City schools receive state green award

Waynesboro Public Schools have been awarded first place in the 2010 Virginia School Board Association’s Green Public Schools Challenge, an honor presented by the Virginia Municipal League to local school systems who have been the most proactive in reducing energy consumption, implementing green initiatives and reducing their carbon footprint.

In 2009, Waynesboro Public Schools partnered with Linc Services, a leading energy and building services provider with multiple offices located throughout Virginia, to complete facility upgrades to several of the schools’ buildings. As a result of the Bundled Energy Solutions program provided by Linc, there has been a 40 percent reduction in the schools’ energy costs. During the life of the 15-year program, the facility improvements and operational savings are projected to save the school district more than $360,000 per year.

“The Waynesboro Public Schools are very proud to be the recipient of this year’s VSBA Green Public Schools Challenge award,” Waynesboro school superintendent Dr. Robin Crowder said. “With the help, support and hard work by so many, the Waynesboro Public Schools are working diligently to educate our children in understanding how important it is to manage, conserve and take care of the earth’s natural resources. Our classroom teachers and students, along with the technical and mechanical improvements made by Linc Services, have made incredible gains in ensuring our schools are operating at optimal conditions, saving tax dollars and providing highly, efficient learning environments in our schools.”

“Linc Services is very proud to partner with Waynesboro Public Schools and honored to have played a part in providing the services and solutions that helped them achieve the 2010 VSBA Green Public Schools Challenge award,” said Jeffrey Buennemeyer, Linc Service’s vice president of the Mid-Atlantic Region. “Since the beginning of our relationship, Waynesboro Public Schools have been extremely committed and proactive in improving the overall learning environment for their students, while reducing the operating cost of their facilities. It comes as no surprise they have been recognized with such a prestigious award for their efforts.”

Linc Services completed upgrades to eight of the school district’s buildings, including Waynesboro High School; Kate Collins Middle School; Berkley Elementary; Wenonah Elementary; Westwood Elementary; William Perry Elementary; Wayne Hills Elementary; and the school system’s central office. Working together, Linc Services and the school district leveraged existing state legislation and developed a comprehensive self-funded solution that covered all of the facility improvements. The final plan was fully self-funded via the school systems existing budget, required no capital funding, no new bonds or any additional burden to taxpayers.

Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at [email protected].