FAYETTEVILLE : ‘Green’ schools a growing concept
Posted on Monday, November 24, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE — Sensors measure sunlight streaming through large windows at Butterfield Trail Elementary School, dimming or shutting off electric bulbs when natural light will suffice.
It is one of many energy-saving features in a new addition to the school set to open in January.
A reflective roof coating will lower the building’s temperature, air conditioners are 24 percent more efficient than typical commercial units, and sensors will shut off lights when rooms are unoccupied.
After a year of occupancy and exhaustive documentation by project engineers, Fayetteville administrators hope the U. S. Green Building Council will grant the building LEED certification, affirming its environmentally friendly construction and energy-saving features.
“If we’re going to do the right thing, let’s underscore it,” said Dick Johnson, assistant superintendent for the Fayetteville School District. “Everything we do is observed and interpreted, and this is a branding that’s recognized nationally.”
LEED, an abbreviation for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, has slowly spread from commercial to public spaces as taxpayers have become more engaged in “green” building construction, Johnson said. But while some school leaders strive for the designation, others resist it, claiming the label elevates project costs without guaranteed return and raises questions from the public, sensitive to every increase in a building’s budget.
RECOUPED EXPENSES The U. S. Green Building Council ranks buildings seeking certification on a 69-point scale, adding points for designated building features and materi- als. Buildings that score at least 26 points receive certification, and those scoring higher receive silver, gold and platinum ratings, according to the council’s Web site.
In 2007, the council launched an accreditation scale specifically for schools that awards points for the acoustic qualities of classrooms and for using the building as a tool to teach about environmentally friendly building techniques.
Butterfield Trail Elementary engineers hope to earn 33 points through the building’s features, said project manager Wes Burgess of Crafton, Tull, Sparks and Associates.
Engineers planned many of the school’s features before deciding to seek the label.
“With some minor modifications, I think a lot of school buildings could qualify,” Burgess said.
Four schools in Arkansas are pursuing LEED certification: Butterfield Trail Elementary, Wooster Elementary School in Greenbrier, Bismarck High School and Hurricane Creek Elementary School in Benton.
Bryant is the only school district with a LEED-certified building in the state. Bethel Middle School obtained a silver rating in 2007, gaining points for a two-story design built into a hillside, allowing entrances on both levels.
The district claims the features added $ 7 per square foot in construction costs, which are projected to be recouped in energy savings after 12 years of using the 121, 000-square-foot building.
“This wasn’t a tough sell,” said Don McGohan, assistant superintendent. “There’s no question that it’s more expensive on the front end to construct on that level, but the cost is recouped over the cost of the building over the long term.”
The council claims that LEED-certified schools use an average of 33 percent less energy, 32 percent less water and reduce solid waste by 74 percent, compared with traditional school buildings. Modifications typically add 2 percent to the final construction cost, the council says, although some LEED critics disagree.
The claims have spurred massive applications of the standard across the country. Schools seeking LEED certification are under construction in all 50 states. In 2007, the Ohio School Facilities Commission adopted LEED as part of its school design standards, committing $ 1. 9 billion of partnership funding for projects in 40 school districts.
Detractors dispute the payoff of building to LEED standards.
Karen Rue, chairman of the Texas Fast Growth Schools Coalition, spoke against the standards in an August state Senate subcommittee hearing. The coalition, representing 118 Texas school districts, argued the public wouldn’t be ready to the finance building standards until it fully understood the benefits.
“What we have observed of the various certification standards such as the LEED program is that they go far beyond what we feel many of our voters are likely to find necessary in order to make our campuses energy efficient and environmentally friendly,” Rue said. “Given that local elections on bond issues are the starting point for the construction of school facilities, these local viewpoints must be carefully considered.”
OBSTACLE OR ASSET ? Siloam Springs will construct a new $ 53 million high school using many energy-efficient features, but stopping short of seeking LEED certification, said Kent Raymick, assistant superintendent. “We’re going to do as much as our budget allows,” he said. The 296, 000-square-foot building will use large windows to let in sunlight. A water-cooled climate-control system will cost $ 1. 9 million more than a base model, but it operates twice as efficiently, Raymick said. “If we have to give up some fancy floors to pay for that, so be it,” he said. The school will be constructed using $ 15. 3 million of state partnership money, which is granted based on minimum costs for a designated list of academic uses. Costs beyond that, including super-efficient systems, must be covered by the district, Raymick said.
“We could probably build the most inefficient building possible and they wouldn’t care,” he said.
But school districts have an interest in driving down energy use, which eats a significant portion of their annual operating budgets.
Bentonville School District hasn’t sought the LEED label for any of its building projects, opting instead to pursue an aggressive energy audit from the Environmental Protection Agency, said energy manager Sam Reyna.
By retrofitting existing buildings with new wall coverings, roof coatings and insulation materials, the district hopes to earn an Energy Star designation from the EPA, with claims of reducing its energy bills by 25 percent over other, similar-sized districts.
The district employs several energy-saving devices, including light sensors in its high school and a geothermal system that uses circulated water drilled from wells to heat and cool Cooper Elementary School.
After seven years of employing an energy manager, Siloam Springs estimates it has saved $ 1 million in energy costs by completing energy audits and shutting off things that “shouldn’t be buzzing or humming” after school hours, Raymick said.
But the district’s new buildings relied on the June passage of a 5. 4-mill tax increase, part of the 12. 7 mills approved by voters in the last four years, he said. Architects worked to whittle down building costs to reduce the size of the necessary tax increase in a difficult economic climate.
“We felt like we were pushing our luck as it is,” Raymick said. “It’s a tough balance here. I wish we could do more.”
Fayetteville leaders hope the LEED designation will have the opposite effect, Johnson said. The planned construction of a new high school will rely on a bond issue, and administrators hope the promise of a LEED designation will draw environmentally conscious voters to the polls. “Right now, it’s turning from an obstacle into an asset,” Johnson said. “The consciousness of environmental issues is ascending at a pretty remarkable rate.”
To contact this reporter: eblad@arkansasonline. com
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