February 23 School Board Report

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Lynnette Forth submitted this report.

Morrison High School Senior Kaitlyn Anderson requested approval from the Board of Education for an early graduation request.  She addressed the board during the Monday, February 23, 2015, regular meeting.  Only needing a few credits, Anderson plans to finish her high school requirements in time to start her college career in illustration.  “I would really like to get a jump start on my future and pursue my dream.  I have all good grades, qualified for the National Honor Society, and am working on scholarships.  I would love to pursue illustration.  I think it would be beneficial to start my future as soon as possible, and I would like your blessing.  I only need to finish a few courses.  I love illustration.  I created the winning Harvest Hammer t-shirt, and may possibly design a shirt for the State wrestlers.  I have roughly 40 finished drawings to be put into a portfolio.  Going to college is going to happen.  I am not going to not have a degree under my belt.  I would like to start college in the spring.  Right now I am really leaning toward the Art Institute in Saint Louis[, MO].  I want to be inspired by others that love art, and I also want to be challenged.”    

Later in the meeting, board members did approve the request for Anderson’s early graduation, pending her completion of needed credits.

With energy costs on the rise, the Morrison School District is learning about programs to help modernize their buildings and save money.  At the February 23 meeting, board members heard a presentation from Sharon Uslan with Opterra Energy.  Uslan has been with the company 11 years and specializes in working with school districts in Illinois, to show them ways to cut energy costs.  “I wanted to give you an overview of our programs, so that you could get a sense of what we do, and [see] if you would want to move forward with some ideas.  You have a unique opportunity with [future income from] the one percent sales tax.  That removes a lot of the burden and risk for projects.  Our company would work with local contractors to perform the work,.  You have the ability to dictate to us that you prefer local contractors, to help create jobs in the community.  We have found that local people have an interest in the district.  This method is better than using the small bid approach,” Uslan said.

Uslan recently toured the Morrison school buildings, along with the head custodian, and took notice of projects in need of updating.  Other districts in the area have utilized the services of the company.  Recently the Oregon[, IL,]  school reconfigured their entrance for security and installed an intercom system, exit lighting, heating system, and new ventilation.  Also, schools in the area that have participated have seen $10,000 in savings on their energy bills, with the replacement of geothermal heating and cooling.

If Morrison were to choose moving forward with Uslan’s suggestions, they could enhance energy savings by 25%

The company provides

  • an in house banker
  • a team of employees that specialize in looking for grants and rebates that go along with the scope of work to be done
  • maintenance, administrative, and instructional personnel to work with teachers and administrators in the district.

“We take the approach really slow[ly] when we work with a district.  Your district has a large list of wants and needs that we need to figure out how to prioritize,” Uslan stated.  The items included:

1.    Eliminate the burden and risk for the district.
2.    Reliability and safety (secure vestibules, lighting updates, new clocks, intercom)
3.    Improve useful Life Safety assets (heating/cooling, ventilation, bathrooms, locker rooms)
4.    Eliminate costs for the district (building automation system)
5.    Instill 21st century learning (Envision Energy Program, Stem lab.)

The installation of LED lighting has a payback period that is significant for grant opportunities.  “A savings of $35- to $55,000 annual savings could be seen by replacing the outdated lighting.  Most of the items you need done are at the end of useful life.  There is no financial commitment now, you would need to do a request for a proposal.  There are a lot of steps before we get to that point.  I thought tonight would be a good time to give you an introduction to our company.  We typically recommend you take a couple of meetings to determine your need for service.  Possibly by the October meeting you could have a decision.” 

Board member Brandon Shelton asked, “In a nutshell, you do a big scope of work at once and then we pay you off over time?” 

Uslan responded, “We could provide in-house banking to bid out the financing.  The financing is not held by us, it’s just a service we provide.  There are a lot of creative ways to figure out financing.”

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