Most of our local K-12 schools are starting up this month. And in North Carolina, as kids go back to aging buildings, their health and ability to learn is at risk. There are actions we (that means you, too) can take to fix this mess.

Pop Quiz

Question: How many North Carolina citizens work in or attend classes in our state’s K-12 school buildings?

Answer: Almost 2 million — nearly 1 in 5 of all North Carolina citizens.

Question: How many school buildings do these citizens study and work in?

Answer: Right at 2,700 buildings.

Question: In this time of rising temperatures, what percentage of those 2,700 buildings have obsolete air conditioning that can lower a student’s ability to learn, can cause asthma (the leading cause of student absenteeism), and national surveys indicate strongly contribute to teacher resignations?

Answer: About half. These older buildings were built in the 1950s and early 1960s and were not designed to have the air conditioning bring in fresh air.

Teachers used to be able to open the classroom doors and windows to get fresh air into the classroom, but now, “to protect the students,” the windows are screwed shut. Indoor air pollution increases all day long as the kids breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide and germs and virus — over and over.

As scientists from Duke University, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Harvard and the Environmental Protection Agency have proven, this lowers a child’s mental functioning. (Reminding you ThePollutionDetectives.org lends, for free, meters you can use to measure air quality.)

Question: Why is this a big deal now?

Answer: To bring this home to you, we can use Raleigh as an example, because the city had a temperature of 106 degrees on July 5 this year. This is the highest temperature ever recorded there.

If summer school was in session, how do you think that felt inside the schools?

Unless something is done to upgrade our school buildings, as our state grows warmer, the more people inside the buildings will feel hotter and stuffier, learning will continue to decline, more teachers will quit, and the rate of teacher and student illness will increase.

Question: What can we do to fix this mess?

Answer: Due to an obsolete state law, North Carolina public school buildings and upgrades are mostly required to be paid for by local property taxes.

We are one of a small number of states that does not fund school buildings equally across the state. Towns with low-income workers and a low property tax base simply cannot afford to fix their schools, while wealthy communities can. And the result is that kids of the rich learn more and stay healthier, and the health and learning of kids of the poor suffer.

Talk to your local school officials and ask them to be frank with you about the challenges they are facing as rising temperatures and humidity make learning in their old school buildings more difficult. Then both of you contact your local elected officials and figure out next steps.

Working together, we can get the state legislature to fix this mess.

Dr. Koster is a retired pediatric healthcare administrator who now runs The Optimistic Futurist's partner organization, The Pollution Detectives, Inc., a not-for-profit that lends meters and gauges to folks who want to make sure their kids’ schools are safe and optimal for learning.

Learn more on our website or contact Dr. Francis P. Koster.

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A Success Story

States such as North Carolina have expanded eligibility for Medicaid health insurance to reach more of their citizens. Around the same time, rules governing the of use of Medicaid to fund school nursing were also amended. The two developments could dramatically improve quality of life for many students in K-12 schools.

School Nurses Care for More Students

In June, eighteen states including North Carolina were awarded School-Based Services (SBS) Grants of up to $2.5 million from the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The recognition followed recent changes by some states as to the types of student services reimbursable, such as school nurses.

In particular, some states have broadened coverage of SBS to embrace preventive care, on-going primary care, and/or treatment delivered to any child who is a Medicaid beneficiary. Awarded states receive funding to operate in various stages of program development—from initial implementation of medical services to expansion beyond needs identified in a student’s individualized education program (IEP or IFSP) to coverage of any Medicaid-eligible care (“enhancement”).

The grants help reduce the financial burden on states that care for children enrolled in Medicaid. States and the federal government collaborate in the provision of Medicaid services to residents. Each state operates its Medicaid program according to a written plan approved and overseen by CMS. The State plan lays out eligibility, types of services, amount of coverage, and the method by which providers are reimbursed, while CMS ensures compliance with federal statutes and regulations. To reduce the financial burden on states, CMS also matches eligible state program expenditures at a specified percentage.

To learn more about award recipients and the status of their SBS Medicaid programs, read an Overview of Medicaid and School-Based Services.

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What You Know and We Don't

Are schools required to report to the state

grants they apply for or receive throughout the year

from private or public donors?

We welcome your expertise.

Please let us know with an email to fkoster@theoptimisticfuturist.org.

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Technical Assistance for Funding Opportunities

EPA Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers Program

The Environment Protection Agency has developed 16 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTACs) to help underserved and overburdened communities across the country. EJ TCTACs builds nonprofit capacity to address Environmental Justice (EJ) issues, including the following:

•         Air quality,
•        Water quality,
•        Soil quality,
•        Personal exposure to environmental hazards,
•        Climate change resilience, and
•        Clean energy transitions.

By connecting with experts, other EJ partners, and local and state agencies for technical assistance, organizations can develop strong grant proposals, navigate the federal grant application process, and effectively manage grant funding.

Submit a request for assistance to the EJ TCTAC for your region, shown on the Table!

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Research Assistance for Funding Opportunities

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