The San Mateo Union High School District board approved a proposal for a new sustainability policy that addresses a variety of environmental concerns within the district. The policy, which went into effect Oct. 12, includes changes to energy, water and waste reduction, recycling, new construction designed for modernization and transportation, all of which are covered in the board’s $130,000 budget.
The goals of the board strives to promote environmental behaviors around the community, aiming to reduce energy usage and budget by 25 percent.
“Annual goals of this year include stewardship of resources and implementing a environmental sustainability policy in San Mateo as an environmental leader as measured by a reduction by 25 percent in energy usage as a district as a whole,” said district board trustee Robert Griffin.
The goals came in response to the U.S.’ recent withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord.
“The instigator was when they started talking about the unraveling of the Paris [Agreement] and all the work that people have been going on with sustainability and to really put the planet back in a healthy position,” said SMUHSD Deputy Superintendent Elizabeth McManus. “The way we know life on earth is going to change substantially.”
Although McManus has proposed this policy, similar practices in the past have been instituted, but this policy goes to expand these practices and provide a general goal for the community.
“The regulations are instructions on how [people] should conduct themselves. The board policies are philosophical guidance on how everyone should support themselves. The board policy in place to guide us for future generations and bring all these individual practices together under one board policy,” Griffin said. “It wasn’t that we weren’t conserving energy or minimizing the use of paper; we just didn’t have policies which are overarching.”
Under the effort to improve sustainability at Aragon, previous issues with the energy management systems are going to be fixed.
“The systems are very complex,” McManus said, “so basically we’re recommissioning the campus at this point, trying to find out those little bugs where the contractor pulled off or didn’t hook something up … It can give us these flags so that we can try to resolve the issue. I’m pretty happy that we are doing this process because in the long run, you’re going to have a much better and more efficient campus.”
In previous articles, the Outlook covered the energy and recycling aspects of this policy. The energy feature requires all classrooms to be monitored by one heating system, preventing teachers from regulating the temperature in their classes. This new policy also implements a new program where shrub and tree waste are used on the site and hazardous materials are separated from the regular recyclables. However, Aragon’s recycling program only involves campus collaboration and receptacles for classroom and office recyclables.
The policy also encourages the removal of personal electrical appliances.
Principal Patricia Kurtz elaborated on this regulation’s implementation so far.
“We have not [taken away electrical appliances yet] … but I think some people [after hearing this policy,] have taken them home and said, ‘You know, I don’t really need these’ or ‘Why is it plugged in all the time? I don’t use it all the time.’”
Regarding water, the district plans to start irrigation systems early in the morning, promote drinking tap water and plant native and drought tolerant plant species.
“The early morning watering is important because there’s a reduced amount of evaporation that happens with the water,” said science teacher Jessica Valera. “The plants are getting more of the water, as opposed to if you water in the middle of the day when the sun is out, it would be a less efficient way to water because more of the water would evaporate.”
In hopes of improving productivity and mood, the SMUHSD board strives to promote the use and availability of natural light instead of natural light.
At Aragon, the Leaders for Environmental Awareness and Protection club has been established to focus on the environment. With psychology teacher Carlo Corti as the adviser and junior Anna Zhang as the president, the club strives to inform the community about the daily actions and concerns for the environment.
“We’re going to be more of an informational club. We’re going to focus on a lot of presentations, talking about issues in our world, not just here in California because I think that’s something that we all don’t know about,” said junior Elyssa Samayoa, LEAP Club secretary. “We all look here and see everything around us, but [we want to] spread awareness about what’s going on in the rest of world like deforestation and other issues.”
This policy generates a diverse set of opinions from various members of the community.
“It is important to take care for the environment for other students and for the next generation. [Our environment has] landfills filling up. [We need to] reduce debris, recycle, reduce, and reuse instead of manufacture … We can conserve resources, recycle in proper receptacles, and throw trash away,” said facilities manager Don Ahuna. “Financially, by saving energy, the district [reduces] its spending and that can prevent layoffs and create jobs. If we conserve more, then offer more support staff for school and students if we decrease spending on utilities. Sustainability is about having pride in yourself and the environment and caring.”
Although this policy has potential, there have been suggestions for improvement.
“Some classrooms at Aragon also have automatic lights that turn off at either a specific time or if there isn’t movement in the room for a period of time,” said junior Maia Bhaumik. “This saves a lot of energy that would be used if left to human error … With the water, it is important to promote reusable water bottles.”
Through this policy, SMUHSD takes a new environmental approach, creating a healthy relationship between the environment and the community.
“It takes everyone to help out with the environment. If schools are helping, then more students will help, who could bring what they learn to their parents, who could incorporate ideas into their daily lives,” Bhaumik said. “I know that’s a little optimistic, but I think a little bit of optimism is what’s needed right now, especially what’s happening in society today.”
