‘Going green’ saves district $90K

Ottawa school board members are experiencing the payback of going green.

An energy savings program has saved the district about $90,000 in the first seven months, Superintendent Dean Katt announced at Monday’s board of education meeting.

“We’re very pleased with that,” he said, adding that official numbers won’t come until the year-end report in September.

David Oshel, maintenance supervisor and energy manager for the district, said all the schools, except for Eugene Field Elementary School, have programmable thermostats that can be scheduled to turn on and off at certain times.

Oshel manages the systems and also performs a weekly audit on one building to check that lights are turned off and air conditioning or heating units are set appropriately.

“It’s my job to make sure buildings aren’t in service when they’re not in use,” he said, adding that most of the district’s savings came from natural gas savings in the winter.

Oshel said Ottawa High School consumes the most energy because of the after-hours activities.

“By September, I’m hoping to have saved $110,000, but that depends on how hot the rest of the summer is,” he said.

In other matters Monday, board members:

• Selected Dennis George as board president and Brian Kane as vice president. George succeeds Mike Sipple as president.

• Approved a 20-point discipline plan for Ottawa High School. The plan is designed to inform students and parents of policies, record discipline violations, predetermine disposition for violations and deter inappropriate behavior.