Publication of plans, projects and progress through community updates:
Solar Project:
Throughout these publications, the district has informed the community about the intent to install solar electrical generation (Solar Array) at the transportation facility to curb ever rising energy prices, provide long term energy savings, and financial sustainability. The community responded by approving the project allowing the district to receive an additional 10% in aid to accentuate those savings. The first quarter of this year has emphasized the need for this project with energy prices reaching a 37% increase that already accounts for remote credits from other off site renewable sources, fortunately those costs are falling but it will still be difficult to overcome this increase without additional efforts. This scenario emphasises the necessity to install the solar project and mitigate future price increases beyond district control.
The district has been collaborating with the village to include design requests for access to village utilities (water), adequate area of access by the fire department, relocation of the switchgear, and screening to make the array less noticeable from the road. After accommodating these requests, the project was set to begin but soon after. Due to a re-classification of expenditures for the project by the NYSED, it has been held up until it was vetted out with all the parties and our financial consultants. The district has since had conversations and meetings with NYSED and how the re-classification also affects the Carbon Reduction and future Capital Project. The district explained the “domino effect" of funding categories and NYSED was gracious in offering a compromise to category assignment that allows the district to continue with this and other projects as planned. The district wants to thank NYSED for listening and taking action that allows CCSD to continue with facility repairs and improvements.
The future Clean Heating and Cooling project (Carbon Reduction) has an additional solar energy electrical generation component. The load shift from natural gas to electrified heating and cooling systems reduces the use of natural gas but increases the use of electricity. Adding cooling to the East Hill Complex also increases electrical energy use. In order to develop a project that provides clean energy use and cooling benefits without an increase in energy costs, additional solar panels are required to be installed. Understanding NYSED’s determination about category allocations for aid, the Clean Heating and Cooling project has been adjusted to move this project’s additional solar panels to the rooftops.
Heating and Cooling:
Healthy and Efficient Schools are on the Horizon
Canajoharie Central School District has been vigorously pursuing opportunities towards Environmental Health, Indoor Air Quality and Occupant Comfort through Clean Heating and Cooling Technologies for the East Hill Complex. As the oldest facility on campus that encompasses the Elementary School, Middle School and Nellis Center, these buildings have been prioritized for their inefficiencies and aging equipment. Additionally, these buildings lack cooling capabilities in the classrooms and common areas.
The New York State Governor has recently issued legislation to regulate the maximum temperature in classrooms requiring school districts to take action at 82℉ and remove students when practical at 88℉ to protect students. As a proactive district, CCSD has been “ahead of the curve” by utilizing energy management data and realizing the increased temperatures of the shoulder and summer months. The district has already taken action to plan a project that would address this legislation. However, the district’s motivation was not the legislation but was the well being and education of our number one stakeholder, our students. The foundation of the district’s initiative is the effects of Environmental Health, Indoor Air Quality and Occupant Comfort on cognitive learning and a healthy learning environment. Many studies have proven that these factors have an impact on student achievement and attendance. Being that the district’s vision is “Every Learner, Together, World Ready”, CCSD is bound by this vision to continuously improve the school environment to provide safe, healthy and successful educational services for its students.
What does Healthy and Efficient Schools mean for the district and community?
For the district, this means new Clean Heating and Cooling Technologies that utilize high level filtration will reduce contaminants and pathogens in the air resulting in a healthier learning environment. A healthier learning environment will improve cognitive learning to increase student achievement and lessen absenteeism. New equipment will provide relief from the overwhelming repairs required to keep aged and failing heating systems up and running and it will provide a much higher level of equipment efficiency resulting in lower energy bills. The quantifiable savings can be redirected to offer the students greater opportunities in other areas.
As obtaining qualified personnel becomes more difficult for a variety of reasons, retaining the district’s current exceptional faculty and staff is also a priority. Indoor Air Quality and Environmental health plays a just as important role for them. Better filtration and comfort results in reduced absenteeism among staff and minimizes disruptions to education, maximizing the efficiency of the district’s resources.
For the community, this means confidence that the district considers their children’s health and education the first priority followed closely by the financial support of the community. Providing improvements to the air quality and comfort of the learning environment demonstrates the same level of importance for student health and education by the district as it does for parents. These improvements have been thoroughly examined for feasibility meaning that the funding mechanisms have been secured to accomplish the project with no taxpayer impact. Additionally, no district funding reserve is required to support this project meaning that existing community financial support will not be allocated to fund this project. Finally, the cooling capabilities provided through this project allows education to continue without interruption due to excessive heat that also complies with recent legislation.
The district’s facilities have always been a staple of the community and community benefits extend beyond the school year. The East Hill Complex serves the community for many other purposes besides education. This complex hosts family swimming plus multiple extracurricular and sports activities. The heating and cooling of the Nellis Center gymnasium is included in the Ground Source Heat Pump system design. In addition, the East Hill Elementary cafeteria and gymnasium are included in the Air Source Heat Pump systems design providing heating and cooling to these spaces. The addition of cooling to all of these spaces creates more summer activity opportunities to enrich the lives of the community members.
What are the Healthy and Efficient Schools Improvements?
The Clean Heating and Cooling project involves a retrofit of existing systems to provide better filtration, cooling capabilities and lower energy costs. The systems include Ground Source Heat Pumps for the Nellis Center and Air Source Heat Pumps for the remainder of the East Hill Complex, including the Middle School. Both of these Clean Heating and Cooling Technologies are zero emissions thereby reducing the consumption of fossil fuels that are burned and emit Greenhouse Gasses on site and into the community.
The Ground Source Heat Pump system consists of a vertical well field and electric pumps that use the stable ground temperature as a starting point for heating and cooling. The efficiency of this type of system is based on using the stable ground temperature of about 55℉ to ramp up or down in temperature for heating or cooling. Comparing this type of system to the conventional systems in place changes the starting point of the heating or cooling which requires less energy. With Ground Source Heat Pumps the starting point is the steady and free energy cost of 55℉ from the ground for an energy heating input cost of only 10℉ to reach the desired 65℉, providing substantial saving. This same principle applies in reverse to the added benefit of cooling through Ground Source Heat Pumps. It is also notable to mention that the vertical well field to support the Ground Source Heat Pump system leaves no evidence of existence after installation. All of the wells and piping to the buildings are underground and the disturbed area is returned to its original look and use.
The Air Source Heat Pump systems may be much more familiar to most people. They are commonly used in homes for Central AC but even a window air conditioner or refrigerator runs on the same principle. A fluid is compressed and expanded to create an increase and decrease in fluid temperature. One side is hot and the other is cold, fans blow across coils that are either hot or cold to bring in the desired air temperature for the season. These systems sit on the roofs of the buildings similar to the existing roof top units only in a much smaller scale. The new units have been selected to provide a favorable service ratio of units to classrooms making their size much smaller, less expensive and cheaper to maintain.
In conclusion, for the district this project means a healthy and successful education, compliance with recent heat index legislation through cooling, and savings in energy costs. For the community this project lessens parent concerns about the learning environment, improving student success, and making these improvements without any financial impact. Canajoharie Central School District operates under informative, collaborative and transparent actions. The district has asked the community for support to commence with this project that has many positive benefits with only one drawback, the high initial cost of installation. To mitigate the only drawback, the district has secured financial pathways to offer this project with zero financial impact to the community and the community supported this effort so that the district, students, staff and community can reap the benefits. Your vote of confidence reflects that we are working together. Thank you, this district and community relationship is the foundation that makes CCSD exemplary.
Electric Vehicle Mandate:
CCSD will soon be welcoming its first Zero Emissions Vehicle (Electric School Bus) to the transportation fleet. Prior to initiating this acquisition, the district has applied for and received funding to move forward at no out of pocket expense to the district. Electric school buses carry a much larger price tag than conventional buses and by receiving enough financial assistance to make this change at zero cost, the district can now begin learning first hand how this transition fits district bus routes to meet the state mandate which takes effect in 2027.
Before receiving our first electric bus, the district made the conscious effort to be prepared for operating this technology within the communities. First Responder training was offered to all of the communities in which CCSD buses travel through to pick up and drop off students. Overwhelming community dedication resulted in 120 First Responders attending the training and the district conveys much gratitude to all those that attended. This turnout shows the commitment our First Responders have for the safety and wellbeing of this and surrounding communities.
Additional electric bus training has been conducted for the CCSD bus drivers as well as for the mechanics who are responsible for getting your children to and from school safely each and every day. The drivers take the responsibility of transporting students very seriously and do so day in and day out. Mechanics understand that providing safe transportation begins with safe and well maintained vehicles and they too take their job very seriously. Leading this charge of safe transportation is the Transportation Director, his steadfast focus and dedication to student safety keeps the fleet running at a near 100% DOT inspection rating. The district extends a heartfelt thank you to these individuals for their dedication and performance. District staff attending this driver and mechanic training means that the same level of safety will be provided no matter where the bus gets its power from, whether it be from diesel or electricity, this team knows that student safety is the number one priority.
Transitioning to meet the mandate means not only replacing the conventional fleet with zero emissions vehicles, it also means having the infrastructure in place to support electric buses. There is no sugar coating here, transitioning comes with large expenses and a mandate means that the district must comply. Knowing this in advance, the district has conducted a Fleet Electrification Plan (FEP) that provides the evaluation of costs, timelines, attainability and phases required to meet the mandate. The FEP estimated approximately $3.2M to $3.5M in infrastructure costs alone. The additional costs of the electric buses range from $367,000 to $475,000 depending on the battery size needed to complete bus routes. This is where the district’s first electric bus will provide the education and experience needed to make proper selections in battery size and charger speeds. By using the electric bus on various routes, the district will learn the benefits and limits to make educated decisions in bus selection and infrastructure requirements. This is the first real life step in meeting the Zero Emissions Vehicle mandate. In terms of where the state mandate will lead are still a question mark. We will continue to follow the process and do what is expected of us.
Curriculum:
The district has improved its energy management through a fully externally funded position to improve the conservation of energy, upgrade buildings with clean heating and cooling, and keep staff and community informed of progress and projects over the past 2 years. As an educational institution, sharing the energy management lessons learned and processes involved with the students is an opportunity to broaden awareness and provide otherwise unrecognized options for fields of interest. As energy management has progressed, these educational opportunities have been shared in the form of lessons with elementary, middle and high school students amply named Energy Infusion. Under the direction of the Director of Education and in collaboration with the teachers of the classes in which the Energy Infusion takes place, there has been a high level of participation by students receiving the Energy Infusion. As a result, the second year of the Energy Infusion for high school students has grown from one period in Applied Physics in Engineering to, this year, being pushed into two periods of that class. Middle school students have learned the basics of energy management and wrap up the Energy Infusion lessons by exploring different types of renewable energy and to either recommend or not recommend different types of renewable energy for the district to pursue. Making the case and supporting the reasoning for the various renewable energy systems using their own opinions and voices in small groups in the same manner as it is presented in actual district decisions. Elementary school students continue to utilize “Switch Buddy”, an interactive light switch board that promotes energy conservation. This year has brought about the addition of the Canajoharie Police Department “Claw Machine” (donated and operated by the district SRO and the Canajoharie Police Department) that rewards students, who go above and beyond by bringing energy conservation outside the school and into the home, with a chance to win prizes.
CCSD is continually receiving external recognition for the efforts put forth to make this district exemplary. Recently, principals, teachers and staff have received local, regional and national recognition for “principal of the year”, “administrator of the year”, “top teacher”, and “Innovation in the Classroom”. District dedication doesn’t end with accomplishments, it simply raises the bar to strive to provide the best education possible. Keeping stride, the district has taken the initiative to include an educational space for the Ground Source Heat Pump system. The “pump room” for this Clean Heating and Cooling system has been designed for viewing from a glass hallway that allows for instruction of the system components and operation. Other informative features include poster boards of the life cycle of the project, color coded piping and equipment orientation for explanation of purpose, and a digital dashboard showing real time energy and carbon reduction savings. This space will be incorporated into the Energy Infusion lessons and also be available for tours by the community and other school districts as well.