Meffert wants stimulus targeted for schools
Democrat Jim Meffert says he wants billions of dollars from the Federal Stimulus bill to be targeted to put solar panels on some of Minnesota's least energy efficient schools. Meffert says The Department of Energy
has roughly $6 billion
has more than $30 billion in federal funds that have not yet been allocated from the stimulus. He says he'd like to do energy audits of the nation's schools and use those funds to retrofit the schools. Meffert says the funds will help put Minnesotans to work to retrofit the schools.
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"One of the problems that we've been seeing is that school districts have to hire a grant writer, they have to spend a lot of their time and their energy, which frankly they don't have, to develop a project. We've got something that we know will work. We can go find the schools that are least efficient and we can go help them."
Meffert says he thinks the funds could improve 110 schools in Minnesota. He's on a district wide jobs tour this week.
Meffert is running against GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen in Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District.
Side note: Meffert's Tuesday night town hall was canceled because he had a family emergency.