The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Energy conservation firm makes pitch to board
By Edward Freundl, Heritage Newspapers
PUBLISHED: April 26, 2007
With the district trying to find any possible way to save money, a Texas-based firm guaranteeing energy savings made its pitch to the Manchester school board.
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Michael Bitar of Energy Education Inc. on April 16 proposed reducing energy costs throughout the district simply by monitoring and eliminating excess consumption, and projected a total net savings of more than $1.3 million over the next 10 years.
"With all the cost-cutting we've been doing, we looked at energy use and this firm has saved the Ypsilanti district hundreds of thousands of dollars," Manchester Superintendent David Oegema told the board.
Bitar told school trustees that his energy management specialty company has been in business for more than 20 years and has worked with Michigan schools for more than half that time.
"We help schools reduce energy consumption without them having to buy any equipment," Bitar said. "We identify cost-effective measures, and it's up to you to decide how to implement them."
A critical part of the program is to have a part-time "energy manager" on site, Bitar said. The position could be filled by existing or just-retiring school staff.
The energy manager is hired, fired and is accountable to the school board, he added, and whatever costs are involved are guaranteed by the company.
"We guarantee you will save at least the cost of the program or we will write you a check for the difference," he said.
Bitar explained that some assumptions are built into his cost estimates, arrived at by looking at past utility bills.
The district is now spending about $400,000 a year on energy costs, which Bitar found surprising.
"Your utility costs are significantly higher than those of many larger districts," Bitar said. "I think you could benefit from this program."
The company would charge a fee of $3,300 a month to implement the program, which could help the district avoid from $100,000 to more than $200,000 a year in energy costs, Bitar said.
"We charge a fee for only the first four years," he told the board. "That gets habits and procedures in place to continue the program."
Even so, he noted, the district stands to save more than $40,000 in utility expenditures in the first year.
Although the company usually doesn't work with districts as small as Manchester, Bitar suggested joining forces with the Chelsea, Dexter or Whitmore Lake school districts.
"I question the consolidation with Whitmore Lake," board secretary Vicki Miller said. "Why not another small district that's in our back yard, like Napoleon or Clinton?"
Bitar said he made the proposal to Manchester because the company already has plans to work with those other schools.
He made clear that the board would have final decision-making authority over the process; his firm's role would be as consultant.
"We make the recommendations, we don't make the decisions," he said.
Many of the energy conservation suggestions involve simple things like better regulating the heating and cooling systems, or turning off the lights in vending machines.
"If you can save 7 cents a day in electricity by shutting down computers at night, multiply that by the hundreds of computers you have and then by 180 school days; it adds up," he said.
The board agreed to study the proposal and contact other districts doing business with the company before putting a plan in motion.
In other business, during the public comment portion of the agenda, several parents voiced concerns over the way the Klager Elementary School teaching staff was being downsized due to budget cuts, resulting in larger class sizes.
"The second grade has 27 students per class, and that's the cutoff for adding another section," said parent Christine Fegan, who is running for a seat on the board. "This same class was used as pawns in kindergarten, and it got shrunk down this year.
"It's so hard to have a good educational day with so many kids in class with their behavioral problems."
Oegema first corrected and then sidestepped Fegan's question.
"Last year the number was 28, and the number next year will be determined by the new superintendent," he said.
Parent Ann Collins questioned why the second grade had to lose a teacher while the smaller first grade did not.
"The first grade has 71, the second grade has 82," Collins said. "It's not fair to these kids to continually jam them into classrooms while the first grade hasn't been touched."
Board President Ron Ellison advised parents to have patience on the issue.
"These are fair questions to ask the new superintendent," Ellison said. "Let that person know that (class size) is a real concern to you."
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