GreenBiz:
About a year and a half ago, Ron Wilcox, the superintendent of schools in Madison County, North Carolina, had a big problem. Electricity bills for the district were 38 percent higher than budgeted. Apparently the local utility had been burning oil to make power, and oil prices were way up back then. Wilcox went to the county commissioners to ask for more money and got it -- along with a lecture about energy efficiency.
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Energy efficiency is great for schools. i hope the school owns the solar panels not the utility.
I was speaking with someone from the NRDC the other day about the difficulties of promoting energy efficiency in schools. Even though schools receive state and federal funds, neither entity seems willing to require that schools review their energy use and focus on improvements.
That leaves the decision up to individual superintendents. Several years ago, my son did a study that showed that our school system would save $60,000 annually if all of the computers in the schools were turned off at the end of the school day. Even though his analysis was reviewed by the IT department and determined to be sound, it took three years and a change in superintendents for the schools to adopt the policy.
Parents need to be more active in promoting change in their schools. School committees tend to listen when groups of parents become vocal.
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Posted: 06-17-09 08:47 AM