School & District Management Download

How to Get the Feds to Pay After You Make Your School Buildings Greener

By Mark Lieberman & Francis Sheehan — October 13, 2023 1 min read
Green ideas environment
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Thousands of school buildings across the country need billions of dollars’ worth of major repairs, renovations, and additions. The federal government can help with a big chunk of the cost—if districts have sustainability in mind.

Congress last year passed a massive spending package that included a new program that creates incentives for school districts to make their buildings more energy-efficient with projects centered around solar and geothermal systems.

Unlike a traditional grant program, there’s no limit to how many incentives schools nationwide can get, and there’s also no limit to how big each incentive can be.

See Also

Photo of excavator by new high school.
iStock / Getty Images Plus

Districts just need to finance the upfront costs of the project, complete the work, and then fill out some Internal Revenue Service forms to get their cash rebates.

Every district will be eligible for a rebate worth 30 percent of the project cost. Some districts will be eligible for the federal government to cover up to 60 percent of the total cost of their green building project, if they meet certain eligibility criteria.

This program could be lucrative for school districts that choose to take advantage of it. Here’s how it works.

Click Here to Download the Guide

    A version of this article appeared in the November 01, 2023 edition of Education Week as How to Get the Feds to Pay After You Make Your School Buildings Greener

    Events

    Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum Supporting the New K-12 Workforce: What Teachers Need to Stay at School
     Join this free virtual event to discover what teachers say they need to feel supported to stay in classrooms for the long haul.
    College & Workforce Readiness K-12 Essentials Forum Career and Technical Education Takes Its Next Big Step
    Join this free virtual event to hear creative approaches to modernize CTE programs and navigate the shift away from a near-exclusive focus on "college preparedness."

    EdWeek Top School Jobs

    Teacher Jobs
    Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
    View Jobs
    Principal Jobs
    Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
    View Jobs
    Administrator Jobs
    Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
    View Jobs
    Support Staff Jobs
    Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
    View Jobs

    Read Next

    School & District Management How School Board Members Really Feel About Political Conflict
    Political tensions remain high for many school boards across the country, new survey data show.
    3 min read
    Members of the school board sit on stage in the school auditorium to respond to questions from residents during the annual Town Meeting, on March 5, 2024, in Stowe, Vt. Town Meeting is a tradition that, in Vermont, dates back more than 250 years, to before the founding of the republic. But it is under threat. Many people feel they no longer have the time or ability to attend such meetings. Last year, residents of neighboring Morristown voted to switch to a secret ballot system, ending their town meeting tradition.
    Members of the school board sit on stage in the school auditorium to respond to questions from residents during the annual Town Meeting, on March 5, 2024, in Stowe, Vt. A new survey suggests that political conflict that rose during the pandemic has remained relatively high for many school boards across the country.
    Robert F. Bukaty/AP
    School & District Management LAUSD Taps Interim Chief as Superintendent 3 Days After Carvalho's Resignation
    Andres Chait has served as a teacher, principal, and regional superintendent in Los Angeles.
    Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times
    6 min read
    Acting Superintendent Andres Chait at a Los Angeles Unified School District Board meeting in Los Angeles on June 23, 2026 .
    Acting Superintendent Andres Chait at a Los Angeles Unified School District Board meeting in Los Angeles on June 23, 2026. LAUSD has named Chait its new superintendent on a permanent basis following Alberto Carvalho's resignation earlier this week.
    Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via TNS
    School & District Management Lessons Learned About Bold Tech Initiatives From the LAUSD Chief's Departure
    Bold initiatives can cut both ways, says a leadership expert, sparking achievement gains or falling apart.
    20260622 AMX US NEWS WHAT ALBERTO CARVALHOS RESIGNATION MEANS 1 LD
    Alberto Carvalho, then the Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent, listens to parents of students at a Los Angeles high school on March 30, 2022. Carvalho resigned from his position Sunday night under the cloud of a failed AI chatbot initiative and an FBI investigation.
    Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG
    School & District Management Carvalho Resigns as L.A. Unified Superintendent Amid Federal Investigation
    Alberto Carvalho has been under FBI investigation for four months after a failed AI chatbot venture.
    Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times
    6 min read
    Los Angeles Schools Federal Raid 26059057494102
    Alberto Carvalho speaks about Los Angeles students' improved scores before Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation related to student literacy in Los Angeles on Oct. 9, 2025. The Los Angeles Unified superintendent, facing an FBI investigation, resigned June 21.
    Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo