Energy Conservation Coming to Castro Valley Schools

Turn off the lights. Shut the door.

Students and teachers in Castro Valley may hear those words more often during the next few years.

The school board was presented with a report Monday night on an energy conservation program the district is embarking on.

Michael Bush, the assistant superintendent for business services, told the board they have launched a program to reduce energy consumption at schools.

The measures include shutting classroom doors when air conditioning is being used, turning off exhaust fans during the day and shutting down computers and other office equipment overnight.

The program will be phased in over the next four years, although Bush said he expects most measures to be in place in two years.

"We're at the beginning of the process, but it's moving along rapidly," said Bush.

The district is paying Energy Education Inc. $150,000 a year to administer the program. However, the district must save at least that amount of money before the consulting firm gets paid.

The company is in the process of going through utility bills from the 2009-2010 school year to set a base year for energy use.

Bush said the firm is already finding ways to easily reduce energy costs. For example, there are a half-dozen utility meters in the district that are being unnecessarily charged a tax. That change will save $24,000 a year.

In addition, one school has eight different heating controls that don't work well together. A single system would save more money.

"They're seeing lots of opportunities to save," said Bush.

Trustee John Barbieri said his only concern is administering the program at the site level to avoid noncompliance.

"We want to be sure we get the maximum return on our investment," he said.

Bush said every employee will be expected to help save energy.

"It's just as if you were around your own home," he said.

Bush also gave the board an update on next year's budget. He said things are in limbo while they wait to hear if the state Legislature will meet a Thursday deadline to put a measure on the June ballot to extend a trio of tax increases.

Superintendent Jim Negri said the governor reported on Monday that he made little progress in budget talks with five Republican legislators. He said there may be a way for state officials to extend the deadline a couple weeks and still get a measure on the ballot in June.

The board also heard a presentation from students at Stanton Elementary School about important words they have learned. At the end, the pupils sang a song about those words to the board.

In addition, Stanton Elementary students Michael Creekbaum and Alfredo Zuniga were recognized for exemplary work. School volunteer Jill Thompson was also given special recognition.