Schools Missing Out on Billions of Dollars of Federal Funding to Create Healthier, Safer Learning Environments, says Johnson Controls

• Approximately $189 billion was set aside to boost post-pandemic learning and recovery, but only a fraction has been spent.
• Many school districts are targeting a portion of their funding at school infrastructure upgrades to improve air quality and create comfortable, safe, efficient and healthy spaces that support better student learning.
• To help school leaders, Johnson Controls is holding a June 16 webinar on how to best take advantage of the unspent ESSER funds for safer K-12 facilities.

Milwaukee, WI, June 14, 2022 – Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), the global leader for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, advises that most of the U.S. Department of Education’s $189 billion set aside to accelerate post-pandemic recovery — including enabling usage for school infrastructure upgrades — remain unspent. To help, Johnson Controls is offering to advise schools throughout the U.S. on how best to take advantage of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds before they expire in 2024.

“We urge school leaders to claim these unspent federal funds to transform their buildings into healthy, productive and efficient learning environments,” said Nate Manning, president, Building Solutions North America, Johnson Controls. “Upgrading older, inefficient school infrastructure pays for itself through energy and operational savings, leads to better student outcomes and reduces climate change emissions. It’s a win-win-win situation.”

To help support schools in using the available funds, Johnson Controls is leading a virtual, one-hour discussion for K-12 school leaders on June 16. Moderated by Johnson Controls’ K-12 leadership, the discussion will be focused on “The ABC’s of ESSER: How to Make the Most of Relief Funds Before They Expire”. A representative from AASA will join, as well as administrators from schools who have leveraged eligible funds for improving their school infrastructure focused on creating a safe, productive and efficient learning environment.

• Waukegan Public Schools: Wanting to address deferred maintenance issues throughout their facilities, Waukegan School District leaders implemented a $10M project, funded by the district’s existing budget and $7M in ESSER funds. The project includes the installation of advanced ventilation, filtration and building controls.

ESSER is a federal funding program administered by the Department of Education as a part of COVID-19 relief legislation. From keeping schools open to investing in infrastructure, this fund provides emergency financial assistance to school districts across the country to meet a variety of needs stemming from the pandemic. A 2020 GAO study found that about 54% of America’s school districts require major upgrades to their school buildings, and 41% of districts need HVAC upgrades in at least half of their schools. School infrastructure improvements can help remedy air quality issues, improve comfort and health conditions, support better student learning, and provide significant reductions in school energy bills. One study showed that schools without a major maintenance backlog have a higher average daily attendance by an average of 4 to 5 students per 1,000 and a lower annual dropout rate by 10 to 13 students per 1,000. Johnson Controls solutions serve over 24.7M students in more than 7,000 school districts across the U.S. For more than 130 years, the company has been committed to helping organizations harness energy and sustainable practices for a better future. Johnson Controls works with K-12 schools to continue that mission by curating healthier environments that improve students' educational achievements. To learn more, visit https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/industries/k-12-education/abcs-of-esser/.

About Johnson Controls

At Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI), we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. As the global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, our mission is to reimagine the performance of buildings to serve people, places and the planet. Building on a proud history of more than 135 years of innovation, we deliver the blueprint of the future for industries such as healthcare, schools, data centers, airports, stadiums, manufacturing and beyond through OpenBlue, our comprehensive digital offering. Today, with a global team of 100,000 experts in more than 150 countries, Johnson Controls offers the world`s largest portfolio of building technology and software, as well as service solutions from some of the most trusted names in the industry. Visit www.johnsoncontrols.com for more information and follow @Johnson Controls on social platforms.

Contact

Kari Pfisterer
Director, Public Relations and Media, North America,
kari.b.pfisterer@jci.com