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Classroom coffeepots
safe for now
By J. FRANK LYNCH
jflynch@theCitizenNews.com
“My timing is impeccable,” joked Julie Simpson, After School
director in Fayette County, as she took to the microphone at Monday’s
Board of Education meeting to offer an update on her program.
Her intent was to recognize the recent “Lights On After School”
celebration and the success of a program that enrolls 2,000 students countywide.
But her presentation came on the heels of a lengthy debate about how to
best cut energy costs on the county’s 29 campuses — a proposal
that promotes the simple idea: Turn the lights off.
“We had meant to get her on the agenda before now,” said Superintendent
John DeCotis, acknowledging the unintentional irony in the order of business.
School Board Chair Terri Smith told Simpson, “You’ve built a
very worthwhile program, but it doesn’t need to be done in the dark.”
Simpson and her colleagues won’t have to worry about going without
lights anytime soon; neither will they have to suffer without microwaves,
coffee pots, dehumidifiers and under-the-desk space heaters — at
least for now.
A plan to cut energy costs systemwide by 10 percent, presented to the
school board by Facilities Services Director Mike Satterfield Oct. 13,
offered a number of ideas to slash into the district’s $3.2 million
annual power bill.
Chief among them was eliminating all the gadgets, appliances and comfort
gizmos that populate many of the system’s classrooms and offices.
But teachers have been especially vocal in the past week at the thought
of giving up what many consider rare perks, and board members were sensitive
to that plea.
They tabled adoption of the policy for further study.
“If you use one microwave or 50 microwaves, does it really make a
difference?” asked Smith. “Is removing these things from the
classrooms really going to save any money? That’s what we’re
looking at.”
Because most small appliances are so energy effficient they burn mere
pennies annually, she said there was debate about if the cost savings
was really worth the effort — or the potential ill will it might
create among the district’s 1,500 classified employees.
Instead, the board will look at adoption of some general “guidelines”
for saving electricity that perhaps can be put in the hands of each school
prinicipal to enforce as appropriate, perhaps in a competitive atmosphere.
“We want to stress the importance of energy management in general,
and educate our students as well,” said Smith. “It’s about
having the individual schools take responsibilty for cutting costs.”
Some initial ideas have already been embraced, such as waiting until Saturday
mornings to clean high school football stadiums instead of burning the
lights into the night.
More such solutions will be explored, Satterfield said.
In other business Monday:
• Finance Director James Stephens gave the good news that the district’s
bank accounts are in the black again, after the board had to borrow money
last month to pay salaries. The general fund balance stood at $5.6 million
as of Sept. 30.
• Three business representatives were approved to serve on school
councils: Carol Stallings of Stallings Frame & Plaque Shop, Flat Rock
Middle; Roberta Osteen, Buck’s Pizza, Rising Starr Middle; and Bill
Webb, Heritage Bank, Whitewater High.
• The board adopted an amended policy on guidance and counseling
that better defines its mission from elementary schools through the high
schools.
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