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Weston Schools Honored For Cutting Energy Use

WESTON, Conn. – Weston Public Schools received a statewide award for working on energy efficiency in all of its school buildings this past year.

Weston’s Energy Manager and Energy Conservation Program Leader Dave Lustberg and , Director of Finance and Operations Jo-Ann Keating receive the district's Power of Change Award Tuesday.

Weston’s Energy Manager and Energy Conservation Program Leader Dave Lustberg and , Director of Finance and Operations Jo-Ann Keating receive the district's Power of Change Award Tuesday.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Weston earned the 2013 Power of Change Top Public School Building Award First Honors at a ceremony earlier this week. The newly created awards honor governments and school districts that take steps to improve their carbon footprints and save taxpayer money by cutting energy costs.

The program was sponsored by nonprofit groups the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, the Hampshire Foundation and the Common Sense Fund. The contest was inspired by the Lead By Example program, started by Gov. Dannel Malloy and Energy and Environmental Protection Commission Daniel Etsy to reduce energy intake at state facilities.

“We created the Power of Change Award first as an opportunity to encourage more state and municipal leaders to make important investments in their future, and also as an occasion to give energy efficiency leaders their due recognition,” Stewart Hudson of the Tremaine Foundation said at the awards ceremony.  “We believe that it is vital to celebrate success in our towns and cities.”

Weston Public Schools earned the honor by drastically reducing the BTUs per square foot used to heat and cool all of its buildings over the year. To qualify for the award the town had to do this only through “behavioral and operations changes,” without installing a new heating or air conditioning system.

The leader among Weston’s buildings was Weston Middle School, which cut down 6,701 MMBTUs (or more than 6.7 billion BTUs) over the test period. Weston High School (5,464 MMBTUs), Hurlbutt Elementary School (4,216 MMBTUs) and Weston Intermediate School (2,732 MMBTUs) also performed well.

Weston’s Energy Manager and Energy Conservation Program Leader Dave Lustberg and Director of Finance and Operations Jo-Ann Keating represented Weston Public Schools at the awards ceremony in Hartford on Tuesday. Along with a trophy recognizing the accomplishment, the district also received a $2,500 check from the contest sponsors.

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