District Saves Millions Through Energy Conservation

As the Menomonee Falls School District moves forward with addressing a $1.7 million budget deficit this year, a lot of attention will be focused on cuts.

However, for the past nine years the district has taken a proactive approach to energy and resource conservation, which has paid dividends in savings that have made those cuts considerably less drastic than they might have been.

Under the leadership and discipline of Dwight Crouse, director of buildings and grounds, the district has reaped significant rewards in reduced spending.

Over those nine years, the district has avoided $3.95 million in costs by conserving water, sewer use and natural gas. In 2010, the district spent $988,480 in those areas, but without Crouse's strategies, the costs would have exceeded $1.5 million.

The $542,000 saved through cost-avoidance allowed the district to allocate more dollars toward instruction and classroom use.

“We have been able to reduce costs due to the update of outdated mechanical systems, thanks to our 2006 referendum,” Crouse said in a news release. “Our buildings are so much more efficient today than they were in 2002.”

In 2002, the school district was the first in Wisconsin to contract with Texas-based Energy Education Inc. to build an energy savings program. The district was going through its first foray with budget deficits and was looking at ways to reduce costs.

The contract cost the district $60,000 annually but was paid of in 2006. Since then, all cost savings and efficiencies have been direct savings for the district.

Saving Energy, Expanding Minds

The district’s approach to energy conservation has not only helped save costs, it has also offered hands-on opportunities for teachers to incorporate energy conservation into their curriculum.

North Middle School science teachers Ryan Bock and Dan Leffel have spearheaded a solar panel installation project on the roof of the gymnasium at the school. It was an approximately $300,000 project paid for mostly by grants. It is expected to save about $50,000 over 10 years in electricity costs.

Bock said they will incorporate the solar array into an energy analysis lab in the classroom that examines how North uses electricity, what it costs and who pays. Students will then study alternative energy sources as well as ways to conserve.

When the solar array construction is complete, the community will be able to view real-time data about the amount of energy produced and the carbon footprint offset from the panels. Students will utilize that data in their science labs.

“The lesson really hits home when they realize their parents are the ones who pay for energy consumption at the school,” Bock said. “It got the students asking, ‘What can we do?’”

Bock and Leffel were incorporating environmental awareness into education years ago. They crafted the recycling policy at Thomas Jefferson and North middles schools, and their students play an active role in collecting recyclables.

Leffel said they also challenge students to create energy conservation goals at home, and keep track of ways they positively impact their environment. Leffel said a former student of his began her own community compost bin and collected scraps from neighbors to reduce landfill additions.

“One of my primary goals as a science teacher is to incorporate real world experience into their education,” Bock said.