Issaquah School District to receive $120,084 in grants from the 2012 Jobs Now Act
The Issaquah School District has been awarded energy grants totaling $120,084, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction announced recently. The grants are intended to produce long-term energy and operational savings for the district, improve the indoor environmental qualities of our schools and help stimulate construction-industry jobs. These energy projects use utility incentives, energy savings, local money and the grant funds to make improvements that may otherwise not be affordable. OSPI awarded a total of $5.9 million in energy grants to 14 school districts throughout Washington state.
"The brick-and-mortar improvements and the savings from reduced long-term operating costs make this type of program one of the best kinds," said State Superintendent Randy Dorn. "We are seeing large and small districts compete for money to replace old boilers, add insulation and get rid of outdated lighting. It's all part of making the learning environment the best it can be.
In the Issaquah School District, the grants will help fund items that will reduce energy consumption, enhance lighting and reduce maintenance and replacement costs. Planned work includes connecting thermostats in portables to the energy management system to provide occupancy scheduling such as night, holiday, and vacation setbacks, and retrofitting exterior and parking lot lighting with high efficiency fluorscent or LED fixtures at the Transportation Center, Plateau Transportation Center, and May Valley Service Center.
Heating, Ventilation and Air conditioning (HVAC) additions, refinements, and improvements will reduce energy consumption and will also enhance building comfort and indoor air quality at the Administrative Center, Challenger and Cougar Ridge elementary schools and Beaver Lake and Pine Lake middle schools.
The total annual energy savings from this work is calculated to be $34,727.
When asked to describe the grants' full impact, Capital Projects Director Steve Crawford said, "In addition to helping create jobs, it will help the district move forward with work that will reduce energy consumption and improve the learning and working environments. The annual savings from this grant combined with our 2011 grant work will save the district a little over $200,000 a year in operational costs. $200,000 is especially significant as it is a reduction in general fund operational costs which compete with classroom funding."