STAFF REPORTS
The Hays CISD Board of Trustees on Monday was reminded that the diligent efforts by campuses throughout the district over the past year have brought about energy savings totaling nearly $500,000. It was a reminder because campuses have been saving energy every year for the past seven.
And one of the greatest advantages is that 10 percent of the savings is returned to the campuses.
“People ask me about renewable energy a lot and I tell them that the best renewable energy is that which you never use,” said R.C. Herrin, executive director of maintenance and operations, noting that campuses have little control over costs, but “what we can control is the usage within our buildings.”
Over the past seven years, more than $300,000 has been returned to campuses for energy savings. In the annual savings reallocation plan, 25 percent goes toward new energy management initiatives, 25 percent goes toward energy management personnel, 25 percent goes toward the purchase of maintenance and operations equipment and 15 percent augments new rate increases.
“We had another great year,” said Carter Scherff, deputy superintendent. “The thing that astonishes me is that our square footage has gone up 84 percent (over seven years) and the kilowatt usage is up only 4.6 percent.”
