[Durham INC] School Bond for new schools and clean energy efficiency improvements and education

[Melissa Rooney Writing]

Hello fellow Durham community members. Please see the email below, which I just sent to the DPS School board as well as Durham City/County Sustainability Manager Tobin Freid, DPS Coordinator of Energy and Sustainability, and DPS Superintendent Bert L’Homme.

As shown at the following website, the long-term energy cost-savings resulting from investing in clean energy at our schools right now (which can and will be incorporated into real-time, job-ready biotechnology and environmental science education for Durham Public School students) make providing funding (from the 180 M school bond proposal) for this initiative a no brainer:

http://www.repowerourschools.com/durham/ <http://www.repowerourschools.com/durham/>

Please take a moment to sign the petition at the above link and show your support for being proactive in clean energy initiatives and savings at Durham County Public Schools.

Thanks!
Melissa (Rooney)



> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: Melissa Rooney Writing <melissarooneywriting at gmail.com>
> Subject: School Bond for new schools and clean energy efficiency improvements and education
> Date: February 23, 2016 at 2:45:16 PM EST
> Cc: bert.lhomme at dpsnc.net, Tobin Freid <tfreid at dconc.gov>, Brian Callaway <Brian.Callaway at dpsnc.net>
> To: nathalie.beyer at dpsnc.net, Leigh Bordley <Leigh.Bordley at dpsnc.net>, "matt.sears at dpsnc.net" <matt.sears at dpsnc.net>, "mike.lee at dpsnc.net" <mike.lee at dpsnc.net>, Minnie Forte-Brown <Minnie.Forte-Brown at dpsnc.net>, "Sendolo.Diaminah at dpsnc.net" <Sendolo.Diaminah at dpsnc.net>, Heidi Carter <hhcjog at yahoo.com>
> 
> I have found myself in several discussions this week about the 180 M school bond initiative, with 2/3 of the funding proposed to build 5 new schools and the other 1/3 of the funds to go toward energy efficiency.
> 
> I understand that the school board and other elected officials appear to support the $ for the 5 new schools but are hesitant to support earmarking 1/3 of the funding for energy efficiency/retrofits at our schools.
> 
> While I strongly support more $ for our teachers and IN our classrooms (as opposed to upper admin. staff and offices), I think that dismissing this funding for clean energy generation at Durham Public Schools is short-sighted and, quite frankly, misses the point completely. 
> 
> It is my understanding that DPS spends approximately 5.7 M on electricity per annum. We could reduce this bill to $0 by installing solar and other clean energy installations on existing as well as new schools. What’s more, these installations can be ground rather than roof-based, making maintenance far easier and cost-efficient for Durham Public Schools.
> 
> We can create a win-win-win-etc. situation if the conditions/requirements of the 180 M Bond can somehow commit to using all $ saved in electricity/energy costs solely for teacher salaries and classroom supplies (as opposed to capital improvements, upper admin. costs, etc.).
> 
> Please don’t fumble the ball with regard to incorporating clean energy into our schools right now. Please support the bond allocation for energy efficiency in current as well as future DPS schools.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Melissa (Rooney)
> Parent of students at Creekside, Jordan, and Durham School of the Arts
> 
> Melissa Rooney, Ph.D.
> 301 Spring Garden Drive
> Durham, NC 27713
> melissarooneywriting at gmail.com <mailto:melissarooneywriting at gmail.com>
> www.melissarooneywriting.com <http://www.melissarooneywriting.com/>
> 

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