Los Angeles, CA, August 5--Global Green USA today released its Green Schools Report touting the multiple financial, health, academic and environmental benefits of high performance, environmentally sustainable buildings for education facilities.
It also urged the California Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign the Green Schools Bill (AB315). The bill would ensure that all new school buildings are built as high-performance schools that improve test scores, lower costs for school districts and create healthier classrooms for teachers and students.
Given that 1/5 of California's population spends their day inside a school (nearly 6.2 million children, teachers and administrators), Global Green calls upon politicians, school officials, builders and the public to help facilitate the implementation of Green School building standards immediately.
Global Green's report (available at www.globalgreen.org) outlines numerous advantages from building green schools including:
Improved learning - Students progressed 20%-26% faster in classrooms with most daylight.
Increased Attendance - Better indoor air quality leads to fewer absences from illness.
Lower Operating Costs - Districts can save 20%-40% on utility costs for new schools.
Reduced Energy Dependence - With on-site solar power, schools can further reduce their electricity costs and reduce dependence on the energy grid.
"Failing to protect our kids' health and risking their academic performance is no longer an option. Green school buildings will not only improve the health of students, they will actually put more resources back into the classroom," said Global Green President Matt Petersen.
The Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego Unified School Districts are among the school systems throughout California that have already endorsed AB315 introduced by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley).
In California, AB315 has passed all assembly committees, and 1 of 2 senate committees and awaits approval by the Senate Appropriations Committee set for hearing on August 15th.
