Prep Football: Cards meet rivals in return to field

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go get them fellas,and have a great season...read more...

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Painteddragonfly, I'm sure the church would be most happy to do a restoration, provided you and othe...read more...

Work for future uncovers past

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Painted Dragonfly ...I agree also. I'm surprised members of this church have not spoken out....read more...

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Clark County Public Schools is one of 130 districts across the state that will take part in a program aimed at helping schools cut energy costs.

Thanks in part to federal economic stimulus money, the Kentucky School Board Association and the Kentucky Department of Energy Development and Independence hired 35 energy managers to help districts use energy more efficiently and incorporate energy conservation into student curriculums.

Some of the managers will work with larger individual districts, but most will work with multiple districts.

Energy Manager Mike Cooper will be splitting time between Clark County, Paris Independent, Montgomery and Bourbon counties.

Cooper did his first walk-through at several Clark facilities last week and will do so again this week, as well as meeting with the district’s mechanical engineers.

He said cutting energy usage can begin with small things.

“People hear energy savings and they think big things like changing out HVAC systems, but there are a lot of little things that you can do to save also,” Cooper said. “Something as simple as changing exit sign lights from incandescent bulbs that run 40 watts each, to LEDs that run about 4 watts, not only saves on energy, but also on maintenance costs.”

District officials are providing energy bills from the 2008-09 school year and filling out a survey which will establish a baseline so Cooper can track to see if the cost saving measures are working.

“Once we get that baseline, we can track it over the next two years and see if it is going down,” Cooper said. “They are going to be looking at both dollars and usage, but usage is going to be the key because rate increases are going to make the dollars go up, even if you get the usage down.”

A major component of the partnership brings an energy conservation curriculum into the classrooms so teachers can give students hands-on experience in an effort to encourage energy conservation in the schools and at home.

Facilities Director Paul Christy said he is excited about the student curriculum aspect of the partnership.

“The major key to this thing is education. It’s got to start with the younger kids, and it will carry through as they move up,” Christy said. “We’re seeing it already with the recycling program. Kids that are leaving elementary schools that were big into recycling are putting pressure on the middle schools and now they are recycling more. I think this will do the same thing.”

Cooper said he would also like to see energy management committees begun at the both the district and school level.

Christy said Cooper wasn’t going to be an “energy tzar.” He was there to make observations and suggestions on ways of conserving energy, which would save money that would go back into the classroom.

“The best part of this is that the money we save on energy is money that will go back into the classrooms and go to instruction,” Christy said. “This directly affects instruction, it doesn’t go to buildings and things. It is general fund money that we are spending for utilities and any savings there would go back into instruction.”

Contact Bob Flynn at bflynn@winchestersun.com.

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