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Three Village School District Renews Energy Efficiency Agreement

Johnson Controls Inc. has helped the district achieve energy savings over the years.

The Three Village Board of Education on Tuesday voted 6-0 to renew an agreement with an energy efficiency consultant to continue finding ways to achieve energy savings in the schools.

Milwaukee, W.I.-based Johnson Controls Inc., which has a Long Island location in Syosset, will provide the framework for "work done in and around our buildings designed to save energy," according to Jeff Carlson, assistant superintendent for business services.

The district first entered into an agreement during the 2006-07 school year and since then, the cost savings has paid for the work itself, Carlson said. Though he could not pinpoint an exact number, he said the savings has been significant.

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"The work that we had done on that contract has proven to be very successful," he said. "We’re seeing the benefits now in our budget, in our energy savings, and because of further advances in technology, there are more savings out there for us."

Some on the Board of Education questioned whether the work could be done in-house.

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"If there’s any of this that is within our ability to do ourselves, then we are giving away the savings to someone else," said Jonathan Kornreich, board vice president.

However, Carlson said that would be difficult because of declining levels of maintenance and operations staff due to budgetary concerns, and also pointed out that any work that is done as a capital project qualifies for partial reimbursement from New York State in the form of building aid.

Referring to the management efficiency grant the district recently received, trustee Susanne Mendelson asked if this could be considered as an action along those lines.

"Isn’t this along the lines of streamlining? So it’s also received well by our governor and hopefully will attract more grants to be gotten by our district in the future?" she asked.

The answer is yes, Carlson said.

The school board's new agreement with Johnson Controls Inc. will eventually result in a formal contract that will still need to be formally approved at a later date.


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