b'BY MARINA TANAY, SUMNERBONNEY LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICTChecking in with a TrailblazerAn Interview with Olympia School DistrictC lean Buildings PerformanceOlympia SD also Standards legislation hasreceived a grant from PSE been in place since 2019.to help fund a Climate After countless workshops, webinars,Corps Fellow that has discussions and resources, is therebeen instrumental in anyone who just did the darn thing andthe work over the past submitted their building for compliance? year. The Climate Corps Why yes, there is. Frank Wilson,Fellowship program is Executive Director of Operations, atmanaged by Strategic Olympia School District and his teamEnergy Innovations out of have the first school in the state toCalifornia and provides achieve compliance. Learning frominterns with real world their experience should encourageexperience while benefitingCommerce to gather their specific any district that is debating pulling theemployers with knowledgeable talentfeedback on the application review trigger and completing their submission. ready to make an impact. process and how to incorporate and Olympia School District consistsWith these pieces in place, Olympiarespond to findings and address of twenty-two buildings. Twenty areSchool District has been able toconcerns. This helped them as subject to Clean Buildings Compliancepursue their CBPS compliance workthey reviewed and approved their Standards, including seventeen Tier 1in-house. Their Director of Capitaldocuments prior to submitting.buildings and three Tier 2. All buildingsPlanning and Construction, KurtWilson summed up his advice to are compliant with their targets. Cross, is a licensed architect andother school districts on the fence The team at Olympia SD, comprisedqualified person. Maintenance hasabout submitting their buildings early of Frank Wilson, Executive Director ofcontributed information for the energywith the following:Operation, Paul Sierra, Maintenancemanagement plan and operations &The journey of a thousand miles and Grounds Supervisor, Gracemaintenance documents, with thebegins with a single step. Just Yockey, Sustainability Associate,Climate Fellow handling documentstart with small manageable bites.and Kurt Cross, Director of Capitalpreparation, and their qualified personDont be shy: reach out to Commerce Planning and Construction, decidedsigning off. The district is also utilizingwith any questions you may have.to submit Capital High School tothe Building Operators CertificationMany districts have pieces and Commerce and use this experience asprogram to get more staff qualifiedparts to this already. Working a model for the rest of their facilities. person status. through our WAMOA members to To assist them in their plan, theyWhen asked what the biggestdraw from their experience helps.worked with Puget Sound Energyschallenges were when creating and fillingIts important to include the Clean Buildings Accelerator Program asout the O&M and EMP, Wilson replied,Superintendent in conversations well as the Commercial Strategic EnergyGetting started. Finding and schedulingabout CBPS. Find ways to tie in the Management grant program. Thesethe time to dedicate to this process.objectives of this law to district programs came at no cost to the districtThat being said, it took their team aand financial initiatives.and set them on a path for success.few weeks to compile data and buildingThis is good advice and some good The Accelerator program specificallyplans. Fortunately, all their inventory wasexperience shared by this trailblazing addressed compliance with CBPS withreadily accessible and had been freshlydistrict! They are taking some of the forms and tools. The CSEM programcompiled. It then took nearly a week forfear and trepidation out of a process provided access to data managementthe documents to be written. that is new for all. Congratulations to tools and financial incentives for actionsIn preparation for submission,Olympia SD for being first in K-12 to that they already planned to take. they met with the Department ofcomplete the process! 8 WAMOA JOURNALSPRING 2024'