The MSBA’s Accelerated Repair Program paints schools into a fossil-fuel corner
Since 2004, the Massachusetts School Building Authority has played a central role in improving the quality of school buildings in Massachusetts with over $16 billion in sales tax revenue sent to communities as grants. After almost two decades in operation, the context for school buildings has shifted. Our rapidly warming climate is making it too hot to learn in unconditioned classrooms. A state law requires us to radically reduce carbon emissions from buildings. The COVID pandemic laid bare our lack of investment in modern ventilation systems.
The MSBA has an opportunity and an obligation to help communities address these challenges. A place to start is the MSBA’s Accelerated Repair Program.
The problem
When school HVAC systems reach their end of life, communities often turn to the MSBA’s Accelerated Repair Program. While the program is currently “on pause”, it has provided millions to support the installation of new HVAC systems in Massachusetts public schools. But here’s the catch: The program was only designed to fund new gas boilers. This paints schools – especially those in low-wealth communities – into a fossil-fuel corner.
What it looks like on the ground
Like many cities and towns across the state, Lowell’s schools have aging HVAC systems. The city was recently awarded funding from the MSBA’s Accelerated Repair Program to install new gas boilers. With an expected lifespan of 25 years, these new boilers will produce carbon emissions and contribute to air pollution until at least 2048. They are also expected to saddle Lowell taxpayers with high energy bills and a stranded asset in the making. Lowell leaders can either accept the funding for the new boilers or turn down much-needed funding for HVAC upgrades in their schools.
Lowell residents and the City Council are understandably concerned about this predicament. At a recent meeting, the Lowell City Council instructed their City Manager to send a letter to the MSBA and their state legislative delegation requesting “an update to all MSBA programs to include and prioritize non-fossil fuel options to help and encourage municipalities to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.”
Meanwhile, nearby Andover is pursuing electrification of Sanborn Elementary. Their plan involves retiring steam boilers and moving to ground-source heat pumps. Andover is likely to rely on its larger tax base to fund this work since the MSBA provides no financial support for school building electrification efforts of this kind. If the project moves forward, Sanborn Elementary will have clean heating and cooling powered by low-cost, clean solar energy.
There is a pattern repeating itself across the state: Wealthier communities like Belmont and Acton-Boxborough are successfully moving toward all-electric schools with the support of their affluent community, while lower-wealth communities are effectively being forced to double-down on burning fossil fuels in schools for heat because they rely so heavily on the MSBA for funding. A state committed to environmental justice must act intentionally and urgently to ensure that all communities have access to green and healthy schools.
The solution
The MSBA should redesign its Accelerated Repair Program to assist communities in moving to modern, healthier, more efficient, fossil-fuel-free HVAC systems in school buildings. This would include the mechanical ventilation and filtration systems that safeguard indoor air.
The MSBA would then be aligned with Mass Save which provides substantial incentives for heat pumps in schools and the federal government which will now defray over 30% of the cost of a new ground-source heat pump. Timely action is important. If over the next decade we install ground-source heat pumps in 300 schools, the state would unlock an estimated $1 billion in federal funding. We can’t afford to leave these federal funds on the table.
The switch to heat pumps often requires additional upgrades to the building envelope so districts need a holistic plan. The MSBA should require districts to create Decarbonization Roadmaps (which can be funded through Green Communities or the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program). These roadmaps lay out cost-effective paths for “getting to zero over time”. The MSBA could then fund projects that advance districts along those roadmaps. Arlington’s Air Quality and Electrification Master Plan is a model effort that should be replicated.
The MSBA should ensure that funding disproportionately goes to environmental justice and low-wealth communities. As we invest in transitioning our buildings off fossil fuels, we have an opportunity to address long-standing inequities in our school buildings that undermine equal access to a high-quality education. In order to direct funding to the buildings and communities with the highest need, the MSBA should work urgently to comply with Sessions Act 2022, Chapter 179, Section 83 which requires the agency collect data about energy and health in our schools.
With the Accelerated Repair Program “on pause”, now is the time for a change. What changes in the program would better serve your community? Share your thoughts and weigh in on others’ ideas here.
