Schools
lower the heat and risk a backlash
Cooler classrooms will save
money, but the move isn't cool with some parents
Tuesday, December 20, 2005 • BY JOHN MOONEY •
Star-Ledger Staff
Like frugal homeowners, Bloomfield school
officials turn down the thermostats in their buildings
overnight -- except now they're cutting back even before the
kids get out of school.
Schools in the Chathams and
Parsippany-Troy Hills have lowered temperatures in their
classrooms a couple of degrees, as well.
Pinelands Regional and Little Egg Harbor
schools have gone a step further and added a winter break in
February to save a few days on their heating
bills.
As homeowners get more energy-conscious
to save on fast-rising heating costs this winter, several
New Jersey school districts are joining the act.
But the moves have their drawbacks.
Marlboro's superintendent received complaints from parents
after announcing earlier this month that the district would
turn down the furnaces at 11 a.m. each day.
Bloomfield's policy to lower the heat at
2 p.m. led to some frosty parent-teacher conferences in the
evenings, and a chilly classroom or two in the
afternoons.
Many districts concede that in leaky old
school buildings, there are few guarantees that the
temperatures can be truly controlled in any given room,
anyway.
"If you are next to the boiler, you could
be one temperature, and it's totally different at the other
end of the building," said James O'Neill, superintendent of
Chatham schools.
Chatham schools were among many resetting
thermostats from 70 degrees to 68. But reflecting the
sensitivity of the situation, O'Neill said he's not about to
reduce temperatures any further, for both the students' sake
and his own.
"I'm not ready to deal with the heat that
would come from another direction," he said, referring to
parents.
Schools face an unprecedented rise in
heating costs from both oil and natural gas, blamed on tight
international supplies and hurricane damage to Gulf Coast
energy plants and pipelines this fall.
Districts report their costs have risen
40 percent for heating oil over last year and 70 percent for
natural gas, amounting to as much as $500,000 in unforeseen
expenses in some budgets.
Several superintendents went before
legislators earlier this month to ask for relief from the
state-imposed spending limits. A bill would exempt much of
the utility increases from the controversial spending caps,
but so far it has been approved only by an Assembly
committee, with no further action expected before the end of
the session.
David Abbott, the superintendent in
Marlboro, told the state lawmakers he was turning off the
heat at 11 a.m. and letting ambient air warm the rest of the
school day. He has since said the heat was turned down, not
off. Each lowered degree saves the district $10,000 to
$20,000, he added.
But his frustration with the state's
spending rules hasn't cooled, he said, especially the new
limits on budget surpluses that are meant to handle such
unexpected costs.
"I'm tired of making it work," he said
yesterday. "We're near the bottom in overall costs and can't
do much better in achievement. ... Somebody has to make
people realize what's happening."
The Bloomfield Board of Education, as
part of a package of conservation measures, voted this fall
to reduce the heat in its buildings at 2 p.m., saying the
buildings would stay warm for at least a couple of hours
more. The latest that schools get out is 3:30
p.m.
After the evening parent conferences in
November, the rule was amended to no longer apply to schools
when they have night events. Board president Edmund Zilinski
said one elementary school also reported a couple of cold
classrooms in the afternoons, and heaters have since been
furnished.
Otherwise, the plan has worked fine, he
said, and the board itself has done its part for the
cause.
"At our last meeting in the
administrative offices, by 11 o'clock (at night), it was
rather cold," Zilinski said. "But you need to lead by
example, of course."
As for the board's meeting scheduled for
tonight, he added, "I'll dress warmly."
John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at
jmooney@starledger.com, or (973) 392-1548.
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
|