WEST WARWICK – An additional $10 million in federal funding will be provided to finance Rhode Island’s Public School Energy Equity Program to be used to make infrastructure improvements to learning environments within school districts around the state.
Gov. Daniel J. McKee, along with Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and the R.I. Office of Energy Resources announced the additional funding on Friday at a ceremony at West Warwick High School, which brings the total program budget up to $20 million.The previous $10 million came from a prior funding from the greenhouse gas initiative, McKee said.
Half of the new funding will be from the U.S. Department of Energy, McKee said, and the other half from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
The program, McKee says, looks to provide schools financial and technical assistance by developing and implementing energy efficiency projects in order to obtain cost savings and improve learning environments. Also, the funding will allow districts to upgrade HVAC systems, install heat-pump water heaters and upgrade controlled lighting. The program’s goal is to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are consistent with the state’s 2021 Act on Climate, McKee said.
“This program is important because it gives our students and teachers access to learning environments that have better climate control, improved ventilation and adequate lighting,” McKee said in a statement. “Studies show that more comfortable classrooms lead to higher test scores. Furthermore, these improvements create safer conditions for our students and teachers.”
The school districts eligible for the funding corresponds with communities within the R.I. Department of Education’s Facility Equity Initiative. Those communities are Central Falls, Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, West Warwick, East Providence, North Providence, Cranston, Coventry and Burrillville, McKee said.
Interested districts looking to apply for the funding can do so on RIOER’s website.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
