Some schools plan summer power outages

Terry Webster

Thursday, June 7, 2001 | 11:22 a.m.

Throughout the summer a Clark County School District energy conservation plan will have employees of nine-month schools reporting to work in the wee hours of the morning.

Starting Monday all electricity -- including air conditioning and lighting -- will be cut off daily from 12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the district.

The plan, expected to save about $1.5 million in electricity costs by avoiding peak-time rates, will remain in effect until sometime in August, school officials said.

But in order to achieve that, principals and support staff workers of nine-month schools will report to work by 4:30 a.m. and finish by 12:30 p.m. Summer school classes held at the schools generally conclude before noon, and those teachers are on separate contracts and would not have to change their hours.

Air-conditioning would be kept on for evening summer school, which meets 4-8 p.m., according to district spokeswoman Mary Stanley-Larson.

Year-round schools and the district's central office on Flamingo Road are not affected. All summer programs, including those involving county Parks and Recreation, are expected to go on as planned.

A seven-page memo distributed Wednesday in the district further details the energy cost savings plan.

Part of the memo outlines what employees can and can't do with their work hours.

For example, the memo says employees can't work at home or get paid for hours they haven't worked. Another suggestion involves having employees work at their own school during nonpeak hours and then finish the day at a school open year-round.

Also, principals are being asked to schedule summer programs in portable classrooms instead of the main building, because portables don't require as much air conditioning.

Shortly after the memo was released, phone calls began pouring into the facilities division. One secretary reported receiving 25 to 30 calls.

"People are very understanding with what we are trying to do," said Pat Herron, assistant superintendent for the facilities division.

School officials looked at the possibility of having the central office, the education center, operate on a four-day work schedule, but decided against it.

"The savings only amounted to $61,000, and we opted not to do it," said Walt Rulffes, the district's chief financial officer. "There are year-round schools running, and we felt we should be here for support."

But the education center has eliminated all air conditioning for any weekend work.

"I was in here on Sunday, and it was just baking," Rulffes said. "There's no ventilation or windows for us to open."

Others acknowledged that employees with small children or other responsibilities will find it hard to start work so early.

"Being at work by 4:30 could be a hardship, especially on single parents," said Steve Augspurger of the Clark County Association of School Administrators. "Some of the people I've talked to are talking about taking two hours of vacation time each day so they can start at six."

Other inconveniences include musical instruments for school bands and orchestras. Extreme temperatures can damage some instruments. Suggestions have included moving all the instruments to a year-round school where they have air conditioning.

Despite the problems the conservation plan presents, the support employees union's president admitted the district has the right to impose it.

"What the school district is doing is perfectly legal," said Bobby Mancuso, president of the Education Support Employees Association. "For the most part, management has the right to staff people whenever they want to."

Principals of nine-month schools work 11 months, typically taking July off.

July is when the district plans to really clamp down on the energy plan, saving an estimated $700,000.

In June and August air conditioning may be provided until about 2 p.m., if it can be turned on only for administrative offices.

When asked how the entire program will be monitored, Herron said: "This is a directive to the principals like any other directive we have. The principals are responsible people, and they will be expected to follow this."

In the 1995-96 school year the district paid $11.5 million for electricity. District officials say that the electric bill for the 2000-01 school year, which ends June 30, will be $36 million. During that five-year period, 63 new schools were added.