After attending the Kansas Association of School Boards meeting last month in Wichita, Great Bend USD 428 Superintendent Khris Thexton said he’s ready to look at the potential of solar panels to provide energy savings for some buildings in the district.
The KASB convention featured a breakout session on “Energy Solutions.” The speakers were Jeff Hohnbaum, president of Hutton Facility Services & Hutton Energy Services, based in Wichita, and Karl DeArmond with Geary County USD 475 in Junction City.
“Junction City has this,” Thexton said. “Hoisington is looking at it as well.” What he is investigating would involve affixing solar panels to the roofs of certain buildings. The most likely candidates are the Panther Activities Center, the new gym at Great Bend Middle School and possibly the new District Education Center/Little Panthers Preschool.
“The need for new energy solutions is top-of-mind for our commercial and industrial clients and it’s easy to see why,” stated the agenda for the KASB breakout on this topic. “According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average cost of electricity per kilowatt-hour in the United States has risen 22% since 2020.
“Meanwhile, recent legislation has created long-term tax credits and incentives for renewable energy (including solar), all while the cost to manufacture and install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems continues to decline.
“Hutton offers full-service turnkey PV solar installation, including systems design, equipment procurement, installation, and operations/maintenance.”
The U.S. Department of Energy explains that photovoltaic technology (PV) materials convert sunlight into electrical energy.
USD 428 administrators said they would need to see whether panels could save the district money for energy expenses and how they would affect costs such as insurance.
Central Kitchen Air Curtains
Another energy saving item was approved at Monday's meeting. The district will spend $11,214 to purchase three heated air curtains to install on the south receiving doors at the central kitchen, located in the new Support Services building. It will cost an additional $2,500 to install them.
Curriculum and more
In other business Monday, the board had a first reading of policy revisions, as well as a first reading of the Cardiac Emergency Response Plan (CERP). These will be on the agenda for board approval in January.
Director of Teaching and Learning JoAnn Blevins said the K-12 team for reviewing the science curriculum is finishing the pilot of two programs and the 7-12 English Language Arts team will be ready to pilot programs next fall.
The band and orchestra have not had a new curriculum adoption in 20 years, Blevins noted. “They are currently reviewing materials to see what’s out there.”
