The focus on green design and energy efficiency is becoming the norm in building system design. The challenge in the public education K-12 market is balancing cost and commitment. Because school construction budgets are controlled by bond issues, referenda, tight municipal budgets, and cost-sensitive residents, it is difficult to find the additional funding for green systems.
Yet in a small town in New Hampshire, the commitment for a sustainable and efficient school, aided by state incentive funding and careful design decisions, led to the greenest school in the state, according to Ed Murdough of the NH Department of Education.