Stevenson hires environmental consultant
Fresh off receiving national recognition for their environmentally friendly and energy-saving practices, Stevenson High School officials on Monday agreed to hire a consultant to keep the sprawling Lincolnshire campus in the green.
Cannon Design, a firm with offices in Chicago and 16 other cities across the globe, got the job, which will entail preparing the school for recertification by the U.S. Green Building Council as part of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.
Stevenson was honored in October with gold-level certification for its energy-conservation and environmental efforts. That’s the second-highest level in the four-tiered LEED rating system.
Stevenson was the first existing public high school in the country to achieve gold certification.
Cannon staffers will help gather data on energy savings, organize team meetings and workshops and present annual progress reports, according to a board document. Getting certified in October was only the beginning of the LEED process, said Mark Michelini, Stevenson’s assistant superintendent for business.
For its work, Cannon will be paid up to $15,000 annually through 2016, according to the board document.
Stevenson’s conservations efforts have been building for years.
The school earned media attention in 2008 by installing a rooftop garden that absorbs sunlight and reduces electricity usage in the environmental science classroom below it. Another classroom is powered by solar panels.
This year, students completed annual satisfaction surveys on school-owned iPads rather than on paper.
Stevenson officials also have created programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy and promote recycling.
The various projects contributing to the LEED certification cost the district about $200,000, a school spokesman has said. The efforts are saving the school about $100,000 a year, totaling $346,000 so far, officials said.
Working with Cannon “will ultimately get us to a better and more sustainable place,” board member Merv Roberts said.
Earlier in Monday’s meeting, state Rep. Sidney Mathias read a recently approved House resolution honoring the school for its gold-level honor. Mathias, a Buffalo Grove Republican, gave a copy of the resolution to Principal John Carter and the board.