Contact: Nema Brewer-Candy • First Posted: Friday, December 18, 2009

Furthering its strong commitment to the environment and conservation, the Fayette County Board of Education has approved the launch of a sustainability initiative.

The effort will focus on four areas: energy conservation and savings; curriculum enhancement and teacher support; identification of sources of funding for sustainable projects; and green facility design.

Each school will be invited to offer input through the creation of a Sustainability Council and Green Building leadership program. These groups will develop schedules, measurable tasks and accountability measures to implement the initiative, which will be financed through energy savings, grants and federal and state funding sources.

“We are very excited to begin this initiative and believe it will impact the district in two ways – by helping us become better stewards of the environment and by increasing our efficiency in how we manage district resources,” Superintendent Stu Silberman said after Thursday night’s board approval.

A team of regional and nationally recognized engineers and architects with experience in environmental and sustainability planning and design was selected to assist the school system. The team includes Smith Management Group, RossTarrant Architects, CMTA Engineering Consultants and SBB Consultants.

“We want to take advantage of green programs that will produce the best results for Fayette County Public Schools. Our goal is to begin a grassroots movement with our most important stakeholders – our students – that will radiate throughout the community, creating a model of sustainability and resource management,” said Mary Wright, the district’s chief operating officer.