Imagine schools that run on green energy. Imagine classrooms that are a comfortable temperature year-round, with clean, filtered air, where teachers can teach and kids can learn. Imagine full electrification of all district buildings with no fossil fuels. This is the clean energy future. And it’s within our grasp. We can have school facilities that help ensure our air is clean and our city is healthy.

It’s critical that our School Board members act as good stewards of the district’s money and take advantage of all the cost-saving opportunities available to us. A few years back, we passed a levy for additional school funding that comes out of our own pockets, and the district wants to close and consolidate schools to save money. Meanwhile, energy costs are skyrocketing. And yet, Columbus City Schools is leaving millions of dollars of savings on the table that green infrastructure improvements would provide at the same time they lead to cleaner air, and safer, more resilient schools. Other districts have already transitioned to make their schools greener and save millions of dollars in the process. One district in Arkansas went solar and saved so much money that they were able to give raises to all their teachers. Columbus could do the same.

Thanks to our efforts, the School Board passed a resolution to be carbon neutral by 2050, an important 1st step. But they haven’t begun any projects yet. We don’t have time to delay while public school budgets are being slashed and inflation is rising costs.

Columbus has always been a yes-we-can kind of place; we’re already leading the way with innovations from the tech and chip manufacturing boom, to the arts scene and our world-renowned university.

The next big thing is clean energy - to power our schools, save the district money, and liberate us from outdated fossil fuels that pollute our environment and accelerate climate change. Columbus can and must continue to lead the way – with schools that are modernized, safer, and less expensive to operate. We need the School Board to be leaders who make this a reality.