Mild Winter Means Energy Savings for Stratford Schools

An overbudget special education account may get some funding if this winter's mild temperatures keep up.

In the month of December alone, there was a $212,000 surplus in energy consumption at Stratford schools, according to Michael Feeney, the school board's chief operating officer.

Feeney said an additional $40,000 in savings was recorded in November. The school board is responsible for heating 14 schools as well as its administrative building on East Broadway.

If the savings trend continues, Feeney said, funds could free up for an overbudget special education account.

School buildings are primarily heated with natural gas, which has a current budget of $1.4 million. This fiscal year's budget for oil is $115,000. The current fiscal year ends June 30.

Natural gas is much cheaper than oil and in the last two years the school board has made an effort to transition to natural gas, Feeney said.

The proposed school budget for next fiscal year, which begins July 1, includes $1.2 million for natural gas and $96,750 for oil.

The school board has also budgeted additional energy savings in the amount of $125,000 from an agreement the town has with the Honeywell Corp. The anticipated savings are $50,000 for electric and $75,000 for natural gas.

At a budget meeting last week, Feeney called the $125,000 "a conservative number we'll be able to achieve."

If this winter's mild trend continues, where would you like to see the freed-up funds go? Tell us in the comments.