The Albuquerque Public Schools system may become a testing ground for more than just the 90,000 students it serves. A recent debate within the school board over using the popular green-building rating system, known as LEED, for facility design and construction echoes a heated cost-versus-benefit dispute stemming from New Mexico's recent adoption of new building codes.
As part of a broad pro-business agenda, Gov. Susana Martinez (R) pushed to replace a statewide building energy code implemented in 2010 after more than a year of development. In June, despite strong opposition within the construction industry, the state's Construction Industries Commission (CIC) voted to replace it with the 2009 version of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), a less-stringent model code established in 2003 that many other states and municipalities have adopted.