A progressive climate action plan led by students — including setting goals for cutting emissions and using clean energy — moved forward Tuesday night when the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board voted to fund the next step.
In a 4-1 vote, the board voted to spend about $250,000 to hire the Cumming Group as a consultant. Over 18 months, the group will lay out a strategy for Southern Arizona’s largest district with about 42,000 students. Last October, the board voted 3-2 to adopt the climate plan, one of the most innovative in the country.
“They committed real money to create a concrete, tangible plan to implement its ambitious goals, and are keeping the momentum going for local climate action,” said Ojas Sanghi, 20, and the co-lead of the Arizona Youth Climate Coalition. “This is further proof that youth voices matter and that when we work together in an intergenerational fashion, we can enact systems-level change and drive real decarbonization.”
The plan was crafted by students ages 13-20 and core issues include cutting emissions in half by 2030, to reach net-zero emissions by 2040; offering a comprehensive climate curriculum in grades K-12; 100% clean energy by 2035; electric buses by 2040; an extreme heat preparedness plan and examining water use.
Cost was the issue for board member Val Romero who voted against the plan both times.
“I don’t have a problem with the consultant,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting. “I have a problem with where the money’s coming from.”
The projected 30-year plan was estimated to cost $900 million last fall, though Sanghi, told Arizona Luminaria that number will change. Funding will come from various sources, including Proposition 496, which passed in November 2023 and grants from the Inflation Reduction Act, he added. The plan could eventually save TUSD about $4.7 million a year when fully implemented, district Energy Project Manager Tina Cook said last fall.
Governing Board President Jennifer Eckstrom had a big-picture view on Tuesday.
“This is going to save us money in the long run and we have to look at our future,” she said.
TUSD’s progressive move is in line with the Los Angeles Unified School District — the second-largest in the country — which passed a plan in 2019 and Portland Public Schools’ aggressive policy, passed in 2022, which charges the district to achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2040.
On the radar: Prop. 123 about to expire
Crash course: In 2016, voters narrowly passed Proposition 123, using state land trust money to fund K-12 education by $3.5 billion over 10 years. Prop. 123 expires on June 30 and state lawmakers are scrambling to renew it. Proposed proposition language should become clear on May 20 when the legislature returns from recess. Some Republicans want those funds to increase classroom teacher pay only and have tacked on enshrining school vouchers into the Arizona Constitution. Democrats are opposed to including any school voucher language and want to expand the pay increase to include support staff, said Rep. Nancy Gutierrez, a Democrat who represents Southern Arizona.
Why it matters: “If we don’t renew it, that $280 million (per year) has to come from the general fund for public schools. It could go for so many other things … Especially looking at a possible recession and possible federal government cuts, we don’t have a dime to waste in Arizona,” Gutierrez told Arizona Luminaria.
Use your voice: Find your state legislator and let them know what you think before July 1. Cool breakdown of the issue here.
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The Tucson Family Food Project will move into the former Rogers Elementary School, near Park Place Mall at 6000 E. 14th St., aiming to expand its reach from 250 students across five schools.
The nonprofit will lease two buildings at the Rogers site, which also houses Sky Islands High School, after a unanimous vote by the TUSD board Tuesday night.
The Tucson Family Food Project provides meal kits to students in five schools (two in TUSD). Students cook family meals at home with a recipe and a YouTube-guided demo from Tucson native and food project founder Steven Cota-Robles.
“We want to use this program as a model all around the country,” Cota-Robles said, adding down the road he wants to use the school land as a regenerative farm. “We can feed kids, grow food and fight climate change all at the same time.”
The food project will have a two-year lease and will pay about $22,400 a year for kitchen, office and video space.
Signing day record at Sunnyside
Sunnyside High School set a school record earlier this month when 22 athletes signed letters of intent to play college sports next fall, earning a total of $4.5 million in college-scholarship offers.
“The numbers are incredible and shows our resilience from Covid,” said Sunnyside athletic director Casey O’Brien.
The athletes will play at every level: junior college to Division I sports. The three athletes who signed D-I are wrestlers Sergio Vega (Oklahoma State) and Carlos Stanton (deciding between Northern Colorado and Oregon State.) Tatyana Vega signed to play softball at UTEP.
About 675 students play sports at Sunnyside, which offers 24 sports. In 2021, participation was down 25% because of the pandemic, O’Brien said. The school has about 2,200 students.
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⛪ The Vail School District and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints will not be neighbors after Vail terminated a contract to build a 1,300-square foot seminary on the Cienega High School campus.
🐶 A group of Miles Early Learning Center students proposed renaming their school and Sam Hughes Elementary to the governing board. Their research projects reexamined history and prompted them to honor the schools’ culture and people who helped others.
🎓 A 14-year-old from Peoria who graduated from Arizona State University this week, is headed to law school and aims to become a human rights lawyer.
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