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Bentonville School District approves five-year energy management contract with Synergistix
Summary
The board approved a five-year agreement with Synergistix to monitor and reduce utility consumption; staff say the vendor projects $4.5 million in net savings over five years and the district will split verified savings under a capped fee model.
The Bentonville School District Board of Education voted to approve a five-year energy management contract with Synergistix on a unanimous vote after questions about measurement, termination fees and start date.
The board approved the agreement in which Synergistix will provide on-site energy specialists, software for building monitoring and a measurement-and-verification plan. "So over 5 year period, they are projecting a $4,500,000 in net savings in our utility costs," said Dr. Schwannhauser, the district presenter introducing the proposal.
Board members asked how savings will be calculated and how the district will be billed. Dr. Schwannhauser said the contract ties payments to verified savings and that the firm’s measurement and verification plan uses 12-month baseline averages and energy-value calculations. "It talks about a 12 month average value for each of the different... number 6 on the measurement and verification plan talks about how they measure those savings," he said. The board was told the program start date would be June 1.
District staff described the payment structure as a shared-savings model with a monthly payment capped at roughly $41,000 (transcript: "41.08 42") so the district's monthly liability would not rise beyond the cap even if verified savings are larger in a single month. Board members also asked about termination obligations; Dr. Schwannhauser said a contract recovery fee could apply, calculated as three times the average monthly fee in months 13–60 and potentially higher during the initial ramp-up period.
Board members raised operational questions: whether principals and teachers would have additional duties (staff: "no lift on any staff member other than... Mr. Veliket and a couple members of his team") and whether other Arkansas school districts had positive experiences with the vendor (staff: "there are other Arkansas school districts in contract with them. Yes."). The district also said it would present preliminary results in the budget presentation in September.
The motion to approve the contract was made by Board Member Jeremy and seconded by Jennifer; the recorded vote was unanimous in favor.
The contract is intended to optimize existing infrastructure, provide real-time facility energy data and improve ventilation and filtration, with the district emphasizing it does not seek changes to temperature set points or behavioral campaigns as part of this contract.
