Comment Log Display

On behalf of the 28 under-signed organizations and individuals,
Green Schools Initiative welcomes the opportunity to submit
comments on the Final Draft Cap-and Trade Auction Proceeds Second
Investment Plan: Fiscal Years 2016-17 through 2018-19. 
Collectively, our organizations represent more than 1.6 million
parents, students, facility directors, school board members, school
district administrators, environmental educators, and health and
environmental organizations, and nearly all 1,000 school districts
and county offices of education in California. We advocate for K-12
public schools in California and are dedicated to ensuring that
schools are community models of sustainability that contribute to
achieving greenhouse gas reduction goals and that provide healthy,
safe learning environments for all California students. Climate
change is a children’s issue: children are more vulnerable to
heat-related illnesses, air pollution and asthma, and lack of
access to safe outdoor spaces to play and learn. 

We commend and thank the Air Resources Board for responding to
public comments to include K-12 schools in the Investment Plan. We
support the revisions in the Final Draft Investment Plan that
include schools as “Potential Recipients” for “Draft Investment
Concepts” for numerous topics under the three primary over-arching
priorities of Transportation & Sustainable Communities, Clean
Energy & Energy Efficiency, and Natural Resources & Waste
Diversion. We also support the inclusion of schools within the
Potential Cross-Cutting Approaches for Local Climate Action in
Disadvantaged Communities (pp. 29-30), and Efficient Financing
Mechanisms to Maximize Investment (p. 30-31). We appreciate the
ARB’s recognition that “Sustainable Schools” are an important
component of “Sustainable Communities” as evidenced by the Final
Draft Investment Plan’s inclusion of schools in these areas.

While we support these changes, we also suggest some additional
revisions that would better enable K-12 schools – especially those
in disadvantaged communities – to access and utilize grants
supported by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for projects that
can produce results in the short-, medium- and long-terms. Our
additional comments are detailed in the attached letter. Thank you
for your consideration and for including schools in the Investment
Plan priorities.

Sincerely,
Deborah Moore
Green Schools Initiative
On behalf of 27 additional endorsing organizations