Plans to Build Green Schools Emerge More than 100 superintendents, school board members, county commissioners, architects, and construction industry representatives from across North Carolina convened in Southern Pines on October 23, 2006 for Sustainable Sandhills’ High Performance School Buildings Symposium.

 “The success of the Symposium will be measured over the next several years as new schools are built with high performance design features,” said Sustainable Sandhills Executive Director Jon Parsons. “We hope that counties in Southeastern NC will agree they need more sustainable buildings and incorporate high performance strategies in all new public buildings.”

In fact, indications of that success are beginning to emerge as the Cumberland County Commissioners recently contracted with sfl&a Architects and developer FirstFloor to compare the life cycle costs of their next elementary school using a typical design (district-owned) and a high performance design (developer-owned using a capital lease model).  FirstFloor and sfl&a Architects will present their results to Cumberland County this fall.

 “Cumberland County School Board members are very excited about the idea of building a really green school,” said architect Robbie Ferris of sfl&a Architects and FirstFloor.

Members on the Board of Education in Harnett County are also taking these principles to heart. According to Donna McNeill, Chairman for the Harnett County Board of Education, "The Harnett County School Board is concerned about the environmental footprint of the schools we build and teach in. The materials presented at the HPS Symposium deserve our attention and research."

Among the speakers at the Symposium were Thomas W. Hughes, Vice President with Moseley Architects, who gave a case study on the Third Creek Elementary School, a LEED Gold certified school in Iredell County, NC. Not only is Third Creek Elementary School an example for school districts across North Carolina, it is also the first elementary school in the nation to be certified as a LEED Gold building.

 The Symposium was the first in the Sandhills region to focus on high performance schools and how today’s schools can be built smarter and more energy efficient than their predecessors. The Symposium addressed 21st Century design and construction techniques which reduce the cost of operation and maintenance, and improve student performance and health.

 Symposium speakers and topics included:

• Larry Shirley, Director of NC State Energy Office: How Energy Policies Affect School Construction Choices

• Thomas W. Hughes, AIA, REFP, LEED AP; Vice President, Moseley Architects: Case Study on LEED Gold, Third Creek Elementary School

• Mike Nicklas, FAIA; President, Innovative Design: Costs and Benefits of Daylighting and Energy Strategies

• Robert W. Ferris, AIA, REFP, LEED AP; Principal, SfL+A Architects:  SB2009 – Leasing School Facilities to Reduce the Total Cost of Ownership

• Jyoti Sharma, AIA; Director of Facility Planning, Wake County Schools: Influencing Decision Makers

• Wyndol Fry, Former Assistant Superintendent, McKinney, TX: Superintendent/School Board Member Perspective

• Dr. Ben Matthews, Director of School Support from the NC Department of Public Works