By Eileen Oldfield, Staff Writer
Some Hillsborough students will be asked to put on their thinking caps to come up with ideas that may help their schools reduce energy costs and in turn, help the schools gain extra funding for other programs.
Called “The Green School Program,” the plan will be launched in September. The program focuses on energy conservation and education, and is supported through Global Learning Inc., a non-profit organization that translates energy conservation principles into educational activities.
Board of Education Facilities Committee Chairwoman Thuy Ahn Le, who also heads the township’s Sustainable Hillsborough Committee, introduced the no-cost program to the board, and it was accepted at the Aug. 16 meeting.
”In Hillsborough, some of our newer schools have furnace systems that you can set up software to manage your energy consumption,” Ms. Le said. “Our older schools don’t have these systems, so we need another approach.”
The program, which is optional, allows teachers to introduce a lesson about energy consumption, and have students come up with ways to conserve energy at their schools, she added.
Participating Hillsborough schools will be eligible to receive a return of up to 25 percent of their school’s energy savings for any additional education or outreach opportunities instituted because of the program.
Ms. Le learned of the program through the New Jersey Clean Energy website, www.njcleanenergy.com, and decided to introduce it at one of the Facilities Committee meetings. The program then went to the Curriculum Committee for review before being presented to the Board of Education for a vote on implementing it.
”Each school will hopefully embrace the concepts and apply what they learn as much as possible,” she said. “Hopefully, the students will learn these concepts in school and bring it home.”
Thomas Kinst was the only board member voting against the program when it was on the Aug. 16 meeting agenda.
The programs span elementary school through college levels, though using the Green Schools materials is an optional activity, according to Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Lisa Antunes.
The program comes at no cost to the Board of Education, since it is funded through the State Board of Public Utilities, Ms. Le said. The utilities board pays for the lesson kits the schools receive, the teachers’ training on how to use the kits and introduce the lessons, and reimburses the district for any substitute teaching fees incurred from the teachers taking the training, she added.
With the Green Schools Program being available to students, Sustainable Hillsborough intends to approach parents via the home and school associations to further the conservation knowledge.
”I’m hoping the two teams students and parents work together,” Ms. Le said. “Not only on energy conservation, but on anti-idling and other environmental issues. This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

