Bozeman schools weigh green building vs. greenbacks

The school district’s long-range building committee has recommended using the state of Montana’s High Performance Building Standards, adopted in 2013, but with three changes.

With those changes, the state standards would only apply to Bozeman’s new school buildings. The school district would keep using the federal Energy Star system to rate its buildings for energy efficiency. And the School Board would decide case-by-case whether to seek a stamp of approval for new buildings from an outside agency.

The last point is contentious. Superintendent Rob Watson told the School Board at its December meeting that the second high school would be built to LEED “silver” standards, “but we may not seek the plaque on the wall.”

The U.S. Green Building Council created the LEED rating system to encourage energy-efficient and environmentally responsible construction. It rates buildings at four levels — certified, silver, gold and platinum.

Going through the formal LEED certification process might cost $150,000, Watson said.

And with architects and builders estimating that it could cost $144 million to build a second high school and renovate the original Bozeman High, Watson and other school leaders are looking for ways to cut costs, not add to them. School officials plan to ask voters to approve the project next May.

“We’re not closing the door to LEED certification,” Watson told School Board trustees. “We’re recommending the board decide project-by-project.”

Trustee Douglas Fischer said he likes the state’s High Performance Building Standards because they’re comprehensive and include much more than just saving energy. But without getting an outside group to check, Fischer said, there’s no way to verify that the new high school would meet the LEED silver standard.

Kareen Erbe, who owns a local garden and food-growing business, argued LEED certification would be “another level of accountability.”

“A plaque is a symbolic commitment to sustainable practices,” Erbe said.

Todd Swinehart, the school district’s facilities director, said the state’s High Performance Building Standards include a checklist of goals the new building would have to meet.

The checklist includes: preventing pollution like soil erosion during construction, protecting habitat, avoiding light pollution, reducing water use by 20 percent, using water-efficient landscaping, exceeding energy efficiency standards by 20 percent, reducing air conditioning, reducing landfill waste, using recycled materials and local materials, using indoor paints, fibers and adhesives that don’t give off hazardous fumes, using durable materials, letting people inside control the heat and lights, and bringing in daylight and allowing people views of the outdoors.

Swinehart said the school district plans to keep using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star system. It tracks EUI or energy use intensity, which measures the amount of energy used in a year divided by floor space. The average for U.S. kindergarten-to-12th-grade schools is 58 EUI, according to a March 2016 Energy Star Portfolio Manager report.

All of Bozeman’s school buildings now meet Energy Star standards, Swinehart said. The average Bozeman school is rated at 39 EUI. The current Bozeman High School building, which has some wings dating back to the late 1950s, is rated at 49 EUI. Meadowlark Elementary, Bozeman’s newest and most energy efficient school, is rated at 26 EUI.

Fischer said at the School Board’s November meeting that about a dozen letters from the public had raised concerns about the new high school being sustainable.

Parent Wendy Weaver argued that if Montana’s government, Montana State University, the National Park Service and city of Bozeman can build LEED certified buildings, the school district could, too.

Kath Williams, a green building consultant, said using the LEED rating system would set a measurable goal and help to reach it.

Trustee Gary Lusin asked if LEED certification costs money, couldn’t the school simply meet the standards without the certificate?

“How do you know unless you measure it?” Williams asked, adding, “The community cares about this.”

Two Sacajawea Middle School students, Claire and Ursula Vlases, asked the School Board to install solar panels on Bozeman schools. Two high school students, Marin Coletta and Kenenni Wiegand, asked the board to make sure both high school buildings are green, saying, “Students are really passionate about the environment.”