It is no secret that public schools across the country are struggling in the recession, just as private companies and individuals are. It is not cheap to hire faculty, administrators and other staff, nor to build and maintain facilities, and comply with all sorts of burdensome federal regulations. With tax revenues falling, that task is even tougher.
But some schools are being hit with needless additional costs, thanks to the pressure to “go green.”
Several states already force or at least pressure school districts to use cleaning supplies that supposedly are “environment-friendly,” and more states are considering legislation that would impose similar rules, The Associated Press reported.
We suppose some of those products are better for the environment than traditional cleansers. But the world is not ideal, and schools cannot afford everything they want — not even those things that may have some benefit.
The state of New York surveyed schools about how a 2005 law on “green” cleaning supplies had affected their budgets. Their costs for supplies had risen 10 percent because of the rules. That may not seem like a huge increase, but considering how much cleaning a given school does in a year, it’s a serious budget hit that can derail other priorities.