Mount Baker School District gets $500,000 energy grant

Becca Schwarz — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:29:19 +0000

by Stephanie Kosonen
DEMING – The Mount Baker School District recently received a $500,000 grant from the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for energy efficiency improvements.
The district was already looking into how to be more energy efficient before officials learned they could apply for the grant, said Superintendent Dr. Rick Gantman. A contract signed late last year with energy performance contractor Schneider Electric eased the application process, and the sheer need for energy efficiency upgrades helped win the grant, Gantman said.
Old building design contributes to the need for the upgrades. “The oldest buildings in our district are in very, very good shape, but they’re old,” Gantman said, adding some of the buildings were constructed in the 1930s and ‘60s.
According to Schneider Electric’s energy estimates so far, they expect the district to save around 20 percent of its total electrical and natural gas costs once improvements are completed.
“That equals to about 205 tons of carbon emissions saved, or the equivalent of planting 15,000 trees,” said Harrison Eng, LEED engineer with Schneider Electric.
Lighting and heating equipment might be replaced, and walls may be reinforced with insulation to help meet efficiency goals.
“It’s undefined now what the limit of our design work with them will be,” Gantman said.
The scope of work will depend on a cost-benefit analysis, combined with the district’s available capital projects funds. “There are some things we might like to do that might not have a huge energy return, but that might be common sense to improve a building,” he said. “We’ll see what they say.”
What is known is that the energy upgrades will make a big impact on the district’s budget, Eng said.
“An even more substantial impact is in the learning environment,” Eng said. “Updating the lighting levels in the classroom and gyms and making the building HVAC system operate more consistently will create a better environment for students without sacrificing anything financially.”
The next step will be a presentation of what the company finds during an “energy audit” of the district’s buildings.
The audit involves on-site visits from Schneider Electric engineers and computer modeling of the buildings’ current energy use.
For example, light sensors were installed, as well as motion detectors, to record when the lights are on in relation to when people are actively using the space. If the lights are on a lot with little or no motion, the company might recommend motion-sensor light switches that turn on the lights when someone enters a room, Gantman said.
In addition, the company looks at the district’s history of heating bills and other hard data.
Assistant Superintendent Jim Frey compiled the grant proposal. He said the process has been revealing and helpful in determining where the problem spots are within district buildings, and district officials look forward to identifying energy savings and facility upgrades that will crate a better learning environment.
“Our district has done a tremendous job over the years of taking care of the facilities, but some of our lighting, controls, and systems have exceeded their life expectancy,” Frey said. “In addition, some of our building envelopes are not constructed up to modern standards, and we demonstrated that by upgrading, we will experience significant cost savings from a reduction in energy usage.”
Schneider Electric is in the process of working up proposals based on what they have learned, and will make a proposal to the district sometime in March, Frey said.
After that, the district will choose which projects they would like to proceed with.
Gantman said the school board will probably see some project proposals in April or May, and can choose the highest priorities from the list.
“We’re extremely pleased and excited that we get to do some work on our energy usage,” Gantman said. The district has a unique financial model that makes funding these types of projects a challenge, because it is geographically large but contains a small industrial and retail tax base.
“It’s right for Mount Baker School District to get access to this revenue source,” Gantman said. “It’s just plain right.”

Efficiency Projects

Schneider-Electric, the company contracted with the Mount Baker School District to work on energy efficiency improvements, is currently compiling an “energy audit” of the district. The school board will likely see some project proposals in April or May. Mount Baker was one of 59 school districts statewide that received funding.

Published March 1, 2010

Downward trend in student enrollment expected to continue

Becca Schwarz — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 05:41:22 +0000

by Stephanie Kosonen
DEMING – The downward trend in enrollment numbers in the Mount Baker School District is expected to continue for the 2010-2011 school year, based on an initial projection discussed at Thursday evening’s Mount Baker School Board meeting.
The number of students enrolled has dropped each year by up to 50 or 60 students consistently for the past six or seven years, said Business Manager Denise Keith.
It’s too early to say an exact number, but “it appears that trend is going to continue,” said Superintendent Dr. Richard Gantman.
That would make the rough estimate for next year about 1,947 students, Keith said. Right now the 2009-2010 average enrollment is at about 2,009 students, she added.
The district looks at multi-year trends in order to avoid counting anomalies in enrollment and registration, such as a large family moving out of the area, but specific current information like that is also used.
For instance, Gantman said the district will look at how many students are still enrolled now versus how many were here when the year started in September.
Also, he will visit with principals at each school to see if any families are moving in or out of the district. “We can talk family by family because we’re that small, and we have that kind of community knowledge,” Gantman said.
Estimating enrollment is a multi-stage process, and right now the numbers are not conclusive, Gantman said. “To grab at a number right now would result in that number being incorrect,” he said. “I tell the board to look at it with fuzzy vision and make our calculations with this inaccurate number now, and then we can keep updating that number in our budget calculations as we go.”
The number is updated as the superintendent and assistant superintendent visit with principals about school-specific changes and as enrollment changes month to month. In addition, high school enrollment typically drops in the spring.
As the year progresses, the district can fine-tune the 2009-2010 average enrollment.
A more accurate enrollment projection should be available in the spring, because that’s when kindergarten registration happens.
The district plugs that number in to next year’s enrollment, but looks at the past year’s registration to see if it matches enrollment, or more likely, if kindergarten enrollment was a bit more than what registration implied — not everyone registers, and there are also walk-ins throughout the year.
Keith said districts are very conservative and careful in their projections, because that is what drives funding and staffing.
The district will give their projections to the state for appropriations, so if the number is too high or too low, there could be problems with the number of staff on contract for the year. “We’ve never had that happen because we’ve always done a good job in our projections,” Keith said.
Schools typically have a lot of inelastic expenses in their budgets, like bus routes and teacher salaries, said Board Chairwoman Ellen Dodson, so it is a big deal when the budget projections are off.
“It’s wonderful to have smaller class loads, but you’re still paying the same teacher whether the class is 18 students or 24 students,” Dodson said. “And yet six kids makes a big difference in terms of money coming into the school.”

Foothills Gazette » Mount Baker School District

Mount Baker School District gets $500,000 energy grant

Downward trend in student enrollment expected to continue