The Catoosa County public school system is featured in the December issue of American School & University magazine because of its environmentally sound maintenance practices.
That recognition is because the local system earned an honorable mention in the K-12 category of the 2011 Green Cleaning Award program sponsored by the magazine, The Green Cleaning Network, and Healthy Schools Campaign. The award recognizes education institutions for sustainable approaches to cleaning to protect health without harming the environment.
From left, Gene Lesley, of Kelsan, Inc., visits Catoosa schools with school system staff members Paul Acuff, enviromental services manager, Denia Reese, superintendent, and Damon Raines, director of operations.“We began the green cleaning initiative in 2007 with a goal of protecting the health of our students, teachers and custodians,” Superintendent Denia Reese said. “We have accomplished this goal and our schools are cleaner than ever.”
The “green initiative” began with a two-school pilot program that was quickly expanded to include all of the system’s facilities, according to Damon Raines, director of operations for Catoosa’s schools.
“We started by setting a standard in each building and have progressively grown the program,” Raines said. “We are using Green Seal certified chemicals, products and operating procedures.”