On Tuesday, June 17, Wisconsin Lt. Governor Barb Lawton announced that the West Salem School District accepted her Energy Star School Challenge. The challenge asks school districts to commit to a program that will reduce energy consumption by 10 percent.

“We’re looking forward to participating in this — every one of our staff members will be trained,” said school Superintendent Nancy Burns.

“They (Energy Star) will provide the training and the software to track expenses. It’s basically similar to the energy savings programs that the La Crosse schools instituted at a cost of $60,000, except we’re getting it free,” Burns said. “They (the La Crosse schools) have many buildings older than ours, but they saved a million dollars over three or four years.”

For school board clerk Ann Bina, acceptance of the energy challenge was welcome news. “After hearing from so many of my constituents, I’ve been an advocate of the schools ‘going green,’ — this is a step in the right direction,” she said.

U.S. schools spend more on energy than on textbooks and computers combined according the the Environmental Protection Agency. Lawton issued the Energy Star School Challenge in May as part of her Green Economy Agenda. The goal was to get 100 new school districts to reduce their energy costs by at least 10 percent.

Besides striving to cut energy costs, schools agree to track the energy performance of the school’s facilities where possible (Energy Star provides the tools to do so at no cost), develop and implement a plan consistent with guidelines provided by Energy Star, and educate staff and community members about energy efficiency.

According to Burns, rising fuel and energy costs have caused a number of revisions of next year’s projected budget. “Energy costs are increasing, but we don’t get any extra aid to pay for that,” she said. “This year, gas and electricity cost in the neighborhood of $400,000 and we’re projecting about a 10 percent increase for next year. Our goal is not to spend it by being wise.”

“With high energy costs looming on the horizon … school leaders need access to an easy way to begin to change operations and habits,” Lawton said. “Different districts may follow distinct paths to increased efficiency, but they will all experience improved performance and health with better lighting and air quality — and they will all realize significant savings.”

Burns was confident that energy efficiency can become a habit for employees of the West Salem schools. ‘I’ve been in other school districts and when you just talk with people and ask them to do whatever they can individually, it really does make a difference,” she said.