Financial infusion to go to capital, environmental improvements

By Myke Folger
Editor

Thanks to a $1 million boost in state funds secured by state Rep. Reuven Carlyle (D-Queen Anne), McClure Middle School may become the school others in the district look to for lessons in energy efficiency.

The money is part of the $3.2 billion two-year capital budget approved by the Legislature and which Gov. Christine Gregoire is expected to sign into law in a matter of days.

“This was the only school in the state that got the funding,” Carlyle said, adding that McClure will receive a major energy-efficiency upgrade that will save the district money and perhaps set an example for other schools.

In November 2006, the Seattle Public Schools board adopted the Natural Resources Conservation Policy, whose mission is to reduce the use of energy, water and encourage recycling. The goal further includes educating students, teachers and staff about conservation and finding ways to reduce its carbon footprint.

School-board president Michael DeBell said the district has already saved $900,000 in one year by simply shutting down computers by 5 p.m. and turning down the thermostats a few degrees. The board wants to do more and will use McClure as the experiment to achieve that.

“You’ve got to do all the little things, and they add up,” DeBell said. “One of the striking values of this work is that the utility bills [of the school district] are paid out of the general operating budget.”

The district spends between $13 million and $14 million each year on its utility bills. By finding ways to reduce those costs, more funds can be directed to student needs.

If Gregoire signs the bill, Carlyle said a company such as McKinstry, a service-design and building operator would immediately audit the school’s most crucial needs, such as a boiler, windows or its HVAC system. Once the auditors make their recommendation, state and school leadership can allocate the money to making those improvements. The audit will include more than how to save a buck.

“The audit will look at [energy usage] holistically, systematically,” Carlyle said.

Carlyle, who is on the energy and education committees in the state House of Representatives, said audit recommendations could lead to reducing the school’s carbon footprint on top of saving money.

When work will commence on the building’s specific needs is not yet known, as those needs have yet to be determined. But the school will undergo about $500,000 in unrelated roof and floor repairs, part of the Buildings, Technology, Athletics levy passed four years ago. If Gregoire signs the bill and an audit is completed in time, DeBell said that work can be done alongside the other building repairs.

McClure was built in the early 1960s and serves about 600 students in grades six through eight. Of the state’s capital budget, which is separate from the state’s operating budget-(currently facing a $9 billion shortfall)-and the state’s transportation budget, $877 million has been set aside for public schools and skills centers across the state.

Carlyle, who lives in Queen Anne with his wife and four children (all of whom attend public schools) saw that as an opportunity to look out for McClure’s future and perhaps have it set an environmental and economic example to others.

“We hope that it’s ready to roll,” Carlyle said of putting the $1 million to work as soon as possible. “There should be no barrier for the state to release those funds.”