MANCHESTER, N.J. — Sometimes you have to spend money to save money. That is what seven school districts in Monmouth and Ocean counties have discovered in their efforts to "go green." The seven Holmdel and Millstone in Monmouth County and Barnegat, Central Regional, Manchester, Southern Regional and Stafford in Ocean County are among 20 school districts in New Jersey that are paying Texas-based Energy Education Inc. anywhere from $6,000 to $15,000-plus per month to achieve energy savings double, triple and quadruple what they are paying the company.
The Southern Regional School District, for example, has saved more than $2.2 million in energy costs over the three years, said district Business Administrator Steve Terhune. Southern Regional pays the company $12,400 each month in addition to the $20,500 annual stipend it pays to Dean Adams, the district's energy manager. "For every dollar spent, we're saving $4," said Terhune.
The Millstone Township school district, which pays Energy Education $6,250 per month, has achieved a 24 percent cost savings totaling $240,000 since it contracted with the company 16 months ago, said Bernard Biesiada, district business administrator. Keith Buckalew, the district's energy education specialist, receives a $10,000 annual stipend. "We've helped New Jersey school districts save more than $29 million so far," said Jan Noel-Smith, a representative of the company that has worked with more than 1,000 school districts, universities and municipalities to go green over the past 24 years. The four-year contract between school districts and Energy Education requires that districts pay a fixed monthly fee and appoint an energy education manager or specialist and pay them a stipend, she said. In return, Energy Education trains the individual and provides technical support, and if the district does not realize a savings at least equal to the annual contract, Energy Education receives no fee and also pays the stipend of the energy education specialist, she added. Energy Education is in on the interview process to make sure the person selected is capable of doing the job. In some districts, buildings and grounds supervisors take on the added responsibilities; in others, teachers do the job before and after school and on weekends and vacations.
At the Central Regional School District, technology teacher Curtis Kleier receives a $20,000 stipend to oversee the energy conservation program in the two-building school district. Central is in the second year of a four-year $125,000-per-year contract with Energy Education. The energy savings to date total $217,000, Kleier said. He added that in addition to tweaking the computer program that regulates lights, heating and air-conditioning systems and working with staff and students to change behaviors about energy usage, the district has installed motion sensors in the bathrooms and locker rooms."We've also installed a $75 device on 12 vending machines at the high school and eight vending machines at the middle school called a vending miser. The device turns the lights and compressors in vending machines on and off while protecting the machine's hardware and saving energy," Kleier said.
"When the district's solar energy project is on line next March, we'll see an additional savings of between 15 and 25 percent on our electric bill," said Triantafillos Parlapanides, Central Regional superintendent of schools. In Manchester, the district pays Energy Education a total of $199,680 a year, but managed to save $500,000 in energy costs, said David Trethaway, Manchester's superintendent of schools. Elementary teacher Jessica Brosnan receives a stipend of $21,000 as district energy education specialist. "She performs her duties after school hours and has done an excellent job in learning strategies and communicating these strategies to our staff," said Superintendent David Trethaway.
Some of the cost-saving recommendations that have been implemented are HVAC equipment upgrades, installation and upgrades to energy management software, installation and upgrades to HVAC setback thermostats, upgrades to chiller controls, set points adjusted for and monitored for heating and cooling, weekly audits performed to troubleshoot problems and improve efficiency, and educating staff on energy savings and consumption, he said. In November, solar panels at the high school will go online, and plans are in the works to install energy-efficient gym lighting in all of the schools, Trethaway said. He added that 40 percent of the lighting cost will be funded by the state.
In Stafford, Joseph Meister, who is supervisor of buildings and grounds, is also the energy-education manager. His stipend is $20,068, and the district pays Energy Education $8,850 monthly until March 31, 2012, said Karina Monanian, community liaison for the district. At the Oct. 21 Stafford Board of Education meeting, Meister detailed the savings to date $495,062, a 20 percent reduction in energy costs over the past two years. The solar panels on schools have saved the district an additional $36,273. Meister said that the program is far more complex than just teaching people to turn off computers and lights. "We go to the school when no one is there to check that the computer system, which regulates heating and cooling, is operating property. We have to also have to make sure it matches the usage of the building, especially when a school may be open until 9 p.m. at night for an event," he said. "Why the other 600-plus school districts in the state aren't doing this is beyond me," Meister said. "This is just money left on the table. Our energy savings is the equivalent of 16 teaching positions, and it has had a positive impact on budget cuts."
The Holmdel school district, too, has achieved savings of about $500,000 in energy costs over the past two years, said Michael Petrizzo, school business administrator, adding that Holmdel pays $15,730 a month for Energy Education's services and a stipend of $26,000 to Bill Balicki, the head of buildings and grounds, who is the energy education manager.
"The bottom line is it's a very successful program. We've seen a 25 percent reduction in our energy costs," Petrizzo said.
Barnegat is new to the program, signing on at the end of August. Rich Morrill, supervisor of building and grounds, will be the district's energy education specialist and will be receiving a stipend of $20,000, said Dean Allison, school business administrator. "We spend $1.5 million a year for electricity and $500,000 for natural gas, so if we can cut our usage by 20 percent in the first year that's going to be a great savings," Allison said, and added that the district will be paying the company $225,000 for their expertise. "We expect our minimum savings over the term of the contract to be in excess of $1 million."
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