Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center Board of Education hears report on energy savings
The Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center Board of Education made the right decisions at the right time when it contracted for a pair of energy saving equipment retrofit projects over the last six years and installation of solar panels on the school roof last summer. That’s what Superintendent Mike McDaniel told the board at its regular meeting Thursday, May 19, as he presented a report on current and future energy savings.
According to McDaniel, total energy usage savings projected from 2006, when the first retrofit project was completed, to the end of this year will be $605,238. Actual savings after project costs are factored in are estimated at $54,840.
McDaniel said energy use savings projected through 2014 are just over $1 million with actual cost savings of $134,035. By the time all retrofit project costs are paid off and contracts end in 2023, career center energy use savings is expected to be nearly $2.3 million and actual cost savings just over $1 million.
“Energy companies are not going to lose in the long run and there will be increases,” McDaniel said. “This puts us into a good position for right now and even more so in the future. The original idea was to modernize our systems and control future costs. I think it’s clear that we made the right investments.”
Board member Forrest Chanay, a Holmes County representative from the Tri-County Educational Service Center, pointed out that American Electric Power has been advertising public hearings on a request for an 11.8 percent increase for the transmission component of customer bills. “What’s behind the scenes is they (federal officials) are not approving new generating facilities and there is currently no room for the electricity that will be used for electric cars that will be coming along.”
Eugene Anderson, Hillsdale School District representative, said small electric generating plants are shutting down either because they cannot meet EPA regulations or because of the glut of electricity on the market as the result of the current economic slowdown. “We could be in trouble when the economy picks back up,” he added.
McDaniel said he recently learned that the career center may be eligible for a $10,000 rebate from First Energy and $4,000 to $5,000 annual savings in the future for the career center’s energy conservation projects. As part of its agenda, the board also approved an agreement to participate in the Power4Schools electric program that will lock in a three-year price of 5.28 cents per kilowatt-hour for electric generation from First Energy Solutions.
McDaniel also told the board that the new emergency generator that was installed as part of the second phase energy retrofit has prevented officials from having to send students home during four power outages this year.
In other financial matters, the career center board approved the latest amended five-year state-mandated financial forecast that shows the school will end fiscal 2015 with a projected $417,383 general fund balance. “We’ve stretched our dollars beyond our promise to constituents to keep funds in the black through 2013,” said Sherry Paullin, treasurer.
Paullin said the state is phasing out reimbursement for the loss of tangible personal property tax revenues on business equipment and inventory three years early. That will cost the school about $400,000 annually.
McDaniel told the board that basic state funding for technical and career education will not stay the same, with an expected future emphasis on career tech. He expects the new formula to be highly performance based, which McDaniel hopes will mean more funding.
“Much of what we have done in the last three years in working to attract and retain students has been in anticipation of that change,” McDaniel said. “Our performance success rate has been pretty good by any standard, but we still could serve more students.”
According to McDaniel, total energy usage savings projected from 2006, when the first retrofit project was completed, to the end of this year will be $605,238. Actual savings after project costs are factored in are estimated at $54,840.
McDaniel said energy use savings projected through 2014 are just over $1 million with actual cost savings of $134,035. By the time all retrofit project costs are paid off and contracts end in 2023, career center energy use savings is expected to be nearly $2.3 million and actual cost savings just over $1 million.
“Energy companies are not going to lose in the long run and there will be increases,” McDaniel said. “This puts us into a good position for right now and even more so in the future. The original idea was to modernize our systems and control future costs. I think it’s clear that we made the right investments.”
Board member Forrest Chanay, a Holmes County representative from the Tri-County Educational Service Center, pointed out that American Electric Power has been advertising public hearings on a request for an 11.8 percent increase for the transmission component of customer bills. “What’s behind the scenes is they (federal officials) are not approving new generating facilities and there is currently no room for the electricity that will be used for electric cars that will be coming along.”
Eugene Anderson, Hillsdale School District representative, said small electric generating plants are shutting down either because they cannot meet EPA regulations or because of the glut of electricity on the market as the result of the current economic slowdown. “We could be in trouble when the economy picks back up,” he added.
McDaniel said he recently learned that the career center may be eligible for a $10,000 rebate from First Energy and $4,000 to $5,000 annual savings in the future for the career center’s energy conservation projects. As part of its agenda, the board also approved an agreement to participate in the Power4Schools electric program that will lock in a three-year price of 5.28 cents per kilowatt-hour for electric generation from First Energy Solutions.
McDaniel also told the board that the new emergency generator that was installed as part of the second phase energy retrofit has prevented officials from having to send students home during four power outages this year.
In other financial matters, the career center board approved the latest amended five-year state-mandated financial forecast that shows the school will end fiscal 2015 with a projected $417,383 general fund balance. “We’ve stretched our dollars beyond our promise to constituents to keep funds in the black through 2013,” said Sherry Paullin, treasurer.
Paullin said the state is phasing out reimbursement for the loss of tangible personal property tax revenues on business equipment and inventory three years early. That will cost the school about $400,000 annually.
McDaniel told the board that basic state funding for technical and career education will not stay the same, with an expected future emphasis on career tech. He expects the new formula to be highly performance based, which McDaniel hopes will mean more funding.
“Much of what we have done in the last three years in working to attract and retain students has been in anticipation of that change,” McDaniel said. “Our performance success rate has been pretty good by any standard, but we still could serve more students.”
Published: June 2, 2011
