IUSD has generated plenty of buzz with its recent plan to partner with SunEdison and SPG Solar to establish solar panels atop 21 district sites – a move conservatively projected to save $8.5 million in energy costs over 20 years. But the district has been walking a greener path for the better part of two years now with a growing number of 
initiatives designed to make our schools more energy efficient, reduce water usage and empower students to become catalysts for change. For all of these efforts, Irvine Unified was honored Thursday, Dec. 10, with the 2009 District Leadership Award at the Green California Schools Summit & Exposition. Organized by Green Technology, a nonprofit initiative designed to help government agencies achieve sustainability, the state summit took place Dec. 9-11 at the Pasadena Convention Center, bringing together school district representatives, green builders and others looking for innovative ways to preserve the environment and reduce costs. School board member Michael Parham and Superintendent Gwen Gross accepted the Leadership Award on behalf of IUSD. They're pictured above along with Kathleen J. McKee (right), a partner with Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost who advised the district on the solar contract. Parham, Gross and Mark Sontag, IUSD’s math and science coordinator, also led a pair of summit workshops detailing the district’s many green initiatives.