55°
THORNWOOD, N.Y. Although the students and teachers are enjoying their summer vacation, Mount Pleasant schools once again remain open for summer use. This summer however, the district will to continue to save costs and energy and go beyond the bar that was set during the school year.
Over the summer we continue to follow the district policy on turning down air conditioning, lights and such when theyre not in use, said Mount Pleasant Schools Superintendent Susan Guiney.
Guiney said the schools remain open and administrators, clerical workers and custodians continue to work on a shortened summer schedule. The schools also work in coordination with the Mount Pleasant Recreation Department to host various summer camps in July and August. This summer is the first in which the Mount Pleasant Central School District has implemented its new energy conservation plan with Energy Education Inc.
Hawthorne Elementary School Principal Jerry Schulman has been appointed as the energy education specialist for the district and is working closely with Energy Education, a conservation company, to help the district.
Were doing a lot of things this summer to save some energy and costs, Schulman said. For example, at the high school the summer camps have been using the gym, and weve been able to keep the lights off in there while they use it, whereas in the past we probably would have kept them on.
Schulman said the district has also shut down cafeteria lights as well as refrigerators that are not filled with food, and is using air conditioning only in rooms where employees are working. Schulman said the district is working with Energy Education to use this summer as a baseline for future years. A total savings has not yet been determined, he said.
The district announced in January when the program was adopted that it hoped to save $2 million over the next 10 years. The savings is expected eventually to pay for the cost of the program.
In addition to the new energy conservation project, Guiney said, over the summer the district will be involved with improvement plans to install a new security system in the schools and replace the Westlake High School bleachers.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Mount Pleasant and receive free news updates.
