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Letter: Bond payback, HVAC and security at school
Op-Ed · March 26, 2008
In response to some questions raised about the $3.35 million bond referendum:
What does the simple payback mean?
The 50 year old HVAC system at Hoover Elementary is in need of replacement. Currently, the elementary only has air conditioning in about 10-15 percent of the building. One of the major focuses of this project is to design an HVAC system that will control the learning environment whether the temperature is cold or hot. There are about three different systems that can provide all three components of the HVAC system.
By being conscious of the available funding, the educational needs and the environment issues, the long-term solution fitting these requirements is the geothermal system. However, the least expensive system upfront is the two-pipe system at $2.325 million. In order to equalize the upfront cost with the geothermal, the cost of running the geothermal system is less expensive. The gap between the geothermal system upfront cost and the 2 pipe system upfront cost will be made up in the first 11 years of the geothermal system. This 11 years is called the simple payback.
As the geothermal operates into the next 25 years, the overall, long-term cost will be less than any of the other systems, especially if the cost of energy continues to skyrocket.
Are there that many days that are uncomfortable to justify air conditioning?
In past years, we have released early on an average of five to six days a year in August and September. While this does not seem like very many days, there are many other days that are uncomfortable. The uncomfortable days do not allow maximizing the educational experience of our students. Approximately 40-50 days a year would be considered ineffective days. These days can appear at the end of the year in May and June. This year, with the seven days missed of school because of winter weather, the likelihood of having more heat-related, uncomfortable days increases and rises even more with each additional cancellation.
What are the security components of the Elementary bond issue?
Within the bond issue we have set aside about $126,000 dollars to replace doors and remove glass from the entrances of the classrooms in order to improve the security of those classrooms.
By rebuilding the entrances, we will alleviate the ability to see or watch the classrooms from the hallways, and give each doorway the capability to lock the classroom doors from either the inside or outside.
Craig Artist
Superintendent of Schools
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