The North Crawford School Board was productive at their Wednesday, Sept. 20 meeting. Students and staff are back in the beautiful, updated facilities and grounds, working hard, the football team is undefeated, Beyond the Bell is in its 14th year, and the district is considering whether adding solar power will assist the district in its financial health.
At the beginning of the meeting, Superintendent Brandon Munson shone a spotlight on the work of the custodial and maintenance teams over the summer.
“All year long, and especially last summer, our custodial and maintenance staff went above and beyond to help get us where we are today with an updated building and grounds,” Munson observed. “With all the construction projects this summer, their usual routine of preparing for the new school year was disrupted. I want to thank them for their hard work and flexibility.”
In his Superintendent’s Report, Munson told the board that the district is close to settling accounts with Kramer Construction for the work this summer.
“It’s looking like we will have $88,000 in unused contingency funds,” Munson said. “With the interest revenue we accrued, we should have between $200,000 to $250,000 remaining after all the projects are paid for.”
Solar energy
Victoria Strauser, program director with the Vernon County Energy District (VCED), attended the board meeting with staff member Andy Marshall and various members of their board, including Al Buss of rural Readstown, who serves as their board president. Alicia Leinberger with Ethos Green Power was also present.
VCED is a non-profit, incorporated in 2020. Their mission is to support individual and community actions toward the adoption of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy production.
“Renewable energy projects in school districts produce a variety of benefits beyond significant reductions in operational costs,” Marshall told the board. “They also inspire students to learn STEAM, train students for energy careers, and can help to attract and retain teachers.”
Marshall explained that VCED’s expertise lies in sharing information about renewable energy, and helping to connect clients to funding sources and installation contractors. He said that in addition to the suggested 100 kilowatt (kW) ground-mount solar array system they are recommending for the school, their proposal also includes other elements:
• an energy education curriculum – KEEP and SWTC
• an energy monitoring ‘eGauge’ monitor
• electric vehicle chargers
• workforce development for energy careers,
Focus on Energy offers an ‘eGauge’ energy monitoring system as part of their ‘Renew Our Schools’ program. The program is intended to eliminate unnecessary expenses, and present an opportunity to engage students and staff with a fun conservation challenge focused on responsible energy use. Students and staff will use the system to track electricity use and discover the impact of no-cost actions to conserve energy.
KEEP, a program at UW-Stevens Point now in its 25th year, provides professional development, lessons, kits, student engagement opportunities, and robust partnerships to support teaching renewable energy concepts at all grade levels. KEEP staff offer on-site, no-cost Solar Energy Education workshops and an on-demand Solar Energy Potential module.
In addition, Southwest Technical College added a new Sustainable Energy Management program in the Fall of 2023, giving local students additional options to pursue a career in this growth industry. The two-year associate degree program will focus on solar and wind energy. Course offerings will include Introduction to Renewable Energy, Project Management Fundamentals, Energy Modeling, and more. The courses will be offered face-to-face on campus during the fall semesters, with a hybrid offering of online and face-to-face in the spring semesters.
“Providing electrical vehicle chargers onsite at the school can be a great way to recruit and retain teaching staff,” Marshall pointed out. “Commuting is expensive, and if the district supports their staff with free electric vehicle charging, this will put money in their pockets and be a considerable and convenient low-cost benefit.”
But the big question is, “Why solar panels?” Marshall explained that solar panels:
• reduce and lock in electricity costs
• reduce the environmental impact of the district
• foster local energy independence and resilience
• educate students in high value career paths
• educate students in regenerative and sustainable agriculture (Agrivoltaics).
Marshall detailed that the North Crawford School District’s current annual energy consumption is 847,800 kW hours. At Scenic Rivers Energy Cooperative’s current rate of $0.113 per kW hour, the district’s annual expense is $95,711 per year, plus taxes and fees.
“The cost of energy generated by a school district solar array would be $0.03 per kW hour, and this would be locked in with no increases over the life of the system,” Marshall explained. “With predicted increases in energy rates from suppliers like Scenic Rivers, our estimate is that the district’s energy expenditure will increase to $127,170 plus taxes and fees over the next 10 years.”
Marshal detailed that installation of a 100kW solar array on district grounds would produce $625,172 in electricity cost savings over the life of the system (25+ years). Subtracting the $125,000 in net system costs, this would produce $500,000 in net electric cost savings.
Beyond the Bell
Elementary teacher and Beyond the Bell Coordinator Amy Anderson reported to the board about the after school program, now entering its 14th year.
“It’s amazing that our current group of seniors were in 4K in 2010 when the program started,” Anderson told the board. “Enrollment in the program is once again expanding after a dip during the COVID pandemic.”
Anderson explained that from 2010 to 2016, the program was funded by a five-year Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant (CCLC).
From 2016 to 2023, the program transitioned to being funded from the district’s Fund 80 (used to account for activities such as adult education, community recreation programs such as evening swimming pool operation and softball leagues, elderly food service programs, non-special education preschool, day care services and other programs which are not elementary and secondary educational programs, but have the primary function of serving the community).
“Having once again received CCLC grant funding for another five years demonstrates the program’s significance to the community, and its popularity and effectiveness in engaging students,” Anderson pointed out. “Through well-structured activities, diverse themes, and focus on community engagement, the program has created a supportive and enriching environment for students and families, the program has clearly made a positive and lasting impact on the district.”
Anderson said that the daily themes that guide the program’s activities are a thoughtful approach to engaging students across various subjects. This is accomplished by math-focused Mondays, reading-centered Tuesdays, physically active Wednesdays, STEM-oriented Thursdays, and fun-filled Fridays. Middle and high school programming has emphasized provision of nightly homework help, the Outdoor Adventure Club, a drone competition team and a NASA challenge team.
“This year, we will have some new partners such as Second Nature at Reads Creek, and have added a focus on student mental health,” Anderson said.”
In other business
In other business, the board:
• heard that students are receiving fun and educational instruction on the district’s new ‘RISE’ framework (Resilience, Integrity, Safety, Efficacy)
• heard that the district has been selected by the National Center for Research on Gifted Education to participate in a study about acceleration of math studies for advanced learners in partnership with the University of Connecticut, the University of Iowa and UW-Whitewater
• learned that there are some part-time openings available in the day care program
• learned that the North Crawford football team had a 4-0 record going into their Homecoming game against Kickapoo-LaFarge, and that the volleyball and cross-country teams are playing well and remain competitive in their conference
• learned that the trap shooting team is currently engaging in fall competiton
• learned that the district has been recognized for their high level of student participation in the youth apprenticeship program
• learned that special education enrollment is up in the district, that four of the six teaching staff in the program are new this year, but that things are going really well
• learned that school board meetings will once again be broadcast online through the Facebook Live platform starting in October
• approved the district’s Safety Plan with a few changes
• approved the 8th Grade Trip to Washington D.C.
