School construction represents the largest sector of construction. Shown: Fossil Ridge High School in Ft. Collins, Colo. >> Photo by RB+B Architects, Inc.

With one school a day now registering with the year-old LEED for Schools program, the message is clear: Americans want more green schools.

Only 40 schools had pursued LEED certification through the New Construction program in the eight years since LEED was launched, but this past year that number doubled to 80 LEED-certified schools, and the numbers are growing exponentially. That’s because the benefits are undeniable, ranging from significant taxpayer savings in operating costs to improved health and productivity of both students and teachers.

Those benefits have raised green schools to the top of the policy agenda in cities and states across the country.

At least a half-dozen states and the District of Columbia now require new school construction to follow green best practices, and a number of other states have implemented effective incentives to encourage school districts to build or renovate green. One notable example of leadership at the state level is Ohio, where construction will begin on more than 250 new schools during the next two years, and all will be built to achieve at least LEED-Silver certification. The Ohio School Facilities Commission estimates these new schools will save $1.4 billion in energy savings during the first 40 years of operation, fully one-third of their total construction costs.

Encouraging the Process

On Capitol Hill, a bipartisan coalition is growing to show federal leadership in creating incentives for green school construction and retrofits across the country. In the House of Representatives, a Green Schools Caucus was formed in the fall of 2007, and by the end of May, 33 Congress members from 24 different states had joined the caucus.

Thanks in large part to their work, a number of bills that encourage green school construction and repairs have been introduced this session. H.R. 3021, the 21st Century High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, would authorize $6.4 billion in grants and loans to support green construction and repairs in low-income school districts. It had 142 cosponsors, and in late May had passed the House Education and Labor Committee with broad bipartisan support. The bill also has the backing of leading educational organizations, including the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the National School Boards Association, the American Association of School Administrators, the Parent Teacher Association and the Association of School Business Officials International.

Studies show that green schools can improve a student’s performance. Shown: Sidwell Friends Middle School in Washington, D.C. >> Photo by Peter Aaron Esto Photography.

Those organizations are not only lending their powerful voice to the policy agenda, they are aggressively taking the green schools message to their members, and with USGBC’s assistance, they are creating educational programs and community outreach initiatives that underscore green school benefits.

On the local level, many districts and cities have been implementing green schools policies for some time and with good reason: School construction is the largest construction sector of the economy. In 2007, more than 35 billion tax dollars were spent on K-12 construction and 46 percent — about $24 billion — was spent on retrofits and additions, because aging school buildings represent a disproportionately large portion of a community’s total building stock.

The new LEED for Existing Buildings rating system is a good tool for these schools, and USGBC is working to create a robust toolkit to help districts “go green” across their entire building portfolio. It’s another serious cost advantage for taxpayers, because total operations and maintenance cost savings for a green (as opposed to conventional) building is $8/square foot, and the utility upgrades may pay for themselves very quickly in today’s energy cost and water availability environment.

The Real Bottom Line

While the ongoing operational savings are significant, nothing is more important to a parent than a child’s health and well-being. Research continues to prove that green schools are healthier and provide a better environment for learning.

A Carnegie-Mellon study shows health benefits of better indoor air quality associated with green schools results in a 13.5 – 87 percent reduction in symptoms associated with asthma attacks, colds and the flu. A Washington State study estimated a 15 percent reduction in absenteeism and a 5 percent increase in test scores in green schools. That’s consistent with the experience of the students at the Ash Creek Intermediate School in Oregon. For Third Creek Elementary School in North Carolina, students moving there from the district’s lowest performing schools showed a 20 percent improvement in their grade level in reading and math. It was the greatest gain in academic performance in any of the 32 schools in the school system that year. Even simple strategies like daylighting have huge results — 20 percent faster learning in math and 26 percent faster learning in reading were the results of a detailed Capistrano School District (California) study.

If greening our schools will reduce U.S. CO2 emissions by 33.2 million metric tons while saving schools and universities $30 billion in energy costs in a 10-year span, if they dramatically improve the health and productivity of students and teachers — and all while improving student learning performance — it’s no wonder America’s parents, teachers, students, administrators, elected officials and taxpayers continue to embrace USGBC’s vision of green schools for every student within a generation.

For more information on LEED for Schools and resources for promoting green schools in your community, visit www.buildgreenschools.org.