Boise school board made a commitment to clean energy. Students say it’s not enough
Boise high school students plan to continue to push for the district to commit to 100% clean energy by 2040, after they say a clean energy commitment lacked tangible goals and didn’t garner enough input.
The Boise School District board earlier this month approved a collective commitment on clean energy that laid out a number of steps the district would take to create “healthier, more environmentally sustainable schools.” The commitment was passed unanimously by trustees.
But students who have been fighting for a clean energy resolution said they wished trustees had put forth a clearer timeline and had listened more to student voices.
The commitment that passed stopped short of pledging to accomplish key elements students had been asking for: achieving clean electricity by 2030 and clean energy by 2040.
“We’ve been waiting, waiting patiently for two years for some action to happen,” said Sneha Sharma, a member of the Idaho Climate Justice League, a group of youth run out of the Idaho Chapter Sierra Club. “We’re really grateful for what they’re doing. It’s just that we know they can do more.”
Sharma, a 16-year-old senior at Timberline High School, said having deadlines would help hold the district accountable and prompt officials to take action to achieve those goals.
Board President Dave Wagers said he appreciates that so many students have been involved in the effort and all of the passion they bring. But he said the board wants to have more time to collect data and develop more comprehensive plans.
“It’s a priority for us to make sure this happens,” Wagers told the Statesman. “But we want to do it right. … I have a problem just jumping into something we don’t know the repercussions behind. And we will be thoughtful and we will do it right.”
What is in Boise School District’s clean energy commitment?
The proposal passed included seven points. None of them have specific deadlines.
The steps included replacing current equipment with more energy-efficient equipment. Another step outlines plans to incorporate climate science and sustainability education into the district’s curriculum.
Board members also committed to studying how to transition from diesel buses to low energy use vehicles, making sure new school buildings have solar capability, and including “cost-effective, renewable energy, and sustainability as priorities in its long-term plan for construction or renovation projects.”
The last two steps had to do with creating a more solidified plan. The board committed to developing a strategy and timetable for other energy efficiency and renewable energy projects and to working with the district’s sustainability committee, a group tasked with putting together a long-term clean energy plan.
Chris Taylor, science, social studies and health supervisor for the Boise School District who presented the plan to the board, also talked about a loose timeline to move some of the steps forward.
The district’s sustainability committee — which includes community members, students, energy experts and district staff — plans to collect data on all of its buildings using an energy model, conduct baseline assessments and “discover areas to save money and prepare the district for 100% clean energy,” according to the presentation.
Early next year, a subcommittee on the sustainability committee will start to create a long-term action plan to meet a clean energy commitment. In the spring, the subcommittee will present its plan to the entire committee. That plan will then be presented to the board by fall 2022, according to the presentation.
“Again, I believe if we have the data first, and those steps in place, then we can come and say, by 2035, whatever that looks like, we can have this clean energy,” Taylor said.
Trustees said they appreciate that the district was committed to using data to informing its approach moving forward.
Students say board wanted to ‘appease’ students
Students said they wanted trustees to commit to a more aggressive timeline and to be less vague with the resolution they passed.
“(It’s) really frustrating, because we deserve to have board members and teachers who care about our future,” said Shiva Rajbhandari, 17, a Climate Justice League member and Boise High School junior. “Let’s elect leaders who really do care about the students, and our future and our planet.”
Dozens of students sent in written public comment and signed a petition ahead of the Nov. 8 board meeting, when trustees passed the resolution. Students urged the school board to consider how climate change could impact Idaho and the world if they don’t take immediate action.
“We asked for time-bound commitments for clean electricity and clean energy,” a letter signed by more than 40 members of the Idaho Climate Justice League said. “This document neglects to even mention a 100% clean energy goal, much less establish dates to achieve such a target.”
The students said they also wanted a six-month period to adopt a climate action roadmap and an inherent obligation written in that the district would act on its commitments.
“Based on the vague commitments established in this document, it seems that the Boise school board is attempting to appease students’ concerns without actually taking collective climate action,” the letter said.
The petition, signed by more than 700 students, teachers, parents and community members, urged the district to transition to 100% clean energy in Boise schools, among a number of other goals. The petition also said taking these steps would be cost-efficient and could save the district millions per year.
In their written public comment, students talked about seeing firsthand the impacts of climate change and having no choice but to take action themselves. They pointed to heat waves, unhealthy air quality and droughts.
“As a student body that is painfully aware of the necessity for change, we would like to see the school district continue to drastically reduce their energy footprint,” said the petition, which students submitted to the board on Nov. 8.
Students also said they felt left out of the process of drafting the commitment. They compared their experience to students in other districts across the country who had gotten their school boards to pass clean energy commitments more quickly.
They pointed to the Salt Lake City school board, which adopted a proposal that included specific deadlines in June 2020. A student who worked to get the school board in Salt Lake City to adopt the resolution also submitted a written public comment, saying the district’s schools have started to transition to a “sustainable future, and have already saved thousands of dollars.”
In Boise, the efforts were delayed partly due to the pandemic. Students had held meetings and started working toward a green resolution shortly before a rise in COVID-19 cases shut down schools and shifted the board’s focus.
The commitment that passed was a good first step, students said, and they plan to continue to work with the board and within the sustainability committee to get the district to be more aggressive going forward.
“We’re disappointed that not everything that we wanted happened,” said Jack Vuturo, a junior at Boise High. “But we’re still working.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2021 at 2:23 PM.
