By JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer
NORTH BRUNSWICK — Faculty and staff in the North Brunswick school district are being recognized for their efforts to reduce energy use while increasing cost savings within the district.
North Brunswick has achieved a 21 percent cost savings totaling $4,020,947 in 94 months since forming a strategic alliance with Cenergistic, a national energy conservation company. Cenergistic presented its Energy Pacesetter Award during the Sept. 21 North Brunswick Board of Education meeting, according to a statement prepared by the company.
The Energy Pacesetter Award is for those organizations that are “setting the pace” in energy savings for others. It is designated only for programs achieving above-average savings, recognizing the support and cooperation of administration, faculty and staff organization-wide.
“Reaching this level of savings at this stage of the program is a significant achievement. North Brunswick Township Public Schools has done an excellent job of implementing Cenergistic’s organizational behavior-based approach to energy conservation and maintaining productive efforts at all levels of the organization. The chief administrator and board, along with other administration, faculty and staff members are to be commended for clearly fulfilling their commitment to being good stewards of the taxpayers’ money and the environment,” said Dr. William S. Spears, CEO and founder of Cenergistic.
“Strong support from Superintendent [Brian] Zychowski and the board have created an atmosphere of cooperation that should continue to grow and ensure even greater success well into the future,” Spears said.
A key benefit of the Cenergistic program is that all costs come out of the existing utility budget, with savings projected to more than pay for the program, as they have done for North Brunswick schools, according to the company. Additional savings can be redirected to other parts of the budget.
Energy Specialist Raymond Kuehner tracks energy consumption — including electricity, water, sewer, natural gas and fuel oil — using energy-accounting software. He compares current energy use to a baseline period and calculates the amount of energy that would have been used had conservation and management practices not been implemented. By tracking consumption and analyzing energy use, he can quickly identify and correct areas that need immediate attention.
“[R]ay Kuehner led an educational energy summit for all employees that focused on staff habits, dispositions and overall energy use. Through the examination of data and a collaborative effort, all district staff remained steadfast in their obligation to conserve energy. Because of this commitment on utilization as well as an attention to pricing, the district has been able to maximize every tax dollar and channel the savings into our core mission of providing the best classroom experience for every child,” Superintendent Brian Zychowski said.
Contact Jennifer Amato at [email protected].