School districts in Allegheny, Montgomery, Perry, Philadelphia, Westmoreland, Erie and Delaware counties will be able to plan cost-efficient and environmentally friendly school construction projects with the help of state grants totaling $200,000.

The grants are funded by the State Public School Building Authority and are jointly administered by the Governor's Green Government Council and the Department of Education.

High-performance "green" schools provide a significant cost savings to local taxpayers because of their considerably lower annual operating costs and energy consumption. A report by the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance found that building "green" can reduce energy consumption by 20 percent to 30 percent and lower landscape maintenance expenditures by $3,000 to $4,500 per acre per year.

Evidence from across the nation also shows that students who attend "green" schools make greater academic gains than their peers in other learning environments because of the focus on proper daylight techniques, acoustics and indoor environmental quality.

The "green" schools planning grants help defray costs that are not typically included in a building's design fee, but are nonetheless critical to the complete design of a high-performance building and are dependent on the schools gaining at least a silver rating under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) "green" building rating system.

The council is responsible for promoting high-performance, green buildings throughout the Commonwealth. To date, the Clearview Elementary School in Hanover has been awarded a gold LEED rating, and 18 more Pennsylvania schools are registered for certification.

Schools receiving grants include:

· Pittsburgh School District in Allegheny County is receiving $25,000 for the renovation of the South Construction Technology Center;

· Cheltenham Township School District in Montgomery County is receiving $25,000 for the renovation of the Benjamin Myers Elementary School;

· Burrell School District in Westmoreland County is receiving $25,000 to renovate and build an addition to the Charles A. Huston Middle School;

· Millcreek Township School District in Erie County is receiving $25,000 to renovate and expand the James S. Wilson Middle School;

· Philadelphia City School District in Philadelphia County is receiving $25,000 to construct the School of the Future and $25,000 for the creation of the John Barry School;

· Newport School District in Perry County is receiving $25,000 for the expansion of the Newport Junior/Senior High School; and

· Radnor Township School District in Delaware County is receiving $25,000 to construct a new building at the Radnor Middle School.

This is the first year in which these grants have been administered. Another round of "green" schools planning grant applications will be accepted starting July 1 for the 2006-07 school year. Grants are not awarded on a competitive basis, but rather on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information, visit the Governor’s Green Government Council Schools webpage.

4/28/2006