Council Rock School District
Newtown, Pennsylvania
20% Improvement (2007)
30% Improvement (2007)
Council Rock School District is committed to children and empowers them with skills and knowledge through comprehensive, innovative, and diverse educational experiences. The district strives to enable them to achieve self-fulfillment and become productive, responsible citizens who contribute to the world community. Council Rock serves more than 12,000 students in 17 facilities - two high schools, three middle schools, ten elementary schools, and two administrative buildings - totaling 1.8 million square feet of space. The district established an energy management program in November 2005 and became an ENERGY STAR partner in 2006.
After being recognized for a 20 percent reduction in overall energy use at the beginning of 2007, Council Rock School District continued to improved its energy efficiency and, at the end of the year, was recognized again for improving by 30 percent!. The districts efforts have reduced CO2 emissions by more than 6,000 tons, cut electricity use by 7.7 million kilowatt hours, and saved $2.7 million in energy costs.
To achieve these savings, Council Rock partnered with an energy consulting company to implement a comprehensive energy-reduction program. The program included operational modifications to occupied hours and temperature settings, staff training for operations, a building management control system enhancement permitting centralized access, and repairs to HVAC equipment field controls. The district also began re-commissioning new buildings and requiring ENERGY STAR qualified products, when possible, for new purchases.
Council Rock School District promotes its achievements through newsletters, e-mails, its Web site, closed-circuit and public television broadcasts, committee meetings, and visits to schools. It also held Energy Awareness Week to raise awareness among staff, students, and the community. Activities included slogan and logo contests, daily announcements, and a "dark classroom" theme day.
