THANK YOU!
Thank you to everyone who added their names in support of an all-electric, net zero middle school design! Our letter with 123 signatures was submitted to the Concord Middle School Building Committee on February 24, 2021.
Check out our campaign to build Concord’s first net zero school and sign up to get involved!
Goal Reached – 100 Signatures!
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To the Concord Middle School Building Committee —
This letter is submitted on behalf of the Concord chapter of Mothers Out Front. We are an organization of mothers and others driven by our obligation to ensure a livable climate for all children.
This pandemic has taught us that we must listen to the scientific community and plan for foreseeable threats to our future. Scientists are sounding the alarm on climate change, and we have an opportunity here and now to be part of the solution.
We applaud the work done by the full committee, the sustainability sub-committee, and the designers to date. As this project moves towards the design phase, we urge the Concord Middle School Building Committee to follow through on its commitment to design and construct a middle school that is:
- All-electric, with no fossil fuel
- Highly energy efficient
- Powered by solar panels and equipped with energy storage
- Constructed with building materials that have low embodied carbon
Our community is clear-eyed on the threat of climate change, and we have consistently voted to take action. In 2020, the Town of Concord published a Climate Action and Resilience Plan – a blueprint for achieving the climate goals passed by citizens at Town Meeting in 2017. This plan calls for “new municipal and school buildings to achieve high sustainability standards, including net zero energy, all-electric, and resilient design.” The construction of a middle school that meets these standards is necessary for the Town of Concord to meet our emissions reduction goals.
As parents, we also recognize that a sustainable school will be a learning tool in its own right. With this project, we have the opportunity to build a place that reflects our community’s values and teaches our children to be careful stewards of the climate.
Sustainable design accounts for less than 1% of the total construction costs. We ask that you follow through on your commitment to design a structure that is energy efficient and all-electric. Furthermore, we ask that you commit to installing solar panels and energy storage before the school opens by aggressively pursuing external funding and/or partnership opportunities.
Our children need both a livable climate and a great education to realize their full potential. Let’s make sure they get both.
Sincerely,