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Leetonia BOE considers $700K energy saving project

LEETONIA — The Leetonia School Board will learn more about a proposed energy savings project at its March meeting.

The board Thursday night discussed a proposed $700,000 project to replace the interior lighting and HVAC system at the K-12 campus.

The building and grounds committee, consisting of two board members along with other administrators, has heard from three companies regarding the project and is looking for input from the remaining board members.

Although the first two proposals left the committee and other school board members uninspired, board President Richard Hendricks and Vice President Michael Rulli both expressed a positive response to the third one.

Representatives from the third company will be invited to the March 23 meeting to share its proposal with the full school board.

According to members of the committee, there are two options for financing the project, including using House Bill 264 funds and self financing.

Treasurer Jennifer Coldsnow said the district is leaning toward self financing because significant data is available from other districts to prove the savings from such a project are real, which is the main purpose of using House Bill 264.

If the district elects to use self financing, the board can opt for a seven-or 10-year loan. Coldsnow said the interest rates are similar for both, but the district will retain more savings through operating costs with the 10-year loan. Annual costs for the loans would be $116,000 for seven years and $76,000 for 10.

Savings from the project will exceed payments by decreased operating costs and updated equipment, with a profit expected by approximately the seventh year of the 10-year loan, Building and Ground Supervisor Dan Favazzo said.

In November, the board approved the replacement of exterior lighting with LED bulbs including the parking lots, wall packs and entrance pole at an estimated $56,000, the first phase of the project. The remainder includes replacing the interior lighting with LED bulbs and an overhaul of the utility system.

No timetable has been established for the project.

Also at the meeting, the board recognized the preschool at the K-12 campus which recently earned the Step Up to Quality five-star rating through the Ohio departments of education and job and family services. The preschool is a county program hosted at the K-12 campus, with the majority of students from the Leetonia school district. The award is the highest rating available.

Preschool supervisor Sheila Palombo, along with teachers Danitra Liguore and Connie Rudibaugh, presented a banner to the school board and explained their program.

Palombo said the rating evaluates four aspects of the educational program-learning/development, staff qualifications/professional development, administration/leadership and family/community partnerships. She said they had to submit a lengthy, detailed application, host random visits from evaluators and complete several in-depth interviews.

Palombo said she believes the preschool’s greatest asset is student to staff ratio, which is six to one. She said it provides a high quality, close knit educational environment.

Registration for half- and full-day preschool will be held April 3. Applications will be available at the elementary office beginning early in March.

khowell@salemnews.net

 

 

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