Rowland USD Achieves $1.6 Million in Energy Savings
ROWLAND HEIGHTS, CA —AUGUST 28, 2012 — Faculty and staff at Rowland Unified School District have chalked over $1.6 million bucks worth of good behavior. Their energy-efficient practices have earned big savings — and now those good habits are earning the organization national recognition. Rowland Unified School District (RUSD) has achieved $1,648,943 in cost savings in 35 months since forming a strategic alliance with Energy Education, a national energy conservation company, which will present RUSD its “Energy Excellence Award” at tonight’s Board of Education meeting.
“Reaching this savings mark is a significant milestone. Rowland Unified School District has achieved success by consistently implementing the organizational behavior-based approach to energy conservation and maintaining productive efforts at all levels of the organization. The Superintendent and board, along with other administration, faculty and staff members are to be commended for clearly fulfilling their commitment to being good stewards of the taxpayers’ money and the environment,” said Dr. William S. Spears, Chairman and Founder of Energy Education.
“Strong support from Superintendent Ott and the Board have created an atmosphere of cooperation that should continue to grow and ensure even greater success well into the future,” Dr. Spears said. “I am extremely pleased to present Rowland Unified School District with our Energy Excellence Award. The District joins a very committed group of organizations across the country working hard to achieve energy savings so the dollars saved can be redirected to educational needs.”
A key benefit of the Energy Education program is that all costs come out of the existing utility budget, with savings projected to more than pay for the program, as they have done at RUSD. Additional savings can be redirected to other parts of the budget, a vital need especially during the current state funding crisis. As part of the program, Energy Education Specialist Juliann Ferguson tracks energy consumption — including electricity, water, sewer, natural gas and fuel oil — using energy-accounting software. She compares current energy use to a baseline period and calculates the amount of energy that would have been used had conservation and management practices not been implemented. By tracking consumption and analyzing energy use, she can quickly identify and correct areas that need immediate attention.
Energy Education’s innovative Transformational Energy Management® process trains client personnel to implement behavioral and organizational change that substantially reduces energy consumption without the purchase of new equipment. The program is funded solely and rapidly by the savings it generates, allowing clients to redirect saved energy dollars to other priorities. In 26 years, Energy Education has worked with more than 1,200 educational and ministry organizations, helping clients save over $2.8 billion in utility costs. Energy Education earned the 2011 and 2012 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and was named ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for 2009 and 2010.
For more information regarding Energy Education: Jan Noel-Smith, Director - Public Relations 214.273.2814, [email protected] or www.EnergyEducation.com
The Rowland Unified School District is proud to serve 16,000 students at 20 elementary and secondary schools in the communities of Rowland Heights, Walnut, La Puente, City of Industry, and West Covina. More than 5,000 adults (16+) are also served by the Rowland Adult and Community Education School.
Contacts:
Jan Noel-Smith, Energy Ed
(214) 273-2814
Gina K. Ward, RUSD
(626) 854-8352
# # #