One Ohio school is among an elite group nationally to be certified “platinum” by the Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design (LEED) program, the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) said Thursday. The recently

completed London Middle School is the first school in Ohio to receive the U.S. Green Building Council’s top designation,

followed in recent weeks by LEED platinum certification of Taft Information Technology High School in Cincinnati Public

Schools.

 

OSFC also used its monthly meeting to announced three Ohio school districts approved for its Energy Conservation Program

under 116-HB264.

 

Supported by $13.3 million in OSFC funding, the London Middle School project includes a geothermal heating and cooling

system, a 71.2 kilowatt solar panel system, extensive natural lighting, and 20 acres of restored prairie grass. Thirty-seven

percent of the building materials were regional, and 25 percent were made from recycled material. Efficiency measures

yield a 40 percent reduction in water usage and 42 percent energy savings, including 15 percent of the school’s electrical

needs from solar cells.

 

“This project was completed within budget, with the full complement of education components incorporated into the

building, and it was able to achieve this elite LEED rating,” OSFC Director Richard Hickman said. “It was within our average

cost per square foot guidelines and without any outside grants, locally funded initiatives or outside funding sources.”

Energy Conservation projects include Campbell City Schools in Mahoning County, South Euclid Lyndhurst City Schools in

Cuyahoga County, and Bloom Carroll Local Schools in Fairfield County, which together expect to save more than $210,000

annually from energy improvements.

 

In other business, the commission approved more than $108 million in new construction contracts in 29 school districts.

“These 104 trade contracts represent a continuing investment in Ohio’s schools. Ohio’s ongoing school construction and

renovation program is not only delivering high quality educational facilities, but it is also providing good jobs in lean

economic times,” Hickman said.

 

OSFC has approved more than $502 million for school construction and renovation in 2012 and $9.5 billion in contracts

since its inception in 1997.