TUCSON, Ariz. — The Tucson Unified School District now has the nation's most comprehensive climate action plan for a school district.
TUSD's governing board voted 3-2 in favor of the climate resolution after about an hour of contentious discussion.
Arizona Youth Climate Coalition, a group of students aged 13 to 20, created, researched and lobbied for the resolution. Two of the AZYCC members even helped to present the resolution to the board.
"It's been 16 months," said Ojas Sanghi, Tucson co-lead for the AZYCC after the vote. "So to see [the resolution] go to the finish line is like... 'is this real?'"
The resolution's major items involve a 2040 net-zero emissions goal and zero-waste goal as well as adding climate curriculum in schools. See AZYCC's full draft resolution here.
A concern for those against the resolution was the possible price. When the resolution was presented, AZYCC mentioned an estimated implementation cost of $900 million, which turned off some board members.
The speakers emphasized that the number was only an estimation, and, should the resolution pass, they'd find a third-party consultant who could create a more accurate estimate of the resolutions price and benefits.
However for some board members, that $900 million dollar estimate was just too much to vote in favor of.
