UC+D:  How was it working with Gary Payne for so many years? 

Turner:  His impact on the Davis School District will last many years due to the buildings that were constructed during his time. Rather than being satisfied with the status quo, we worked to develop school buildings that would accommodate innovate teaching styles and would be safe, economical, and exciting places where children would want to be. 

UC+D:  It's been 10 years since Odyssey Elementary was completed. What is the analysis of how it has performed?

Turner:  It is not very hard to create a truly Net-Zero building. We can produce enough electricity to offset the electricity used, plus the natural gas usage—however, the power company will not give us credit for electricity generated above what we use. An energy model was used to estimate the Energy Use Index (EUI) of Odyssey Elementary. It predicted that our EUI would be 22. The first year it was actually 17. An ideal Net-Zero building would not have any natural gas usage. We elected to install a gas boiler in the building to help control the "demand" charges that would occur on cold days when all the heat pumps would start up in the building. For 2023, the PV array produced 213,066 kWh; we used 188,088 kWh in electricity. We used 421 decatherms of gas, giving us a cost of $0.33/sf for energy usage, compared to an average building in the district (about $1.25/sf). 

UC+D:  What is the greatest success with Odyssey? What would you do differently?

Turner:  Odyssey Elementary, with all its energy-efficient features, provides an excellent educational experience that benefits both teachers and students. The building accommodates different learning styles, collaboration, and individual exploration. First and foremost, the building is a school, albeit one that is very maintainable. There is not anything I would do differently. Since this was the first of a series of prototypes, a lot of thought from a lot of people was put into it.

UC+D:  Who deserves credit for making that project happen the way it did?

Turner:  The credit for making it happen goes to the district leadership for allowing the time to get input from all stakeholders. This takes a lot of time and a lot of meetings. Meetings were held with district curriculum, administrators, counselors, teachers, students, parents, maintenance, utility, custodial, risk management, transportation, foods, and technology specialists. The design team collected all that information and came up with a design concept which was then presented to the same groups for buy-in. The length of time it takes to thoroughly get input from all user groups is a luxury most school districts are not willing to afford. 

UC+D:  When did Davis School District get serious about sustainability and how long did it take to begin implementing new policies about design and construction?

Turner:  One of the goals identified in our initial planning process was a net-zero building.  We did not really take it seriously thinking that we would not be able to afford it.  As we studied the various HVAC options, we realized that we were not too far off.  Basically, all we needed were PV panels.  We have always been interested in energy efficient buildings since money saved on energy goes back into the classroom.  We presented our Net-Zero plan to the Board of Education, expecting to get shot down.  Instead, our fiscally conservative board member said, "I think this is a great idea, we should do it." We never looked back. Since then, every new building, except for one, has had some form of solar power.

UC+D:  How much attention is paid to Odyssey given that it's Utah's first Net-Zero school?

Turner:  It was quite popular at first but now that we have several buildings built with the same features, our newer buildings get the attention now.

UC+D:  How sustainable are other DSD projects built since Odyssey was finished in August 2014? Any other Net-Zero schools? Have you gotten LEED certification on any projects?

Turner:  We have a total of seven Net-Zero buildings in operation with No. 8 coming online in August. We also have three more under construction and an additional one that will bid soon. We would have had one more, however the soil conditions were not right to install a ground-source heat exchange system, so we had to use a conventional HVAC system instead.

We have not pursued any other LEED buildings since Odyssey. We design all new buildings to the same standard that Odyssey was designed. LEED has become the industry standard, but other than getting a cool plaque to put on the wall, the certification does not seem to be worth the extra paperwork and money.

UC+D:  What is the future of sustainability for DSD? How can it improve?

Turner:  We plan to continue it with all new buildings, as long as we can accommodate it on site. Our preferred hybrid HVAC system which we design around provides a more comfortable environment while being energy efficient.  As the County approaches build-out, the need for new schools will decrease, however, we have many older buildings that will need to be replaced. The biggest impact to the district's energy bill would be to replace an old inefficient building with a new net-zero building.

UC+D:  How supportive is the public (taxpayers) regarding the expense associated with implementing sustainability/green items in projects?

Turner:  The public has been very supportive of the solar power usage—it makes sense to them. The payback on the additional cost of the PV array may be a little longer than ideal. If the district can educate 800 kids each year for 25 years with no electricity cost, that more than pays back the added cost of the solar panels.

UC+D:  How would you gauge the general awareness and efforts to implement sustainable building practices among other Utah school districts?

Turner:  I don't know if other school districts in Utah are implementing this level of sustainable building practices or not, but they should, since we all struggle with adequate funding. The more money that can be saved on utility and maintenance costs goes into the classrooms and directly supports the education process.