52°
STAMFORD, Conn. Stamford Public Schools will be more environmentally conscious in an effort to save money, says Al Barbarotta, director of facilities management for the district.
The school official says he will enter into an agreement to pay 6.5 cents per kilowatt for electricity, down from 14.5 cents per kilowatt, which may save the district up to $500,000 from the previous year.
After requesting $230,000 less for electricity in the 2012-13 spending plan, Barbarotta hopes to use the rest to improve the infrastructure of schools to make them more energy efficient. He explained that by spending now on such improvements as replacing the air conditioning system at Westhill High School, it will pay for itself in savings.
Then we save that money for the rest of our lives, he said during the Board of Educations Fiscal Committee meeting Thursday night.
Stamford allotted the schools just less than $3.74 million for the 2011-12 year for electricity, and requested $3.51 million for next year. The schools used about 31 million kilowatts of electricity last year, Barbarotta said.
Board members were supportive of Barbarottas plan to spend money on improvements. That is money taxpayers can count on, Board member Geoff Alswanger said of the future savings.
On Tuesday, Winifred Hamilton, Stamford Public Schools interim superintendent, presented her proposed spending plan for the next year. She said the increase was kept to 3.49 percent because many departments, such as Barbarotta's, found ways to be more efficient.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Stamford and receive free news updates.
