote Tuesday night during its latest regular meeting, which was held online via Zoom.
The climate-emergency vote comes three years after the Board of Alders passed a similar resolution, and several days after a youth-led climate rally downtown called on individuals, private organizations, and governments alike to do what they can to cut carbon emissions and mitigate the harms of rising sea levels, longer droughts, heavier storms, and higher heat waves.
A dozen current and former students, teachers, and parents testified at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting to express their support for the “transformational” and “crucial” eight-point resolution requesting the district to create several plans to tackle climate change.
The now-approved resolution asks for a commitment from the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) district to incorporate climate change education into the curriculum for all grade levels, use electric school buses, reduce energy waste, and increase school access to locally grown, healthy, and sustainable foods.
“It’s my belief that New Haven can and should be a leader in addressing the climate crisis that threatens our planet right now. It’s my belief that the education system is a crucial component of addressing that crisis,” said High School in the Community history teacher Ben Scudder. “And it’s my belief that if we choose not to act and respond to this crisis we are doing a disservice not only to our students but to the entire New Haven community. Our schools, our students, our community need us to take action not soon, but now.”
Testimonies reminded the board that “there is no planet B” and that the today’s youth and future generation ones are the ones who will suffer the consequences of climate change.
In recent years the New Haven Climate Movement also gained support from the board with a Climate Justice Schools Initiative, which pushed for more climate change education in schools and a promise to form a Board of Education committee or subcommittee focused on climate justice. (Read more about that here.)
The NHCM is looking for the school district to take accountability and set an example for other districts in the fight against climate change.
Some of the resolution’s requests come with time specific deadlines, such as “electrifying all school buses and other Board of Education vehicles by 2030.”
It also gives the board the coming six months to create a plan in other areas like “fully incorporating climate and public health education at all grade levels appropriate for helping students and families prepare for the growing climate threat and help them play a role in reducing negative health impacts.”
The agreement also scheduled for the board to report on its progress with the resolution demands at its meeting on April 26, 2023.
Watch the full meeting above.
Board Vice President and chair of the Finance and Operations Committee Matt Wilcox worked with the NHCM to update the language of the resolution before Tuesday’s final presentation.
“We’re already doing some of these things. But this is going to help us do these things with a climate idea in mind as well,” he said.
Currently the district is working to get some schools new boilers and HVAC systems replacements. The resolution will now make sure that the school district “also be looking at the climate related aspects of this,” Wilcox said.
“For example, if we’re replacing an HVAC system, what’s the current HVAC system use in terms of energy? We look at it in dollars a lot, but it’s also using energy and creating greenhouse gases. And then let’s take a look at what the new systems are going to bring into play,” Wilcox added.
In the next month, the district will be looking at its transportation contract and will be expected to consider the resolution and climate justice commitment.
Mayor Justin Elicker reminded the district that it will have to assign an individual to this demanding task. He offered support from the city’s new Climate Office that currently is in search of two staff members.
“I am concerned about the time frame for all of these things,” Superintendent Iline Tracey said.
She pointed to the following resolution-requested task as one that may be hard to complete in the allocated time frame” “the Board of Education will recognize the urgent nature of the climate emergency and allocate the resources to fully fund these projects. For example, hiring consultants, hiring a full-time climate coordinator staff member, having the district’s grant writer come up with resources, etc.”
Chief of Operations Thomas Lamb agreed with Tracey that the resolution is an “extremely heavy lift for the district” but not an impossible one as he has committed to starting this work since he took on the COO role last spring.
He said the resolution will require a culture shift for the operations team to “engrain the thought process of sustainability and energy management into how we think.”
Over the past year Lamb has added energy management components to bids like the ABM contract, which provides facilities, custodial, and energy management services, for a full time energy management and sustainability staffer which in the previous contract was a part-time position.
“I’m very passionate about this kind of thing because it’s built into what operations is. Building a better future for our children and school district is important to me,” he said. “Like Dr. Tracey has mentioned, that the timeline for this is extremely ambitious but we’re going to do everything that we can to be as successful as possible.”
Noel Sims photo
Climate activists march downtown Friday.
Board member Darnell Goldson added an amendment to the resolution requiring that “the F&O [finance and operations] committee will aim to create a plan within six months of passage of this resolution on developing a plan for recycling glass, plastic and paper products.”
Lamb said he will investigate during the six-month timeline with his facilities team about the potential added cost of a recycling program.
The board voted unanimously to add the amendment to the resolution.
Board Of Ed "Climate Emergency Resolution"
The approved amended resolution reads in full:
NOW BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the New Haven Board of Education takes immediate actions to mitigate climate change by reducing the carbon footprint and ensure an effective transition to clean energy and sustainable operations.
1. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education will attempt to mobilize appropriate financial and regulatory assistance from City, state and federal authorities, and will aim to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 100% on or before December 31, 2030, reflecting the United Nations’ “now or never” urgency to act.
2. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Finance & Operations Committee will aim to create a plan within six months of passage of this Resolution on reducing transportation carbon emissions and other air pollution including electrifying all school buses and other Board of Education vehicles by 2030.
3. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Citywide School Building and Stewardship Committee will aim to create a plan within six months of passage of this Resolution on reducing energy use in all facilities, increasing efficiency, and on electrifying energy in buildings to the greatest extent possible.
4. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Finance & Operations committee will aim to create a plan within six months of passage of this resolution on developing a plan for recycling glass, plastic and paper products.
5. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Teaching and Learning Committee will aim to create a plan within six months of passage of this Resolution on fully incorporating climate and public health education at all grade levels appropriate for helping students and families prepare for the growing climate threat and help them play a role in reducing negative health impacts.
6. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Food Service Task Force will aim to create a plan within six months working with the New Haven Food Policy Council to expand access to locally-grown, healthy, sustainable food, decrease packaging waste, and increase opportunities for food donation, food rescue, and composting.
7. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education will recognize the urgent nature of the climate emergency and allocate the resources to fully fund these projects. For example, hiring consultants, hiring a full-time climate coordinator staff member, having the district’s grant writer come up with resources, etc.
8. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education will review public health analysis of climate impacts on students and families (like the Yale Climate Change and Health in Connecticut 2020 Report). Then, recognizing the impacts of heat waves, floods, extreme storms, etc, on learning, the Board will aim to report back within six months with a plan how schools can help students and families prepare for and limit coming climate driven negative health impacts.