Mineola Schools Outline Green Initiatives for 2011-12

With energy prices continuing to climb, numerous businesses are looking to cut costs wherever possible. School district are no exception, with Mineola giving an update on its green initiatives during a board of education meeting on September 15 at the .

Facilities director Dan Romano explained that Mineola’s energy performance contract was partitioned into 3 phases. Phase one was implemented 8 years ago when the district installed boilers at , and the as well as steam traps, hot water heaters and lighting replacements. Phase two occurred during the 2003-04 school year when new boilers were placed in and as well as new boiler controls and motion sensors on lighting fixtures. The still has original boilers which have been reconditioned.

Phase three centered around contractors Energy Education and Johnson Controls but it was determined that “we could not cover the cost of the work,” which would have included new boilers at the high school and windows at elementary schools according to Romano. Work from the first two phases saved the district approximately $400,000 a year.

This year Romano said that his big project is light-emitting diode (LED) lightbulbs. “I was looking to replace some of the incandescent bulbs with the LED bulbs,” he said. A LED bulb can last 45,000 hours, or about 8 years versus a typical compact fluorescent bulb which usually lasts for 5 years. Romano estimated that if the lighting for the entire high school auditorium were replaced with LED bulbs, it would save the district $35,000 over the life of the bulb. Work would have to be done over the Christmas recess since scaffolding would have to be rented to complete the work.

A discussion was held about lights being left on in district buildings at night in various hallways. “It was kind of brought up because you would go by so many schools and they’re lit up like a Christmas tree at night, classroom lights are on hallway lights are on,” trustee Terence Hale said. “I didn’t see a reason why you should have everything lit up because we’re not even in there.” Hale added that it was his understanding that state law requires stairways to be lit in school buildings at night. The district does leave certain lights on at night since custodians typically are working in buildings until midnight.

A packet was presented to the board with recommendations to save energy such as turning lights off, shutting off power to some rooms in summer and installing temperature controls. The district also consolidates contents of the school refrigerators into one building during the summer.

“A lot of them, like the summer stuff, we do, which is typical,” Romano said, adding that he felt that more should be done with the light sensors and “would like to go further” with the LED bulbs.

Superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler said that the lights can be placed on movement sensors, but would cost about $100 per hallway. About 40 percent of classrooms in the district are on sensors. The superintendent was unsure the rate of savings the sensors would bring but estimated it may take two or 3 years to pay for a sensor through savings.

Several buildings in the district gained Energy Star certification for 2010-11, placing them among the top 25 percent in energy performance in the country. The district is also continuing t use green cleaning practices whenever possible which includes purchasing recycled paper and excludes the use of pesticides/ insecticides. Then-governor George Pataki signed green cleaning bill in 2006.

Romano was also asked by Dr. Nagler to take an inventory of personal appliances in student occupied areas such as a coffee pots or microwaves. The district has asked staff to remove personal items. “I think we’re at a point where you can flag them and tell people that either they remove them or we remove them,” the superintendent said.