Tornado-Struck Kansas School Makes a Green Comeback

This time of year marks "Back to School" for millions of children. For students in Greensburg, Kansas, though, this week means a whole lot more—a brand-new, state-of-the-art, $50 million green school. This more than just your same-old bland sustainability story, however. The old school, and most of Greensburg actually, was leveled 200-mile-per-hour winds in a tornado three years ago.

Now, thanks to the innovative thinking and dogged determination of Greensburg's leaders, school is not only back in session, but Greensburg has gotten a whole lot greener.

"There wasn't a book, a ball, a bus, a building [after the tornado struck]," Superintendent Darin Headrick told NPR. With water, power, sewer and gas services gutted, the entire town was uprooted.  The population that numbered 1,400 before the storm dropped to as low as 900. There were doubts about whether Greensburg would ever be able to recover. Headrick said the  biggest concern "was that if we didn't have a school in town as quickly as possible, people wouldn't have a reason to move back."

That's when community leaders dusted off their shoulders and stared clearly into the future: Not only were they going to rebuild the area's schools, they decided but they were going to build them sustainably. They hired Kansas City-based architecture firm BNIM to design the building. They leveraged insurance, partnerships, and federal support so that the building will be paid off a few months after opening its doors.

So far, it seems like Greensburg's grit has paid dividends.

In fact, Greensburg has been so successful that the new building went "platinum," earning the highest ranking for sustainability in the "LEED" green building certification system. Greensburg today stands as a model to our representatives of how we can use renewable energy in public schools to reduce costs and pollution.

The school started by implementing energy-saving and water conservation measures, along with using renewable energy. Natural light filters down through skylights, cutting down on classroom lighting costs. Geothermal systems harness the earth's power to warm the school in winter and cool it during the summer. An on-site wind turbine provides more power near the football stadium. Restrooms have two-speed flushing options to conserve water.

But the school won't just practice sustainability -- it will also preach it. It's fitted with smart boards and other cutting edge educational technology that will be used to teach sustainability lessons to science classes, and to the community as a whole. “We’ll teach kids what sustainability and green is all about,” Headrick said. “And when there’s a tour of the school, our kids will give it.”

And here's the kicker: The school expects to cut back on its utility bills by as much as 40 percent, budget savings that can be used to pay teachers' salaries and for meeting the students' needs.

All of this ingenuity, efficiency, and tech-savvy might lead some residents to feel like they're not in Kansas anymore. But they sure are, and it's something for the people of Kiowa County to be proud of. If you're inspired by the story of Greensburg please sign this petition to tell President Obama to save money in the nation's public school by using more renewable energy.
Photo Credit: The U.S. Army

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