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Vermont Energy Education Program asks Legislature to help restore stable funding as school and community demand grows
Summary
Leaders of the Vermont Energy Education Program told the Senate committee that decreased contract funding from Efficiency Vermont and the loss of federal education grants have reduced their operating support; the nonprofit seeks creative options to fund K–12 and community climate and energy education.
Andy Shapiro, a longtime educator and energy consultant, and Sofia (Sophie) Donforth, executive director of the Vermont Energy Education Program (VEEP), told the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee on March 19 that their nonprofit’s school and community programming has expanded while traditional funding sources have contracted.
Shapiro described VEEP’s hands-on curriculum for K–12 students: classroom kits and demonstrations that show how electricity, wind and solar generation work; a model electric grid used for classroom exercises; and the Youth Climate Leadership Academy, a weekend program that coaches students on projects and civic action. He said the nonprofit now operates on roughly a $500,000 annual budget, with about $100,000 allocated to New Hampshire work, and that fees from schools last year amounted to about $40,000 — a small portion of overall revenue. Donforth confirmed Efficiency Vermont funding has declined from about $250,000 in prior years to roughly $100,000 today and that federal education grants that previously supported this work have been absent for multiple years.
Both witnesses said these programs help prepare students and adult community members to understand energy choices and to take action — from weatherization to solar arrays for schools. VEEP has also begun piloting community workshops targeted at households with high energy burden and has formed partnerships with installers and weatherization providers to create pathways from education to action.
Shapiro and Donforth asked the committee for help generating “creative” funding solutions. Suggestions raised in the hearing included requiring an education component in certain energy contracting processes or encouraging Efficiency Vermont to restore prior levels of education funding. Committee members responded positively and asked follow-up questions about budgets, outreach to higher-burden communities, and VEEP’s willingness to waive school fees when districts cannot pay.
Why it matters
Witnesses argued that energy and climate education strengthens the success of energy-efficiency, weatherization and electrification programs because people who understand options and tradeoffs are more likely to take action. With demand from schools and communities growing, and with public funding reduced, VEEP said state-level attention and creative contracting could help preserve and scale the program.
Ending
Committee members thanked the witnesses, accepted offer of educational posters and materials, and asked staff to follow up about potential funding and contracting approaches.
