Kentucky School Advocate
May 2015
Star times two
KSBA’s School Energy Managers Project has been singled out for continued excellence by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy. The project is one of 128 businesses and organizations in 33 states to be named a 2015 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – in SEMP’s case, for the second consecutive year. Three other Kentucky organizations, including two school districts, also were honored.
The 2015 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year designation was for Energy Efficiency Program Delivery in recognition of KSBA-SEMP’s commitment to intelligent energy choices for new and existing public schools with the goal of enhancing both the environment and educational opportunities for Kentucky’s students. The project has achieved more than $48 million in avoided energy costs, and reduced electricity usage across the state by more than 339 million kilowatt hours since 2010.
The two federal agencies noted that SEMP, an ENERGY STAR partner since 2011, assists Kentucky school districts in formulating and implementing energy management plans using the seven-step ENERGY STAR Guidelines for Energy Management. Those efforts have contributed to an increase in the number of ENERGY STAR certified schools in Kentucky – from 12 to more than 265 since 2008.
The Kenton County and Scott County school districts also were named 2015 ENERGY STAR Partners of the Year.
Kenton County’s Partner award was for sustained excellence for its commitment to building and operating energy-efficient schools and using ENERGY STAR tools and resources. The district has built a near-net zero school and 12 of its 17 schools are ENERGY STAR-certified. It realized more than $1.4 million in avoided energy costs this year and more than $6.8 million since 2005.
Scott County Schools received ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year recognition for its effective use of ENERGY STAR tools and resources in its energy management plan. All of the school buildings in the district earned ENERGY STAR certification. The school system reduced energy use by more than 17 percent compared with its 2010 baseline; its ENERGY STAR score rose from 71 to 88 during that time.
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. of Erlanger was the fourth Kentucky organization to be recognized as a 2015 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year.
Juvenile justice for all
During June, KSBA and the state’s educational cooperatives will team up for a series of nine regional trainings across the state focusing on Kentucky’s new juvenile justice reforms. The free workshops will give school district administrators information on carrying out their role in the new reforms, covering district responsibilities and new duties on agencies in the juvenile justice system.
Presenters will include representatives from KSBA, the Administrative Office of the Courts, Kentucky Department of Education and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. For dates and locations, along with registration information, go to www.ksba.org and click on “View KSBA calendar” under Events on the right side; then go to June’s calendar.