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Take Action Opportunity In Your State for Healthy Schools
Healthy Child
Friday, February 20, 2009
An important action alert from our friend Claire Barnett, Executive Director of Healthy Schools Network, about funds within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act aimed at making our public schools healthier.
An exciting 11th hour compromise in funding for school facilities allows Governors to dedicate federal stimulus funds to create a new generation of public school buildings that are healthy places for children to learn and to grow.
Education has major gains in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), over $100 billion, nearly doubling the Education budget. Of the Education funding nationally, some $53.6 billion is in a State Fiscal Stabilization Fund that is sent to the Governors who must send 81.8% to local districts, and can then choose how to spend the remaining 18.2% ($9.76 billion nationally). In addition, ARRA also provides increases in existing bond financing for school construction. In NYS, the Stabilization Fund allocation is estimated at $ 3 billion. The Governor should maximize the amounts used for public school facilities.
ACTION ALERT: WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Check the Fiscal Stabilization Fund dollar amount available to your state (go online or call the Governor's office; see url chart link below)
2. Check with your state Energy office to determine if its has programs for schools and ARRA funds that can be used to increase work with schools. Hint: Governors often direct state energy offices and do not direct Education departments; the two agencies will need to be told to work together.
3. Write/call/email or circulate a sign-on letter to your Governor, asking s/he exercise her/his authority to dedicate available ARRA funds to repairing and renovating K-12 public schools buildings and to ensuring they become healthy high performance buildings for children.
4. To find funds that your Governor can choose to direct at school facility renovations and repairs, see our homepage and review our 4 page guidance document to the issue.
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Governor_______:
Re: Use ARRA Funds to Help Make K-12 Schools Healthy for Children
We are writing to strongly urge that you exercise your authority to direct at least $.... (calculate your share) or more funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to renovate and repair existing K-12 public schools. Funding from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund contains a provision stating that the allocated funds can be spent for these purposes; in addition the state will also see increases in bond financing for school construction.
(Name of state) has .... children enrolled in …. schools. US EPA has estimated that up to half of all schools have problems with indoor air quality and other environmental problems that are known to significantly impact children's health, learning, and behavior. Asthma is a leading cause of absenteeism and a leading occupational disease of teachers and custodians. According to the National Academy of Sciences, our schools should be 'dry, clean, quiet', have good Indoor Air, control dusts and particulates, and have good lighting and sanitation. Healthy school environments yield significant long-term benefits, recue asthma and upper respiratory infections, and thus save even more money than years of energy savings.
Therefore, we also urge that the Energy office and the state Education office/education facilities authority work together to fast-track a 'how-to' package for districts that will maximize indoor environmental quality and energy efficiencies to benefit children and communities. (Our state) should also develop a true school facility needs assessment that addresses environmental factors such as site remediations; noise abatement; lead, radon asbestos abatements; elimination of PCB's and elemental mercury; chemical clean-outs; safer pest control; use of daylighting; 'green' purchasing for cleaning and instruction; and keeping buildings dry, clean, and quiet.
Children are 100% of our future. Investing in our state's educational infrastructure will enhance long-term community assets, create immediate jobs in the construction industry, and can work to provide a healthy, high-performing and safe learning environment for our state's most precious resource - our children. School projects can be identified with signage that also indicates how the project will help promote healthy environments for children.
Yours truly,
(signed)
