We urge Governor Newsom to allocate $10 million in the 2024 budget to create a State Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, Climate- Resilient Schools

The Climate Ready Schools Coalition, with the support of more than 35 organizations, submitted a letter to Governor Newsom urging him to allocate $10 million in the 2024 budget to create a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, Climate Resilient School Infrastructure.

Last year, the legislature passed SB 394, sponsored by Senator Lena Gonzalez, by a vote of 115-1 out of the Senate and Assembly. The bill, which would have created the first ever Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, Climate Resilient School Infrastructure, received bipartisan and widespread public support from education, climate, health, youth, labor, civil rights, and business leaders and organizations throughout our state.

Unfortunately, Governor Newsom vetoed the bill, citing the lack of funding appropriated for the plan and potential future costs associated with implementing a Master Plan.

In the letter, the Climate Ready Schools Coalition outlines both the urgent need for a Master Plan to protect the health, safety, and learning of California students, and the opportunity of a Master Plan to unlock unlimited federal dollars available through the Inflation Reduction Act.

For example, with the potential for a single school solar and energy storage project to bring ~$500,000 in federal funding, an additional 20 new solar/storage installations at schools alone will pay for the $10 million master plan. At the same time, a master plan will ensure that every state and local dollar we already spend each year to build and maintain school facilities – some $8 billion – can help achieve our state climate goals.

Read more about the benefits of a Master Plan and the opportunities it unlocks in the Coalition’s letter.