Across New York, our public schools share a common problem hiding in plain sight: they are old. Very old.
The average school building in New York is decades past the point it was designed to last. Many were built in the 1950s through the 1970s, before modern energy standards existed, before climate change reshaped our weather, before today’s technology was part of learning, and before schools were asked to serve as hubs for entire communities.
If we’re serious about student health, academic success, and meeting New York’s clean-energy goals, we need a statewide investment that matches the scope of the challenge. A Carbon Free and Healthy Schools Bond Act is that investment.
According to state facilities data, the average school building in New York was already more than 50 years old as of 2005.
National data tells a similar story. The average U.S. instructional school building is now 49 years old, with nearly 40 percent built before 1970.
Buildings this old simply weren’t designed for today’s needs. They can’t easily handle the electrical loads required for solar power, clean-energy systems, or modern air filtration. We’re asking mid-20th-century facilities to meet 21st-century climate and learning demands — and that won’t work without major capital investment.
Clean air, stable temperatures, and reliable heating and cooling aren’t luxuries. They’re basic conditions for learning.
A Carbon Free and Healthy Schools Bond Act would allow districts to make the long-term upgrades students and educators desperately need: modern ventilation, healthier indoor air, updated heating and cooling systems, new electrical infrastructure, solar power installations, and the facilities required for electric school buses.
Solar, in particular, is powerful. Schools are among the most effective sites in New York for solar energy generation. These projects can dramatically reduce operating costs and free up local funds for classrooms, student services, and academic support.
Our public colleges face the same challenges.
SUNY’s 2,800 buildings carry a deferred maintenance backlog of roughly ten billion dollars — and that gap is growing by hundreds of millions of dollars every year. Including SUNY and CUNY in a statewide bond act recognizes a simple truth: climate leadership and educational excellence go hand in hand. We can’t prepare the workforce of tomorrow in buildings designed for the last century.
School districts and colleges want to modernize their buildings, cut energy use, and install solar. But they can’t shoulder these costs alone. Many also lack access to the engineering, planning, and technical expertise needed for comprehensive decarbonization.
A Carbon Free and Healthy Schools Bond Act would provide capital funding, grants, and technical assistance — ensuring that high-need, rural, and small communities benefit just as much as wealthier ones.
And every clean-energy upgrade is also a jobs project.
Solar installations, building retrofits, and bus-charging infrastructure create thousands of good, local union jobs — strengthening apprenticeship pathways and boosting local economies across the state.
Funding the transition to electric school buses is especially urgent. New York’s mandate for 100 percent zero-emission buses by 2035 was bold and necessary, but the upfront costs are significant. A bond act would help districts purchase buses, build charging infrastructure, integrate solar-powered depots, and lower long-term transportation costs.
This is about climate — but it’s also about the air children breathe every morning and afternoon at the curb outside their schools.
A Carbon Free and Healthy Schools Bond Act is more than a climate measure. It’s an education reform. A public-health strategy. An equity commitment. And a statewide jobs program.
Our students deserve schools and colleges built for their future.
It’s time for New York to pass a Carbon Free and Healthy Schools Bond Act and ensure that every student — from kindergarten through college — has a safe, modern, and sustainable place to learn.
Melinda Person is president of the nearly 700,000-member New York State United Teachers.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.
