A group of students, parents and energy experts is making the financial case for going green in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
CMS students told the school board on Tuesday night that they want the district to build more efficient schools. Sophomore Corinne Staples said that expanding rooftop solar systems could save a big chunk of CMS’ annual budget.
“Lower electric bills could mean we pocket somewhere between five to eight million dollars every single year to spend on teachers and fixing up rundown schools instead of utilities,” Staples said.
Utility bills are the school system’s second-largest expense after salaries and benefits. The figure is growing; CMS budgeted nearly $1.5 million to cover rising utility costs in this year’s budget.
To counter this, students asked the school board to go “net-zero,” which involves reducing greenhouse gases closer to zero. The school district would then offset the remainder of its emissions by purchasing carbon credits or financing a clean energy project like a solar or wind farm.
The push for net-zero goes beyond solar panels, according to County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell.
“The idea was a net-zero building from the ground up, not just adding solar panels to an existing building, although that would also be a great project,” Rodriguez-McDowell said.
Allen Nelson, a member of the school district’s Community Capital and Bond Committee, explained that improving energy efficiency might include changes to window pane depth or HVAC size. Ultimately, he said the schools don’t need to reach “full net-zero” to save on energy costs.
“Even if in some cases we just get close, that’s still a win,” Nelson said.
The CMS school board would need to implement an energy action plan that allows the county to factor energy savings into its design choices. Although most speakers at Tuesday’s meeting focused on the economics of clean power and energy efficiency, students said they would like to see stronger climate action from their school board.
“The overall purpose of CMS is to educate and prepare our generation for the best possible future. But we have no future if we don't have a planet,” said Connolly Baxter, a 10th grader at JT Williams Secondary Montessori School.
