The Cherokee County (Ga.) School District has been named the top school system of its size in the state by Georgia’s 2015 Green Ribbon Schools Program.
This is the second time that Cherokee County has been named the winner for medium-sized districts, the district announced in a news release.
“The Cherokee County School District thinks ‘green’ in all aspects of its operations, as environmental awareness and responsibility benefits the physical health and safety of students and staff, the financial health of the system and the overall health of our entire community and its resources,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank R. Petruzielo.
The program honors schools and school districts where staff, students, officials, and communities have worked together to produce progress in three pillars of green school activity: optimal efficiency in energy, water, and waste management; healthy students and school environment; and environmental education.
Among Cherokee County’s green accomplishments:
• All new construction includes energy and water conservation features such as: long-lasting, low-maintenance construction materials; high-efficiency fluorescent lighting and lighting controls; low-flow bathroom fixtures and waterless urinals; HVAC systems with variable speed drive pumps; energy recovery units; energy management controls throughout the facility; reflective metal roof systems.
• All district facilities have been retrofitted with energy-efficient technology
• The district has been a Clean Air Campaign partner for five years and is committed to practices to improve air quality, such as an idle-reduction policy for buses.
• All buses bought before 2007 have been retrofitted with the latest exhaust-reduction devices.
• CCSD promotes initiatives to “reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink,” such as the conversion to online systems across departments and facilities to reduce paper use.
