Proclamation
By the Governor of Alabama
WHEREAS,
Alabama is dedicated to enhancing and preserving the safety, health and
well-being of our children, especially in the school environment; and
WHEREAS,
poor Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in schools can increase the risk of
students developing short-term health problems, such as fatigue and
nausea, as well as long-term problems, like asthma; and
WHEREAS
asthma has reached an epidemic scope in the United States, accounting
for nearly 13 million missed school days per year, with an average of
one out of every ten children developing asthma; and
WHEREAS,
the IAQ Tools for Schools Program is a comprehensive resource, designed
to help maintain a healthy environment in school buildings by
identifying, correcting and preventing IAQ problems; and
WHEREAS,
various Alabama school systems have been recognized for their work to
improve school environmental quality by the U. S. IPA IAQ Tools for
Schools Awards Program, including Birmingham City Schools, winner of the
2003 Great Start Award; Jefferson County Public Schools, winner of the
2004 Excellence and Leadership Awards; Huntsville City Schools, winner
of the 2007 Great Start Award; and Auburn City Schools, winner of the
2008 Leadership Award; and
WHEREAS, in 2007, Alabama House
Resolution No. 625 urged the state education agency to adopt the EPA IAQ
Tools for Schools program for use in all public Schools and urged local
school boards to use the EPA Program to implement an IAQ inspection and
evaluation program; and
WHEREAS, Alabama has been recognized for
the second consecutive year for supporting the protection of school
children and personnel from unhealthy environmental exposure and injury
by proclaiming National Healthy Schools Day; and
WHEREAS,
National Healthy Schools Day is sponsored by Healthy Schools Network in
cooperation with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Council
of Educational Facility Planners International, the Federal Center for
Disease Control, Prevention’s National Center for Environmental Health
and 25 additional co-sponsors; and
WHEREAS, our schools are the building blocks of our communities and the keystone of our future:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim April 11, 2011, as
NATIONAL HEALTHY SCHOOLS DAY
in the state of Alabama
Given
Under My Hand and the great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the
State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 29th day of March 2011
Governor Robert Bentley
