CONTACTS:
Cheryl Crawley, Superintendent
Phone: 541-296-2139
E-Mail: cheryl@thedalles.k12.or.us
Greg Churchill, Energy Analyst
Phone: 503-373-7563
Email: gregory.churchill@state.or.us
Web site: http://www.thedalles.k12.or.us/
For a comprehensive, well-written report with photos and diagrams on The Dalles Middle School, including the energy efficient features, read the Oregon Dept. of Energy’s case study at
http://egov.oregon.gov/ENERGY/CONS/school/docs/thedalles.pdf
(278 k  ).
BACKGROUND:
In 2000 -- on a third election attempt
-- voters approved plans to build a $12.5 million middle school to replace the poorly built school located in a landslide area. The building was built in1955 as “temporary” to serve the influx of families during construction of The Dalles Dam, the I-84 freeway and the bridge across the Columbia River. The shortsighted thinking at the time was that as soon as these projects were completed, people would move on and the buildings would likely then go unused. That is why they were built as cheaply as possible. The schools continued, however, and in 1995 the state fire marshal closed one of the middle school buildings because of the landslide danger and condemned the others in 1999.
Voters had twice defeated bond measures to build a new middle school on land the
District owned on the east side of town. People wanted their school located in the center of the community so...in order to make a compromise on the current site work, voters supported tearing down all four buildings (including a somewhat still usable gym) and enlarging the site to reorient the new school, move it as far away as possible from the landslide area, and construct a building engineered to deal with the challenges the site presented.
“Even with our buildings in such poor shape, there was a segment of the community that still did not understand what the issues were,” said Ann-Gale Peterson,
board member. “We closed the first of the buildings rather than sink another dime into trying to keep it open and later the state fire marshal was helpful in strongly suggesting that we close the rest of the buildings other than the gym.”
BUILDING GREEN:
Green is the new term for environmentally efficient, earth-friendly buildings. The school is the first in Oregon to get a LEED – certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It was named one of the top 30 construction projects in Oregon by the Daily Journal of Commerce.
To resolve the landslide problem, the district purchased more land on the existing site to locate the school on more stable ground and built a unique underground rock trench to protect the school from future landslides.
“We’re expecting to see a 46 percent reduction in operating costs, but our architects and engineers think it might be 60 percent,” says Peterson, who was board chair during the bond and construction phase. “We’ve also learned the school is national model for energy efficient buildings. We couldn’t have done it without the support and involvement of our community and the close-knit teamwork of our district, design and construction partners throughout the project.”
ENERGY FEATURES:
Among the many energy-friendly features: Expansive natural lighting and ventilation throughout the building, a complex lighting control system that senses occupancy and adjusts lighting as needed, and use of recycled materials. “Recent studies show that students perform better when skylights and windows bring natural, non-glare light in the classroom,” says Greg Churchill, school program specialist with the Oregon Office of Energy.
The school also is among the first in the nation that will be heated and cooled with the very ground water that was causing landslides. Heat is extracted from the water by a heat pump and used for heating. For cooling, the process is reversed.
Design/construction partners include BOORA architects, Turner Construction, Heery International.
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