Schools' goal: Energy savings

Charleston County schools that save energy this school year will see some green.

The Charleston County School Board has approved a three-year, voluntary utility conservation plan to try to limit the annual cost increases for its school and office buildings.

Schools and offices will be given a budget of how much they are projected to spend; every school that reduces its utility use and comes in under budget will get 20 cents for every dollar saved.

There's no restriction on ways schools can spend the money, and the remainder of the savings will be returned to the school district's general operating fund, which pays for teacher salaries and classroom expenses.

Mark Cobb, the district's executive director of facility services, said the goal is to save $400,000, which was a percentage of the anticipated 8 percent increase in its electric bill.

The district's budget for utilities was about $9.6 million last year, with $8.7 million going to electricity and gas and the rest to water and sewer costs.

The district expects its water bills to increase 3 percent in the coming year and sewage bills to jump 5 percent, for a total cost of $10.3 million.

School principals will get information about the program as well as tips on what they can do to conserve energy.

"I think it's a lot of common-sense stuff," such as keeping doors and windows closed, not adjusting the thermostat and removing appliances such as coffee pots and radios from classrooms, Cobb said.

This is the second time the school district has put a conservation program in place with a financial incentive for schools. Four years ago the district piloted a program for two years that resulted in significant savings.

In 2004-05, 53 schools finished the school year under budget and received checks worth $92,186. The district's total savings was $639,868 on $8.9 million in power and water costs. That year, the district capped the maximum a school could earn at $3,000. This time the cap has been removed.

Springfield Elementary in West Ashley was one of 18 schools that earned the full $3,000. Principal Jackie Dinge said the school got caught up in the effort to save energy; kids understood the program and made it a priority, she said.

"If you give them the example and the idea, they will try to live up to the expectations. If it's a priority for us, it will automatically be a priority for the children."

Students will carry those same lessons about conservation and recycling home and into adulthood, Dinge said. And if children know they are going to get immediate and direct results, the project becomes a more rewarding exercise for them, she said.

She plans to put any savings her school earns this time into its general fund, which always is short, she said.

Schools that aren't considered low-income don't get as much money as those that are, so $3,000 was "a lot of money," Dinge said.

"It's a big deal when you run as close on funds as we do," she said.

Dirk Bedford is a new principal at Mitchell Elementary. He likes the idea of the program and said he plans to have his school participate.

Many families are facing tough economic times, and this is a good way for schools to practice the same conservation efforts that those families do, he said, and a way for schools to be good stewards of taxpayers' dollar.

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@postandcourier.com.