every student. every classroom. every day.

Laying the Groundwork for a More Green, More Sustainable School District

Jody London, Director, Board of EducationTony Smith, Superintendent

Tim White, Assistant Superintendent for Facilities

October 22, 2010

Presented at the Annual Conference of the Council of Great Cities Schools

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Chabot Elementary

Oakland’s first certified green school.

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Oakland’s Green Initiative

Operational Areas:• Energy and Water Conservation• Green Buildings• Renewable Energy • Grounds and Custodial

Policy Areas:• Budget and Finance• Environmental Stewardship

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Oakland Overview

3 regions

91 sites• 61 Elementary Schools• 16 Middle Schools• 17 High Schools

37,000 students

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Utilities Overview

2008-09 Utilities budget

Electric ~ $5.2 millionGas ~ $ .4Water ~ $1.2Waste ~ $1.3

Total ~ $8.1 million

General Fund: $428 million FY 2010-2011

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Energy and Water Conservation

Energy Usage:• Energy and water efficiency is much more cost-

effective than installing solar panels.• 2006: OUSD began working with local utility to

get better data on energy usage.– Used data to initiate a series of investment-grade

energy efficiency audits.– Action is integrated with deferred maintenance and

capital construction programs.

• 2007: OUSD adopted a formal Energy and Water Conservation Plan.

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Green Buildings

Sustainability and High Performance Schools Policy:

• Adopted in 2007.• Establishes California’s Collaborative for High

Performance Schools (“CHPS”) as green building standard for all modernization and new construction.

• OUSD expects to receive approximately $300,000 in additional State matching grants for CHPS projects in 2010 -2013.

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Renewable Energy

U.S. Department of Energy Solar America Grant:• Oakland is part of $500,000 grant • Will lead to a master plan for solar implementation.Bond Opportunities:• $39 million in CREBs, Clean Renewable Energy Bonds.

Must be drawn down by 2012 • $24 million in QSCB, Qualified School Construction

Bonds. Must be drawn down by 2011• School Investment Pooled Securities Program

opportunity: save ~ $3.8m on $30 million draw down.

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Case Study: Energy Savings from Solar

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Energy & Cost Reduction from Solar

RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGET = 30%

Electric Energy Consumed – All Campuses 2009 29,712,000 kWhs

Proposed Multi-Campus Solar Generation* 8, 949,000 kWhs

Percentage of Energy From Solar 30 %

UTILITY COST OFF-SET = 42%

Total PG&E Electric Bill – All Campuses 2009 $ 4,369,000

Estimated Bill Savings from Solar Generation $ 1,942,000

Percentage of PG&E Bill Reduced From Solar 44 %

 

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OUSD Grounds

Enhance Utilization at Reduced Costs

• 2010 Garden Policy encourages community- sponsored school gardens. – 60 gardens K-12– 15 farmer’s markets at

school sites, with 10 more this year

• Collaboration between staff and community/parents focusing on sustainable landscape techniques.

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School Garden

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OUSD Grounds

• Oakland Schoolyards Initiative – Community/Private partnerships to improve playfields

• Fully synthetic athletic playfields at 6 comprehensive high schools

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Sustainable Custodial Practices

Green CleaningIn 2008 Transitioned to environmentally safe cleaning products/supplies:

– Hand Dryers– Hand Soap with hands free dispensers– Disinfectant, Floor Cleaner– Glass Cleaner, Can Liners

Recycling• Diverting 41% waste• Savings ~ $50,000 per month district-wide• 50% recycling – could save an additional $20,000/month• 24 of 91 sites have organic waste accounts• Recycled content toilet paper, seat covers, and hand towels.

Green Gloves summit:• October 8, 2010• All custodial staff• Seminar on successful green cleaning programs, including one within

Oakland

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Bottom Line

• Greening public schools creates an opportunity to improve the health and educational setting for students, teachers, and staff.

• Based on actual improvements in design in green schools and on very substantial data on productivity and test performance, a 3–5 percent improvement in learning ability and test scores in green schools appears reasonable and conservative.

• Green initiatives can provide benefits to the financial bottom line.

• As educators, it is our responsibility to train the next generation of environmental stewards.

• As we implement our new Strategic Plan, Oakland will be working to incorporate sustainability more deeply in our district.

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CREBs provide the bondholder with a tax credit in lieu of an interest payment; essentially the equivalent of a zero-interest loan

•REQUIREMENTS: Projects must generate electricity and must be created from clean and/or renewable sources.

•TERM: CREBs funds must be spent within 5 years.

•TAX CREDIT: The tax credit is set by the U.S. Treasury, daily, and for each annual payment year.

•MATURITY: The maximum maturity for the CREB will be set by the U.S. Treasury

Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) 39.3 Million

Appendix

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Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSBCs) = $23.9 MillionAppendix

Projects Related to Reducing Energy Consumption in Publicly-Owned Buildings

–Implementing Green Community Programs

–Public Education Campaigns to Provide Energy Efficiency

• Next Steps: Prepare Bonds - Energy Analysis /Contractor “RFQ”

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OAKLAND USD - 2009 CREBs AWARD SchoolsAppendix

School Site Estimate Size (kWp) CREBS AWARDED

1 Bret Harte Middle 240 $2,089,800

2 Carter 340 $2,616,300

3 Castlemont 980 $2,531,250

4 Claremont Middle 120 $1,044,900

5 Edna Brewer Middle 290 $2,525,175

6 Fremont High 430 $2,531,250

7 Havenscourt Middle 740 $2,531,250

8 King Estates Middle 530 $2,531,250

9 Lowell Middle 350 $2,693,250

10 McClymonds HS 450 $2,531,250

11 Montera Middle 550 $2,531,250

12 Oakland High 620 $2,531,250

13 Oakland Tech High 680 $2,531,250

14 Roosevelt Middle 420 $2,531,250

15 Santa Fe Elementary 200 $1,741,500

16 Westlake Middle 470 $2,531,250

17 Woodland Elementary 150 $1,306,125

TOTALS 7,560 $39,329,550