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San Diego School Districts Out Front to Achieve Energy Savings with Proposition 39 Funds

Today representatives from the California Energy Commission held a hands-on training in San Diego with regional school districts to help implement the California Clean Energy Jobs Act (Proposition 39), which allocated $381 million to K-12 schools for projects that reduce energy consumption.

San Diego’s school districts have already received their $7.7 million of Prop. 39 energy planning fund allocations and are in the process of completing energy surveys and audits to help identify and prioritize the highest impact energy efficiency projects to pursue.

In an effort to help San Diego schools gain maximum benefit from Prop. 39 funds, CleanTECH San Diego and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) organized the San Diego K-12 Schools Sustainability Strategy Collaborative in June 2013 to expedite the process and foster the sharing of energy efficiency and clean energy best practices.

“San Diego schools are to be commended for their high level of organization, collaboration, and can-do spirit,” said Energy Commissioner Andrew McAllister, who oversees the Commission’s energy efficiency work. “We are excited to provide county schools with tools and training that can be used on projects that deliver immediate and long-term savings.”

The Energy Commission is working with partners throughout California to reach out to school districts, and the Feb. 20 workshop in San Diego marks its first Southern California field training and the second in the state. The three-hour session, organized by CleanTECH San Diego’s K-12 Schools Sustainability Strategy Collaborative and held at SDG&E’s Energy Innovation Center, will educate representatives from a large majority of San Diego’s 42 school districts. The County Office of Education will also be represented.

The Energy Commission presented Prop. 39 Energy Expenditure Plan templates and leading representatives from San Diego school districts, also known as Local Education Agencies (LEAs,) step-by-step through the online forms and tools available to help complete the application submission process. Tools include an energy savings estimator and are available at the Energy Commission’s website.

“The San Diego K-12 Schools Sustainability Strategy Collaborative is a great forum for school districts to coordinate efforts, obtain valuable guidance, and share best practices for implementing energy related projects,” said Assistant Superintendent Business Services for Santee School District Karl Christensen. “Today’s session with the Energy Commission gives us more essential information to assist us in preparing and implementing our Energy Expenditure Plan. As a school district administrator, I appreciate the practical guidance that both CleanTECH San Diego and the Energy Commission are providing us in this forum.”

Following this exercise, San Diego area schools are now among the first in the state to transition from the planning phase to implementation of projects that will increase energy efficiency in schools, create jobs, and improve the learning environment.

“We are fortunate that SDG&E engaged CleanTECH San Diego to launch the San Diego Region K-12 Schools Sustainability Strategy Collaborative, as we now have a critical mass of engagement,” said CleanTECH San Diego’s Greening San Diego Manager Marty Turock. “Not only were San Diego school districts first in line for energy planning audits, but with this hands-on Energy Commission training session, we will certainly be among the first to proceed with Proposition 39 project implementation.”