Biden administration awards $178M for health, safety and energy costs at K-12 public schools nationwide
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected 24 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) this week to split $178 million as part of a first round award for energy improvements in K-12 public schools.
“The future of America goes through the schoolhouse door. There’s nothing more critical than investing in the health and education of our nation’s kids,” Mitch Landrieu, senior advisor to the president and White House Infrastructure Coordinator, said. “Because of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, 74,000 children will reap the benefits of schools that are more comfortable, energy efficient, and safe.”
The money flowed from the Renew America’s Schools grant program. The Biden administration labeled schools a focus for infrastructure updates due to comprising the second-largest infrastructure sector after transportation. Currently, the DOE estimates that over half of LEAs need to either update or replace multiple systems at their facilities. In addition to students, around 5,000 teachers in 22 states stand to benefit.
Breaking awardees down showed that 78 percent of applicants sought improvements for HVAC systems, 55 percent sought lighting updates, 41 percent wanted building controls and 30 percent hoped for improvements to the building envelope. LEAs from 48 states and two territories applied for nearly $5.5 billion in requests, of which only a fraction was granted. Even that was more than double the initial funding allocation, when DOE had offered $80 million in first round funding.
