The School Board decided to delay a decision regarding approval of the Energy Education Inc. (EEI) contract with the schools until next week’s meeting.
EEI is a company that has been around for 26 years. It works with schools all over the country to reduce their utilities cost through a unique, three prong approach: control of utilities rates and costs, infrastructure and system controls and behavioral/human processes.
When those new systems and processes are in place, EEI saves its customers 20 to 30 percent of their energy costs per year.
Because EEI would assume initial costs to launch the program, the school system would be locked in with the company for five years. Breaking the contract would result in a heavy fine.
During the first five years EEI makes their money by taking a percent of the money it saved the district according to 65:35 ratio, in which the majority share goes to the schools. After that initial time period, the school system can keep all their cost savings.
EEI requires the school system hire three new employees to manage these systems. They recommend these individuals be former educators, and recommend a salary of 78-88,000 per year including benefits. They claim they would need a competitive salary, since the individuals would be required to work odd hours, and serve in a leadership capacity.
These employees would work directly with administrators and staff to advise on processes which would make the buildings more efficient in terms of utilities; whether that be lower the temperature by a few degrees in the afternoon, or turning on the burners later in the cafeteria.
However, EEI guaranties that Prince William County Schools will not incur additional costs. According to their contract, if costs exceed savings, EEI would have to eat those costs.
The EEI was just one of several critical, high profile agenda items on Wednesday night, and what became Thursday morning’s School Board Meeting.
Although School Board members spend a significant amount of time discussing the logistics of the contract, School Board members apologized that the way the item appeared on the agenda, they did not receive amble time to review it prior to June 13 meeting.
“This came at the 11th hour,” one School Board member remarked.
“Literally,” another quipped. At that moment it was nearly midnight.
The EEI representative promised to return next week for a vote on their contract.
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