Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Salt Lake City School District Earns Nation's Top Honor for IPM

  • 01/01/11
Since 2005, the Salt Lake City School District has been implementing Integrated Pest Management (IPM), drastically reducing both pest problems and pesticide use. Last month, the district passed a rigorous 37-point inspection of its program, earning IPM STAR certification from the non-profit IPM Institute of North America, and gaining recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food.

IPM is a proven, commonsense approach to solving pest problems. IPM works by correcting conditions that encourage pests, such as improving sanitation to deny pests food, and sealing cracks and crevices to prevent pest access to shelter. Since the IPM program started, the district has cut mouse complaints by 90 percent through simple strategies like door sweeps, which close the gap between the bottom of exterior doors and door sills. The district reduced the number of pesticide applications by 90 percent.

Carrie Foss, urban IPM coordinator at Washington State University, performed the recent evaluation. Foss reports that since its initial assessment three years ago, the district “really put their program into high gear including developing a IPM plan so that successful strategies can be passed along in writing when key staff move on to other positions.” The district also formed an IPM committee and eliminated all spray applications for indoor pests.

Under the direction of Gregg Smith, director of facility services, and with initial assistance from Dr. Marc Lame of Indiana University, Jaslyn Dobrahner of US EPA Region 8 and others, the district’s IPM program has become a model for others in the region — setting an example of what’s possible, and providing assistance and advice on request. The district initiated a Utah School IPM Coalition and regularly presents their IPM “story” at regional and national conferences. For more information about the district’s success, see https://aal.slcschools.org/ipest.

Featured

  • Campus Safety Requires Using Every Resource Available

    Across the U.S., school and campus leaders are facing a security landscape that has changed dramatically over the past decade. Incidents on school property have increased in recent years, with several consecutive years setting record totals. According to analysis of data by CNN, dozens of shootings now occur on school grounds annually across K-12 and higher education environments.

  • Secret to Efficient, On-Time School Infrastructure & Modernization Projects is All in the Preparation

    Warmer weather and longer days make summer the ideal time for construction and modernization projects at educational facilities. School boards and construction firms must coordinate effectively to ensure that these projects do not extend even a single day into the school year and impede classroom operation.

  • RIT Saunders College of Business – Lowenthal Hall Addition

    RIT Saunders College of Business – Lowenthal Hall Addition

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. RIT Saunders College of Business's Lowenthal Hall Addition has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.