Los Angeles hit 100 degrees in March — in the winter. California is getting hotter, and the 2026 “Super El Niño” means this summer likely will break records again.
Thousands of California schools are missing the HVAC systems that could protect students from that heat. That’s not just uncomfortable — it’s dangerous. Extreme heat harms learning, drives down attendance and threatens student safety.
And modern HVAC systems do more than cool classrooms. They filter out wildfire smoke, block carcinogens and reduce the spread of infectious disease. They replace fossil fuel heating systems that churn out pollution students end up breathing. For kids with asthma or other respiratory conditions, HVAC systems can be lifesaving.
As California gets hotter, working air conditioning in classrooms is not optional: It’s as essential as the lights or the roofing. We are both California parents, and we know this from our families’ experience as well as through our work. Climate change is making our kids’ classrooms too hot for learning.
The California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing, and Efficiency Program — known as CalSHAPE — was designed to deliver the needed upgrades. It funds HVAC repairs and replacements at schools that can’t afford them. Nearly half of CalSHAPE’s budget has gone to schools in underserved communities. A recent cost-benefit analysis found that CalSHAPE delivers $30 in value for every dollar invested — mostly from better educational outcomes and avoided sickness. And 92% of Californians say the state should be prioritizing cooling in schools.
So why is CalSHAPE on the chopping block?
Because the state’s electric utilities want the money. By the end of this year, if remaining CalSHAPE funds are unspent, nearly $200 million could be returned to investor-owned utilities. That money has been sitting around for almost two years, with the Newsom administration so far declining to release it to schools — despite more than 4,000 schools that could use it.
The utilities claim that if they get this money, the cash infusion will defray costs for ratepayers. But utilities just as easily could take the $200 million as profits. As if they need more of that. Last year, Pacific Gas & Electric posted a third consecutive year of record-breaking profits, clearing $2.6 billion. Sempra, which owns San Diego Gas & Electric, made $1.8 billion. Southern California Edison more than tripled its profits to a record $4.9 billion. Utility executives are personally profiting too: Last year, PG&E’s chief executive compensation climbed 25% to almost $20 million. And the chief of Edison’s parent company had his compensation rise 20% to nearly $17 million. These corporations and rich executives do not need another handout, let alone one at the expense of schoolchildren.
Even if utilities did receive the millions meant for schoolchildren and passed that along to ratepayers, it’s unlikely anyone would notice. Refunding the full amount would cut SDG&E bills by just $2 per month for one year; $1.25 per month for Edison customers; and a mere 20 cents for PG&E customers. Still, bills might not actually fall: The regulator easily could approve rate hikes that wipe out a mere $2 savings. Since 2020, PG&E’s rates already have risen by almost 70%.
California children’s health and safety should not be traded for pennies.
Meanwhile, the utilities also have devised other ways to profit off this school program. There is a proposal to redirect $70 million in interest generated by CalSHAPE to the Emergency Load Reduction Program — a utility-run slush fund. A full 98% of the funds in that program have been used for utility administrative fees. Since 2023, the utilities have spent more than $39 million on that program’s overhead while delivering just $700,000 in benefits for customers. For every $1 that reaches the public, utilities pocket $55. It’s a failed program.
That $70 million in interest instead should go to programs that actually work — helping more schools upgrade their infrastructure or supporting the Demand Side Grid Support Program, which allows more than 200,000 families across California to reduce their electricity bills. It reduces outages, cuts pollution and generates $206 million in savings for Californians. Participation rates are strongest in counties where solar adopters have lower incomes, in places like the Inland Empire and the Central Valley. Even school advocates support using the interest from the school program for this grid program — provided the $200 million that has just been sitting around for two years actually is spent on schools, without more delays.
The governor and the legislature must act now to extend the program. Otherwise schools will lose their funding. For example, Santa Barbara Unified School District was awarded CalSHAPE funds to replace aging gas furnaces with electric heat pumps and bring much-needed cooling to elementary classrooms. But because of unrealistic deadlines and delays in the state’s review process, the district cannot finish four of the five awarded schools. Extending CalSHAPE would let Santa Barbara, and countless districts like it, finish the job, cool the classrooms and give kids safe, healthy learning environments.
Teachers know what’s at stake. At a recent public hearing, Mitch Steiger of California Federation-Teachers — a union that represents teachers and educators across the state — said it plainly: “Our members and our students are very literally dying for this money.”
He’s right. Schools are on the front lines of the climate crisis. It’s good that some state leaders get that. On May 18, a group of California lawmakers sent a letter pushing to extend the CalSHAPE program and ensure the full $200 million reaches the schools that need it. Newsom helped create CalSHAPE. He should be proud of it — and finish what he started. Letting utilities walk away with the money would undo one of his own climate accomplishments and leave thousands of classrooms dangerously hot.
Giving that money to utilities instead keeps classrooms unsafe for kids. That wouldn’t be a budget decision. It would be a moral failure.
Leah Stokes is an associate professor at UC Santa Barbara, the author of the forthcoming book “The Carbon Wave” and the policy director of the 2035 Initiative. Jonathan Klein is chief executive and co-founder of UndauntedK12, a nonprofit supporting climate action in schools, and a co-author of “Students, Schools, and Our Climate Moment.”
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