The Dubuque Community School District is pleased to announced that 12 district buildings have earned the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Certification. This recognition is presented to the most energy efficient buildings in the country.
Board President Kate Parks and Superintendent Amy Hawkins are presented with the district’s Energy Star recognition from Abbi Hammann and Jesse Coulter from Cenergistic.
“ENERGY STAR recognition underscores our district’s commitment to energy efficiency,” said Dubuque Community School District Superintendent Amy Hawkins. “Our energy conservation efforts are saving taxpayer dollars while also helping protect the local environment and maintaining healthy, comfortable learning spaces for students and staff.”
To earn ENERGY STAR Certification, buildings must rate in the top 25 percent nationwide for energy efficiency and meet ventilation standards. Dubuque Community Schools has the 4th most ENERGY STAR certified K12 buildings of any school district in Iowa.
Dubuque Community School District buildings earning ENERGY STAR Certification include:
- Audubon Elementary School
- Carver Elementary School
- Eisenhower Elementary School
- Hempstead High School
- Irving Elementary School
- Kennedy Elementary School
- Marshall Elementary School
- Prescott Elementary School
- Roosevelt Middle School
- Sageville Elementary School
- Senior High School
- Table Mound Elementary School.
The cost of utilities is one of the largest operations budget line-item for Dubuque Community School District, and the prices for electricity, natural gas, water, and sewage have been steadily increasing. To combat these rising energy and utility costs, Dubuque Community School District entered into a partnership with Cenergistic to implement a comprehensive organizational behavior-driven energy conservation program throughout all its buildings and campuses. Cenergistic’s Energy Specialist Abbi Hammann ensures the conservation program reduces energy consumption, helping the district save valuable resources that can be used elsewhere.
Since partnering in 2019 with Cenergistic on a comprehensive energy conservation program, the district has avoided utility costs of nearly $1.6 million. From an environmental standpoint, this impact is the equivalent of reducing CO2 by 3,761 metric tons or planting nearly 97,000 trees in our community.