Johnson Controls, the pioneer for smart, healthy, and sustainable buildings, advises that most of the U.S. Department of Education’s $189 billion set aside to accelerate post-pandemic recovery including enabling usage for school infrastructure upgrades remain unspent.
To help, Johnson Controls is offering to advise schools throughout the U.S. on how best to take advantage of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds before they expire in 2024.
Healthy and efficient learning environments
“We urge school leaders to claim these unspent federal funds to transform their buildings into healthy, productive, and efficient learning environments,” said Nate Manning, president, of Building Solutions North America, Johnson Controls.
“Upgrading older, inefficient school infrastructure pays for itself through energy and operational savings, leads to better student outcomes, and reduces climate change emissions. It’s a win-win-win situation.”
The virtual, one-hour discussion
Moderated by Johnson Controls’ K-12 leadership, the discussion will be focused on “The ABCs of ESSER"
To help support schools in using the available funds, Johnson Controls is leading a virtual, one-hour discussion for K-12 school leaders on June 16. Moderated by Johnson Controls’ K-12 leadership, the discussion will be focused on “The ABCs of ESSER: How to Make the Most of Relief Funds Before They Expire”.
A representative from AASA will join, as well as administrators from two schools who have leveraged eligible funds for improving their school infrastructure focused on creating a safe, productive and efficient learning environment.
Waukegan Public Schools
Wanting to address deferred maintenance issues throughout their facilities, Waukegan School District leaders implemented a $10M project, funded by the district’s existing budget and $7M in ESSER funds. The project includes the installation of advanced ventilation, filtration, and building controls.
Dublin City Schools
Dublin City Schools used ESSER funds to address student health and wellness by implementing advanced access controls and camera systems to create a fully integrated security and contact tracing system.
Saves energy and operational costs
Each dollar these schools have saved in energy and operational costs is a dollar redirected back into the schools’ priorities"
“Dublin and Waukegan are just a small percentage of the school districts around the country that have tapped into the federal funds available to make critical building technology upgrades to support a better learning environment,” said Manning.
“What’s more, each dollar these schools have saved in energy and operational costs is a dollar redirected back into the schools’ priorities.”
ESSER
ESSER is a federal funding program administered by the Department of Education as a part of COVID-19 relief legislation.
From keeping schools open to investing in infrastructure, this fund provides emergency financial assistance to school districts across the country to meet a variety of needs stemming from the pandemic.
Study findings
School infrastructure improvements can help remedy air quality issues, improve comfort and health conditions
A 2020 GAO study found that about 54% of America’s school districts require major upgrades to their school buildings, and 41% of districts need HVAC upgrades in at least half of their schools. School infrastructure improvements can help remedy air quality issues, improve comfort and health conditions, support better student learning, and provide significant reductions in school energy bills.
One study showed that schools without a major maintenance backlog have a higher average daily attendance by an average of 4 to 5 students per 1,000 and a lower annual dropout rate of 10 to 13 students per 1,000.
energy and sustainable practices
Johnson Controls solutions serve over 24.7M students in more than 7,000 school districts across the U.S. For more than 130 years, the company has been committed to helping organizations harness the energy and sustainable practices for a better future.
Johnson Controls works with K-12 schools to continue that mission by curating healthier environments that improve students' educational achievements.