ICSD adopts climate resolution; climate action plan to be drawn up this year

ITHACA, NY — The Ithaca City School District (ICSD) Board of Education passed a motion to approve a climate resolution in June, paving the way for the creation of a climate action plan.

Students and staff have been actively advocating for a climate action plan for years, but last year educators from across the district formed a group called Sustainability Advocates. The group worked with student groups to push for the adoption of the climate resolution as the first step toward developing a climate action plan with measurable goals.

Representatives of Sustainability Advocates and five student climate justice activists formally presented the climate resolution to the board at a meeting on June 11, calling on the district to commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, implementing sustainability measures and supporting climate education efforts.

Two weeks later, at its June 25 voting meeting, the committee unanimously approved the motion to adopt the one-line climate resolution, which recognizes the climate crisis and requires the school district to take accelerated action to reduce its carbon footprint.

Armin Heurich, one of the members of Sustainability Advocates, spoke at the June 11 meeting. Heurich, a library media specialist at Ithaca High School and an advisor to the Climate Action Working Group (CAWG) and the Green Outdoor Adventure Team, said the passage of the resolution is a big step forward for the district.

“Our school board listened to our presentations and our requests,” Heurich said. “They passed a climate resolution that recognizes their contribution to current greenhouse gas emissions and (the district’s) need to change. I think that’s an important story that needs to be told.”

Heurich also emphasized the importance of the work of numerous student groups across the district who were involved in the climate solution proposal. During the school year, he said, students gave presentations to the school board and other students during IHS Social Justice Week, hosted the annual IHS Climate Action Exposition, participated in the Finger Lakes Youth Climate Summit and lobbied for climate justice legislation in Albany.

Ace Dufresne, rising junior at IHS and member of the IHS CAWG and leader of the Ithaca chapter of the Sunrise Movement, spoke at the June 11 meeting and urged the board to pass the climate resolution.

“All of us as students would like to see the district take the initiative on climate policy and give us something to hope for, something to look forward to in our future, something to be proud of and something to be involved in,” Dufresne said. During his presentation, he also read statements from students across the district.

Cindy Kramer, a sustainability activist and social studies teacher at Boynton Middle School, said student engagement has been critical in lobbying for this climate resolution and previous climate and environmental causes.

“The student voice is really important,” Kramer said. “It really informs and inspires the board to take action because that’s what we’re all here to do: support the students.”

Cooperation with the city

To help the school district pursue its sustainability goals, Rebecca Evans, sustainability director for the City of Ithaca, unveiled a plan at a June 10 Sustainability and Climate Justice meeting to use a portion of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) $1.5 million in congressional funding to conduct comprehensive energy assessments of all school district buildings and develop climate, sustainability and environmental curricula.

Evans said in an interview that discussion to approve the capital project, which includes energy assessments for the school district’s buildings, strategic student engagement initiatives and an expansion of a pilot program to train the city’s green workforce, will take place at a meeting next week.

Sarah Brumberg, a sustainability activist and science teacher at Lehman Alternative Community School, said she is excited about the city’s upcoming funding.

“I think one of the aspects that is so important in terms of working together is that we don’t just look at this as a district, but that the district is an important part of our community and that our community is really taking positive steps forward,” Brumberg said.

Kramer said the cross-curricular enhancement of the curriculum for grades 1-12 will contribute to a greater understanding and appreciation of nature, as well as greater knowledge and awareness of climate change, science and action, which many teachers have already individually incorporated into their teaching.

“I know from my experience with eighth-graders in the social sciences context that when they get the opportunity to learn about climate science in an interdisciplinary context and then are asked what they can do, (…) They feel really empowered and excited to take action,” Kramer said. “It builds their optimism and hope for the future when they know they can be part of that process.”

Current district emissions and steps towards decarbonisation

During the June 11 board meeting, Heurich presented data on the district’s energy supply to put the district’s emissions into context.

For the 2023-23 school year, Heurich said during the presentation that an estimated 4,253 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) will come from the buildings’ energy use and 1,517 tons from the school buses’ energy use, for a total of 5,770 tons of CO2. He said this is equivalent to burning 6.5 million pounds of coal or driving a conventional car 15 million miles. Heurich also presented the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR ratings for the district’s school buildings.

The score is derived from an assessment of a property’s energy efficiency. The national average for school buildings is 67, according to 2015 ENERGY STAR data. The district average is 41, with IHS having one of the lowest scores in the district at 16.

Heurich said a district climate action plan will help the school district better comply with and align with the Ithaca Green New Deal (IGND) and the New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

The city’s IGND aims to decarbonize all 6,000 buildings in the city by 2030. The process of decarbonizing commercial buildings and residential properties in the city has been slow, but the city announced in February that an initial group of 10 buildings would be electrified, and more decarbonization efforts are in the pipeline. Six of the district’s 12 school buildings are within city limits, but Evans said energy assessments would be conducted at all schools in the district, not just those within the city.

Evans said the final assessment of each school building will include improvement opportunities such as weatherization, clean heating and cooling, lighting system improvements, HVAC retrofits and solar potential. The funding, she said, will not replace current fossil-fueled equipment with electric alternatives but will help the district evaluate its current energy use and long-term decarbonization prospects.

Electrification of the bus fleet

Soon, the district will add more electric school buses to its fleet, which will help the district further reduce its carbon footprint. The district was notified in May that it had received $800,000 from the EPA for four new electric buses, eligible infrastructure and other eligible expenses to be used over a two-year period. Five electric buses are currently in service.

Proposition 2, which passed in the second round of county elections in June, authorizes the county to use up to $1.6 million from capital reserves to purchase up to two electric buses, two propane buses and three passenger vehicles. The original proposal, which would have allowed the purchase of up to four electric buses, failed in the first round of voting in May.

In a June 5 ICSD press release, the district stated that the electric buses currently in the district’s fleet “were able to complete all routes in all weather conditions without complications.” New York State requires that all buses be zero-emission electric school buses by 2035.

After the climate resolution is passed, Brumberg says the next step is for the administration, staff and students to work together on a climate protection action plan in the coming school year.

“We believe (the passage of the climate resolution) is a sign that the district wants to work with us to create a climate action plan, and we’re very excited about it,” Brumberg said.