Columbus City Schools mull ‘green’ school policy to fix financial troubles

Columbus City Schools Board of Education announced it could save jobs and programs by replacing gas-powered equipment with electric equipment, adopting zero-emission vehicles, and using renewable energy.

WOSU reported that school board members are expected to vote on a policy at the Tuesday meeting.

Safe Green Schools, which introduced a policy that could be implemented in Columbus City Schools, aims to make Columbus schools carbon-neutral by 2050 and proposes a detailed plan in its document, calling on Superintendent Angela Chapman’s office to appoint a person to ensure this happens.

The news source reported that school board members allegedly were already committed to that goal in February.

“What we are trying to do is basically get the district to be able to save money to make the schools safer and to also help the environment,” Tasha Jones, a fellow with Safe Green Schools, told WOSU.

If the school board members support the policy, the district would be required to install electric equipment – such as HVAC systems, water heaters, and cooking equipment – in new buildings and during renovations, to get rid of gas-burning equipment by 2045, and purchase or lease zero-emission vehicles so that the school would be using only electric cars by 2035.

According to the plan, all school buildings would be powered in the future by fully renewable energy, such as solar.

The board previously voted to cut more than $50.4 million from the district’s budget by closing four schools and firing school employees.

“We know that we are talking about jobs, we are talking about the livelihood of our employees, we are talking about reducing supports to our schools at a time when we know our students need more,” Chapman said. “Post-pandemic, our students are coming to us with more needs, more mental health needs, and so we take these decisions very heavily, and they weigh on us.”

The official also said there will be further cuts if Ohio lawmakers don’t provide additional funding to schools.

“This is round one of the cuts. Will we have to come back next year with more cuts and more cuts and more cuts to truly make sure that our revenue keeps up with our expenditures?” Chapman said.

The Franklin County auditor also recently wrote in the 2025 Tax Incentive Review Council Report that the school district lost more than $84 million due to tax breaks granted to developers.