The COVID-19 pandemic focused attention on the role that commercial and institutional buildings play in human health. That attention has spilled over into K-12 schools, as a growing number of organizations are looking more closely at ways the poor indoor air quality (IAQ) in classrooms affects schools — specifically, increased absenteeism, lower test scores and decreased teacher retention rates — as well as measures that can improve school IAQ.
For example, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and Go Green Initiative (GGI) recently announced the first 10 school districts selected to participate in an initiative to improve (IAQ) and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in school facilities. Each district will receive $50,000 in grant funding and technical assistance to implement IAQ management and GHG reduction plans.
The districts selected for 2025–2026 are: Boston Public Schools; Salamanca City (New York) Central School District; Alexandria City (Virginia) Public Schools; Bibb County School District, Macon, Georgia; East St. Louis (Illinois) School District 189; Grants Cibola County (New Mexico) Schools; North Daviess R-III, Jameson, Missouri; Arlee (Montana) Joint School District No. 8; Standard School District, Bakersfield, California; and Dufur (Oregon) School District 29.
As part of the program, participating school district will: enact school board policy to address IAQ management and GHG reduction; conduct baseline assessments of air quality and emissions; provide training for key district stakeholders; develop and implement districtwide IAQ and GHG reduction plans; and measure, quantify, and report outcomes.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.?
