Nearly every day, a newspaper somewhere in the country is carrying a story about the success of our clients’ energy conservation programs. Below are just a few examples of the great work they are doing, and the privilege it is to serve them in such tangible, noteworthy ways.
The proverb says there’s strength in numbers, but the budget numbers for Fiscal Year 2003-2004 for public schools are anything but strong. The 50 states face a combined budget deficit of $80+ billion, the largest deficits since World War II. The essentials are on the chopping block: health care and education chief among them. And, public education goes into this crisis after withstanding $11+ billion of budget cuts in 2002. Add the projected shortfall in state funding for the coming fiscal year, and the result is nearly $30 billion of education cuts nationwide in two years. Current reports from EdSource’s California School Finance News and other sources project a cut of $1.3 billion in California’s state funds for education for FY 2003-2004. This is in addition to the $2.2 billion cuts made mid-year in FY 2002-03. Yet in the midst of this bleak budgetary landscape, there are some bright spots in school districts that have implemented an energy conservation program designed by Energy Education, Inc. Downey Unified School District, 13 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, is one of those districts. In 2001, Downey USD hired Energy Education, Inc. to design and implement an energy conservation plan for its 22 schools. Energy Education, Inc. is the only energy management company in the nation that works exclusively with public schools. Founded in 1986, the company has worked with more than 500 school districts in 44 states. The company helped public schools save more than $100 million in 2002. Twenty school districts in California have saved a total of more than $15 million by adopting Energy Education’s conservation program. With the savings generated by the program, Downey USD avoided major mid-year cuts in programs and personnel. The district was also able to absorb an 18-percent rate hike in health insurance for teachers — an increase teachers would have had to pay from their own salaries, had it not been for the significant energy savings. In addition to the financial savings which can be redirected to educational resources, Downey USD’s conservation efforts have produced important environmental benefits. With Energy Education’s program, the district has reduced local carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1000 tons. The effect on the environment is equivalent to removing the exhaust of 340 cars for one year or planting 866 acres of trees. The electricity the schools have saved would provide lighting for more than 200 family households for one year. Downey USD’s energy conservation program is projected to save the district more than $5 million by the end of 2007.