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Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools

Prior Lake, Minnesota
10% Improvement (2011)
Top Performer (2011)
20% Improvement (2012)

Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools, Independent School District 719, is located in Prior Lake and Savage, Minnesota. The district provides high-quality education to students in grades K-12 and offers many community programs to local residents. Employing over 900 staff members and educating roughly 7,000 students, the mission of the district is to educate all learners to reach their full potential as contributing, productive members of an ever-changing community. Partnerships with the local government, businesses, and civic and parent organizations continue to enhance the overall learning experience at Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools. The district is innovative, environmentally focused, and committed to serving as a wise steward of its resources. The district also prides itself on the many environmental learning opportunities that have become part of its unique culture. Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools is the only district in the state of Minnesota with an environmental education program that starts in early childhood and builds each year throughout elementary and high school. The district has committed to increasing energy efficiency across its many schools by enlisting the help of Schools for Energy Efficiency (SEE) and becoming an ENERGY STAR Partner in 2010.

 

Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools has been recognized by EPA as an ENERGY STAR Leader for improving its district-wide energy efficiency by more than 20 percent compared to a 2007 baseline. Prior to partnering with ENERGY STAR and SEE, the district already participated in utility tracking and continually sought ways to operate as efficiently as possible. The new partnerships provided great resources to help the district reach above and beyond its goal of saving 10 percent on energy costs. As a testament to its success, almost all of the district's schools have been recognized by SEE for Outstanding Achievement in Energy Reduction. The district implemented a people-based approach to achieve its goals; staff members, students, and the community are committed to being as green and as energy efficient as possible. Several buildings feature active "SEE Squads" who help monitor energy efficiency, and the high school's Eco-team consists of an enthusiastic group of energy-conscious students. In the 20102011 school year, the high school student council purchased a water-bottle filling station that kept a tally of how many 16-ounce plastic bottles were kept out of landfills; after just a few months, the count was nearly 250,000. Since pursuing energy efficiency, Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools has saved more than $245,000 in energy costs. Compared to a 2007 baseline, the district currently prevents the annual emissions of more than 2,300 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to the carbon sequestered by more than 58,900 tree seedlings planted and grown for 10 years.