Students press district to adopt revised climate resolution as sustainability manager outlines greenhouse gas inventory

Dozens of students and community members urged the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District Board of Trustees on April 23 to adopt a revised climate resolution drafted by the Tahoe Youth Action Team, while the district—s newly hired energy conservation and sustainability program manager, Erica Mertens, outlined progress on sustainability programs and said a districtwide greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory will be finished in fall 2025.

The comments, made during the public-comment portion of the open, regular meeting, were led by Isaac Medina, a senior at Truckee High School, and other members of the Tahoe Youth Action Team. "We would like to thank you for the creation of the sustainability manager role, and for hiring Erica Mertens," Medina said, and members described changes made to the students— draft to align it with district resources and state standards.

The district did not take formal action on the student resolution at the meeting. Board members and staff said the board—s role during public comment is to listen and that the policy process would continue outside the meeting room.

Nut graf: The public presentation highlighted two parallel tracks: grassroots advocacy for a formal board resolution establishing district climate goals, and staff-led operational work to measure and reduce the district—s emissions. Together they describe the next steps for the district—s sustainability efforts: adoption or formal consideration of policy by the board and development of a data-driven action plan guided by the upcoming GHG inventory.

Mertens, who joined the district in…