Conklin: Nearly $106,000 secured for State College Area School District environmental repairs
Rep. Scott Conklin September 10, 2024 | 1:23 PM
STATE COLLEGE, Sept. 10 – A grant of $105,906 to the State College Area School District will fund building repairs and improvements to ensure students and staff have the healthiest possible learning environment, state Rep. Scott Conklin announced today.
Conklin, D-Centre, said the grant was awarded through the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Environmental Repairs Grant program, which funds projects to eliminate school environmental hazards such as lead, mold, asbestos and other problems.
“Dedicated teachers and school staff are the No. 1 reason our students thrive, but they also depend on a safe, hazard-free learning environment,” Conklin said. “That’s why I worked to secure budget funding that addresses all our district’s educational needs – from staffing and curriculum to building improvements that ensure safe and healthy classrooms. With this new funding, State College Area School District will have the resources needed to identify and eliminate any building hazards so students and staff can stay safe and focus on the business of learning.”
The funding is part of a package of $75 million awarded to schools statewide under the PDE Environmental Repairs Grant program and secured in the state’s 2023-24 budget. Schools can use the money to improve water infrastructure and eliminate contamination, install point-of-use treatment devices to reduce lead and other contaminants, remediate mold or asbestos contamination, and perform other projects that remediate environmental hazards.
More about the funding is available here: https://www.education.pa.gov/Teachers%20-%20Administrators/School%20Construction%20and%20Facilities/Pages/Environmental-Repairs-Rewards.aspx.
More about the program is available here: https://www.education.pa.gov/Teachers%20-%20Administrators/School%20Construction%20and%20Facilities/Pages/SchoolEnvironmentalRepairsProgram.aspx#3