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Leetonia BOE reviews energy project

LEETONIA — The Leetonia school board last week learned more about a proposed energy savings project at the K-12 campus.

Brian Wagner of CCG Automation provided the board with details of a plan for renovation of the utility systems at the campus, specifically a $700,000 project to replace the interior lighting and HVAC system. The building and grounds committee, consisting of two board members along with other administrators, previously heard from two other companies regarding the project and invited Wagner to explain his proposal for input from the remaining board members.

Although the first two proposals left the committee and other school board members unimpressed, board President Richard Hendricks and Vice President Michael Rulli both expressed a positive response to CCG’s.

According to Wagner, the project will start to pay back at approximately nine years at the company’s guaranteed rates on a 3.8 percent interest, 10-year loan. However, the guaranteed savings will cover the annual payments, he said. The guaranteed savings are conservatively estimated, meaning any increase in utilities, which is almost certain, will mean a larger savings, he said.

Wagner said even if the cash flow is neutral (no increase in cash balance) for the first six years, the benefits include an improvement in comfort and thusly productivity; and increase in the life of the building and campus, plus a reduction in maintenance costs and greenhouse gases due to utilities running less; as well as an improvement in service response time because it can be monitored online from offsite locations.

Wagner noted a joint study conducted by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed an increase in comfort resulted in an increase in productivity, a positive sign for both staff and students.

Once the project is complete, the district should experience a savings of $71,150 each year, Wagner said. Any positive cash flow is money that can be spent on something else, he added.

Wagner said the online system means administrators can monitor occupancy of the building and schedule the utilities around when people should be in specific areas of the campus. When there is a problem, administrators will be able to pinpoint the problem and troubleshoot it, and there is a service technician in the office each day to assist with problems, Wagner said.

Members of the committee noted last month 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 payments for the loans would be $116,000 for seven years and $76,000 for 10.

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.

No timetable has been established for the second phase of the project.

Superintendent Rob Mehno reminded everyone the district does not have to go through a bidding process for the project since the CCG proposal would be through a state term schedule, which is not created through a competitive procurement. The majority of state term schedules are negotiated contracts based on similarly situated most favored customer pricing and are held by manufacturers or software developers.

Since CCG already has State Term pricing, the district does not have to bid out the project even though the cost will be more than $25,000.

Also at the meeting, Mehno reported a group of superintendents met earlier this month with state Rep. Tim Ginter at the Columbiana County Career and Technical Center to discuss Gov. John Kasich’s proposed budget.

Mehno thanked Ginter for organizing the meeting and championing the efforts for equitable funding for all schools in Columbiana County.

“He and his office also made it possible for a group of county superintendents, treasurers, administrators and board members to testify in front of the House Finance Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education,” Mehno reported, noting board member Dan Votaw, Coldsnow and he were part of the contingent that testified before the subcommittee.

The majority of districts in Columbiana County are losing funding, despite Leetonia gaining just over $47,000 each year of the biennium budget. Mehno said the largest loses are to rural districts while heavily student dense districts–such as those in cities–gain the most money.

Mehno said several officials from Columbiana County joined him, Coldsnow and Votaw in testifying on challenges faced by rural schools, including Don Mook, superintendent of Columbiana Schools; Stacy Williams, treasurer of Beaver Local School District; and Marie Williams from the Columbiana County Educational Service Center.

“The witnesses noted that many districts in or around urban areas are set to get additional funding in the budget, while rural districts are having to trim their budgets even as their per pupil spending generally runs below that of urban counterparts,” he said. “They also addressed how the school choice system removes additional funding from their districts, and said the valuation increase of agricultural land cited by the administration in defending its formula calculations is not spread consistently across the state.”

khowell@salemnews.net

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