Each month, ClimateCast features a Story Spotlight, covering climate issues and clean energy solutions that prioritize human experiences and connections in communities across the Pacific Northwest.
The Great Northern School District, on the western outskirts of Spokane, Washington, has educated children and served its community since 1894. Total enrollment is 40 students, which is tiny by virtually any measure. However, to students, staff members, and their families, the Great Northern School District is a pillar of their community. Parents rave about the individualized attention their children receive in the classroom. Over the years, Great Northern has weathered several funding crises and attempts by state policymakers to consolidate with neighboring school districts.
Recently, it became clear that Great Northern’s three-room schoolhouse is in need of upgrades to its heating and cooling system. Not surprising, considering the building is 110 years old. The state granted the school distric $1.6 million through the Climate Commitment Act to install a new HVAC system. The hitch? That funding will disappear if special interests succeed in repealing the Climate Commitment Act through Initiative 2117 this November.
Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA) has already brought $650 million worth of investments to schools all over the state. These investments are making schools safer, healthier, and more resilient for students and their communities. The Washington Clean & Prosperous Institute has created a detailed map showing all of the community programs and investments made possible by the Climate Commitment Act. The Climate Commitment Act offers many other benefits to students and schools; this deep dive into the Climate Commitment Act's contributions to education puts a fine point on what’s at risk if Initiative 2117 passes this November.
Public schools are an ideal place to invest in and showcase clean energy solutions. Schools are ubiquitous, and they serve community members with and without children. Aside from their obvious function, they often host events like farmers’ markets, daycare, before/after school care, community education events, and more. Many school campuses are also designated as emergency shelters, cooling centers, and climate resilience hubs, which are lifesaving resources for communities during extreme weather events happening more often due to the worsening climate crisis. We already know that residential rooftop solar panels are contagious and confer real financial and resilience benefits; leveraging that social phenomenon is a great added reason for supporting the idea that when polluters pay, kids and the broader community win.
Furnaces powered by gas, heating oil, and other combustible fuels release toxins indoors and climate-harming pollution outside. Replacing these with pollution-free alternatives helps create a more learning-conducive environment by improving indoor air quality and overall comfort. They also pay dividends over time through lower energy costs, helping free up funds in tight school budgets for other necessities. Several schools — including the Great Northern School District outside Spokane, Small Faces Preschool in Seattle, and several properties of the University of Washington and Washington State University across the state — are leveraging Climate Commitment Act funds to equip their buildings with clean, energy-efficient HVAC systems like electric heat pumps.
It’s not just the comfort of the classroom and buildings that matter, but also ensuring kids have healthy, safe and clean ways to get to and from school. We’ve covered zero-emission electric school buses in a previous issue of our Story Spotlight; Washington State also funded free public transit passes for students under 18 through Climate Commitment Act dollars, providing a means for students to get between school, home, and extracurricular activities while cultivating a new generation of public transit riders and cutting congestion and pollution.
The state also funds Safe Routes to School and School-Based Bike Safety Education programs for communities throughout the state using Climate Commitment Act funds. The former improves the pedestrian, bicycle, and roadway safety infrastructure surrounding schools, and the latter funds a bicycling safety program targeted at students in elementary, middle, and high schools.
One of the essential parts of the Climate Commitment Act is requiring the state to monitor air pollution reduction to make sure communities already living with harmful air pollution see improvements now and in the future. This helps hold both the state and polluters accountable for lowering emissions. Schools are also an ideal site to host community air quality monitors. Every community has schools, and children are particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of air pollution, making school-based monitoring beneficial for public health. The state has installed Climate Commitment Act-funded air quality monitors in Wenatchee, Yakima, Ellensburg, Kennewick, and Spokane, among other cities.
The common thread between all of these Climate Commitment Act-funded programs are how when polluters are held accountable for the emissions of how they do business now, communities and kids see real benefit, and we accelerate solutions to transition away from fossil fuels. These investments differ across the state because each community's needs are unique; much like education, local climate action isn't one-size-fits-all. As of this writing, funds raised from making big polluters pay via the Climate Commitment Act have already contributed $650 million to Washington schools, with another $730 million pending. However, many of these programs and this crucial funding stream for our communities are under threat.
If Initiative 2117 is passed by Washington voters this November, it would spell the end of the Climate Commitment Act. The state will no longer be able to make big polluters pay for these investments while driving down pollution at the source. As a result, billions of dollars in funding for clean energy innovations, public transit, roadway and traffic infrastructure, and benefits for overburdened and Tribal communities will disappear.
The Climate Commitment Act has already done so much good for our state; it’s time to suit up and defend it.
Disclaimer: We were unable to reach a representative from the Great Northern School District for comment by press time. This article does not constitute an endorsement by the Great Northern School District or Great Northern Elementary School.
