A Guide to Leading and Managing Indiana School Facilities

Since the 1990s, the United States has experienced periods of volatility in energy costs (Joskow, 2002) Public schools have not been immune to the increased energy costs associated with these periods.  School districts spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on energy to heat and cool buildings through a variety of means.  Many of these heating and cooling systems are energy inefficient, but many school districts don’t have the available funds to make the large scale changes to old inefficient equipment.  Those school districts that can’t make the large scale changes should concentrate on the smaller ones. Replacing lights with energy efficient lights and ballasts would reduce electrical consumption tremendously in a school building.  Getting the staff to buy in to energy savings program is also a worthy goal.  School districts are facing increases in salaries, health insurance and unfunded mandates from the states, it is important to start reducing the energy costs to save as much cash as possible.  

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

            According to the NCES (2003), on average, public school districts spent $137 per pupil on energy expenditures in 2000.  For 2001, public schools budgeted at 11 percent increase, raising their budgets to $152 per pupil.  However, actual 2001 energy expenditures were $166 per pupil, which was 22 percent higher than in 2000.  The average public school district experienced a 9 percent shortfall between what it had budgeted for 2001 and its actual expenditures.  The average school district budgeted $176 per pupil for 2002 energy needs, or a 6 percent increase over what it actually spent in 2001.  This $24 per pupil increase over 2001 budgeted cost translated into an increase of about $1 billion in expected costs.

Energy Expenditures in 2001

            Key findings from the NCES (2003) study are as follows:

·        Per pupil expenditures for energy rose from $137 to $166 (22 percent).

·        Sixty-one percent of public school districts reported a shortfall in energy fund in 2001.

·        Eighty-three percent of school district that had experienced an energy budget shortfall attributed the shortfall to increases in the cost per unit of energy.

·        Small school districts spent the most per pupil in energy expenditures in 2001, $204 per pupil.  However, both large and midsized school districts were more likely to encounter shortfalls in funding their energy expenditures.

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