An Increase in Learning from a Decrease in Energy Costs

By Sean Scarpiello

All across the United States, school districts’ budgets continue to be cut. With less and less money, district administrators are left with the task of finding ways to spend less money. To get more bang for their buck, some school districts have begun cutting back on their utilities. In fact, some districts have saved a lot of money by conserving energy. By doing something as simple as turning off lights, schools could save money which can be spent on other things.

The first and easiest way to save money through cutting energy costs is by turning off lights. In my town, all of the schools have all of their classroom lights on until around 8 o’clock at night. Obviously there aren’t any classes in session that late so it is unnecessary for the lights to be on. In New York, Desoto County Schools saved a little less than $1 million by simply conserving energy. Jim Avery, head of the energy conservation campaign, determined that schools typically spend about $1.20 per square foot on energy. He helped to lower the cost of Desoto schools energy to $1.01 per square foot. This may not sound like a significant amount of savings, but all of the small savings really add up over time.

The superintendent of the Desoto County Schools described how if teachers turned their lights off when they went to lunch, the school would save more than $100,000 in one year. All school administrators would love to have an extra $100,000 for spending on other areas in the district. Many people working in schools have a mindset like “well I’m not paying the electricity bill.” This mindset only causes more unnecessary spending.

Also, some schools keep computers on overnight and over the weekend. This is also wasteful of energy. If teachers double checked that all of the computers are off before they go home, electric bills would be reduced. Even over the summer vacation and other breaks, lights and computers which are not being utilized continue to be left on. Again, this is a source of needless and wasteful spending which can be avoided very easily.

One other way some schools are looking into saving money by cutting energy costs is through transportation. Some schools have begun to have students walk to school if they live within a one mile radius of the school. This may seem drastic but it would save a lot of money. The cost of transporting buses is expensive and if schools can take more buses off the road, the cost of transporting students would decrease significantly. Also, some school districts have spread out the starting and ending times of elementary, middle, and high schools. By having high school students go to school early, then middle school, and last elementary schools, districts reduce costs by hiring fewer bus drivers who drive more routes. By reducing the number of bus drivers, there are less salaries to pay and thus reduced costs. One school district in Columbia, Missouri has cut their transportation costs in half by implementing a similar system. Ultimately they end up saving a whopping $300,000.

Sources:

http://www.desototimes.com/articles/2011/11/10/news/local/doc4ebb1d2b385fb427337677.txt

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2011/11/10/school-bus-riding-policy-under-consideration/

Reaching Out to Others to Save Money

By Sean Scarpiello

As the government continues to cut education funding, schools are forced to come up with new ways to save money. School administrators in Waco, Texas have reached out to the parents of students, as well as the rest of the community for ideas to save money. People could submit their suggestions online which were then categorized and counted. There ended up being 115 different suggestions; both good and bad ones. Currently, the school district’s financial advisors are reviewing this list to see whether or not any of the ideas could be implemented in schools.

In general, I feel that this is a great idea. It is a very wise move for administrators to reach out to parents and the community for a number of reasons. First off, some parents may have good ideas for cutting costs but simply cannot have their ideas heard at the district’s board meetings. The school district really has nothing to lose because of the 115 suggestions a few of the ideas should be able to save money. It also takes some pressure off of the administrators because parents will then realize just how difficult it is to come up with creative ways to save money. This process gives everyone a voice, so there really is no excuse for parents whining how they cannot make a difference when they have good ideas. In reality, most of the ideas are probably useless because they are either impractical or simply cannot be executed without a decrease in the quality of education. It is vital that the district has the ideas reviewed by its financial advisors because most of the good ideas that seem to work still may be unable to be implemented due to several reasons.

More school districts across the country should also try this technique to gather ideas for cutting costs. They may be surprised to discover that there are some good suggestions out there for saving money. One other way districts could look for crafty ways to reduce costs would be to look at the ways other school districts all over the country are finding ways to save. Schools all across America have faced cuts in federal funding and if school districts can learn from each other, then they can get more bang for their buck.

It will be interesting to see if any of the 115 suggestions can actually be used in the school district. I feel that the results will be promising. At college, professors and courses would always be graded at the end of each semester in order to make changes for the next year. The college used the feedback given by students and courses would be restructured then every few years to ensure a high quality of learning. It is good to see how other institutions are adopting the same technique of reaching out to others for ideas to improve. This should definitely be practiced more in the education field and schools all over should by saying, “Help us to help you.”

Source: http://www.kxxv.com/story/14680592/parents-list-their-ideas-to-save-waco-isd-money

Conserving Energy for Success

By Sean Scarpiello

As education funding continues to be cut across the United States, school districts continue to look for easier ways to save money. Administrators need to find new methods so that they can get more bang for their buck. One easy way to reduce costs which often gets overlooked, is to control energy costs.

In my high school, I noticed that computers and televisions were usually left on overnight. Overall, there was a general lack of initiative of staff and faculty which cared about the energy costs of the school. For example, some teachers would open the window on nice days and keep on the air conditioning unit. It is wasteful to pay for the air conditioning when it is not being used. Also, buses would constantly idle in the parking lots waiting for students. I felt that this is twice as bad because not only is the school losing money on expensive gasoline, but the environment is also being affected. I can also see some examples of this wastefulness at college. After all the academic buildings close down for the night at about 12 o’clock, every room and atrium remains lit up. When the building is locked and not being used, it should not need to be lit up and have computers running.

This problem exists in schools because many people are simply careless. Many teachers, staff, and faculty do not turn off lights and are generally wasteful because they think, “I’m not paying the energy bill.” Everyone has that kind of attitude at work. Since they are not paying for it they can be lazy. What people need to realize is that they are paying for it indirectly. If workers blow off money on energy costs, they are very unlikely to see that money later. This example holds true for teachers as well. If teachers, and all of a school’s employees, do not try to lower energy costs, they will not see that money later in the form of a bonus or new classroom technology.

The idea of lowering energy costs in schools may sound a bit useless because many may argue that it is more trouble than its worth. In reality, it isn’t. It would be relatively easy to start a campaign that advocates the conservation of energy in schools. School districts would be surprised to see just how much money is being wasted on unused energy. Initially, it would save a few thousand dollars here and there. This money could definitely be utilized somewhere in the school district. Eventually, school districts could focus on other areas of the education field to save money in by conserving energy. These areas include things like transportation, recycling, grounds keeping, janitorial services, and more. There are a lot of possibilities which often get overlooked.

One school that has saved a lot of money conserving energy is Redmond High School in Seattle, Washington. Students initially trying to protect the environment ended up saving their school a lot of money. By simply reducing electricity use, they saved about $7,500. After a complete overhaul of the school district’s energy use, $550,000 was saved in only 2 ½ years. This amount of money would go very far in any school district and would give administration a break from the recent cuts in education funding.

Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2004015249_greenschools15e.html