November 8, 2011

Nancy Sutley, President Obama’s principal environmental advisor and Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, will join Mayor Dave Norris and local officials for a tour and discussion at Johnson Elementary School in Charlottesville Wednesday morning.

During the visit, they will engage with faculty and students to learn how the ENERGY STAR certified school is saving more than $8,000 a year through its lighting and water conservation programs.

The City of Charlottesville has developed a range of practices to monitor and curb energy use and cut costs, including through energy audits of all City School buildings.

The White House says President Obama’s American Jobs Act would provide Virginia $425 million to put 5,500 Americans back to work modernizing the State’s public schools, including for a range of emergency repair and renovation projects, energy efficiency upgrades, asbestos abatement and removal, and projects to build new science and computer labs and internet-ready classrooms.

In the afternoon, Sutley will meet with local business and city leaders and the Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) to discuss President Obama’s Better Buildings Challenge and the Administration’s Recovery Through Retrofit initiative.