Carbon Free Healthy Schools - Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs

CARBON FREE HEALTHY SCHOOLS: BRIDGEPORT

Bridgeport

Energy costs are a significant expense for public school districts, second only to salaries. Energy cost savings can be reinvested in educational programs or facilities.

Bridgeport Public Schools spends about $5 million annually on energy, including electricity, natural gas, and heating oil.

Our community can:

A safe, healthy, productive future starts here and now!

The Carbon Free Healthy Schools Campaign (CFHS)

Who We Are

A coalition of concerned residents, activists and stakeholders who want to ensure Bridgeport’s children have safe and healthy educational environments that are clean, carbon free, and sustainable.

Vision

The CFHS Steering Committee envisions a community that invests in its youth and promotes equity by ensuring that public school buildings are low-carbon, modernized facilities that allow students to thrive personally and academically, and protect students’ futures.

Mission

The CFHS Steering Committee identifies pathways to an equitable Carbon Free & Healthy schools initiative including, but not limited to, deep retrofits for energy efficiency and solarization at all BPS district schools by 2030, and persuades decision-makers to execute these projects as part of Bridgeport’s transition to a modern, sustainable city.

Upcoming Events

The Bridgeport Carbon Free & Healthy Schools Steering Committee will formally launch its campaign at the 2022 Bridgeport School Volunteer Day. The Fairfield County Building Trades and other volunteers will work on campus improvements from 9:00 am-1:00 pm and a press event will follow at 11:00 am with Bridgeport’s Mayor Joe Ganim and Superintendent Mike Testani.

The Steering Committee is composed of stakeholders including school facilities staff, teachers’ union, staff union, administrators’ union, local building trades, community religious and nonprofit leaders, the district’s Parent Advocate, and the city sustainability coordinator, and the project has the full support of the Superintendent.

We will be calling on the Mayor, Board of Ed, and City Council to fully fund the initiative, which is initially focused on cost-saving renewable energy and energy efficiency retrofits, and will present a menu of funding options with a recommended course of action. More information about the initiative is available at https://ctclimateandjobs.org/carbon-free-healthy-schools/

Community Survey

If you cannot attend the aforementioned event, you can still voice your opinions about the conditions in Bridgeport public school facilities by filling out the community survey at the link below.

English Survey

Spanish Survey

Carbon Free Healthy Schools White House Event, April 4, 2022 Press Release

White House Toolkit for Addressing School Infrastructure Needs, April 4, 2022

Press

Contact aisha@ctclimateandjobs.org for media inquiries and promotional materials.

Press Release (English)

Press Release (Spanish)

Get Involved

Contact allison@ctclimateandjobs.org to join the CFHS steering committee and for additional information on the campaign.

WE ARE HIRING

Bridgeport Community Organizer

Position Summary

The Bridgeport Community Organizer for the CT Roundtable on Climate and Jobs (CRCJ) is a part-time (20 hrs/week) staff member who organizes and supports the Bridgeport community to drive a Carbon Free & Healthy Schools (CFHS) campaign. The CRCJ Bridgeport Organizer is a Bridgeport resident who works with the staff team to support the development and implementation of a strategic campaign to win political commitment to, and funding for, CFHS projects by engaging Bridgeport community members in advocating for their vision of the city and its school buildings.

Duties/Responsibilities

Identify and foster grassroots leadership for a Bridgeport Carbon Free & Healthy Schools campaign
Meet with community members and groups virtually or in-person
Plan and facilitate meetings of the CFHS Steering Committee, comprised of school district staff and union representatives, building trades representatives, and community leaders
Develop strategic communications materials to advertise and advance the goals of the CFHS steering committee
Represent the organization in a professional manner at all times

Required Skills/Abilities

Strong interpersonal and relational skills with a desire to do people-centered work
Excellent written and verbal communication skills for a wide variety of audiences
Extremely proficient with Microsoft Office Suite and G Suite
Excellent organizational skills, strong initiative, and attention to detail
Enjoys working in a small team with an ‘all hands on deck’ attitude
A commitment to addressing the historical and current impacts of racism, sexism, and other social injustices in building a diverse coalition

Education and Experience

High school diploma required; bachelor’s degree preferred
Two or more years of experience in community organizing required
Bridgeport resident and a deep familiarity with the Bridgeport community required
Proven record of successful issue-based organizing preferred
Background knowledge on climate change, environment, justice and equity issues, and/or organized labor, and an understanding of how these issues intersect
Demonstrated experience working effectively and collaboratively with a wide range of people and organizations
Values that align to our mission and platform

Salary: $25,000/yr

Send resume and cover letter describing your work history to michelle@ctclimateandjobs.org.

The Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs is an antiracist organization committed to providing equal opportunities to people regardless of their race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, or genetic information.

National Context for Carbon Free Health Schools

Public schools are the second largest element of our physical infrastructure, after transportation. There are approximately 100,000 public school buildings (K-12) in the US.
Our schools are crumbling: More than 50% of the buildings are at least 50 years old and need major renovations to deal with issues like leaking roofs, broken air-conditioning, mold or mildew issues, and poor air quality.
An estimated one-third of schools needed HVAC system updates.
Schools emit as much CO2 as 18 coal-fired power plants and use approximately $8 billion in energy every year.
Investing in energy efficiency measures for schools could cut costs by up to 30% or $2 billion per year.
Right now, only 5.5% of all public and private K-12 schools have solar power.

Health, Safety, and Equity Impacts

Poor air quality impacts performance. Students—disproportionately young people of color—miss approximately 14 million school days per year due to asthma caused by polluted air.

Success Stories

There are currently 91 K-12 schools spread across 20 states plus DC that are either verified or emerging as net-zero buildings.
Connecticut’s first net-zero schools will be in Mansfield and Manchester.

Sources:

For more information: allison@ctclimateandjobs.org

Impact of a Bridgeport Carbon Free Healthy School District

Explore how the entire Bridgeport School District or specific areas would be impacted by the development of Carbon Free Healthy Schools using The Data Dashbord.

*Calculations and analysis utilized 2013 Bridgeport School Facilities Surveys and data from the New Buildings Institute 2021 Report “Why K-12 Should Feature in America’s National Climate Strategy”. Data and Analysis were performed by Avalon Hoek Spaans and James Granata of Cornell University. For more information please email Avalon Hoek Spaans, Research and Policy Extension Associate of Cornell University. https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/worker-institute/labor-leading-climate