Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg schools are slated to receive $15.3 million in federal funding to become more energy efficient. School officials say doing so could help them lower building costs amid reductions in tax revenue and deteriorating building conditions.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Renew America’s Schools grant program, which targets buildings in economically underserved communities, will go toward renovations and repairs at 18 Pittsburgh public schools and two in Wilkinsburg.
The money will be used to update school heating and cooling systems, repair school roofs and install LED lighting, among other things. Both school districts are partnering with Pittsburgh-based nonprofits – The Efficiency Network (TEN) and Green Building Alliance – to develop and implement these energy-saving plans.
“We're also gonna be increasing energy efficiency, which will also put money back into the school district, where we can apply that to bigger and better facility improvements,” said Michael McNamara, Pittsburgh Public Schools’ chief operating officer.
McNamara said the energy-saving projects could free up funds that can then be used to install air conditioning in the many city schools without it.
PPS switched students to remote learning five times during the 2023-2024 school year on days when temperatures soared into the high 80s. Many parents have urged the district to install air conditioning in more of its schools, citing the many complications of remote learning.
While installing air conditioning might not make schools as energy efficient, Andrea Swiatocha with the Renew America’s Schools program said the student health benefits are significant, especially amid rising temperatures.
“Even if they add it, let's add solar panels to the roof and offset the energy that you are going to have to consume by adding the air conditioning to that gymnasium,” Swiatocha said.
Reduced energy costs could help mitigate shrinking revenues, school closures
With the new federal funding, both Pittsburgh Public Schools and Wilkinsburg School District also aim to catch up on deferred maintenance, as well as mitigate the impact of lost tax revenue.
As of June, due to decisions made by Allegheny County's Board of Property Assessments and Appeals Review, Pittsburgh Public Schools was on the hook for nearly $7 million in property tax refunds for the 2022 and 2023 tax years.
That number could inflate to $10 million once tax year 2024 appeals are completed, according to a complaint the district filed earlier this year. PPS is now asking the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas to intervene by ordering county officials to conduct a countywide reassessment.
Initial arguments in the case are scheduled to be heard on Aug. 23.
The district has also been developing a reconfiguration plan that is likely to result in school closures since early April. Consultants hired by PPS are expected to publicly present school board members with a series of potential options for closures and other changes to the district’s footprint on Tuesday.
“When we're moving students, we want to move students to the best buildings and we want to make sure that they are in our best buildings,” McNamara said. “And we want to make sure they have all of the amenities that they need to be a successful student.”
While the district has submitted an initial list of school-based projects to the Department of Energy, McNamara said that could change as school closures and other changes to the district’s configuration are determined.
Partners on the $15 million initiative say the projects selected — at least for now — take a “whole-building approach.”
“We wanted to invest in everything related to the building — the comfort, the indoor air quality, the energy efficiency,” said Chris Cieslak, vice president of programs at Green Building Alliance.
McNamara said their strategy piggybacks on a climate change resolution PPS board members passed in June. The resolution, developed with student input, directs administrators to establish a sustainability policy.
It also lists ways the district can take action on climate change, including by developing a climate literacy curriculum; implementing climate-friendly food services that reduce food waste; encouraging vendors the district contracts with to adopt carbon mitigation practices; and supporting student climate leaders and youth-led climate justice initiatives.
“We're going to be the leaders in this type of work moving forward,” McNamara said.
