Sep. 17--Muskogee Public Schools teachers are switching off unused computers, lights and other electrical equipment as part of a district-wide energy-saving initiative.

Schools are "going green" and it's not just because of the Roughers.

MPS Facilities and Maintenance Director Wayne Johnson said representatives at each school are taking steps to cut back on energy by making sure items are turned off when not in use. In addition, faculty and staff members will be asked to cut back on such personal electric devices as microwave ovens, coffee pots and air fresheners at their desks.

"One of our board goals is to conserve energy usage," Superintendent Mike Garde told the MPS Board of Education earlier this week. "We are going to be as careful as we can to save dollars."

Johnson said the district's Go Green committee set a goal of 7 percent energy reduction at each site.

The district had saved thousands of dollars in 2005 by installing an automated energy management program that regulated heating and air conditioning in each school building. The program also involved more efficient lighting. Johnson said the district managed to cut back on energy usage on subsequent years.

"But usage jumped from 2008 to 2009," he said, citing the installation of new computers and other technology as a main reason for the increase.

"All our electronic equipment has chargers, and they're all plugged in," he said. "When our staff members go home, we need to shut down these devices."

Johnson said another energy-saving possibility could be to limit unnecessary items in the classrooms. He said teachers bring coffee pots, microwave ovens, personal air fresheners and dormitory-style mini-refrigerators into their classrooms.

"We could have teachers reimburse us for the cost of their usage," he said.

He said a coffee pot could run up $5.23 in energy costs per months if a person makes two pots of coffee per day. An under-the-counter refrigerator could cost $3.75 a month, a 36-inch LCD TV could cost $14.32 a month.

Johnson said a photocopier left on overnight uses enough energy to produce more than 1,500 copies.

Creek Elementary fifth-grade teacher Beverly Boyer calculated how teachers could save energy simply by turning off their lights.

"Let's say 20 teachers leave their lights on in the classroom when they come to the gym for opening exercises, that is 20 times 10, or 200 minutes, of wasted electricity," she said. "Two hundred minutes times five days a week equals 1,000 minutes a week; 1,000 minutes a week times 36 weeks equals 36,000 minutes. Thirty-six thousand minutes divided by 60 equals 600 hours. Six hundred hours divided by 24 equals 25 days. That's 25 full days of lights on with no one in the room times how many schools in the district?"

Boyer said she keeps some of her classroom lights off even when students are inside. She said some students study better in dimmer lighting.

Creek Elementary Principal Rick Hoos said the school cuts back on corridor lighting on sunny days.

Under the initiative, the district will maintain records of energy conservation and energy costs and will provide information on goals and progress.

Each school principal will be accountable for energy management at the principal's school.

Other area school districts have implemented similar programs through Energy Education, a Dallas program that helps organizations or schools reduce energy consumption. Fort Gibson Public Schools recently won an Award for Energy Stewardship from the program.

However, Johnson said Muskogee's Go Green Initiative is completely staff-generated.

Reach Cathy Spaulding at 918-684-2928 or Click Here to Send Email

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