We are thankful that we were invited on February 10, 2022 to testify in favor of the Electric School Bus Pilot Program (HB696) sponsored by Delegate David Fraser-Hidalgo (HD-15). If enacted, this legislation would create a program to create a partnership with utilities and schools to offset the higher costs of electric school buses and allow the batteries in the buses to be used on the grid when not needed for getting kids to of from school. Our lead volunteer spoke of the efforts of Prince George’s County Public Schools to plan for electric buses and on the negative health consequences of diesel pollution on children.
Author: Climate Parents of Prince George's
We are thankful that we were invited on February 8, 2022 to testify in favor of the Green School Construction Act of 2022 (HB365) sponsored by Delegate Marc Korman (HD-16). If enacted, this legislation would prevent the state of Maryland from providing matching dollars for installation of most fossil-fuel equipment in Maryland schools. Our lead volunteer spoke of the efforts of Prince George’s County Public Schools to switch to fossil fuel free heating and cooling systems and the need for change.
On February 3 at Second FY23 PGCPS Budget Listening Session two advocates spoke in favor of having a Sustainability/Resilieny Officer. Community advocate and County Council candidate Lisa Burnam spoke in favor and additionally in favor of healthy meals for students among other topics. One of our volunteers spoke in favor and additionally in favor of installing energy management systems in PGCPS buildings.
We also wanted to say that we support continuing access to alternative learning resources such as those at Community Base Classrooms.
We are excited that at the January 13, 2022 PGCPS Board of Education Meeting Dan Daughtry-Weiss of Cheverly spoke in favor of having a PGCPS Sustainability Officer and the Climate Change Action Plan. You can share your story too. Sign up to testify.
On Thursday December 9, 2021 one of our volunteers spoke in favor of creating a position for a PGCPS Climate Officer (also called a Sustainability Officer) that would report to the CEO and work across the various departments to implement the forthcoming Climate Change Action Plan. There will be more opportunities to testify in January and February, so if you are interested please sign up here.
You can watch the testimony below:
While we expect a final Climate Action Plan will likely be final around Earth Day 2022 we need to get a head start on several issues. We need you to voice your support for a “Sustainability Officer” for PGCPS in the FY23 budget. That way when the plan is done there will somebody that can work across departments to make our plan a reality.
The opportunities to sign up to speak at Board Meetings happen quick so let us know if you can participate and we will let you know when to register. The next meeting we will need you to testify at is on January 13.
Today our work for 100% Clean Energy Schools was featured by Aspen Institute K-12 Climate Action Program as part of the rollout for their School Climate Action Toolkit through a blog post co-authored by Board Member Pamela Boozer-Strother and lead volunteer Joseph Jakuta.
As climate change has become a more pressing and visible issue over the past decade, one thing we have learned is that we have the solutions available. What we need is to bring people along, to listen, and to involve all stakeholders in finding the solutions that work for all of us. This is certainly true in school systems, which are deeply rooted in communities and are charged with preparing today’s students for the future.
Communities around the country – often led by youth and parent activists – have been advocating for schools, communities, and governments to take action on climate change. One way schools can address climate change is to reduce their carbon footprints by transitioning to clean energy….
Read the full post: https://k12climateaction.org/blog/community-engagement-is-necessary-to-decarbonize-schools
In case you missed it, the Climate Change Action Plan Focus Workgroup met on October 20 to discuss how the PGCPS new school construction process works, how the build Net Zero and its benefits, the current buildings in the PGCPS construction pipeline, and the challenges ahead.
We heard from special guests Reilly Loveland of the New Buildings Institute, Shawn Matlock, Director of Capital Programs, and Antoine Taylor, PGCPS Building Services Operations Supervisor.
The Prince George’s County Board of Education wants to know what parents, teachers, students, and residents think should be part of the school system’s climate action plan. Include your thoughts on equity, education, jobs, buildings, transportation, grounds, food, and waste. This will be the last chance to provide feedback before the Focus Workgroup starts drafting a plan. Fill Out The Survey by 10/31: http://bit.ly/pgcps-climate-survey
In case you missed it, the Climate Change Action Plan Focus Workgroup met on October 6 to discuss how the food production and distribution process works in PGCPS, the need for healthy, climate friendly food, composting pilot projects in PGCPS, the PGCPS recycling program, and the synthetic turf waste stream.
We heard from special guests Joan Shorter, Director of Food and Nutrition Services, Sara Gillespie, Maintenance Technician for Recycling, Antoine Taylor, and Diana E. Conway, President, Safe Healthy Playing Fields Inc. and Kathleen Michaels, PhD, Advocate, Safe Healthy Playing Fields Inc..