The high school in Batesville, Arkansas, home of The Pioneers, looks and feels like many other small-town high schools in America—parking lot in front, a grassy football field in back and a wide one-story building for its 630 students—with one notable, pioneering, exception: The school and its grounds sit decked out in 1,400 shining solar panels.
“It looks like you’re coming into an international airport,” says Dr. Michael Hester, the district’s superintendent since 2017. “It’s beautiful, and kids can look out and see the solar panels and they understand that we’re using technology and innovation.”
This solar array, completed in 2018, was part of Batesville’s comprehensive energy conservation initiative, which stemmed from an effort at the start of Hester’s tenure to be more efficient by, in part, eliminating excess campus facilities and conducting an energy audit. The district partnered with Entegrity, an energy and solar development company, to upgrade lighting to LEDs, install water-saving fixtures, insulate buildings and install the solar panels.
“Our defensive game plan was how to be more efficient, but then all of a sudden there was the prospect of having an offensive game plan: how do you make money,” says Hester.
The savings from the reduced energy costs over the next three years resulted in a budget surplus of $1.8 million. That allowed the district to raise teachers’ salaries an average of $2,000 to $3,000 per year.
“Our defensive game plan was how to be more efficient, but then all of a sudden there was the prospect of having an offensive game plan: how do you make money,” says Hester. “In the last four years, we’ve been able to add around $10,000 to each staffer in pay raises. It just gives us pride.”
Batesville, Arkansas, is a long way from—and a lot smaller than—Philadelphia. And it gets a bit more sun per year than we do here in the Northeast. (Though not enough more to make a major difference.) But it shares with the Philadelphia School District some of the same concerns—including not enough funds. In Philly, despite an infusion of cash from the American Rescue Plan, the district still lacks the money to fix school buildings that are toxic, outdated or otherwise dangerous. School facilities need billions in upgrades and repairs, which means years of slow-going and disruptive work.
But a six-year-old study shows that Philly public schools, which collectively spend about $45 million annually on energy bills, could be leaving money on the table: According to a 2016 Philadelphia Energy Authority report, installing solar panels could save school buildings up to $20,000 in energy expenses each. That’s money that could be used in turn to pay for building renovations or other underfunded programs.
Solar power is on the rise nationally
Over the last decade, the cost of solar panels has declined significantly while the technical expertise and availability …….
Source: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/batesville-schools-solar/