Facilities Committee Flags Utility Overruns; Motion-Sensor Lighting and Consultant Rates Negotiated

Facilities staff presented an updated utilities report showing the district had spent about $767,000 on utilities so far in the school year against a property services budget of roughly $1.4 million, with five months still to supply.

"With the utility costs as high as they have been, we've already spent our budget for utilities for the year," Sam said, explaining the figures include electricity, sewer, water, natural gas and propane. Sam called out Liberty Curtain as an outlier, noting the school uses propane for boilers and the district has spent about $41,000 on propane there so far.

Board members suggested energy-saving measures, including installing motion sensors in rarely used rooms to reduce lighting waste. "Is there a way to put a motion sensor on if there's no movement within a certain amount of time, they shut off?" one member asked. Sam said he is already looking into motion sensors and an inventory of rooms to estimate costs.

Sam also said a consultant hired in January is reviewing commodity rates and staff renegotiated a contract price in the last two weeks; the committee asked for utilities to be broken out by school so the board can compare year-to-year usage and cost per kilowatt-hour.

Next steps: Facilities staff will inventory lighting and provide a cost estimate for motion sensors, continue working with the consultant on energy rates, and incorporate per-school utility figures into upcoming budget reports.