Schools power down for summer

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 | 11:04 a.m.

As he prowled the hallways of Morrow Elementary School in Henderson early this morning, school district energy inspector Don Laconto spotted a faint glow coming from Room 16.

When he peered into the classroom and spotted a computer monitor that had been left on overnight, Laconto frowned and reached for his checklist.

"It's a small thing but the small things add up," said Laconto, who works for the Clark County School District's conservation office performing after-hours inspections of campuses. "Some schools don't seem to care about conservation and some schools are exemplary. We want all of them to be exemplary."

The Clark County School District is wrapping up a frantic effort to turn off every possible light, appliance and air conditioner at its nine-month campuses by Thursday, when Nevada Power raises its rates.

Last year's conservation efforts shaved $2 million off schools' summer power bill, and the goal is to do at least as well this time around, Dale Scott, the district's energy manager, said.

All nine-month campuses are shut down for the entire month of July. For the month of June and again in early August, staff at those schools are allowed to use the buildings only during the cooler early portion of the day.

Many schools are hooked up to computerized systems that allow for automatic shut-offs and can be monitored from the district's main office. However the systems aren't foolproof, necessitating on-site inspections, Scott said.

Laconto has long been the district's only conservation inspector, responsible for 289 schools. He typically inspects 10 to 15 campuses each week -- usually between the hours of 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. -- and said he finds problems at one-third of the schools he checks.

Morrow passed all of Laconto's biggest tests -- the lights were turned off when he pulled up to the school at 6 a.m. and the air conditioning system didn't turn on automatically until 7 a.m., when staff began arriving.

"You can always tell the principal takes conservation seriously," Laconto said. "If the principal is on board, you can bet the rest of the school will be, too."

While July 1 means the start of higher energy rates it's also the beginning of the new fiscal year. That means Laconto will soon have some help -- the Clark County School Board approved $560,710 for 2004-05 to expand the energy conservation program, including adding four inspector positions so that one can be assigned to each of the five regions.

"It's going to make a tremendous difference," Scott said. "We find air conditioners blasting in the middle of the night, lights on all over the school when the computer says everything's off. And that's just at the small number of schools we're able to inspect right now. Imagine the savings we're going to see with a full staff."

The district's energy conservation program, launched in 2002, is a year-round initiative and includes water-saving measures as well, Walt Rulffes, deputy superintendent of operations, said. New school prototypes are built using energy-efficient designs, display lights for vending machines have been disconnected and campuses that cut their power bills by at least 10 percent each year receive a rebate check from the district.

"We have a responsibility to be fiscally responsible with the tax dollars entrusted to us," Rulffes said. "Every dollar we save on our utility bills is a dollar that goes right back into the classroom."