Board of Education Climate Change Action Plan Committee Meeting October 29, 2025

001assist on the PG CPS YouTube channel for later viewing. The agenda and documents can be found on the PGCPS Diligent page, linked from the Board of Education homepage. I thank all of you for committing to this important oversight and partnership work. Ms. Mcmillan, please call the roll. Ms. Boozer-struther? Donald Bell? present. Kate Wonderlic? Joseph Jakuta? Christina Kwok? Timothy Meyer. Dorothy Morrison? David Noda? present. I had to unmute my, uh… David Noda? Beth Novik? Ramon Palencia Calvo? Present? Antoine Thompson? James Roberson? President… James Dubon Garcia? Maya Gudera? Olivia Thomas? Sophia Villar? Michael Witherspoon? President. There are 12 members present. We have a quorum. Thank you so much. Um, with a quorum present, the Climate Change Action Plan Ad Hoc Committee meeting. will come to order. Uh, item 1.3, adoption of the meeting agenda. If there are

002no objections, the committee shall adopt. The October 29, 2025 meeting agenda. There being no objections, the October 29, 2025 meeting agenda is adopted. Item 1.4, approval of meeting minutes. If there are no corrections. The committee shall approve the August 27th, 2025 meeting minutes as distributed. There being no corrections, the August 27, 2025 meeting minutes are approved. Uh, now to item 2.0, presentations. After the Director of Sustainability report, there are two items for discussion this evening. After each item, we will limit each member's questions and feedback to 2.5 minutes per round. Unless a motion is taken for additional rounds, there will be. Two rounds per agenda item. Item 2.1, Director of Sustainability Report. The chair recognizes Director Dorothy Morrison. Thank you, Board Member Frusa Struthers. And, um, Micah, do you want to project, or do you

003want me to? Let me see if I could project. Are you projecting? I wasn't sure. Are you projecting? I can. Give me one moment. Okay, sure. Okay, thank you, Micah. So let's go on to the next one. Next slide, please. Okay. All right, so again, good evening, everyone. And so, um, I, as customary, will start off with just giving, uh. general overview of some of the priority areas, some updates, and… We don't have updates on every single priority area, but the ones that are on here. are highlighted for your convenience, and I have also embedded, um, a number of links so that. If folks want to do a deeper dive or get more information, they could access it. So let me just start off by just reminding everyone, um. that we, DSR, Department of Sustainability

004and Resilience. are starting to plan the Climate Leadership Summit for 2026. And I had made this ask the last meeting in August, and I'm sort of making another. pledge that if folks would like to be part of this upcoming summit in terms of. Suggesting ideas of what you'd like to see, how you'd want to, um… Summit to roll out. Please, please, um… contact Kim so that we can incorporate that into the planning, because it's getting close, so we want to make sure. We have all your comments. And going on to updates on climate curriculum and training, we are also in the process of, um. partnering with EcoAmerica to do the Climate Ambassadors training. This year, there will be one in December the 5th from… from 5 p.m. To 8 p.m, the training is generally open

005to all PGCPS staff. And it's an opportunity for them to have professional development credits. Also new is, um, office hours, so… We have, I guess, monthly meetings with the different work groups in the climate implementation process, and. a party room one has, um, decided this year. We will have, um, office hours, and this is an opportunity to have. Um, that's available. And the contact person, I don't… I apologize, I don't have this link on here, but I could probably update it later. The contact person for that would be, um… James Robeson. Moving on to Priority Area 2, which is reducing our carbon footprint. Um, we are in the process of. Renewing our contract with Energy Cap. Energycap was a contractor that was responsible for. Um, putting our data together for. 2022, I believe. We got

006a grant from MEA. Um, however, there were some issues with that, it got stalled, so we were able to sort of re-engage with EnergyCap, and we're almost there in terms of getting. Um, completed our 2022 data, and also we're moving from 2022 through. date, so 2023 to date. Um, we'll have those datas available, and once we do, it's going to go into Portfolio Manager, where. We can have the opportunity to do greater analysis of our energy data as we use them on a month-to-month basis. So, uh, more to come on that, but just thought it would be good for folks to know that. Um, this is… this is our baseline data, you know, we need it to move forward. We can't really move the needle if we don't have baseline data, so we're very data…

007did a poor at the moment, but hopefully in the next several months, we would have populated everything, and we would be able to see the trends, um, in terms of how we're utilizing energy and how we're saving energy. in our different projects that we implement. Um, also, um, along that same vein, as we all know, we're in really, really tough times in terms of budgeting, so… Uh, we have a lot of deferred maintenance, um. that need to be addressed, but… Funding is slow, so one of the things, when we're looking at other alternatives to supplement or acquire funding. And so, on October 10th, we did have a meeting with the Maryland Department of General Services. And the, you know, agency for school construction. to talk about ESCOs. Now, ESCOs stand for, um, Energy Service Companies,

008and these are companies that are able to. to put in a simple form is they're able to provide funding up front. for various projects, whether it's, um… I guess HVAC replacement, what have you, uh… Um, they're able to provide that funding up front, and then they're responsible for. maintaining whatever projects or, um. appliances and tools that we… we get to help us reduce our energy savings. So they will provide the funding up front, so the school system does not have to. And then we would sort of pay them over a period of years. generally lasts, like, 15 to. 20 years, but we have not decided fully that we're going to do this, but we are open to consider it, because. Funding is tough right now, so that… so we have… we've had, um… Maryland Department

009of General Services talk to our leadership, and we are seriously considering potential of using ESCOs as a means of financing our projects. And, um, for Priority Area 3, which is renewable sources of. energy, our commitments in that area. Um, Sheila Stevens, one of our program managers, will do a deeper dive into that. As well as Party Area 4, which is low-carbon school transportation, um, Director Kiba Baldwin. We'll lead that discussion as well. So I'm gonna… you know, just, uh, move on to the next slide, and um… they will do the presentation after this one. With regards to Priority Area 5, so now we have… I think I reported during the last time that we had. developed an administrative procedure, but now that procedure has actually been approved. And we have been able to distribute the

010administrative procedure to schools, um, with resources and slides to help guide them. In terms of waste reduction. We are also looking to… expand our conferencing program this fall to 6 additional schools. And DSR, in partnership with the Schmitz Center, has held six composting and recycling educational sessions for schools. Um, since the start of the school year. So we… obviously, education is key to implement sustainability, so we're doing our very best to train, you know, students, teachers, principals, as well as staff. Priority Area 7, more to come on this, so one of our program managers, congratulations, um, this Christina just had a baby girl, so she was… she was out for a few months, um. But now she's back, and she will be ready to assume. that particular action item, which is looking at community food

011forests and community gardens. Um, community food forests is a means to get the community involved in terms of. growing food that, um. well, actually utilizing our school property, underutilized school property, to grow. food, whether it's fruit trees or just vegetables. So we think that's a good thing, that's another way to help us, um, increase our… I'm a locally grown food for our kids, as well as the community. And the last item I just wanted to let folks know that, you know, given the current challenges that we have. Uh, we feel it's really necessary to engage as much as possible with as many partners as we can. Uh, listen to others' challenges and figure out how we can leverage resources from each other. So we have been… looking at opportunities to engage with stakeholders. So I

012just hear what… I just listed some of the, um… organizations that we have sort of tried to engage with over the last couple of months, so the Maryland Clean Energy Center. had their annual conference, I think it might have been 2 weeks ago, so we were there. Um, the Greater Washington, I apologize for the acronyms, because this is a PowerPoint presentation that you want to have to write everything out, but… So the Greater Washington Regional Clean Cities Coalition also gave us a nice shout-out at their annual event last week. And then we have the Center for Engagement and Environmental Justice and Health, which was born out of the University of Maryland. But it's now, um, a standalone non-profit. And so we have been engaged with them as well. They have been our partners in terms

013of getting things like, um. Air monitors into our schools to have our children sort of participate. and air quality monitoring, so… Um, we're very happy to partner with Siege. And then, in terms of upcoming events. We have Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day, I believe it's November the 14th or 15th, thereabout. And so I have provided a link here if folks are interested and want to participate, or… Be involved, share it with others. The link is right there for your use. Um, another event that is coming up soon, November 20th. If a county executive will be holding a Climate Leadership. summit, very similar to what we had about 2 years ago with Just For PGCPS. And the goal of this summit is to have a Hall of Government approach. In terms of involving all the

014county. agencies in climate leadership, so providing education, uh, to all the different arms of the county. And figure out next steps in terms of how we move forward. with, um, with climate action. And we have PGCPS, you know, is going to be fully represented there, the county executive specifically asked for student voices. So, we will have some of our students, um, thank you, uh, Beth Novak, for. you know, helping to work with the students to be able to speak at this event. Um, our very own board member, Bruza Struthers. We'll also be facilitating a session there as well. So, again, you have a link. to the event, and I believe it's now open… to the public, because before, when they started off, it was just solely for… county officials, but it has been broadened to

015state officials and other members, so… Um, feel free to go on there and, um. Yeah, and register if you can make it. I believe it's… it'll… they're expecting over 300, uh… participants, it's going to be at the Prince George's County. community… I'm sorry, Prince George's… yeah, Prince George's County Community College in Lanham. And just to mention, we're also looking out for opportunities to be recognized for the wonderful work we're doing. And so we are applying for a couple of, uh. potential awards, and we'll just keep our fingers crossed that we get them. And, uh, program manager, uh, Sheila Stevens has been diligently working on the NSBA Magna Awards, which. It's centered around, um, indoor air quality. And that's due, I believe it's this Friday. October the 31st, and we will get something in. Um, another

016award opportunity we're looking at is the Maryland, Sustainable Maryland Award, which is, um. the Governor's Award, and we are looking at potentially applying under the policy. aspect of it. I think we could probably apply for two, but, um, so yeah, so we will be applying for that. That is due… I believe it's November the 17th. Again, I have a link. Provided for you right there, so you feel free to go in and, um… and get more information. With that, I will stop there and ask if anybody else… if anybody has questions. on the sustainability report. Alright, great, thank you so much, Director Morrison. So, the floor is now open. If anyone has, um, questions, you can. Raise your hand. give everyone a moment. I see Timothy Meyer. Hello, everyone. Uh, first I want to say

017thank you to Director Morrison for highlighting. 14, right. Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day, uh, and for everyone, uh, who has not done the event before, it is November 14th, so… Yeah, November 14th, Friday, uh, and we have at least two PGCPS schools signed up so far, but… Um, anyone else, if you have connections in your either. Um, those of you who are teachers, former teachers, students who have interest in participating in Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day, I'd encourage anyone… you can reach out to me directly. Um, and I'm willing to help any PGCPS school participate in that and follow the. template that we've built at Mount Rainier Elementary. Um, my specific question for Director Morrison was, on Priority 7, you mentioned about trying to have policies that are more friendly to community food

018forests, community gardens. And I was just wondering if you could speak a little bit more… if you could speak a little bit more about that, because, um… We've had situations in our… in the past at our school. Where we have done community gardens, and we've been told by other parts of PGCPS that we're not really supposed to have community gardens, and there seems to be a disconnect sometimes, depending upon. which department you're talking to, so just if you can. Yeah. talk more about what your office is working on, and then, based on your answer, we can figure out ways to make sure all of PGCPS is aligned on that issue. Certainly, right? And that is very true, depending on who you talk to, the answer may be different. So, we have had a couple of,

019um… Maybe more than a couple, a few organizations who have approached us, um, with this whole concept of having community, uh, gardens. And, um, and I have to say that there had. been some hesitancy. Um, I guess first being the whole liability issue, having, you know, outsiders come in and being on school properties, right? That's the reason why we're trying to develop some sort of an administrative policy, go through the legal review process. So that when we have these organizations come in, we can, with a unified voice, say, well, hey, we do have a policy in place. Um, we did go back and forth with our leadership in terms of, um, how we use our land. Um, we have thought about things like, you know, sole owner property, so there's like, okay, we might want

020to monetize this land, so maybe we don't want to. Um, go ahead and say yay to the… to the community gardens, but based on the internal conversations we've had, um. To date, there's definitely an acceptance now to be able to open up to community gardens, but we just need to do it legally, where. whatever organization decides to work with us on community gardens or food forests. will not hold the school system liable. So that was one of the main… oops, I might waste my time. Well, okay, so that was pretty much it. So yes, so we are definitely working on that. So you will be hearing more. Okay. I would love to have a follow-up conversation on that, but I expect the time… Timing can follow up in a round two if there is one.

021Right. Okay, sure. All right, thanks. Um, Joseph, I saw your hand pop up for a second. Do you have a question? Um, I just had a statement, I'm… just very glad to see that the school system, the PGCPS was looking at working with ESCOs. Um, I know that was something we talked a lot about when we were first advocating for this work. Mm-hmm. Right. And I'm, um, I'm looking forward to when we get… into that topic in more depth later on in the cycle. Yeah, and let me just say this also, Joseph. So the school system, you know, way before I even got here, had… didn't have the best experience in the past, so they had tried. Uh, to work with ESCOD, but it wasn't a good experience, but a lot of that was due

022to the fact that. Um, I'm gonna say we, even though, you know, but… so we didn't have the expertise on how to sort of manage, because it does require. A lot of staff time to oversee, um, the companies to make sure they're doing the right thing. We need to make sure all the numbers. um, have been determined up front. So that wasn't done, so as a result, we had a bad experience. So this time around, we are talking to as many folks as we can, including the state. to help guide us through the process. And the state also has consultants in place who are available to kind of walk us through it. So we're hoping… we're hopeful that this time around, it'll be more successful. Thank you. Um, Tim. Tim, if you would like a

023round two, I think we have time for that. Uh, sure, I'll go ahead and take a… since there's not many questions, I'll go ahead and take advantage of that, and um… I can actually just… based upon the people who are in this meeting, I can say, um, we were able to host Sheila. Right. Uh, and some of the sustainability team, uh, at the end of last school year, and so you were able to see, we have an interesting dynamic at our school where we have some area that is. school grounds that are right by the school, that are fenced in, and then we have some that. really does some areas that work as a perfect kind of hybrid community slash school space. Where we can still have fencing for security reasons, but, um… That's the

024reason I was asking about the… Um, community gardens, because in our case, the group that would be interested in doing something would be the PTO. Alright. during the pandemic. that when… during the pandemic, when school grounds were essentially closed to everyone, we sprung into action and had turned it. an area into a… community garden space… temporary community garden space, um, and then that's why, after the fact. We were then told by other parts of PGCPS that you weren't allowed to do that, so… Um, I… if… Right. Yeah, that sentiment is changing, and I definitely, you know, if you have a garden, like with anything else, it has to be maintained, right? So maybe all that will be clearly articulated. in whatever AP we provide that, you know, it has to be fully, you know. managed

025and taken care of, so yeah, that's the plan. Uh, well, just even beyond this committee, if you need any. parents who have experience in this area helping you as you were building out the. draft administrative procedure, I would be happy to volunteer on that. We would love that, we would love to have your input on that, thanks, yeah. I was gonna say, yeah, Christina's back, and she's definitely gonna be, like, leading that effort, right? We definitely would note that. Yeah, in conjunction to the AP that we are creating, just to have a process in place and really. know how to articulate that. Um, um, to different interest groups. We are considering a demonstration project. Along with the AP that we're gonna be… we're working with the food and nutrition services department. Um, and, um, that,

026that would be a great opportunity to. do the demonstration, um, project, um, incorporate some of these lessons learned. really define what needs to be in this AP process. Um, I was there at the Mount Rania event, also, Mr. Maya, so I see… I saw what you guys have done some phenomenal work, and I see exactly the plot. Of then, that you were discussing. Um, in terms of… and that commitment, so it's important in terms of really that. the… commitment, whether it's the external organization or the third party. In terms of that work, as we've heard of different, similar instances, but then when school closes. summer's out. Many times, people don't, you know, even the maintenance doesn't know that it's actually a garden. And it just gets cleaned up with everything else, so… Yeah, please. I've

027had many native grasses mowed over by accident over the years, but fortunately, they usually grow back. You sure do. Great, great, thank you. So, um, next, uh, Beth Novik, uh, followed by Christina Kwok. Hello, everyone. I love good community garden. Um, pre-COVID, I worked with Chesapeake Bay Foundation and DC Public Schools, where we went to. We studied their environmental… lots of things. There are trees, programs, and I think they did have a community gardens program. that you might just be able to borrow some of their ideas from, because I love the idea of. Making it… How big should it be? How, you know, what's the purpose of it? Making us. like a sheet of paper that gives us guidelines, and on that topic, maybe James could, um… Robertson can answer this, but I think that

028we were at a brand new school at Kenmore, and there were rules with the new schools and the landscape. So, just to put that out there, that you might want to find out about, we… Schmidt Center helped us build a box. to put a pollinator garden, and we kept everything inside that box. Um, so… That might just be one thing to think of. And did you say… was that the Chesapeake Bay? trust a foundation that you mentioned earlier. that has a… has a plan. Was that… trust me breed trust at Foundation. No, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Right, used to… runs an educator summer program, and I was the teacher. Foundation, okay. Okay. mentor for the educators, but I just got an opportunity to be in lots and lots of. Mm-hmm. DC Public Schools, um, and

029what we were looking at, they did have a TRUEs program. They had many things that were very useful for. greening up education. And one of them, I'm pretty sure, was community gardens. Okay. Okay, take a look at all of that, yeah. No use reinventing the wheel, right? Exactly. Hi everybody, thanks so much for the updates. It's great to hear that so much has been happening over the last couple months. Um, I had a question about… I didn't hear it mentioned, and just wanted to make sure it was on the… everyone's radar, but. Um, I believe the Maryland State Climate Commission is, um, their education working group is in the process of planning. Um, a climate teach-in. Um, but it sounds like a lot of the planning… I think the teach-in is not happening until around

030Earth. day-month next year, but there's a lot of… um, pre-planning going on, and especially trying to reach out to other counties that. perhaps have a little bit more constraints, um, in terms of being able to. participate and all that kind of stuff. So I just wanted to make sure, like, that was on the radar, and if there is a way that PTCPS could really. kind of lead the way in that, uh, regard, but yeah, just curious if that's on the radar. Thanks. Yeah, certainly it most definitely is. So we participated last year. at Prince George's County, one of the few school systems that actually participated, and we plan to participate again this year. Um, as a matter of fact, you know, last staff meeting, I was telling everyone that we need to make sure we

031are making note of all the educational outreach activities for that teaching activity, to sort of, you know, submit what it is that we are doing. So we're very much plugged in, and I believe this go-around, they will… the starting early, believe it or not, so you don't have to… you don't have to wait till April. We can start, um, submitting what we're doing. It's what I was told, at least the email that I got. So, but yeah. We are… we are definitely, um… In the loop, it's on our radar. All right, thank you both so much. So, seeing no more questions for this agenda item, we can now move to the main presentations for… oh, I do see. Tim's hand up. Don't worry. And I'm sorry, this is, I guess, a little bit out of

032order, but I just wanted to make one announcement on Ruby Bridge's Walk to School Day, if I may. Okay. Sure. Which is that, um, I have been working with the superintendent and his team. on trying to get a proclamation to make it an official PGCPS event for this November 14th. So, uh… still have to follow up with them on that, but fingers crossed, um. at the November 13th board meeting, hopefully there will be a proclamation to make it an official event, at least for this year, and then we can establish a precedent. For future years as well. Yeah, thank you so much for your work on that. Um, oh! Wonderful, thanks for sharing that. Beth Novik, hi! Just really quickly, Tim, I know two schools that might be interested in participating. How can I have

033them contact you? Um, we have… I think all of our email addresses are in the… in the invites, or if you just reach out to Pamela, she can connect us, but I would be happy to work with any PGCPS schools on that. All right, great, thank you. Thank you both. Um, so now we're moving to item 2.2, Presentation of Updates on Climate Change Action Plan Priority Number 3. This is Commit to Renewable Energy Sources for Net Zero Emissions future. And I will once again recognize Dorothy Morrison to introduce the presenters. Sure. So, the presenters for Party Area 3… Which is commit to renewable sources, um, would be Sheila Stevens, and then immediately following that. would be, uh, Director Keepa Baldwin, who will do a deep dive into. where we are with our, um… I guess

034carbon neutral or decarbonizing our fleet system. So, go ahead, Sheila, you want to start? Sure, hello, good evening, everyone. Um. I guess I can share my screen. Okay, can everyone see that? Awesome, so I'm providing an update. Yes. the bulk of my conversation tonight will be on the update for the six. Phase 1 P3 schools. And where they are now currently with the solar install. So these slides will go over 5 of the 6 schools. Unfortunately, I didn't get one of Walker Mill. Um, I reached back out to the company, and I. I haven't heard anything back, but I do have 5 updates, and I would imagine Walker Mill is the same, because it looks like they're all pretty much the same status. So, this is Colin Powell, um, and most of these, um, updates

035will be very duplicative, so I apologize for any redundancy, but they are pictures, updated pictures that I thought you would enjoy to see what it's looking like right now at the current status. So I went Colin Powell, um, these are pictures of the roof, and right now, just all of the equipment's been craned and picked up to the rooftop. Um, they're expecting Energize… for the school to be energized, um, in December, hopefully, fingers crossed. This is Drew Freeman, and, um, just similar to Colin Powell. Uh, as you can see in the pictures, they're working diligently. Rooftop racking's complete, the conduit's been run. module installation is currently underway, and then the expected energization date is January. Hi, Heightsville Middle School. Um, all very similar. Uh, with the expected, um. date to be energized in December. Um,

036but they are… this update that I was provided was about 2 weeks ago, so I'm sure there'd be more to report, and I'm happy to continue to update. team, um, whenever you, uh, want to be updated, you can just reach out to me. Kenmore Middle School? They are a little bit… a little bit further behind, um, but they're… hopefully going to be energized in early February. And here's Sonia Sotomayor Middle School. Similar update with their, um, date to be energized, hopefully, in. late January. I'm hoping to get an update on Walker Mill. Walker Mill, in case, just for your, um. Situational awareness. Walker Mill was one of the schools that I applied for the MEA Solar on Schools grant last year that we were awarded about, uh, we were awarded $396,000. for those solar panels

037on, um, Walker Mill, so I'm eager to get that update. for me to provide MEA that, uh. that update when I do my grant reporting. That's all I have to sh-. share… whoops, stop sharing. Um, in case you weren't aware, put out an RFI. This was… Back in the summertime, we put together a list of questions. to be put out on Emma, um, in the public. forum for any solar stakeholders to… to respond, to answer this question, so that we could kind of get a really good snapshot of what the market looked like at the time, and then. A lot of things shifted while the RFI was active. at the federal landscape, and so we extended the date of closing until October 20th so that we could try to kind of. get our finger on

038the pulse of what was… what was the, um… the mood, uh… after those changes went in place. So we… will take the RFI responses and then, you know, make a very, uh. you know, more decision… I'm sorry, data-driven decision on how we can craft an RFP. That we can put out there for us to… the goal is to have, you know, more than one solar installer. that we could use, kind of, like, on an on-call, as-need basis, instead of us just constantly getting barraged with. you know, all these solar companies that want to do business with us. But we want to make sure that we go through, you know, the procurement process, and so that is the hopes of. the RFP. Uh, but that'll take some time to kind of craft that. We'll work with

039our purchasing and procurement department, and then DSR internally, and get that. developed, and so hopefully we can have more wonderful updates for you at a later date. And that's all I have for solar or renewable. All right, great. Director Morrison, why don't we go ahead and take questions on this section? Right, that's what I was thinking, right, exactly. Thank you, yeah. Before we move into present transportation. Um, I'll wash… give everyone a second. To raise hands for any questions on… this report. there… oh. But go… go ahead, go ahead, Ms. Novik. Okay, so there's 4 students on here, 2 Kenmore students, and I think it might be helpful. to be able to visualize exactly what you're talking about. Like. What does that mean? We're putting solar panels on top of the school, and then it's

040going to heat the building? Um, they're working with Lynn McCauley to start to try to put out some information from young people on some of these topics. So, could you… Bring this down to the layman's terms for us. What's happening? Sure. Sure, sure, sure. I'll try to do my best. Um, so basically, the. We're going to be, uh, entering into a PPA, or we have entered into a PPA with the, uh. with a solar company. And basically, that what that means is that we're not taking ownership of the panels. We're basically leasing them for the next 15 to 20 years. Um, I don't know the exact length or term of the PPA that we signed. Um, and we're basically just going to be taking the energy that the solar panels produce. And buying that from

041them, so that… we're not going to be taking all… and… again, I'm not sure once I see this in place, and then we can kind of get an idea. Of what the production will look like, and what it actually, um… what the school needs, and then whatever the delta is, we would be getting. We would purchase from the grid, like we do now. or anything that's in a surplus would theoretically go. be sold back to the grid. Um, so it's not necessarily just providing heat in general, it's just any electric. that's generated from the solar panels. So, it's… that green attribute that we can… we necessarily… we can't necessarily claim the green after… or the RECS, the SREx. Because we're not owning them, the solar company's going to take that, but we can… at least

042say that we are purchasing renewable energy in the form of solar. at these 6 locations, with the hopes of, obviously. building our portfolio of solar over time. Um, we, we… and that's part of the RFI was questioned. We're trying to figure out what is the best situation or scenario or the best interest of PGCPS of taking ownership. Or… or the PPA, and there's pros and cons on both sides. So, this'll be a really good exercise for us with these 6 schools to kind of get that, just kind of, like. you know, test the waters, um, and then our next round of the second… the Phase 2 P School… P3 schools. which there are 8 of them, and all 8 will have solar, and the solar design. just is wrapping up, so… We're going to be

043moving forward, but we hope to own those. Thank you. Um, do you have a follow-up question, Ms. Novik? So, am I understanding right that the… the solar that's collected is not going directly to those schools. The stoler that's collected is going into, like, a. an energy opportunity. that reduce… that… because we have nice, flat roofs. No, no, we'll be… no, those… that's solar that's produced from those arrays. will directly benefit. each of those six schools that they're currently getting. It just may not be enough. you know, if we have… rainy… a week of rain, there isn't gonna be enough, so we always have to be able to buy from the grid. Because there's no guarantee that those solar panels will be able to produce. And what does the solar provide within the school? all of

044the load that that school demands. What… what energy does it… lights, HVAC, whatever the building is needing, it's convert… that the AC to DC power. is… and I don't know all of the engineering ins and outs of solar. It's kind of like a, you know, I'm learning as I go along. But it will just provide. power to the school, just like if we just had that transformer or that power coming from the line. into the main feet of the building. So it's connected into the main… into that whole mechanical area. And it will be providing whatever. power is needed, and then it's obviously the whole, you know, there's times where. there might be a surplus, like, at. you know, I don't know when, like, if it's… if… schools out for a holiday or whatever, it's

045still going to be producing, but it's not going to be needing at all. They think at that point, then it'll benefit. the community, theoretically. by it going back out, that surplus, what's not needed. That's typically how it's set up. But I'm not 100%. Sure, on all the engineering parts of how it gets from the panels, the arrays. to the main feed, and all of that. Okay, good. But I feel super informed. Thank you very much. The good explanation, thank you. Yeah. Okay. I, um, as a person with a PTA on their home. I believe you described it pretty much spot on there, Sheila. Oh, thank you. Um, I had a question and a comment. Um, the question was, uh, what are the cost savings you're expecting to see over. this, uh, grid electricity on these.

046And the comment was, if you are… If you are doing any schools that are right next to DC, just make sure you look at the feeder lines, because if the school's connected to the DC feeder lines, the SREC question changes, because you can get DCS wrecks. Um, so, um, I know there's only a few schools that that might qualify, but just… just keep that in mind, but yeah. The question, though, might be for what are the cost savings you guys are going to see? You know, I don't have the cost savings. Um, Jamie Austin, who's on extended leave, she was involved in that PPA review during that time. And I have not seen them. But… We know that the PPA is going to be less. at some point, and there's going to be an escalation

047rate over the next 15 to 20 years. But it's not supposed to go over what our current electric rate is at the standard offered service, like, the SOS that the electric company is providing. You know, we are making sure that we're negotiating these contracts, that we're not going to be paying more than we would have been before. So the whole goal is to always say just a little… well, hopefully a lot, or at least a significant amount below. the standard rate that we would put, you know, that you're paying at home, or the school's paying right now. But I don't know that, Joseph, but I… that is something that I… I think would be valuable for us to know, so I'm gonna… I'll dig into that for you. Thank you. Yeah, and I know when

048I… for a time, I also had the… the PPA with Panorama landfill, and I think that was giving me a 10% savings on my home electricity bill, so… I know that they typically, at least with the residential sector, they're usually giving out a little bit of a discount off of what you'd be paying. Awesome. This is more of a… thank you, this is more of a quick observation, which is that for the Phase 1 schools. We will also have the benefit of having. several different… several years' worth of energy bills to be able to compare and contrast with, uh, including in certain months when. like, throughout the winter, when energy use might spike, and be able to compare, like. July versus July, um, so just thinking longer term as we continue to tell the story

049of the PGCPS Climate Change Action Plan. I'd be very interested 2 or 3 years from now in seeing the data of what the energy bills was for these Phase 1 schools in the first. say, 2 years of their lifespan, and then going forward once we have this in place. Yes, agreed, and that's the language I love to speak the most, is to take the data. Yeah. And to use it. Um, and so I can't wait to start… I'm in the process of trying to get all of that. Um, in a more, uh, it's just more available. So I'm working on that, but yeah, so those first two years will be their baseline data. And then we can project that out for the next, you know, life of these solar panels, and then hopefully see this

050beautiful picture. Um, of savings, but also, more importantly, you know, we're going to certainly see. the greenhouse gas emission savings. You know, we may not always see a monetary savings, but we, for the client, you know. And we hope we see both, but we should certainly see the greenhouse gas emission savings. I always say that we are the national leader on this issue, and. continuing to… we've done a very good job over the last few years of going to conferences and other places and telling the story, but I want to make sure that PGCPS continues to tell the. story of climate change, action, success, um… So that we can just take the program we built and keep expanding upon it. Yeah. the story… the storytelling part is one of the… things I'm very focused on.

051Agreed. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah. Yeah, that is not lost to us. That's part of our goal, too, yeah. All right, great. Um, I don't see any other hands, but I'll… I'll take a moment to ask the question around, um. Uh, definitely the discussion of. storytelling that we do. also like to have celebrations and events to mark. occasions, and I… I was wondering if… I know when we… We're able to do that with the new… Ellen Ochoa Net Zero School, we were able to actually walk up internal. Yeah. staircases to the roof, and… We were, you know, the guests of the event were able to actually go up and see the panels, and we could do photographs. Do we have that opportunity. on these 6 middle schools, or were they built differently? Well, these do not

052have geothermal. Uh… No, they don't have any geothermal, so we wouldn't have that. you know, that net zero. aspect to… to put out to the community. But they are still more energy-efficient buildings, um, and there were… they still… generated, I believe there were some savings that… there's savings that were calculated… energy models are done, and especially when you have the solar on top of that. So I'm not sure what type of opportunity that we could, you know, take advantage of with these. But the certain… the second round. will be the ones that we're getting all these net zero grants for that I'm applying for another round of net zero grants, that. solar on roof, you know, like, all of these wonderful grants that. Um, you know, are typically geared for. in census tracts, where, you

053know, there's an overburdened or underserved community, so we got all these great. you know, things that we can celebrate. with the second round, and I'm… I'm not sure what we could do for the first round, but it's something we can look into. discuss with Director Matlock. Yeah. Right, and I was gonna say, too, so, I mean, obviously, the second round, um, of P3 schools will have, I think, 7 out of 8 are going to have geothermal. Um, however, the current ones, I guess, you know, there are other things you can boast about, like, you know, the EV readiness, you know, solar, and… things of that nature. So, we can certainly look into it to see… See what opportunities… the mere fact that there are minimum lead silver, I believe. I don't know if any of

054them is gold off the top, but… But yeah, I mean, that is something that… and if folks are interested, we will definitely try to highlight it, too, on the websites as well, so that… Um, you know, we're getting the message out there, so even if it's not. a physical event where people are going through for tours, we're gonna at least have them at, you know, the visuals on our webpage. Which is another, you know, we're working on updating that as well. Okay, yeah, I think you've confirmed that it… the visual of the tour is not… the buildings weren't. built for people to be go… to be able to get up to the roof as safely as Ellen Ochoa, so… We would have to do this differently, and I do think there's a great opportunity for

055our student. team, um, as Beth was noting, to. to be part of that, you know, the video storytelling. I mean, this is pretty significant, because we… We only have… I mean, Oxen Hill High School. Yeah. Um, and Ellen and Choa are two… biggest, um… And then we have, uh, smaller… smaller solar installation, a University Park Elementary, so… to jump to the sit… to these big six… buildings is definitely something I would like to see us. definitely do… do something where we can get that attention. Um, and… and have that lead by example. that there's news articles out there for our colleagues around the state to see. Right. what we can do, and um… And so, um, you know, of course, happy to… to help with that. So… so thanks, so we'll continue that conversation with

056our, with, uh, Beth and the student team. Awesome. Sounds good. And of course, Michael, Maya, Olivia, you know, if… Any of you want to jump on and… and have some reflective thoughts on… This being a storytelling item, I could pause for a second. I know. some, or all of… some or all of you are in transit, usually. During this meeting, it's hard to be on camera. Thanks, Michael. Yeah, I… I am in transit, but… I think it's a really cool opportunity, um, and I really think that it would… help the students of Prince George's County actually get to see. Did we lose them? Yeah, thank you so much. I… I mean, we… Yeah, we definitely have to show the students how we're… making progress, I really appreciate that. So we'll keep following up. Uh, but

057I will move us on to our final. states on priority number four, school bus transportation, reducing emissions for a greener future. And, uh, this is, um… Uh, I will now, uh, recognize Dorothy Morrison to, uh, lead us through this presentation and discussion, and the presenter's introduction. Thanks. Thank you, and I… with that, I would like to yield to Director. Uh, Kiba Baldwin. to proceed. Good evening, good evening. Hope everybody can hear me, and can see the presentation on the screen. All right, thank you for the invitation to provide. Um, a little update on where we are in terms of our. electric school bus initiative. And what we've been doing. So, I'm gonna do my best. to try to capture everything, um, as much as we can. And just offer an opportunity to have a good

058discussion and questions. Based upon the presentation. So, let me start. So, just some talking points this evening, um, around… the main categories within the Priority 4. Modifying our bus routes for fuel use. electrifying our buses by 2040, increasing the walking, biking, public transit use. Uh, and eliminating some unnecessary idling from school buses. So I'm gonna… I'm gonna kind of capture. most of this in a couple slides here. So, we have a fleet of roughly… 1,200 buses. Right now, they're all diesel. Uh, excuse me, scratch that. 1,200, um, plus are diesel. We have 21 electric school buses. on-site. We have… generically of four mobile charging trailers. that were purchased to. uh, power those electric buses now. So, considering the FY. 24, 25 school year, 23-24 school year, and the FY. 24, 24, 25 school year. In

059terms of total routes, this is where we were. 200 in FY24, and. We drove… close to 17 million miles that year. FY25, we were able to reduce our routes. to 1,000, and have. right under, um. that $17 million… 17 million mile mark. A lot of that work was done as a result of an audit. by our consulting company. named Formative. And within that audit, uh, we… They gave us, um… or they noticed some findings, and. We received back 12 recommendations. on what we could do to make our Transportation Department. run smoother, and it was a full, comprehensive review from. the operations side, the staffing side. on budget, everything. And so, the first step was five priority recommendations that we implemented. And some of those 5 are a direct result of. The reduction in routes. And

060the reduction in miles driven. And so, just a couple of… the recommendations and the outcomes, where we were able to remove. 3,000 stops. That's tremendous when you're considering. what we were tasked with, and what we're still tasked with. While dealing with a severe driver shortage. Definitely as a result, we are having to… consolidate more routes as a result of having fewer drivers. What that does, it muddies the waters for us a lot, because I can't… have a good, clear. data collection method. to separate for each trip. Because we're having to… double-up trips. We are ending… we have to split trips. And this is all operational in order to try to do our best to provide an on-time and safe arrival for our students. And so… this number, I hope. will get better for us, um,

061as we continue to optimize and refine our routes. to produce a clearer picture. then definitely the mileage. that we can track in the mouse-driven. Um, and the gallons used, all of that can come into play. But right now, it makes it really hard to give us a good, clear picture. So this is our numbers, this is our baseline that we're going to work with, and be able to talk about that, uh. On an annual basis. So, the move to electrify our buses by 2040. This has been a daunting task thus far. what we're working with. is, um… the challenges that it has… that has hit us in terms of procuring electric school buses and. Um, identifying an adequate infrastructure to support those electric buses. So what we are proposing, looking at it, and really looking

062at it from a scientific standpoint, that. We want to introduce propane as an intermediary fuel. Uh, because our current infrastructure can't yet support. our electric bus charging. plans. And so, with propane. We compare it with the diesel. what… what it emits and how it is a cleaner. fuel than diesel, in terms of the carbon dioxide. It emits 15-20% less than diesel. The nitrogen oxides in this? reduces by up to 90%, which directly improves the local air quality. And there's no soot. or particulate matter, in which we have. Um, on the diesel buses now. And… So, implementing a complementary fleet. of electric buses remain our long-term goal. Propane… propane allows us to. Kind of make some immediate progress. toward emission reductions, while continuing to replace the aging diesel buses under our replacement plan. this approach, uh,

063lets us begin achieving climate benefits now. while building the infrastructure needed to support the full electrification process. Within this as well, uh… We are continuing to work with our climate improve… excuse me. capital improvement teams. as we talk about the development of our bus lots. Right now. I know that you guys had an update in the previous meeting. about our Mullikan project, and understand that project has been canceled. Um, but we are working on a… secondary plan to fulfill that need. But all of our bus lots are in a condition that. We need vast improvements. for structurally, from… driveways, to the facilities, and so whatever we do, we want to be able to. fully support the initiative. 100%. And so, in order to fully support. the EV initiative, we're going to have to kind of.

064do some… some housekeeping. just to maintain… bring our facilities up to par to sustain that. So, we're looking forward to it. It's a good challenge, uh, in our conversations. just in-house, this, um, has… become a good. solution, where we feel that. It's a less… hassle to provide the infrastructure for propane. and still give us. as much of a results that we would be getting. from the electric school bus. initiative. So, just to talk about a little bit what we have in our inventory, um, just to provide you some pictures. where we are and what you see here. we… continually to… we continue to work. our vendors, our OEM partners. of what they do for us is provide. the training, the structure. that is needed to support. And so, I'm giving you a picture here of

065one of the electric school buses. This is one of the IC models we actually have. Um, 11 of these buses. ready to go, and a little… look at the engine, um, some of the things that you don't see there. Um, that you would see in a regular engine. There's a radiator and a fan. Um, that's not there, from there. And then, here's an example of what you see as our mobile charging trailer. And so, we have 4 of these. Uh, 3 of them are level 2. chargers with 7 dispensers around it. And I have one that is a level… 3 charger, and that basically has one. one dispenser, I mean, excuse me, one charger. to dispensers. And so, um… If you want to imagine… my folks gave me the example of how. We would have

066to set this up. It's kind of like a little daisy flower. Where the charger sits in the center. And then we would have 7 buses. Um, situated around it to charge. Where we could have plug that dispenser to the side of the bus. won't be able to do that exactly, but we will be able to get at least 3 to 4 buses. Um, to one charging trailer, um, two… to work. And so, um. We are preparing for that. We are getting staff ready to do that. One of the conditions that we have. Most of our staff. do not carry what we have on the buses, an air brake endorsement. Um, and our diesel buses, we use hydraulic brakes. So… There's no extra endorsement needed. And so, our drivers. that like to drive the bus. right

067now have to get that extra endorsement. Um, in order to drive the bus. From that standpoint. And so that's just a little minor glitch. that we've seen, but it's workable, and we can. move around that. So… but we do depend on our OEM partners. to provide. training. Um, and that's something that we stepped up. I know within the local 2250. contract that was one of the… new additions. It's providing more training. That was already on our plan. to do more face-to-face technical training, because that's what it has come to. The vendor wants our… they have… they give us a product, they sell us a product, we take the product. They want the product to run. So it's in their benefit to. kind of provide us with the training. anything that's needed to support. our drivers

068and our staff to drive the bus, to fix the bus in that respect, so we… have constant communication. And we are working a… When I call a Professional Development Plan. That we touch about, touch upon, um, each. Each semester. So, I've asked… I asked, uh, I gave an invitation to our Safe Passage coordinators, and they were not able to attend. this meeting, but they sent and shared some details that I want to share with you. own what they've been doing as related to. increasing the walking and biking and public transit use. So, right now, I know that you guys mentioned the Ruby Bridges Foundation. And that has been one of the first. I guess community service pieces that the Safe Passage coordinators have been a part of. And if you haven't, um, if you've not

069met them, there are two. Gentlemen, um… Mr. Flood and Mr. Coulthan. And they have been introduced. to a lot in their short time with us. And… but it's a great position. I think those two gentlemen were the right hire. Um, because of their background. And the willingness. that they're willing to do to step in. and be a part of something good. And this goes from what they're helping me on. with doing some… site, bus stop assessments, we do. safe passage assessments. But the biggest part was the participation in the Ruby Bridges program. They shared with me they had worked with two schools. But also, we wanted to highlight all of the schools that have taken apart within the Ruby. Bridges program. And just to share that, this is an up-and-coming. I would love to see

070more of our schools get involved with this. Um, I loved it. I've worked with this in another school district, and. And with PTAs, PTOs, and everyone thought it was an awesome opportunity, and looked forward to the annual events. They definitely are a part of this, and will be continuing to be a part of any of the community service-related. to the walk. walk and bike to school programs. So that's something they wanted me to emphasize to the group as well. when it comes to the Department of Public Works and Transportation. That is another connector for them. We have a monthly meeting. with the Safe Passage Group Vision Zero group. within the county that falls under the Department of Public Works and Transportation. And so within that meeting. We are able to talk more about. the barriers

071that we face in the school system. Where we have no sidewalks, where we do not have adequate. flash maps. Those… are components that we can now. linked to the county, and. try to build a priority listing. to where we can have. those, um. traffic calming components installed. And so those two gentlemen, along with Director Cunningham and his staff. sit monthly with the county officials to have these discussions. And so. I'm appreciative of that, because that is one of the biggest barriers for me. And battling where to put bus stops. As we have so many of our neighborhoods that don't have sidewalks. And so… That reduces the walk. to stop distance. And we're trying to kind of balance out the walk to stop distance. to help eliminate some of the bus stops that we have. So.

072It's a… it's a joint effort to try to do what's right, and try to put everybody kind of, like, on a win-win. Because these are things that we're going to have to constantly do. But their… their participation in… the county meetings. Paramount. And so… I do want to mention that crossing guards, requesting traffic studies. Pedestrian crosswalks. All of those items fall under the county, and actually under the Department of Public Works and Transportation. And they do have a website. in which homeowned, um… not homeowners, but, um… communities can… request. traffic calming studies. and equipment, but it has to be done by the homeowners association. and their presidents to do that. And so, now that I know, you know, we quietly… talk to homeowners, um, homeowners associations, and say, you can put this request in if

073it's needed. I mean, it's stronger coming from the homeowners association. than it is for the school system. We can come in and support it. and bring it up, and let them know. here's what it is when it comes to the number of kids. The bus stops and what we're trying to do. to improve, uh. the conditions for our students. And so… and then the work that they work with me directly. what pedestrian safety. Bus stops, they've done 137 safety assessments so far this school year, and between the two of them. That's a lot of work. And so, it's appreciative. what they do, um… For us, it will be an impact. to, I think this… this group, and as well, to our transportation. All right. So idling with our school buses? Um, where are we with

074this? So, right now. with the diesel buses. the models that, uh… 23, 24… Those models come. with an automatic shutoff. So, it's a state law. That we cannot idle. a school bus any longer than 5 minutes. And… but… I can tell you, you know, from a… from other districts. it's not something that's really policed. But what we do for our buses. We have an automatic off switch. So, if the bus is idling longer than 5 minutes, or right at the 5-minute mark, the bus will automatically. shut down. Um, and so that's a step that we have taken proactively. to try to bring awareness to the idling component with our staff. And… and it's training. Realistically, and it becomes a plan. and a monitoring tool to… bring awareness to that for everyone. on my staff, school

075staffs, from that standpoint. So, it is something… from operational equipment side, we've put in place. Another component that we've added to help reduce it, because as it gets colder. The staff will get there, and they want to start the bus to try to generate the heat. On our buses, we have, um… heater. It's a Webosco heater. And it's a program, so realistically, drivers can… program the heater. to turn on 15, 20 minutes before. for they arrive at the bus. And that heater is meant to warm the engine, and it produces. This is a little, um… cabin heat, as well, so they're… really getting on a cold, cold bus. And so, um, that's something that… has been here. This is… My supervisor, Mark Dressler, and his assistant supervisor, Dave Burgess, have. edit that as a standard

076feature to every bus. And so we encourage our drivers to use that, especially when it gets cold, to help with. To minimize that addling effect. And so, really, again, this is teaching. training, monitoring, and just encouraging our folks to. to take advantage of the resources that are here for them. But this is an ongoing thing. to help reduce diabet. And one of the other pieces that we talk about is safety. and other amenities on the bus. Right now. We have a set of buses, our Bluebird buses. That's the second model. a bus that we have. and our electric buses have seat belts. Right now, we have no ordinance or no AP procedures that would mandate students. It's a totally optional component. We do have integrated bus seats. in which they operate, kind of like your

077car seat in the car. But our younger scholars say age, um. 3- to 4-year-olds. We do put them in an integrated car seat. This is a… too strapped, um, vest. Where the… they can sit in the seat. And so that's a safety piece for them. There's a ton of… bus safety features that we like. One is the… interlock, where… if the driver does not do a sequence of putting their foot on the brake and changing the gears. the bus will not proceed if… if… Um, you push your foot on the accelerator. And so, those are some of the safety features that come standard on buses now, as we. analyze basic accidents and how they occur. So the vendors do a good job of trying to put some protective factors there. And I wouldn't be remiss

078if I didn't mention our. new software, the new Chipmunk app. Um, which we rolled out with our… spit population. for this past month, in beginning November 17th, we will roll out the first phase. of the comprehensive routes that we have to use the chipmunk. And the map, which is something new for our schools. The schools will be able to see their assigned buses now for the AM and PM trips. So, a lot of good things that we're bringing in, we're just being very slow because this is a fast-paced. implementation, and we're trying to make sure that our teams at the bus lots understand this new software. And they're comfortable using it, because if they're not comfortable. We're not going to be able to give our parents a good product. Um, in terms of what you

079see within that Chipmunk app. And so. We're working very hard daily to learn the software. to apply it to our operational routines, our daily routines. But we're excited about it, or what it can offer to our families. by working. So, a lot of good safety features. that we have on our buses, both from a mechanical standpoint. From a technological standpoint, and then just the teaching. That's one of the things I must say that. We want to be able to get into the schools to go over bus safety. and work with bus safety with our… with our schools, especially at the elementary level near. All right. Whew! That was a lot of talking. try to do my best, uh… At this point in time, I will… turn it back over to you, Board Member. boozer, or

080Director Morrison. And any questions that you may have? All right, well, thank you so much, Director Baldwin. And Director Morrison, I will open the floor to questions. Now, I'm going to… I'll, uh, wait a moment till I see hands pop up. And so, um, let's see. So, uh… First, Antoine Thompson, and followed by, uh, Ramon Palencia. Calvo, and then Michael Withersmith. So 2.5 minutes, we'll have a second round as needed, so… We'll use the timer on… on this one for this discussion. Well, first, let me say, uh, thank you, uh. Good, good to see you again, Director Baldwin. Hope all is well. Um… Really appreciate your leadership. Just really two quick questions. One is on, um… off-road charging. Um, there were, um, things like eBoost that can help along the journey. to, um, with charging.

081As well, for some of the buses. And then I wanted to see, um, I know that some of the routes are… a really too long, um, for electrification. And I wanted to see, are you all looking at… other, um, alternative fuels that can save lives and get children off of some of the, uh. diesel-powered buses beyond electric. Obviously, we like electric buses. But everything that's going on, and given the fact that some of the routes. It's just not practical, but I think anything that we can do to get kids off of traditional diesel buses would be… would be great. So I just wanted to see, I know you had a little bit about hydrogen, which I like as well, um, but, um, we just gave an award to, um. My office gave an award to,

082uh, Prince William County, because they're using some propane. Right. So we are looking at propane. to… to offset the diesel… I mean, the electric… impact, and… and… and… and… We are kind of excited about it, so… Depending on what my funding stream looks like for the next year, um, you can… plan on possibly having a couple of our propane buses in place. Uh, the off-road charging came up with the county. Um, understanding the county's transit system, the bus that we use. And so that was something they were looking at. I'm not sure, condition-wise, if there was any collaboration. We were looking to collaborate initially. Um, but that's still a conversation that we're having when we talk about the off… off-road charging. We can help with that, um, because we have about 2 or 3 members

083that provide that service. Um, if there was possible. Perhaps we can follow up and put together a little private roundtable or a public roundtable. Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. I know, um. Councilmember Juanico Fisher? I think that's her name, has been instrumental in trying to link. our two entities together. concerning the electrification. Especially in her district, so… Thank you. Great, thank you so much. Um, next, uh, Ramon Palencia Calvo? Thank you, and thank you for your presentation, Director Baldwin. I really appreciate the commitment to finding cleaner, healthier transportation options for the students and the communities. You know, we all share the goals of the climate. plan. They've also protected children's health, well-being, and safeguarding the climate. you know, I'm making some investments, that's something that, uh. We know how important it is. I listened to your presentation,

084I have a couple of questions, if you can clarify. The first one is about, um. the safety of… Uh, propane buses. while you're… your presentation is right 96%, Lex. nitrogen oxides. My understanding is that. propane buses also. produce carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, particular matter. Also forming toxins. And according to the A-Fleet tool of the Department of Energy. They are comparable, if not higher, than diesel. buses. So, that's something that… If you have some information to put that into perspective, the same as. the life cycle of the buses. propane is comparable in terms of emissions. to diesel buses. And that's according to the Department of, uh. energy, U.S. Department of Energy. So I have a couple of questions, if you can clarify on that, the safety. Yeah. and the health of propane buses. And the other

085thing is the infrastructure. within propane buses need additional infrastructure? Uh, either, um… you know, charging infrastructure, propane, bigger propane tank, distribution of the fuel. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. permits to electrify those places, but that require. some, um… you know, transformations or remodel… redones of the… current depots. Those are… some questions that I have, and the last one is, if I may. You know, with these buses. be locked in for 10, 12 years, the life of a bus, you know. polluting… perpetuating that for another 10, 12 years, or… When you mention it's a breach. fuel is that bridge towards. Not sure what he meant, because I… It is still a fossil fuel burning. And it is going to be for the 10 years. or 12 years that are there. So those are some of the questions that I

086have. You can clarify, but again, thank you so much for the presentation. It's been, uh. very informative. Awesome. Well, thank you. Well, let me start real quick. So, where we are right now, folks. is really a year in the work of studying. If propane is viable. I have many of my colleagues that are… not able to… go to diesel. Or, excuse me, not able to go to electric. Their step-down is propane. And so, what's happening is many of them. I brought it in. Virginia, as a matter of fact, is probably, um, the next state closest to us. That does have a majority of our districts turning to propane. They're either going to propane. Are they going back to gas? And so, I know we're not gonna go back to gas. But we are in a

087year of work, and so I want to be able to, while I'm not able to answer your question directly about the emissions totally. Um, I'm gonna take that back, and I'm gonna add that to it. And so, we want to be able to share out. you know, what the advantages and disadvantages are. If we move to propane, okay? And so, this, again, will be our year in work to get that done. And we'll be happy to come back and talk to you more about the emissions. As you spoke about the infrastructure. EV, yes. There's a lot that goes into the infrastructure plan, and right now, as we've talked. Um, about the projected two bus lots that we would have the chargers. located at, between our Crossland bus lot and our Greenbelt bus lot. Uh, we

088have… one is PEPCO. And another is, um… BG&E. And… the electric… the utility companies. And right now, uh. Those are our biggest barrier. of talking with them, giving… the designs of what we would like to see, and… If they can accommodate the… the levels, and that is kind of where… We are right now is talking with them, letting them know, and then them being able to come back to the table. And let us know what they're willing and what they can do for those particular areas. And so. That's been the conversation with our consulting group, and. Director Matlock's group to better understand the need, and if we can bypass that. Definitely, uh, a big contention. We talk about that infrastructure, the utility companies play a big hand in that. I will say what I know

089from the EV infrastructure versus the propane infrastructure. is very… the propane infrastructure. is list out. intrusive. I mean, literally. We can bring the tanks in on… a… on a trailer, and drop the trailer. and connect. So, but again, no full decisions. We want to make sure we do the work. And understand all of the… Um, the advantages and the disadvantages of bringing in propane, if that's going to be our choice. And as far as the life cycle of the bus, it will continue to be what Comar. Um, has dictated for the state of Maryland. Right now, we change. the life cycle of a bus. is every 12 years. Um, it ranges from 12 to 15 years. Hello! Um, so, from a student perspective, it is very exciting to hear about all the work that's being.

090done, um, personal testimony, like. I used to be on a bus route that was, like, 3 routes combined, and then we went somewhere, and then we split into 2 and 1, and then we went somewhere and split again. So, it's really exciting to hear that there are people… that there's, like, an audit and people working on it. And then from an environmental perspective, it's also inspiring to hear, like, that y'all are reformatting based on. current, um, financial challenges with the state of everything. Um, so I had a question and clarification. So my question was about, um, public transportation. Um, there was a part in the presentation about encouraging public transportation, walking and biking. Um, it's my knowledge that PGCPS students have a, um. partner… or, like, PGCBS has a partnership with City Bus, I'm pretty

091sure. Um, so, like, students get that free, but I was wondering if Transportation has looked at Metro. Um, like, DC Metro, especially for students who live. closer to DC, like, I'm somebody who commutes from Hyattsville to Largo. Um, so sometimes… DC Metro is the only option, and I would have to pay, like, $7 to take the metro through DC. Um, to get to or from school if the buses, there were an issue with that. Um, and then my point of clarification was, is Chipmunk supposed to be a new stopfinder app? Um, yeah. Apologies if that's, like, redundant, and that's, like, been answered, but… No, these are good questions, great questions. So, I appreciate that, yes. So, the public transportation side, the bus, right? The bus, the Prince George's County Transit System offers free transportation. on

092either of their routes. You just have to show your student ID. From ages 5 to 18, as long as you have an ID, you can ride for free. In the past. there were designated routes that the bus handled. Uh, that would go from certain areas… and have stops in front of high schools. But Ramada actually revised routes over the summer. And I did not realize, or, you know, we were not… Part of that change, but many of those routes. that the bus serviced. We're taking over by Metro. So now students are having to pay. So, I've actually sent an email to. My counterpart on, um, the. on the Department of Public Works and Transportation side to try to get some more information about that, because that does impact our students, especially in the northern end.

093Very much so. And so, as we get more information on that, I'll be able to share. about the public transportation use. From that standpoint. So, Metro… to use Metro, uh, this… there was a pilot done. I think a couple of years before I came… before I started. They worked it at one school. And the return on investment. Um, that the school system would have to incur. And so, there may be different opportunities now. But the first time around. and the poly that was used, the return on investment was not high enough. to where the district would want to continue it and expand it to other schools. So, it may be a point that we can… you know, retry it and maybe do something different, but… It has been trying, to your question. Okay? And as

094well. Yes, the parent app, the new parent app, will be the chipmunk app. It's going to replace Stopfinder. Okay? So, we're rolling out by bus lots, and by your route numbers. As to when you can… Access Chipmunk. You can really download it now. Um, you're not gonna see anything, but you can download it and go from there. And it's through your parents, and they have to have a parent view. account, because it's associated with their email, okay? Thank you. Mm-hmm. All right, thank you so much. Um, next is Joseph Jacuda. like, those sort of froze. But there he is. It looks like it froze up. I was on mute. It's Baldwin. I mean… Mr. Jakuta, you… Yeah. Okay, so if you're now on mute, but you're back. when it's… So, Joseph, I'm… Oh, try, try

095again. Okay, there you are. And here. Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Circle back, I'll come… Okay, you can hear me? Yeah, you'll have to start from the top. Okay, I don't know what's going on, because I keep on… anyway, sorry for the mute problems. Yes. Thanks for the presentation, Director Baldwin. Did want to say I'm a little disappointed to hear about the propane approach, but I at least understand why you guys are thinking that way, and I'm hoping. Um, some of the other numbers you provide, um. do show the other health benefits. Um, but my… Two questions were, one. On the first, uh, part, where you were talking about the bus route consolidation, while it was sad to see how little that helped with the miles reduced. Um, it did seem like

096that's reducing the number of routes considerably, and I'm wondering what effect that will have on bus electrification, because I had a… I'm assuming that you're going to have to electrify. less buses if you have less routes. And then my second question was going to be. Whatever wound up happening with the federal funds? Did any… is there any chance that resolved in PGCPS's favor? Gotcha. Yep, yep. Alright, so… with the electric bus and the routes, um… what we had to do last year is target routes. that would accommodate the bus and the range of hours. And with the driver shortage. and the need. It was not conducive, because at this… at that point in time, you could use that bus basically one time a day. Uh, because we ran the charge down. so much that it

097didn't… It wasn't able to charge between the midday and the start of the afternoon run. And so, that's going to happen. When we are short and we're considering, and we still have to double up runs. Um, to get people. But… What I do want to say is that. The electric bus initiative. can work in designated areas. Right? And I think my folks see that, and… That we just have to get there. by, you know, having the staffing. So we're not going to abandon the project. But we want to be able to. buses in service. where the demand is there, where the demand is needed. And so, I don't want to defer like we're going to go totally away from electric. That's still the plan. But as an intermediary to get more to electric. We're looking

098at propane, okay? So. And again, we're in that year of work to really understand it, and if it's going to be a benefit to us from there. So, we're gonna keep working with that, and same thing with the routes. I did not… I failed to mention the grants. I'm sorry, I got all through this and didn't talk about the grants, so I'm glad you mentioned that, Mr. Jakuda. So, uh, we… receive the rebate grants. We are the last rebate was the clean, um, Clean School Bus Rebate Grant. We received that grant. But as the government transitioned. And understandingly, that the grant is a… reimbursement? Meaning that we would have to spend the money first, and then submit to be reimbursed back. Uh, the powers to be decided that that may not be the best. route,

099because if we spent the money. that we didn't really have, we wouldn't have gotten the reimbursement back. And so. It was, um… being that we would deny. not accept the rebate grant. But, at the same time that occurred, the state of Maryland. The MEA. came out with their grant opportunity. Very similar to the Clean School Bus Federal Grant. We opted… to apply for the state grant, because we felt that was more of a guaranteed reimbursement. that we could afford, that we could invest in and get the funds back. So, we wrote the grant. And we were awarded $2.5 million. to procure electric school buses. At the time, it was just for electric school buses, because we had an infrastructure plan. Which was Mulligan. Now we don't have that plan for infrastructure. We do have the

100grant, um, to procure the 8 buses, or up to 8 electric buses. Um, in which we are working through. But we don't have a solid infrastructure plan. And that worries me, because it's kind of putting the cart before the horse. I want to have an infrastructure plan. before I may ring the more buses in. And so. We're talking with the MEA about, is there opportunity that maybe we can. do a low-level… charger, some low-level charging, or low-level charging plan. to one, if not both, sites. to utilize some of that funding. on that nature. So, that's where we are with grants. The hard part right now, folks. is most of these grants are reimbursable, meaning that we're going to have to. front money, and we are, you know, I think we are going down… we're asked

101to really scrutinize our funding. And really understand that if this is a… They absolutely needed deal. to use funding to procure. buses in this manner, we will, but I'm probably going to have to run this up the chain in order to move. forward with any new initiatives for electric school buses. outside of what we already have. All right. Hope that answers your question there, Mr. Jakuta. All right. All right, thank you. Um, I'm going… just because of the time, it's 6-10, and I would like to close this out around 6.15, um… I'm going to just have us do one round of questions, but anyone who didn't get to. ask your questions, let's get those into. Director Morrison to consolidate. Uh, one question and one offer. I'll start with the offer I heard you mention, uh.

102You want to work on education around safety. Uh, so the Schmidt Center has educators on staff, and we may be able to support you. Or at least maybe help some of the folks that you're thinking about, uh, with that. Uh, and then, you know, bring in. some of the green pieces, so, you know, leave safety to you all, but maybe we could integrate, you know, talk about green. Transit, uh, fuel efficiency, those types of things, uh, to bring that into, uh, educate the students as well. So if you're interested in that, please reach out. And we can help support… support there. A question, and I may have missed this, so I apologize. Absolutely. Uh, do… are any of the electric buses in service now? Uh, and the reason I'm asking is because if they are

103servicing schools. That could help support their Maryland Green School application. Um, we do not have any. part… any of them part of a route right now. I am working… to put, um, a couple of new drivers. on the buses, um, out of the Douglas bus lot. Go from there. I know that, um… Berwyn Heights, you know, I wanna… get burned heights, Bern Heights back into it again. Um, because I know we were a part of their application for last school year, so that is still top of my… my list here of when we do… is to make sure I have some buses to take some of the routes from Berwyn Heights. And that's right out of the Greenbelt bus lot, so I haven't forgot about them at all, but any others. If you know of

104schools that are applying. send them my way, and we're gonna… we'll do our best to look at how. We can, um, help support them. with one of their electric buses? Because we may. It just… have to look at it case by case. Okay. Thank you. Uh, thank you, and thank you very much for the presentation. Um, I could probably do about 5 rounds on this particular one, because everything you talked about is right in my wheelhouse, but, um… Just wanted to say that I had the opportunity to work with, uh, both George and Anthony, our Safe Patch coordinators, and you're right, both of them have been phenomenal hires for PGCPS. I had one clarifying question, which is, you said, um, 137 safety assessments performed. Was that for this school year, or since they were higher?

105Because I know they were hired towards the end of last school year, I'm just trying to make sure I get the. You know what? I… it may be… since they were hired. Um, they sent me numbers. the data. to share with you, so… I'm not sure if that's from last year, or, like, starting July 1, I'm not sure. Okay, I'll just say more than 100 safety assessments performed as a safe… number one, where… just when we talk publicly about the benefits of this particular program. Absolutely, absolutely, yeah. And I tell you what, if you want to reach out, because I… look, they're not in my wheelhouse. And… So, if you want to reach out directly to, um. Director Cunningham, he's our safety director. he's… he can kind of square you away more with the safe

106passage coordinators. Okay, I can certainly do that. And then one other… actually, two other quick things. You mentioned. how the crossing guards are under… are under the county. They're… and I think that's an important point. This is just for anyone at home who's watching this video. the police department. Um, and the presentation of this meeting. A lot of times, PGCPS ends up getting requests from parents for crossing… guards, and I think it's important to. make sure that everyone knows that that is actually a county, not a PGCPS request, but a county-level request. Um, and one of the reasons why all of our walkability and school pedestrian safety work is so important is because. Even if we had an unlimited budget, and there's the budget issues, there's the hiring issues. But we would never be able

107to put a crossing guard on every single corner, and so the solution, ultimately, is that we have to. Absolutely. change behavior around our schools to try to make everything safer. And then my last very quick question for you is, uh, just asking if you have ever been to one of the Ruby Bridges Walk to School events, and I can follow up with you on email, uh, if you'd like an invitation to one. I will make sure I follow up with you then. I have not, and yes, I would. We've done… My closest one was in another district, and we… did a Safe Routes to School. Um, little mini-grant in which we did some. walk to school activities for one of our elementary schools throughout the course of the year. Thank you very… in the interest

108of time, I will just follow up with you directly, directly on email then, Director Baldwin. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you. All right, well, thank you all so much for the presentations and for the. questions and discussion, I, you know, I'll take a point of privilege around this topic, and… Feeling the continued call to action around the immense infrastructure and planning. needs for electrification of the buses and, um… you know, as many… many of you know from our work over these years that. that the, you know, CHISPA organization and Ramon Palencia Calvo and, uh, parents and students were absolutely the spark of even having a climate change action plan. At all. And I know as a Board of Education member. was so influential, the advocacy has been so influential, and my service. that I just

109want to reiterate the commitment. to the electric buses, and that this update. really reinforces that we were… We were having a moment with the Biden administration funding the buses all over the country, and we knew PGCPS was going to be soon, we were going to get the big numbers of buses. And that just didn't happen, and the consequences of. elect… elections, so we will… continue this commitment, but it's… it's pretty clear we need to have more of a… We need to re… put an advocacy plan back out there. Like, exactly what we… we… Joseph Jacuda and I, really after the plan, realized. we were not advocating enough on infrastructure, and that that was going to be so hard and had to come first. every… the bus is a visual image, it is… you know, it's

110a product, right? You need dollars for this product, a pretty simple equation. But it's not at all. And so, I just want to say that, um. I wanna… I wanna dig back in as a Board of Education member. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. My top priority as a board member, I get to put in my priorities to Dr. Joseph, the current interim superintendent. It starts with the Climate Change Action Plan. uh, you know, not losing that is my number one as a board member, so… I want to thank everyone for your time this evening, and for your continued. commitment, and for… for being in for the long haul to do the hard work, because we don't always see that. And I know that this group is here to do the work, and. For all the years it will

111take and continue to. pass the baton. through our goals of 2030 and 2040, because we're not all going to be sitting in these seats, right? So, um, with that, I will move to adjourn this meeting, item 3.1. Um, I will… the chair informs the public that the next virtual climate change action plan. ad hoc committee meeting will be held on December 10th, 2025, at 4 30 p.m. Please continue to check the PGCPS board. board webpage for more information and updates. And there being no further business, the time is now 6.19 PM. In the October 20th, 2025. Climate Change Action Plan Ad Hoc Committee Meeting is adjourned. Thank you all, and have a great evening. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Timothy? Oh… I don't have Timothy's contact, am I? Yes. The… Is the recording ending? friend,

112who's the counselor at Spring Hill Lake, said, yes, we'd love to do that, but he's…