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 June 2024 as energy conservation and sustainability program manager, described programs already under way. She said the district has partnered with Truckee Donner Public Utility District and Liberty Utilities on energy audits, implemented three-stream food-waste collection at Truckee High and a reusables pilot at North Tahoe High, and supported the deployment of four electric school buses funded by state grants. She also reported a district effort to rehome surplus furniture that saved more than 500 items from landfill and an estimated $60,000 in replacement costs.

On the GHG inventory, Mertens said the district contracted with the Sierra Business Council to produce a 2024-calendar-year baseline that will include building and facilities emissions (scope 1 and 2), solid waste, fleet and vehicle emissions, water and wastewater, and employee commute emissions. "We're looking to complete our GHG inventory in the fall of 2025," she said, adding that the inventory will inform a sustainability action plan and metrics the district can publish for the public and for classroom learning.

Board members praised the student presenters and the sustainability work. Assistant Superintendent and Chief Business Officer Todd Rivera and other trustees said they expect the inventory and subsequent action plan to return to the board for review and community engagement once the inventory is complete.

Community members also urged the board to advocate at the federal level to preserve tax incentives that benefit local clean-energy projects. Deirdre Henderson, co-lead of the North Tahoe chapter of Citizens— Climate Lobby and a mentor to the Tahoe Youth Action Team, told the board the district could receive about $189,000 in direct-pay tax benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act for qualifying projects and asked trustees to contact U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley about preserving those incentives.

Votes at a glance: - Resolution: Declaring April 22, 2025, School Bus Driver Day. Approved unanimously. (motion moved and seconded; roll call not specified; verbal vote: three ayes.) - Grant acceptance: Tahoe Mountain Resorts Foundation, $5,000 for the Sage Hen Outdoor Education Program. Approved unanimously. - Grant acceptance: Excellence in Education Foundation, $39,575.25 for bunk-bed mattresses for the Tahoe Lab and Outdoor School. Approved unanimously. - Contract approval: Rex Moore Group, $53,762 for Truckee High School fire alarm panel upgrade (EST 4). Approved unanimously. - Contract approval / bid package: Mountain Electrical Construction, $125,600 for Donner Trail Elementary kitchen upgrades (state kitchen infrastructure funds). Approved unanimously. - Consent agenda: Approved unanimously.

The meeting record shows the board will expect staff to return with the completed GHG inventory and a recommended sustainability action plan that includes measurable targets and a community engagement process. Mertens said the plan will aim to align with the district—s triple-bottom-line priorities: student outcomes, environmental protection, and fiscal stewardship. The district also plans to explore reviving public energy dashboards and to identify near-term, low-cost measures such as lighting retrofits.

The students who presented said they revised the draft resolution after input from board members and staff to make specific metrics and implementation steps staff-led and the resolution a "living document" that can be updated as technology and resources change. "We wanted this document to be a truly living document, so that we are able to keep up with changes in technology and resources in order to better protect our future," said Lillian Schneck, a senior at Truckee High School and member of the Tahoe Youth Action Team.

Erica Mertens and others said the inventory is data-intensive and will consider utility bills, equipment usage hours and employee commute patterns. The district contracted Sierra Business Council to perform the inventory and expects to use the results to prioritize projects that reduce emissions and save operating costs.

The board meeting included other items unrelated to climate policy, including recognition of school bus drivers, several grants accepted for outdoor education, and construction and facilities contracts approved as part of regular business. The board did not vote on the student climate resolution at the April 23 meeting; members said the policy process will continue outside the public-comment period and through formal board processes.

Ending: The board asked staff to return with the full inventory and a proposed action plan later this year; students and community advocates said they would continue engagement with the district until the resolution moves through the board process.