The lights and computers are on once again at the Oakley Union Elementary School District’s seven schools, but don’t expect the lights to be on more than necessary.

The district was recently honored for its commitment to energy-saving practices by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The district was named an Energy Star 20 Percent Leader and an Energy Star Top Performer for significantly reducing its energy use during the past school year.

“This is a great honor,” said OUESD Energy Education Specialist Robert Gregory. “Our program is relatively new, so to be recognized for our dedication to energy efficiency is even more encouraging to keep doing what we’re doing and go for the next step.”

The Energy Star Top Performer award specifically recognizes the district for its leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while the 20 Percent Leader title awards the district for reducing its energy consumption by 20 percent or more. The district’s energy-conservation program, which began in May of 2011, cut the district’s energy bill by 24 percent in 13 months for a total savings of $194,000. Approximately 942,600 kilowatts of energy, 22,160 therms of natural gas and 45 gallons of propane were saved.

Gregory, who is also the district’s heating and air conditioning technician, had been looking for ways to save energy within the district before the energy-saving program was initiated, so when he was given the challenge of implementing a district-wide conservation program, he jumped at the opportunity.

“Saving energy is about changing your own habits, and that can take some time,” Gregory said. “The first thing I wanted the administrators and staff to do was to make sure to turn off the lights when no one is in a room and to turn off or unplug any unnecessary electronics. Just these little steps can lead to big savings.”

The main goal of the energy program is to maintain comfort and save money while eliminating waste, creating a climate of conservation in the process. Gregory instructed staff to “kill the vampires.” When you turn off the light at the end of the day, if there are any lights glowing back at you, ask yourself if you need to leave that device plugged in or left on overnight when no one is there to use it. He encouraged teachers to unplug TVs, projectors and even pencil sharpeners to save an extra kilowatt here and there. His motto: “Use it if you need it. Turn it off if you don’t.”

Another adjustment Gregory suggested was tweaking the heating and air conditioning units so they were operational only during school hours.

Gregory said many teachers began to use his energy-saving tips at home and noticed a significant change in their power bills. His hope is that the teachers will pass on these energy-saving tips to the students, who will share the information with their families.

OUESD Superintendent Rick Rogers is pleased with the progress of the program and its recent achievements. “This is a wonderful program that could not have achieved success without the cooperation from all of our staff along with the leadership that Robert has provided,” said Rogers. “In these tough economic times this is a win-win. This program has allowed us to be good stewards of both the taxpayers’ dollars and the environment.”

The district also received the Award for Energy Stewardship from Energy Education, which recognizes organizations for significantly reducing carbon emissions and conserving natural resources. According the Gregory, the amount of energy saved by the district is equivalent to removing 73 cars from the road for an entire year.

The Stewardship plaque will hang in the district office, while framed copies of the Energy Star awards will be posted in the main office of the district’s five elementary and two middle schools.

For the new school year, Gregory said he’d like to examine water efficiency in relation to campus landscaping and analyze outdoor lighting at each campus to see if there is a way to save energy during off hours.

Read more: thepress.net – District honored for energy excellence

Stow — The Stow-Munroe Falls Board of Education took one more step toward putting a renewal levy on the November ballot during the June 11 Board meeting.

If approved by voters this November, the 10-year, 7.84-mill renewal will cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $240 a year, according to the Summit County Fiscal Office.

In a 4-1 decision, with Board member Rod Armstrong casting the dissenting vote, the Board approved a levy resolution to ask voters to approve the renewal levy to raise $7.3 million annually.

The renewal is for a five-year, 7.3-mill levy that expires by the end of 2012. The levy raises $7.3 million annually.

Treasurer Catherine Bulgrin again told the Board and the public that the levy is not a new tax and that the district is not asking for something homeowners aren’t already paying.

“I know this is not a new tax,” Armstrong said. “My concern with this levy is that it is 10 years. This takes away taxpayer control over the levies and all the renewals.”

Armstrong told the Board he would rather ask voters for less money and for a two-year levy.

Board member Karen Wright said there are currently too many variables to state funding and that asking for less money or for a two-year levy, like Armstrong proposed, is not viable.

“If you don’t get it now, you have to come back to voters every two years [...] there is also a cost to putting it on the ballot,” Wright said. “I don’t think that in the near future Columbus is going to give us a boatload of money to remedy our troubles. I don’t want to want to get to that trouble point.”

However, regardless of approving a renewal for the levy expiring by the end of 2012, the district will be asking for another renewal in two years, Bulgrin said.

A 4.6-mill levy expires in 2014.

“What we are faced with, over a five-year period trying to pass new money in this community, was voter fatigue,” Bulgrin said

Bulgrin said the district is looking at a spending deficit in three years, and in five years the district may be needing new money.

“If we were keeping this levy for just two years and then going to add the other one to it, we would confuse the voters because now we would be asking for [11 to 14 mills] which again is expensive for us to get the message out,” Bulgrin said.

CITIZEN COMMENTS

Under the section of the meeting reserved for citizen comments, parent Kimberlee Vaughan of Stow told the Board she removed her daughter from the school district after her fourth-grader was allegedly bullied by another student at Woodland Elementary School.

Vaughan told the Board she and her daughter told several staff members at the school about the alleged bullying but that no disciplinary action was taken to stop verbal and physical assaults.

Superintendent Dr. Russ Jones told the Stow Sentry the school district has a no tolerance bullying policy for all school buildings.

“We don’t tolerate bullying and when we become aware of it, we remediate it immediately,” Jones said.

He added the district is currently in the process of reviewing its bullying policy.

The first reading of the updated NEOLA policy regarding bullying as well as other policies were up for first reading in the June 11 meeting.

While Vaughan spoke, Board president Karen Powers told her she had only about 30 seconds left to speak and gaveled the mother when she reached three minutes of addressing the Board.

Janice Patterson of Stow told the Board Vaughan’s comment could not be limited to three minutes because the June 11 meeting was a community meeting.

In an email to the Stow Sentry, Powers said since the beginning of her term, “the Board has always adhered to the three minute limit, except for rare occasions, regardless of whether it was a regular meeting or a community meeting.”

She wrote this is done in an effort to keep the business section of the meeting flowing efficiently and to allow enough time for all of those who wish to speak.

OTHER ITEMS

Also during the meeting, the Board also watched a presentation by a representative of Energy Education, who showed how the district could save money by implementing the program. Energy Education looks at how the district can negotiate lower rates, employ alternative energy solutions and consumption practices to lower costs.

The Board approved Jennifer Rahde’s resignation as a music teacher effective the end of the 2011-12 school year, and the employment of certified substitutes and the employment of certified personnel for the elementary summer reading intervention program. The employment of the 11 certified personnel is pending enough enrollment.

The employment of other certified personnel and supplementals as well as a non-certified supplemental resolution were also approved by the Board.

K-8 School fees for the 2012-13 school year were also approved. The fee is not to exceed $35.

The Board also had the first reading of several updates to the NEOLA Board policies and to textbook adoptions.

Bus driver Jen Carlton was also recognized during the Board meeting for placing 12nd in the 2012 Master State Road-E-O Roster.

The Board met in executive session to discuss personnel compensation. No action was taken after the meeting.

The next Board regular meeting was scheduled for June 29 at noon but has been canceled. The Board will have a special meeting June 28 at 6 p.m. at Central Office instead.

Email: msilva@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3916

By Valerie Caviglia

While school corporations across the country continue to struggle with shrinking budgets, some have started to reap the benefits of cost-saving initiatives implemented to make district spending more efficient.

Northwest Allen County Schools is not only seeing benefits of its own, it was awarded for one of its initiatives at a recent school board meeting. The district was recognized as an Energy Star Leader by the federal Energy Star program, an honor bestowed only upon the country’s most energy efficient schools.

Actions taken by NACS to reduce its energy spending has not only made them appear more environmentally adept, it’s saving jobs.

Bill Mallers, Northwest Allen County Schools business manager, said NACS partnered with Dallas-based Energy Education, who helped them implement a program to combat rising energy and utility costs in January 2010. With the help of consultants, NACS Energy Manager Dave Hey works with maintenance and other staff at their facilities to ensure best practices are used to reduce energy use. Consultants visit the district two to three times each month to walk the grounds and point out any opportunities for energy savings.

“What we were doing was getting our heating and air systems on occupancy programming or scheduling,” Mallers said. “We worked with Energy Education engineers to maximize those types of things. That’s how the program really kicked off, was to look at our HVAC systems. From there, it was a total package on how we were using our energy and how we could eliminate or reduce the costs associated with that.”

Mallers said the purpose of occupancy programming is to shut down HVAC systems in buildings like Carroll High School. The 600,000-square-foot facility was built to accommodate 2,800-3,000 occupants. To keep the HVAC system running when it was unoccupied or occupied by only a few people at one time was inefficient and costing the district valuable savings. “We don’t need a whole building to be heated or cooled when there is just one person there,” he said.

“Electricity, heating and cooling, that’s like your biggest expense,” Hey said. “Before, nobody really paid attention to how long the air  conditioning was running. Now, this building doesn’t come alive until 20 or 30 minutes before the kids get here. Then we shut it off half an hour before they leave.”

Another usage adjustment for the district came in programming its interior and exterior lighting systems.

“We didn’t have a good shut-down schedule that involved lighting, so that was a big component,” he said, adding that staff members in the district’s food service department were also contributing to energy cost savings by preheating ovens at the appropriate time and following proper equipment use guidelines.

“Any time we’re talking about energy usage, we’re talking about the behaviors of our staff, right down to extracurricular (activities). They may use a large gym and turn on an abundance of light, but only have a meeting of 20 people. We would want them to use a smaller classroom for that,” Mallers said. “That’s why the program is so valuable. It keeps it at the forefront. Part of it is just awareness and it comes down to the staff usage of those buildings.”

“You still need reminders. That’s what I’m for,” Hey said as he watched one of the head custodians shut a propped-open classroom door during a walk-through tour of Carroll High School. “See, there’s a good example. It’s about behaviors — making everyone cognitive of, ‘Do I need these lights on? Did I turn the computers, monitors, printers and copiers off at the end of the day?’”

While everyone has played a role in making the program successful, Hey gave most of the credit to the district’s custodial staff.

“These guys need more a pat on the back than anybody, really,” Hey said. “When you need stuff done in the buildings, they’re the go-to people.”

With the near $2 million in savings the district has accrued during the first half of its four-year contract with Energy Education, Mallers said the district is not only fulfilling its responsibility to the environment, but also to students and staff.

“The biggest thing we’ve been able to do is maintain educational programs and the staffing that goes along with it,” he said. “In 2009-10, we dealt with some major budget cuts and this has allowed us to maintain some of our educational programs without going further into cuts. We’ve been able to maintain staffing.”

The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the decreased energy use translates to the equivalent of removing 580 automobiles from the road for one year, or planting 82,687 trees.

Expected natural gas and electricity costs for the time period calculated were about $1,350,000, said North Shore School District 112 Energy Education Specialist Gianni Perrelli. This was based on a comprehensive analysis of the prior year’s utility bills and took into account factors such as temperature fluctuations and changes in natural gas and electric rates. Actual costs for the period were about $900,000, he said, a savings of more than 33 percent. The district has been working in partnership with Energy Education, which specializes in helping schools and other large organizations reduce their energy consumption.

Red apple award

North Shore School District 112 received the 2012 Illinois School District Bright Red Apple Award for educational excellence from SchoolSearch, an educational research and consulting firm. The district was one of 79 Illinois school districts, out of 868 statewide, to receive the award.

The award is based on criteria that includes strong academic performance, low pupil/teacher ratio, sufficient operating expenditure per pupil and the strength of the teaching staff.

Click here to view original article on Highland Park News.

Friday, April 27, 2012

The head custodians from each of Northwest Allen County Schools’ 11 buildings have put into action the energy saving practices that have so far saved the district $1.9 million. Front row, pictured from left: Shaugn Shultz, Eel River Elementary; Neal Kronmiller, Arcola Elementary; Assistant Head Custodian Bert Baker, Carroll Freshman Center; Bob Messmann, Huntertown Elementary; Assistant Head Custodian Shane Kennedy, Carroll High School; Campus Manager Jeff Warner, Carroll High School. Back row, pictured from left: NACS Director of Buildings and Grounds Tom Schipper; NACS Energy Manager Dave Hey; Dan Ward, Perry Hill Elementary; Josh Schnepp, Carroll Middle School; Mike Moore, Maple Creek Middle School; Tim Berdelman, Cedar Canyon Elementary; Dave Garman, Hickory Creek Elementary. Not pictured: Brian Schlatter, Oak View Elementary. Photo by Valerie Caviglia

While school corporations across the country continue to struggle with shrinking budgets, some have started to reap the benefits of cost-saving initiatives implemented to make district spending more efficient.

Northwest Allen County Schools is not only seeing benefits of its own, it was awarded for one of its initiatives at a recent school board meeting. The district was recognized as an Energy Star Leader by the federal Energy Star program, an honor bestowed only upon the country’s most energy efficient schools.

Actions taken by NACS to reduce its energy spending has not only made them appear more environmentally adept, it’s saving jobs.

Bill Mallers, Northwest Allen County Schools business manager, said NACS partnered with Dallas-based Energy Education, who helped them implement a program to combat rising energy and utility costs in January 2010. With the help of consultants, NACS Energy Manager Dave Hey works with maintenance and other staff at their facilities to ensure best practices are used to reduce energy use. Consultants visit the district two to three times each month to walk the grounds and point out any opportunities for energy savings.

“What we were doing was getting our heating and air systems on occupancy programming or scheduling,” Mallers said. “We worked with Energy Education engineers to maximize those types of things. That’s how the program really kicked off, was to look at our HVAC systems. From there, it was a total package on how we were using our energy and how we could eliminate or reduce the costs associated with that.”

Mallers said the purpose of occupancy programming is to shut down HVAC systems in buildings like Carroll High School. The 600,000-square-foot facility was built to accomodate 2,800-3,000 occupants. To keep the HVAC system running when it was unoccupied or occupied by only a few people at one time was inefficient and costing the district valuable savings. “We don’t need a whole building to be heated or cooled when there is just one person there,” he said.

“Electricity, heating and cooling, that’s like your biggest expense,” Hey said. “Before, nobody really paid attention to how long the air conditioning was running. Now, this building doesn’t come alive until 20 or 30 minutes before the kids get here. Then we shut it off half an hour before they leave.”

Another usage adjustment for the district came in programming its interior and exterior lighting systems.

“We didn’t have a good shut-down schedule that involved lighting, so that was a big component,” he said, adding that staff members in the district’s food service department were also contributing to energy cost savings by preheating ovens at the appropriate time and following proper equipment use guidelines.

“Any time we’re talking about energy usage, we’re talking about the behaviors of our staff, right down to extracurricular (activities). They may use a large gym and turn on an abundance of light, but only have a meeting of 20 people. We would want them to use a smaller classroom for that,” Mallers said. “That’s why the program is so valuable. It keeps it at the forefront. Part of it is just awareness and it comes down to the staff usage of those buildings.”

“You still need reminders. That’s what I’m for,” Hey said as he watched one of the head custodians shut a propped-open classroom door during a walk-through tour of Carroll High School. “See, there’s a good example. It’s about behaviors — making everyone cognitive of, ‘Do I need these lights on? Did I turn the computers, monitors, printers and copiers off at the end of the day?’”

While everyone has played a role in making the program successful, Hey gave most of the credit to the district’s custodial staff.

“These guys need more a pat on the back than anybody, really,” Hey said. “When you need stuff done in the buildings, they’re the go-to people.”

With the near $2 million in savings the district has accrued during the first half of its four-year contract with Energy Education, Mallers said the district is not only fulfilling its responsibility to the environment, but also to students and staff.

“The biggest thing we’ve been able to do is maintain educational programs and the staffing that goes along with it,” he said. “In 2009-10, we dealt with some major budget cuts and this has allowed us to maintain some of our educational programs without going further into cuts. We’ve been able to maintain staffing.”

Click here to view the original article on FW News.

There will be an extra 2.3 percent funding increase for teacher’s salaries in Sioux Falls.

But, educators shouldn’t grab their calculators just yet. The budget has yet to be finalized and school officials won’t just give everyone a flat raise.

In order for Sioux Falls school officials to keep a balanced budget, some cuts were needed in the preliminary 2013 budget proposal.

The school board would not have a National School Board membership and two bus routes would be cancelled.

A two-year-old plan that cuts the amount of energy use system wide has helped the district find a few extra hundred thousand dollars.

“Decreasing about $800,000 from the utility expenses due to the energy education program,” said Superintendent Dr. Pamela J. Homan.

If the budget is approved, funding for teachers’ salaries would increase by 2.3 percent. The school district will receive that money from cuts and money from the legislature.

“We will take that one time funding and combine that with 0.8% so that our overall staff increase to the salary scheduling process would be 2.3 percent,” said Homan.

However, it doesn’t mean that every teacher will receive a raise.

“That doesn’t mean that each staff member goes home and takes what they make this year and multiples it by 2.3. We have to apply that to the salary schedules first, by funding the movement on those schedules. Then we go back and spread out the remaining amount on the schedule,” said Homan.

The Sioux Falls School Board will host public meetings in the coming weeks to discuss the budget, before giving final approval in June.

But, educators shouldn’t grab their calculators just yet. The budget has yet to be finalized and school officials won’t just give everyone a flat raise.

In order for Sioux Falls school officials to keep a balanced budget, some cuts were needed in the preliminary 2013 budget proposal.

The school board would not have a National School Board membership and two bus routes would be cancelled.

A two-year-old plan that cuts the amount of energy use system wide has helped the district find a few extra hundred thousand dollars.

“Decreasing about $800,000 from the utility expenses due to the energy education program,” said Superintendent Dr. Pamela J. Homan.

If the budget is approved, funding for teachers’ salaries would increase by 2.3 percent. The school district will receive that money from cuts and money from the legislature.

“We will take that one time funding and combine that with 0.8% so that our overall staff increase to the salary scheduling process would be 2.3 percent,” said Homan.

However, it doesn’t mean that every teacher will receive a raise.

“That doesn’t mean that each staff member goes home and takes what they make this year and multiples it by 2.3. We have to apply that to the salary schedules first, by funding the movement on those schedules. Then we go back and spread out the remaining amount on the schedule,” said Homan.

The Sioux Falls School Board will host public meetings in the coming weeks to discuss the budget, before giving final approval in June.

Energy Education will present its Energy Pacesetter Award during the Woodland school board meeting Thursday. The award is for organizations that are “setting the pace” in energy savings for others, LaVoi said. It is designated only for programs achieving above-average savings, recognizing the support and cooperation of administration, faculty and staff organization-wide.

A key benefit of the Energy Education program is that all costs come out of the existing utility budget, with savings projected to more than pay for the program, as they have done for the Woodland school district.

Additional savings can be redirected to other parts of the budget. Many organizations credit the program with helping keep personnel and programs that might have faced budget cuts.

“Everyone knows school districts face huge financial challenges in today’s economy. Saving significant dollars in energy costs helps so much,” LaVoi said.  “I want to commend our staff members who have worked hard to make energy savings a reality.”

Click here to view the original article.

Nicholas Huba: 732-557-5617; nhuba@njpressmedia.com; www.twitter.com/ nicholashuba

Click here to view full article.