State to award $122M in air-quality grants
48 local school districts expected to benefit from funding; see if your town cashed in
Connecticut has awarded local school districts $122 million for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning upgrades, the state’s Department of Administrative Services announced Monday.
Norwalk received the most funding of any district — more than $21.5 million to be spent across six schools — followed by Montville ($15.5 million), Waterbury ($9.3 million), Thompson ($8.8 million) and Stamford ($6.8 million). Altogether, 48 districts received state money, funding more than 100 HVAC projects.
In a news release Monday, top lawmakers praised the HVAC grant program, as did several advocates and the superintendent of one district receiving funds.
“A healthy physical environment in a school is foundational to learning,” said Fran Rabinowitz, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents. “These grants promote healthy air for our students and staff. Although there is much more work to be done, we are all very appreciative of the continuing support that this funding provides.”
Thomas Anderson, superintendent of the East Hartford school system, said his district will use its $773,000 grant to construct a new ventilation system for 25 elementary school classrooms and replace rooftop HVAC units at the local high school.
“This is the type of facilities work that often goes unnoticed but is crucial to keeping our teaching and learning spaces safe and comfortable so our students and staff can do their best,” he said.
Per the terms of the grant program, funds may be used to replace, upgrade or repair HVAC systems or otherwise improve air quality in schools.
The new round of funding follows an initial round last year that was plagued by complaints from districts who felt they were unfairly denied and advocates who wanted to see the money distributed faster and more equitably. CT Insider reported last June that 80 of 130 project applications during the first round were not awarded funding — a data point lawmakers cited in a recently passed bonding bill — and that wealthy districts were more likely to receive grants than poorer ones.
That reporting sparked calls from lawmakers to accelerate the grant program and distribute more money to a wider range of towns.
This time, the state appears to have allocated somewhat more funds to low-income districts, with New Britain, Waterbury, New Haven, East Hartford and Meriden among the districts receiving money. In total, the state says 41 percent of the $122 million total went to “Alliance” districts (a category that includes 36 of the state’s lowest-performing school systems) and more than half went to districts below the state’s median wealth level.
Unlike last round, when the state awarded less than 40 percent of the money school districts applied for, this time they awarded nearly 90 percent of the $137 million requested.
As with many other grants, towns and cities are required to supplement the state HVAC grant money with local funds — a condition some low-income districts may struggle to meet.
Efforts by educators and some legislators to attract state money for airquality upgrades in schools has been slow since the pandemic began. Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration initially resisted such a program, saying districts should use federal pandemic-relief funds for infrastructure improvements, before ultimately agreeing to spend state COVID money on such projects. Legislators later approved routing other state money to the program as well.
With Monday’s announcement, DAS has committed to spending $178 million on HVAC improvements — about three-quarters of the $225 million available. Another $150 million is expected to become available for future grants. State lawmakers this year rerouted an additional $75 million that was earmarked for this grant to cover other state priorities.
Air quality in schools has drawn increased scrutiny since the pandemic, when some teachers reported feeling unsafe in school due to a lack of adequate ventilation. As of a 2021, a review conducted by the state found only 40 percent of school facilities for which responses were submitted had central air conditioning for their entire building and only 53 percent had HVAC or high efficiency boilers no older than their expected useful life.
Teachers unions in Connecticut have regularly cited air quality as a top concern and have asked the state to do more in that area. Kate Dias, president of the Connecticut Education Association, said in the DAS statement Monday that the new funding was “not a silver-bullet solution” but was welcome nonetheless.
“These grants are a step towards helping municipalities provide cleaner, healthier air in schools that need it the most, and that’s a breath of fresh air for all of us,” she said.