NYT - Schools Go Green

Mark Steiner/Agency New Jersey for The New York Times
ENERGIZED In Toms River, N.J., all of the schools, including the high school, above, have solar panels.

FRAN SILVERMAN
Published: October 10, 2008
SCARSDALE, N.Y.

G. Paul Burnett/The New York Times
Scarsdale High’s garden draws, from left, Sophie Black, Cara Nese, Ben Pullman and Ethan Paul.
THIS fall, students in the cafeteria line at Scarsdale High School are choosing among organic squash, peppers and fresh tomatoes grown on site. In White Plains, a new elementary school will be using geothermal energy and a new roof that can grow plants in 2009. In Toms River, N.J., every school building has solar panels. Sparked by a desire among educational leaders to set an example and squeezed by rising energy costs, schools across the region are going green.

New Jersey and Connecticut are among 10 states in the nation requiring schools to use renewable energy sources for new school construction and major renovations. But many school officials in the region say they have already started down the green path.

In Scarsdale, the school board approved a resolution two years ago to reduce the district’s overall energy consumption 10 percent below 1990 levels and appointed a sustainable energy coordinator.

The district is committing $7.1 million to contract with a company that will reduce energy waste in each of its buildings. It also gave elementary schools funds for renewable energy projects.

With a portion of the $15,000 given to the high school, students and teachers planted an organic garden that since the summer has produced more than 600 pounds of produce. Some of it is donated to food banks, especially during the summer months, when classes are not in session. Water fountains were replaced with energy-efficient units and students were given stainless steel bottles to reduce the use of plastic bottles.

And there is much more that the school wants to do, like replacing the windows in the 91-year-old building, expanding an indoor greenhouse, planting an apple orchard and purchasing solar panels, said John Klemme, the high school principal.

The schools’ green efforts have ignited a commitment among some students in the school to make other earth-friendly changes in their lives.

“I always tell everyone to turn off the lights,” said Ben Pullman, 17, a senior who worked in the garden. “This summer I ate totally locally.”

Environmental advocates say schools are in a unique position to serve as role models.

“You’ve got to walk the walk, not just talk the talk of what you are preaching,” said Steven Frantz, a retired school principal who is coordinating Scarsdale’s efforts. “You’ve got to teach students why you are doing that and how they can help out.”

Rachel Gutter, senior manager of the education sector for the U.S. Green Building Council, said 1,000 schools nationwide are registering for certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, or LEED, a green standard. Five schools in New Jersey, three in Connecticut and one in New York have qualified. About 115 schools nationwide have already been certified as meeting the standard, she said, and the number of those interested is growing every year.

A recent study by the American Federation of Teachers showed that the costs of renewable energy technology and energy efficiency programs are decreasing, coming in at $3 more per square foot, or 2 percent more over all, to build a green school.

“With new construction, the biggest challenge is not related to cost but the perception of cost,” Ms. Gutter said.

With energy costs skyrocketing, schools are increasingly looking to reduce waste.

“Electric rates in the state have gone up 70 percent, and in the last four years oil and gas prices have almost doubled, so that puts a huge burden on a school system,” said William M. Leahy, chief operating officer of the Institute of Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University.

There is a variety of creative financing available now for schools that want to be energy efficient, advocates say. States are offering construction reimbursement grants. Some companies are offering energy performance contracts in which schools defray upfront costs, paying later through savings in energy costs. Some utilities are also offering lease agreements in which excess energy converted by solar panels is sold back to the company to defray upfront installation costs.

New Haven schools in Connecticut used state construction reimbursement funds to help defray some of the $900 million in costs to build 15 new schools that meet LEED standards. The state paid 80 percent.

Tom Roger, New Haven’s school construction program director, said the district decided five years ago that all of its new schools would have to meet energy-efficiency and sustainable-energy standards. Compared with the costs at older schools, the district has reduced operating expenses at each new school by 30 percent, totaling an estimated $100 million savings over the lifetime of all the schools built. Mr. Roger said that although New Haven receives more aid from the state than wealthier districts, other school systems should not be deterred from building green.

“It doesn’t cost as much today to make a building green and efficient as it did five years ago,” he said.

Toms River Regional Schools in New Jersey put solar panels on all district buildings in 2005; since then the panels have generated 2.5 million kilowatts of energy. School Superintendent Michael J. Ritacco said that each year since the panels were installed the district has made $1 million selling extra solar energy back to the utility company and saved $650,000 in overall energy costs. The district received $7.2 million toward the $20 million project from the State Board of Public Utilities and an additional $7 million in state school construction grants. It also applied for interest-free loans from the federal government. All of the aid reduced the cost to the district to $6 million.

The state is no longer offering the utilities grants because it cannot meet the demand, but Mr. Ritacco says he still encourages school officials to purchase solar panels through special financing or new rebate programs.

“We tell other schools that the panels are great,” Mr. Ritacco said. “Any way you can get them and put them in, you should.”