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Board discusses energy-efficiency options, audits and consultant choices for district facilities
Summary
Trustees reviewed options for pursuing energy audits and hiring a consultant to support an energy-efficiency goal, including free audits from utility partners and paid consultant models; staff recommended starting with targeted audits and returning with recommendations.
The Salem School Board discussed district energy-efficiency opportunities on April 15 and asked staff to pursue initial, low-cost audits while developing criteria for hiring an energy consultant.
Debbie Payne, assistant superintendent for business operations, reviewed the district’s building renovation history and the board’s prior direction to evaluate solar and other efficiency measures. Payne said the board goal had shifted from a solar-only focus to a broader energy-efficiency goal and summarized past efficiency work such as lighting upgrades completed between 2019 and 2021.
Payne told trustees that some vendors and partners — including Liberty Utilities and a broker the district uses for natural gas, Mantis Innovation — offer complimentary facility audits and that those free assessments could provide useful information before commissioning a paid consultant. She said the district buys roughly “about 6.5” in annual electricity (the presentation did not specify the unit in the meeting transcript) and that 65 percent of consumption is at the middle and high schools.
Trustees suggested next steps. Mitch Hornek and other board members recommended Liberty Utilities do an initial audit for multiple buildings. Several trustees asked why the district would phase audits rather than request free audits for all buildings; staff said they could pursue free audits systemwide but cautioned that vendor-led proposals sometimes transition to paid implementation packages.
Payne reviewed the district’s capital projects timeline going back to 2008 and explained that more recent buildings (Woodbury, the high school and the CTE center) have newer, more efficient systems; older “sister” elementary schools may therefore be appropriate starting points. Trustees also asked staff to follow up on town-wide efforts such as the town’s community-power procurement and on potential community solar credits previously discussed.
Board members gave staff direction to seek free audits from utility partners and to return with a plan and budget recommendation for whether and how to hire an outside energy consultant.
