On December 12th, 2023, the last Dublin Unified School District board meeting of the 2023 year, the Roosevelt Resolution was passed, which aims to transition the school district into a zero-waste-to-landfill entity.
The resolution was spearheaded by The Student Climate Corps, a student-led environmental advocacy organization. It was passed in light of the high amounts of waste produced on the Dublin High campus, with the organization’s annual waste audit highlighting the issue. The passing is considered a bipartisan effort from the Board as a way to address growing environmental issues and concerns.
The first steps that will be taken in accomplishing its goal include adding separate waste streams on the Dublin High campus, placing more water bottle refilling stations on school campuses, and forming a committee to oversee the implementation of the resolution. Pilot programs will be used to assess the economic and sustainability impact on a smaller scale and will also be supervised by the committee.
When asked for her opinion on the resolution’s passing, Minaal Mokarim, a sophomore, noted, “Separating the trash is a good idea, but I feel like people will need to get trained or taught the importance of separating your trash first.”
The Roosevelt Resolution was previously passed in the Fremont Unified School District by Student Climate Corps president, Tarun Rajesh. The district made major strides toward environmental sustainability, such as being nominated as a leader in Educational Sustainability for the StopWaste Environmental Leadership Award and partnering with UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health.
Even with the success of the resolution in FUSD, passing it in Dublin proved to be no easy feat, with it taking over a year to edit and finalize the resolution.
Gale Pabbisetty, vice president of the organization, describes the many challenges that they encountered during the process: “There were so many people we had to talk to and so many numbers we had to gather and calculate, and the whole process was incredibly time-consuming.”
The first stage of the resolution will be carried out in the coming 2024-2025 school year.
