Green Schools Save Big
In a time of stagnant funding and budget cuts, schools nationwide can benefit from school-wide energy efficiency initiatives, such as those seen in California and New York Green Schools Programs. In their 2008/2009 program reports, these schools credit diligent custodial staff with the success of school-wide energy efficiency initiatives.
Success in California and New York Green Schools
The 2008/2009 school year was a marked success for the California Green Schools Program, with three Southern California districts – Hesperia, Murrieta and Temecula – saving over 3.5 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy, nearly $600,000 in energy costs and almost 1,800 tons of CO2 emissions.
Despite unprecedented statewide budget cuts and multiple teacher and staff layoffs, over 60 schools engaged in creative energy-saving activities.
This year, Green Schools across the three districts saved on average 10 percent in energy use and costs. New to the program this year, Temecula schools shined with an incredible 1,904,752 kWhs of savings which resulted in cost-savings of $313,443.
Now in its second year in the program, Murrieta schools saved 1,163,661 kWhs and $208,204. The Hesperia 1st and 2nd year schools – along with “mentor” schools that have participated in the program over several years - showed an impressive savings of 738,072 kWhs and $117,157.
Rochester City School District Green Schools added to their already impressive record of energy savings, with its 19 participating schools showing $99,854 in avoided cost savings this year. Monroe High School reported the highest savings, avoiding $23,360 in energy costs and earning over $11,000 for the school from Rochester City School District, which generously returned 50 percent of the savings back to schools.
Custodial Support is Key
This year, Green Schools programs benefited greatly from the additional support of custodial staff. At La Vorgna Elementary School, custodial staff joined Green Team members as they monitored the halls daily and encouraged energy conservation in classrooms, hallways and offices, while also advising teachers and other staff about the importance of turning off lights in unoccupied rooms.
Custodial staff also removed underused vending machines and made the remaining machines more energy-efficient by removing their lights. At the close of the school day, custodial staff checked to make sure computers and other devices were shut down or unplugged. The Green Team reported that many of La Vorgna’s successes were in large part due to the dilengence of their custodial staff.
At Ranchero Middle School, the school's Green Team – comprised of lead custodian Frank Lopez, science teacher Josh Federwich, and Vice Principal Paul Alba – requested that the district shift custodial schedules to include more daylight hours, thus reducing the school's energy consumption and spending on lighting.
In addition to conducting daily energy efficiency checks on school equipment, custodians installed timed circuit breakers on all computers in the computer lab and inventoried personal appliances in classrooms and offices. They calculated the cost of these appliances over a 10-month work year and shared the data with school staff and students. Says Alba, the Green Team's greatest success was without a doubt “the money saved in budget crunches, absolutely. In today’s budget, every penny counts.”
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