The School Board of Broward County, Fort Lauderdale, FL

The School Board of Broward County, Florida (Broward) experienced a mold crisis in 2002 that led to the implementation of a comprehensive, district-wide IAQ management program. To ensure that the district-level team gets thorough input from building occupants, Broward developed an online survey, designed to be simple and comfortable for building occupants to use (e.g., no name required), and the robust, online survey assessment instrument automatically compiles findings and maps required response activities to create a complete picture of each facility.

Results:

• Implemented IAQ Tools for Schools guidance in 206 locations so far and continues to add at least 20 new schools each year.
• Achieved a 50 percent decrease in IAQ complaints, and continues to observe a declining trend.
• Observed correlation between schools with IAQ programs and decrease in reported IAQ issues, as well as workers’ compensation claims and the average expense per claim.
• Institutionalized IAQ and other green initiatives by including them in district strategic plans and following up with written plans of action for all members of the school community.