Roaring Fork schools report first-year energy savings as district reboots conservation program

Roaring Fork School District Superintendent Dr. Anna Cole and facilities staff on the evening agenda presented an energy-management update showing early savings from a renewed conservation program.

The presentation, led by consultants Charlie Haupt of New Energy Technology and Christina Matzel of CLEAR with facilities director Eric Willis, said verified billing data for the first eight months of active energy management indicates roughly $170,000 in combined electric and natural-gas savings and that the district is on track to increase savings next year.

The update matters because the district supports more than a million square feet of facility space and logged about 4,600 work orders last year; utilities are a recurring operating expense the board must account for in near-term budgets. “Having the right data, right hands with right people, great things happen,” Haupt said.

Haupt described a four-step approach — data, conservation, energy purchasing and capital investments — and said the program emphasizes continuous monitoring and corrective action rather than immediate equipment replacement. He showed school-level performance, noting some schools moved substantially toward Energy Star certification. “A year ago it was at a 30. Now it's at a 61,” Haupt said of Sopris Elementary; he said the district could see the number of qualifying schools for Energy Star grow from two to six in the coming months.

Haupt and Willis described one example where a new chiller at Glenwood Springs Middle School increased usage in warm months by an estimated $2,000–$4,000 per month but was a “justified energy use” because it improved classroom comfort. “I can only tell you that probably every single teacher in that building is thrilled with it,” Haupt said.

District staff said most savings to date came from better metering and active management (15-minute interval profiles), adjusted HVAC schedules and custodial operations that set systems to “coast” mode when buildings are unoccupied. Eric Willis credited custodial and operations teams and said improved controls are a priority in the upcoming 2025–26 capital plan for schools that remain hard to manage remotely, including Crystal River Elementary.

The consultants projected that as more schools move from passive to active metering and conservation practices, savings will rise. “Next year, it's gonna hit a whole another level. And I think $300,000 next year is the absolute floor,” Haupt said.

District leaders said the work is largely being done through staff behavior changes guided by monitoring and coordination (scheduling, event calendars, custodial protocols) and through installing metering and controls where needed, with targeted capital investments to follow when justified.

The board did not take formal action on the presentation; staff said the district will include anticipated savings in upcoming budget materials.

Ending — Next steps: Facilities staff said plans this year include adding remaining schools and the administration building to active management, prioritizing control-system upgrades for Crystal River Elementary and Carbondale Middle, and continuing to track utility-billing data to measure outcomes and inform the 2025–26 budget.