Outlook 2008
Jan 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Mike Kennedy
In Nevada, superintendents are trying to figure out how to absorb a mid-year 4.5 percent cut to their 2007-08 state funding. At first, schools were spared from the state's cuts, but Gov. Jim Gibbons determined that the size of Nevada's financial shortfall — $440 million over two years — forced him to include school districts in the budget rollbacks.
Administrators say the cuts could lead to layoffs and program cuts. Walt Rulffes, superintendent of the Clark County district, Nevada's largest with more than 300,000 students, says that because the cuts are coming halfway through the school year, they will have to be twice as severe.
For some struggling school systems, the situation has become so dire that government intervention becomes necessary. In Washington, D.C., schools are suffering from declining enrollment, aging facilities in disrepair and poor student achievement.
Mayor Adrian Fenty has persuaded the City Council to give him greater authority over the school system, and Fenty hired Michelle Rhee to the new position of school chancellor. In 2008, she is expected to begin overhauling the school system's central administrative staff; the city council has given her the power to fire non-union employees without cause. Rhee also is moving forward with an unpopular plan to close more than 20 of the district's under-capacity schools.
In Los Angeles, the city's mayor also is pushing forward with efforts to take some control of schools in the Los Angeles Unified District. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's efforts to assume control of the district's operations has been thwarted in the courts, but he has formed a partnership with a non-profit group that will take control of several struggling city schools and provide them with extra support and resources.
The difficulties encountered running a school system have made the job of superintendent a difficult one to fill in some districts, despite the high salary in most large systems. A report issued earlier this year by the American Association of School Administrators, “The State of the American School Superintendency: A Mid-Decade Study,” found that 60 percent of superintendents found their job “very stressful.”
“These are the highest stress levels in any AASA state of the superintendency study, as superintendents face the pressure of meeting increasing expectations with dwindling resources,” the AASA says. Still, the report noted, 9 out of 10 superintendents say they find their work rewarding and believe they have made the right career choice.
OUTLOOK energy
Higher energy prices and a weak U.S. dollar may combine to ruin utility spending forecasts for schools and universities in 2008. Education institutions that have taken steps to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels to heat and light their facilities, and power their buses and other vehicles will be in a better position to keep their school systems operating smoothly without busting their budgets.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy's EnergySmart Schools program, schools can cut their energy costs by 5 to 20 percent by improving operations and maintenance. Lighting, which represents from 25 to 40 percent of a typical school's energy costs, is one area where energy-saving steps can make a significant difference in utility bills.
The use of daylighting strategies to reduce dependency on electric lights has become more accepted in recent years at schools and universities. Accelerating that acceptance were studies that have indicated that students perform better in classrooms with ample amounts of natural light.
Properly designed clerestory windows, roof monitors and lightshelves allow daylight to be dispersed uniformly and prevent glare. Baffles can further diffuse daylight in a space.
To further reduce the use of artificial lights, schools can use sensors that adjust lighting levels depending on the availability of natural light or whether anyone is using a particular space. Timers also can be installed to automatically control lights.
Compact fluorescent and smaller-diameter fluorescent tubes provide more light with less energy than incandescent bulbs or wider fluorescent tubes.
Reducing the use of electric lights also means less heat is generated. Another way schools can prevent unwanted heat from entering a facility is installing cool roofs, which typically are made of light-colored, reflective materials that turn away sun rays.
Alternative energy sources can help schools acquire the power they need at lower costs. Some education institutions use wind turbines to harness energy and use it to power their facilities. The federal government's goal is for wind power to provide 20 percent of the nation's electricity by 2030.
The Department of Energy's Wind Powering America program works with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to bring wind power to schools, especially in rural areas. Schools in 23 states have school wind projects.
In addition to the energy savings, wind power projects can be used to educate students about how energy is produced.
Solar power is another way schools can acquire energy more efficiently. Photovoltaic cells atop school roofs can be used to capture sun rays and convert them to energy. In Florida, the SunSmart Schools program provided photovoltaic systems to 17 schools and colleges in 2006-07. In California, Pacific Gas & Electric's Solar Schools program provides photovoltaic panels to up to 40 schools a year so they can cut electricity costs and teach students about solar energy.
Some schools have been able to lessen their reliance on fossil fuels for their energy needs by installing geothermal heating and cooling systems, which take advantage of the constant temperature of the earth. In the summer, heat pumps remove heat from a building and store it in the ground; in the winter, the system pumps heat from the ground back into the building.
Systems such as a geothermal heat pump can be expensive, and schools may not have the finances to pay for such a large upfront cost — even though administrators know they can save money in the long run with a more efficient system.
For many schools and universities, the solution is a performance contract. An energy company agrees to pay the initial costs of installing more energy-efficient equipment in an education facility. The school or university agrees to repay the cost of the new system out of the savings generated by the more efficient system.
The rising cost of fuel hits school district transportation budgets especially hard, so administrators should be open to alternatives that will enable them to run their fleets more efficiently. Several districts around the country are experimenting with electric-hybrid school buses.
The Austin (Texas) district began using a plug-in hybrid school bus in November — the first district in Texas to buy such a bus. The district estimates that with an electric drive and a diesel engine, the bus will get about 12 miles a gallon, compared with about 6 miles a gallon for a typical diesel-powered bus. Battery packs that provide the electric power to the bus are recharged overnight.
Kennedy, staff writer, can be reached at mkennedy@asumag.com.
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