PGCPS says climate plan is largely underway; district cites $10–15M in grants, expands electric buses and solar

Prince George’s County Public Schools officials told the Board of Education on April 16 that the district has made substantial progress implementing its Climate Change Action Plan, highlighting grant-funded projects, energy-efficiency measures and an expanding electric bus program.

Dorothy Morrison, director of the Department of Sustainability and Resilience, said the district has ‘‘touched on about 48 of the 58 action items, so roughly about 83% of them,’’ and described quarterly implementation reporting and performance indicators embedded in the district’s strategic plan. Morrison said the department has secured ‘‘capital for projects in the neighborhood of about 10 to 15,000,000 dollars in grants’’ over the past two and a half years to support the work.

Morrison and program managers described a portfolio of facility and transportation projects the district says will lower operating costs and greenhouse-gas emissions. Program manager Sheila Stevens described more than 260 energy-efficiency projects that have produced ‘‘over 10,000,000 in rebates’’ and a virtual commissioning pilot for 30 schools that is on track to generate roughly $600,000 in annual savings. Stevens said investments such as geothermal systems can yield long-term returns: ‘‘Over a 20 year building life cycle, Ellen Ochoa alone will return over 3,300,000 to the district with, of course, the assumption of proper management of scheduling protocols.’’

On renewables, staff reported five schools with energized solar installations and seven rooftop projects pending energization; the district is also pursuing a power purchase agreement to buy up to 2.5 megawatts of community solar. Stevens said the district plans to issue an RFP to create a bench of four to six on-call solar vendors to accelerate future installations.

Transportation electrification was a focal point. Stevens said an audit removed approximately 3,000 unnecessary bus stops and that the district ‘‘currently have[s] 21 electric buses in our inventory, with 8 more to be purchased in the near future.’’ She described an RFP in process for charging infrastructure at Crossland and Greenbelt bus lots and cited a $1,600,000 grant from the Maryland Energy Administration to develop chargers capable of serving 16 buses per site. The district has secured ‘‘over $6,800,000 in grant funding specifically for our electric school bus program,’’ Stevens added.

Presenters also described food- and land-management priorities. Christina Garcia Starling highlighted farm-to-school partnerships and taste-testing pilots she said produced ‘‘over 80% favorability’’ for certain menu items. She reported that the district’s composting program has diverted about 1,600,000 pounds of waste this year and outlined a ‘‘Sustainable green spaces for community benefit’’ initiative for school-based gardens and outdoor classrooms. Garcia Starling noted a stormwater-diversion project at Colin Powell Academy that moved ‘‘1,100,000 gallons of stormwater runoff’’ to reduce local flooding.

Board members praised the department’s national recognition; several referenced a recent National School Boards Association prize. Members also asked staff how implementation progress will be displayed publicly. Morrison said reports and dashboards are posted on the district website and that the department is working with consultants to improve outreach and marketing. When a board member noted composting tonnage was lower for the current year, staff said that partial-year data, contracting issues and an intentional long-term goal to reduce waste (by increasing consumption of served food) explain the fluctuation.

The presentation concluded with board members pressing for continued dialogue on operational constraints and fiscal realities that affect implementation. No formal action or vote was taken during the session; the presentation moved to the communications briefing that followed.