By Davy James, Staff Writer
With a few hurdles left to overcome, local schools may be going green in the future.
In an effort to save approximately $2 billion in nationwide energy expenditures, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 21st Century High-Performing Public School Facilities Act on June 4. The bill included an initiative by U.S. Rep. Rush Holt to provide schools with federal funding to make energy efficient upgrades to facilities, such as utilizing solar power or replacing older heating and air appliances with newer, more energy efficient models.
”The bill authorizes $6.4 billion over five years for school construction and would also give funds to schools to upgrade current facilities,” said Rep. Holt’s spokesman Zach Goldberg. “This is intended to help schools upgrade and modernize facilities. It passed in the House and now needs approval in the Senate.”
The bill was passed in the House by 250 ayes to 164 nays with 19 not voting. The goal of the bill is to enable schools to reduce energy costs and redirect funds to other areas in the school budget.
Local school officials said the cost of energy is a huge concern of the school district.
”As a school we’re extremely conscious of the environment and rising energy costs,” said Cranbury Chief School Administrator John Haney. “If we were able to help the environment and school finances it would be a win-win situation. We would definitely look into it after we saw the details.”
Other districts shared a similar sentiment about the prospects of reducing energy costs.
”We would look into that area because we try to save money any way we can,” said Jamesburg School Board President Don Peterson. “But with green energy the cost up front is usually heavy so we’d have to be cautious, but any measure that allows us to save money we would look in to.”
Much of the expenses schools currently have is tied up in energy bills,” Mr. Goldberg said. “Reducing the costs would allow schools to free up funds to purchase new textbooks or hire new teachers, for example.”
Rep. Holt said a large amount of school budgets are wasted by energy inefficiency.
”By understanding where energy is used unwisely and implementing simple changes in the operations and maintenance of school buildings, a school’s operating costs can be reduced by 25 percent or more,” Rep. Holt said in a press release. “Schools that are seeking even greater long-term savings can retrofit their buildings with more efficient systems and replace old appliances.”
Rep. Holt said the bill would include provisions for poorly funded school districts.
”Cash strapped school systems are often unable to find the financial resources to invest in these energy efficient upgrades,” Rep. Holt said in a press release. “My bill would assist schools in making these improvements by making grants through the Department of Education.”
Energy bills are the second highest operating expenditure for schools with annual spending at $8 billion in 2007, according to Rep. Holt’s office. School officials said that aid to reduce energy costs would be a huge boost to the district.
”As a district we’re extremely conscious of the environment and energy costs,” said Monroe Scholl school board President Amy Antelis. “I would hope the board would look into anything that would allow us to cut costs.”
The bill would also require states to measure and report on the carbon footprint of each school, according to Rep. Holt’s office. A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gasses produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide, according to carbonfootprint.com.
”The goal of the bill is to lead schools into becoming carbon neutral facilities,” Mr. Goldberg said. “Schools would set goals of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions while reducing energy use.”
Monroe Director of Facilities Jerry Tague said that Oak Tree Elementary, which will open in the fall, already includes many green school provisions.
”Oak Tree has numerous energy efficient features that will cut costs tremendously,” Mr. Tague said. “A key component is the photo voltaic solar panels on our gym roof that harvest solar energy.”
Mr. Tague said the panels at times could provide more power than the school will need.
”This causes the energy meter to spin in reverse, which puts power back into the grid,” Mr. Tague said. “At that point the utility company buys back that power from you.”
Also included in Oak Tree are high efficiency windows and a high efficiency reflective roof that reduces the heat load on the building, according to Mr. Tague.
The school also uses a water efficient gray-water system, which collects rainwater in an underground tank and uses it for toilets in the school. He said the collected water doesn’t go into the drinking water.
Many of the same provisions were included in the original plans for the new Monroe Township High School, but had to be eliminated due to funding constraints, according to Mr. Tague. He said the savings and amount of energy harvested from Oak Tree wouldn’t be clear until the system was operational.
”Oak Tree is a great example of an energy conscious school plan,” Ms. Antelis said. “Any initiative that would cut costs and help the environment would be worthwhile to look in to.”
