We Found Money Hiding Underground
What Starling K-8 Can Teach Ohio About the Future of Our Schools
What if one of the ways Ohio schools could save money was sitting right beneath our feet?
On August 3, 2026, Safe Green Schools joined Columbus City Schools for a behind-the-scenes look at something most students and families never see. Parents, community members, CCS School Board members and staff, and interested parties from across Ohio joined us for a tour of the geothermal system beneath Starling K-8.
The tour was more than just looking at equipment. We were there to see whether the promise of cleaner school infrastructure could actually deliver and what it would mean for students, educators, and communities across the state. Starling K-8 is already showing us what’s possible.
A School Powered by the Ground Beneath It
Starling K-8 is one of six Columbus City Schools buildings built with geothermal heat pump systems. Since opening in 2013, the school has used heat from the ground to help heat and cool its classrooms.
During the tour, community members and school leaders got an up-close look at the geothermal equipment and infrastructure that makes it possible. Instead of relying exclusively on traditional dirty oil and gas systems, geothermal technology uses the relatively stable temperature underground to efficiently heat and cool the building.
The ground beneath a school can help power the school above it.
And after more than a decade of operation, it’s a real Ohio school with years of experience that will help us answer an important question: Does geothermal actually work?
The Answer: Yes
CCS’s schools that run on geothermal use about half the energy of similarly sized buildings and provide more reliable, comfortable heating and cooling.
Daisha Wall, Program Director of UndauntedK12, noted, “Today, this technology is more affordable than ever. Any district that installs this technology can receive up to 50% of the installation cost back as a direct cash reimbursement from the federal government. It's a game-changer for making these upgrades more cost-effective.” Frankly, if districts don’t use these tax credits, they are leaving free money on the table when our district needs every penny it can get.
As Chelsea Watson, Senior Program Director, Building Power Resource Center noted, “Every dollar spent today is a choice: lock schools into decades of fossil fuels use and costs, or invest in renewables for lower bills and healthier communities. That choice is made easier by federal and state funding and financing available that CCS can use to stretch their dollars even further. Through this year’s Safe Green School projects alone, CCS is set up to bring in as much as $1.4M in additional public dollars for the district.”
For families, teachers, and school communities, conversations about infrastructure can sometimes feel far removed from the everyday experience of students. Energy costs are school costs.
Every dollar a district spends operating and maintaining its building is a dollar that can’t be spent somewhere else. And when schools can reduce long-term operating costs, those savings have the potential to support the things that matter most: students, educators, classrooms, and educational opportunities. The geothermal systems at Starling and the other five sister buildings matter.
They give Columbus City Schools years of real-world experiences that show clear buildings = stronger schools.
Cleaner buildings = Strong schools and Columbus is Leading the Way
The Safe Green Schools campaign believes that good energy policy and good education policy should never be separate conversations. Students deserve schools that are safe, healthy, comfortable, and built to last. Communities deserve public investments that make sense for the long term. Educators deserve school buildings that support their ability to teach and learn.
Geothermal systems offer a way to bring those priorities together.
The lesson from Starling K-8 demonstrates what it looks like when we invest in cleaner, more efficient infrastructure.
Administrators from cities around Ohio joined the geothermal tour to learn how to emulate what CCS is already doing. It’s no secret that school districts across the state are struggling with insufficient budgets as the state keeps slashing public school funding. Leaders are learning from the state’s largest school district about how to save money with green energy infrastructure.
As school districts across Ohio face aging buildings, rising costs, and difficult decisions about who to spend limited resources on, we should be looking closely at what’s already working in our communities.
Because sometimes the resources we need aren’t somewhere far away–they’re hiding underground.
Check out the live stream of the press conference livesream to learn more.
