Governor Hochul: We Need Green and Healthy Schools!
Governor Hochul
New York City students deserve safe and healthy schools. Teachers and school staff deserve safe and healthy workplaces. But the climate crisis and decades of disinvestment are already wreaking havoc on NYC public schools and nearly 1 million students and their caregivers.
NYC already has access to BILLIONS of dollars through IRA and city funding for electrifying and upgrading school buildings, but city agencies and politicians are letting the money sit there while our schools flood and fill with smoke.
New York City's school buildings alone account for nearly 20% of the city's public buildings emissions. Right now, schools rely on dirty fossil fuels to power and heat classrooms, and our 100-year-old infrastructure desperately needs repairs and upgrades. We’re fighting alongside youth, labor, and environmental justice organizations for Green, Healthy Schools so all students can breathe clean air and attend school safely.
We’re calling on Mayor Adams, Governor Hochul, and the NYC DOE to invest in our students, teachers, and staff by funding green, healthy, safe, and comfortable schools to learn and grow up in—regardless of zip code.
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To:
Governor Hochul
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Governor Hochul:
Our children deserve safe and healthy schools and a livable future. Teachers and school staff deserve safe and healthy workplaces. New York’s existing climate law requires 70% renewable energy by 2030, and our school buildings must play a part in reaching that goal. But school buildings are unprepared for the climate crisis and its impacts.
In just the last year, students across the state experienced catastrophic flooding and an air quality crisis caused by climate change-fueled wildfire smoke. We are also in year four of a pandemic worsened by poor ventilation in our aging infrastructure. Right now, schools rely on dirty fossil fuels to power and heat classrooms. It’s past time to green and upgrade our school buildings, and we must do so on an urgent timeline.
The state and Governor Hochul must allocate funding to upgrade school buildings and improve air quality in schools in the 2024-2025 budget.
--We call on Governor Hochul to include $80 million in funding for building electrification and ventilation upgrades and $75 million for electric school buses in this year’s budget.
--We also call on the Governor to pass the NY HEAT Act, so that all buildings, including schools, can be heated and cooled by clean energy.
Signed,