School districts are now able to apply for a share of the $150 million in funding set aside by Governor Ned Lamont and state legislators last spring to upgrade, repair, or replace HVAC systems.
Grant applications from school districts are being accepted and must be submitted to the state by December 1, 2022. Municipalities will be required to provide matching grants to fund the project costs.
“Teachers, we heard you. Students, we heard you. And parents, we heard you,” Senator Saud Anwar, a pulmonologist, said at a news conference at Philip Smith Elementary School in South Windsor announcing the grants this morning.
Last legislative session, a coalition that included CEA as well as parents, educators, labor unions, contractors, trade workers, public employees, environmental groups, and healthcare workers came together around the urgent need to address indoor air quality in schools, and the HVAC grant program was developed out of their conversations with lawmakers.
Speaking at the news conference this morning, CEA President Kate Dias said that the funding is an important step toward addressing indoor air quality issues.
“Creating environments that are really conducive to learning—it’s about temperature, it’s about air quality, it’s about investing in not just the children but also the adults and making sure that our schools are places where people want to work. We are facing a teacher shortage, and these types of investments demonstrate that we care about educators and we care about education and this is a great place to come work and thrive.”
“One thing the COVID-19 pandemic showed is that many school buildings in our state, particularly those that are of a certain age, are in serious need of air quality improvements,” Governor Lamont said. “Modernized ventilation systems provide an important public health function that filtrate the air and reduce airborne contaminants, including particles containing viruses.”
The Department of Administrative Services (DAS) is administering the HVAC grants. DAS Deputy Commissioner Noel Petra said that, since the beginning of the pandemic, his office has heard from many school districts wanting to know what support is available to help them improve their HVAC systems. DAS plans to use the initial data from this grant program to determine the scope of the need in schools.
Dias encouraged teachers to talk to their superintendents and urged any districts with air quality issues to apply for a grant. “In order for the state to address the issue, I urge every district with a need to apply so that policymakers have an accurate picture of the extent of the problem.”
She continued, “I’m excited to see what our districts are able to accomplish with these funds, and I look forward to visiting the schools that will benefit from this program.”
She added that there’s more work to be done, and a task force created by the legislature will be convening soon to further address air quality issues in schools. “We really want to take this all the way to the finish line and look at our buildings as state of the art and as exceptional as the students and teachers that are in them.”
Learn more about the new HVAC Indoor Air Quality Grants and how your district can apply.
