ACCORD – When Michael Shore first became Facilities Director for the Rondout Valley School District, he didn't realize that the job would require so much time in the public eye. He is regularly asked to weigh in on issues related to the district's school closure and reconfiguration efforts. But behind the scenes he continues to advance the district's sustainability efforts, creating a school system which conserves water and energy and avoids toxins and chemicals.

Shore sat down for an interview in his office in the building nicknamed "the Birdhouse" this past week. Formerly a warehouse on the outreaches of RVSD's Kyserike campus, it turns out there were already residents when it was partially converted into space to house the facilities department and a copy center.

"We had birds flying through the offices regularly," Shore recalled.

Interested in a sustainable pest-control solution, he allowed his department to adopt Beegee, a cat who patrols during the week and goes home with a staff member on weekends. "Everyone pitches in for his vet care," Shore said, along with food when the hunter can't find his own. "I haven't seen a mouse or bird in here since."

He did, however, have to catch a rooster which someone had let loose in the halls of the high school, and adopted it as a family pet. But that is a story for another day.

The school's concern with toxins goes beyond pest control. Environmentally-friendly cleaners are used whenever possible by the RVSD custodial staff. Neither fertilizer nor pesticide touches a blade of grass on district property, even when reseeding the athletic fields.

"We reseeded the football field this fall, and all we used was seed, mushroom dirt, and straw," Shore noted.

That newly-seeded football field will make it or break it on natural rainfall, as well, because no watering of the grass takes place.

Although H2O is drawn from wells, Shore said he is concerned about the broader impacts of wasteful water use, and irrigation didn't make the cut.

In another water-saving move, refrigeration units in the high school were updated so that they would no longer need water to do their job.

"The system was using about three thousand gallons a day, and then just dumping it," the director explained.

The schools' custodial and maintenance staff engage in preventative maintenance to minimize replacement costs in the buildings. That's relatively easy in the newly-renovated high school, but keeps staff in the other, older buildings on their toes. When fixtures and furniture must be replaced, Shore takes pains to recycle or reuse everything possible. In fact, his department aggressively recycles just about everything, and each school has a student-driven recycling program for the big three (paper, plastic, and metal).

"I'd like to get the administration to use less paper," Shore lamented. "But at least we're recycling it."

On the energy front, the director has a goal of ensuring that thirty percent of the district's energy comes from renewable sources. Even though the RVSD school board chose not to pursue an ambitious solar project with money left over in the capital fund last year, and the most notable solar power right now is in a portable traffic beacon.

With his renewable energy goal on a back burner, Shore has instead focused on efficiency. The system which controls the climate in all the school buildings runs on a dedicated computer that's placed on his desk. With it, he can program the temperature, humidity, and air flow down to a single classroom, so turning down the heat to save money no longer depends on the memories of many staff members. He can even make adjustments from home, and he did so recently when he got a frantic call advising him that a gymnasium had been shut down before a big game.

"I'm really glad to be part of the educational community, and to be able to do my part," Shore said in closing.