Morgan County energy savings

 

2018 Battle of the School Buildings competition

Kentucky School Advocate
June 2018

By Matt McCarty
Staff writer

Darren Sparkman is in his ninth year as Morgan County Schools’ facilities director and from day one he’s been trying to save energy any way he can, even if it means having his superintendent work in the dark.

“I had energy teams in each building and we were turning off lights, even turned the lights off on the former superintendent (Deatrah Barnett) one day when she was actually in her office, which didn’t go over too well,” Sparkman said.

The efforts are paying off.

During Sparkman’s first year as facilities director the district saved $44,000 by just turning off lights. During his first four years in the position, the district implemented strategies recommended in training from KSBA’s School Energy Managers Project (SEMP), producing nearly $500,000 of savings.

When the district’s new high school opens in January, every school in the district as well as the central office will be an ENERGY STAR-certified facility. The district’s energy utilization index was 116.4 in 2010. It has steadily decreased to 42 in 2017, which ranks 35th in the state.

“That says a lot about the local-level commitment,” said Thomas Potter, who is in his first year as Morgan County’s superintendent.

In 2016, the district began a guaranteed energy-savings contract with CMTA to replace HVAC, controls and lighting. The contract helped the district’s East Valley Elementary reduce its energy use by 41.41 percent from 2016 to 2017 and win Kentucky’s Battle of the School Buildings competition, besting 109 other schools.

In addition to East Valley, two other Morgan County schools finished in the top five of the event, sponsored by SEMP. Morgan County Middle and Morgan Central Elementary reduced their energy use by 32.15 and 31.49 percent, respectively, to finish fourth and fifth.

“It’s really helped us take that step forward to improve even more than what we were trying before,” East Valley custodian Mary Brown said of the energy savings contract. “Everything being new and up-to-date has really put us a foot forward into getting where we are today.”

East Valley Elementary Principal Amanda Lee said it was a big transformation for the school.

“Everything from the lights to control panels to ceiling tiles, you name it. Our building was basically turned upside down in order to begin this energy savings initiative,” she said. “It has paid off for us and we’re very thankful that we’ve been able to make the changes we’ve made. But it was definitely a battle to get to where we are, but we’re glad to be in this situation.”

No stranger to competition
All six Morgan County schools compete against one another each year in a district energy-savings competition, with the winner receiving extra money to spend on the school.

“I’ve had years where every school reduced their usage but it just varies year to year on who actually won,” Sparkman said. “I’ve had a couple of years where the school that won surprised me. I had an older building that actually performed better with the amount of usage decreased than I did a building that was seven to eight years old.”

Lee said the school’s custodians are driven to win the district competition so they can purchase needed items. “Lots of times they will purchase equipment that will be more energy savings for them. It’s a double bonus for us,” Lee said.

Energy saved is money earned
Potter, who was principal at East Valley from 2001 to 2012, said the district’s commitment to energy savings is simple: instead of sending more money to the utility companies, the district can put the money into the classrooms.

“Historically, we’ve had those reductions from everything from our SEEK allocation to our federal dollars that’s coming into our districts, so every dollar matters, every dollar counts,” Potter said. “That’s big for me and our board. (The board’s) planning and foresight and focus on reducing our energy costs has obviously paid huge dividends not only to our district but the local community and taxpayers in this community.”

Morgan County school board Chairman Marshall Jenkins said the principals, teachers and students deserve credit. “Without those people in place, you can’t be successful,” he said.

“It’s an all-in effort,” Potter said. “It’s a concerted effort across the district.”

 

East Valley Elementary’s victory in the Kentucky Battle of the School Buildings competition came with the help of several electricians. 

Student “electricians” to be exact.

Each classroom at the Morgan County elementary school has jobs for its students, including passing out paper, sharpening pencils and being the teacher’s helper. 

“Basically, anything that a student can do, we allow them to do it,” said Amanda Lee, the school’s principal. “We like to put the leadership roles on the students – anything we can allow our students to do to make them feel more important and take some of the responsibility.”

 

do not leave their Chromebooks plugged in during school, which also saves the district energy.

Students apply and interview for the jobs they want for the month. The classroom electrician is one of the more popular jobs among students.

The electrician is responsible for turning energy-using devices on or off, including lights, projectors and computers. Lee said it not only helps with student initiative, but it also takes the burden off the teacher.

“In order to be the electrician, it has to be someone who’s dependable, who’s at school every day, that remembers to do the jobs that they have been given to them so that we are continuing to conserve energy every day,” Lee said. “The students love being able to have that role to know that they are helping to conserve energy.”

 

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