School Views
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 03:34PM by Catherine Hart 
photo credit: Joah Bussert
The new school being built to LEED Platinum standards in Greensburg is coming right along, as you can tell from these photos. We thought we'd share information about its sustainable features with readers, to whet your appetite until the facility is open for the new school year in August 2010.
The 130,000 square foot campus will house students from preschool through 12th grade and is designed to accommodate 375 youngsters. The senior high will be on the second floor of one wing of the building, with the younger grades on the first floor across the courtyard.
School Superintendent Darin Headrick says that the school's priority is on making the facility cost-effective to operate, and is focusing on durable systems that have long life spans. The school is going to be both green and sustainable, and will include the following features:
LIGHTING: Natural daylighting is emphasized. Most of the time the lights won't need to be turned on, but when it is necessary, sensors will determine how many lumens to use to get the job done.
HEATING AND COOLING: A geothermal system will facilitate heat exchange. There have been 97 wells dug, each 410 feet into the ground in a closed loop system. (For an easy-to-understand explanation of this technology, click here.)
POWER GENERATION: The school will have an on-site wind generator which will produce 50 kilowatts of power. It is a self-funded project which will pay for itself in 11 years. During its life cycle, the turbine will produce $700,000 worth of power. The school will also buy power from the City for 25-50% of its needs. (Readers might note that starting next spring, the Greensburg Wind Farm will be up and running, providing 100% renewable energy 100% of the time to all the homes and businesses in town.)
FLOORS AND WALLS: The school is going with polished concrete flooring for its sustainable qualities. The walls are burnished block, and it is not necessary to paint them. The exterior of the building will include limestone cladding and wood. Much of the wood is reclaimed from the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas.
WATER CONSERVATION: Rainwater will be captured for use in irrigation. There is the capacity to store a total of 110,000 gallons: 50,000 gallons in an underground cistern, and in four 15,000 above-ground tanks. Other water-saving features include the installation of waterless urinals in the boys' bathrooms, and the collection and composting of food debris.
RECYCLING: There will continue to be recycling containers in every classroom.
ECO-FRIENDLY CLEANING PRODUCTS: The school has a partnership with the Clorox Company, which donated half a million dollars to the building project. Additionally, they are supplying their Greenworks line of products for use in cleaning.
FILTERED WATER: There will be Brita water stations throughout the building. (This is another Clorox donation.)
INSULATION: Some of the school building's walls are Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs). The gym is a steel structure, with SIPs attached to the steel. Plus there will be some block walls.
LANDSCAPING: There will be buffalo grass and native wetlands vegetation planted, with just a few spaces that will need irrigation.
GREEN ROOF: A green roof is in the plans, but they are still needing funding to complete this project.
STORM SHELTERS: There will be FEMA-certified shelters in the locker rooms, located between the two gym areas.
WELLNESS PROMOTION: School administration will implement wellness policy incentives for the staff. Possibilities might include free "healthy choice" lunches and rewarding wellness activities with personal days off.
REUSE OF OLD SCHOOL FACILITY: The steel building that currently serves as cafeteria/gymnasium/auditorium (or "cafegymnatorium", as the folks in Greensburg like to call it) will become a City recreational facility.
COST: This is a $50 million dollar project, with 98% of the money in the bank.
This is a huge undertaking which will serve as a model for what's possible in sustainability. We applaud the efforts of the school board and district staff to bring this project to fruition.
Reader Comments (2)
This is a fantastic effort in sustainability. Once the school is open, the community can support the school's efforts through Adopt-A-Classroom which is a nonprofit organization that has been very successful in helping with high school and elementary school fundraising efforts. Individuals or businesses can adopt a classroom and 100% of the funds go into the teacher's online account to shop for classroom materials. Schools already registered in Greensburg Kansas are listed here: http://www.adoptaclassroom.org/adoption/LocatorCity.aspx?State=KS&City=Greensburg&Private=0&inter=0
Thanks, Nancy, for writing about the Adopt a Classroom program. I wasn't familiar with this before, but will pass along the info to the school district office so they can follow up. It means a lot to us when people read our GreenTown website and share their ideas.