The U.S. Green Building Council’s Center for Green Schools has named Virginia Beach City Public Schools as the Best School District in its annual Best of Green Schools list. This list highlights schools and districts from across the country that excel in creating healthy and high-performing learning places.

Among many other accomplishments, VBCPS’ current LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) projects total more than 1.5 million square feet of LEED building space. VBCPS currently also has 23 Energy Star schools totaling 2.4 million square feet of building space. While overall division-wide square footage has increased to more than 10 million square feet, VBCPS’ utility costs have decreased. Additionally, since September 2008, the school division has diverted more than 5,000 tons of recyclable material from the waste stream.

For more information about Virginia Beach’s accolade as well as its sustainability practices, visit http://bit.ly/YdI2f7