State Education Department

School District Energy Conservation Activities

We examined the actions taken by the State Education Department and school districts to reduce energy costs. We found that most school districts have made some effort toward energy conservation and the Department does provide some assistance to the districts in their efforts. However, if certain improvements were made, energy costs could be further reduced. For example, the Department does not formally monitor energy conservation activities at the school districts, even though it maintains data about the districts that could be used to develop indicators of energy efficiency. We also found that many school districts do not monitor their energy use, have not had energy audits in the last five years, and do not participate in available energy conservation programs. We further note that school districts may be more likely to make energy saving improvements if the Department established a revolving fund to pay for such improvements; the districts could repay the fund from the resulting energy savings. We also note that certain actions can be taken to better protect the interests of school districts that hire companies to reduce their energy costs.

For a complete copy of 96-J-2 click here.
For a copy of the associated follow-up report click here.
For a copy of the 90-day response click here.