School Districts Saluted for Energy Conservation

The U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency have named four school districts as 2009 Energy Star award winners.

The Council Rock (Pa.) School District, Nash-Rocky (N.C.) Mount Public Schools and Whitefish Bay (Wis.) School District were named Energy Star partners of the year. The Gresham-Barlow (Ore.) School District received an Energy Star award for sustained excellence.

Gresham-Barlow, which has been an Energy Star partner of the year twice before, was recognized for successfully growing and expanding its Resource Conservation Management program.

Council Rock was saluted for adopting an energy policy in November 2005 that quickly surpassed its initial goal of improving energy efficiency by 10 to 15 percent. Nash-Rocky Mount was recognized for establishing a program that has reduced energy use in district buildings by more than 20 percent. Whitefish Bay was honored for an energy-management strategy that has saved more than $1 million since 2003.