Martinez School District Seeks An Energy Monitor

The Martinez Unified School District is seeking an employee to be an energy conservation monitor who will keep a close eye on the energy habits of teachers, students and employees.

To that end, the district has hired a Texas-based firm, Energy Education, which works with districts around the country to help them save money on electricity and other energy costs.

The company will provide training to the new energy education specialist, who will learn to use monitoring devices and special software to make sure that district schools are as energy efficient as possible.

“We will be taking applications from a current employee for the position,” said Assistant Superintendent Rick Rubino. “They will work before and after school, during breaks, over the summer, going to all the schools and doing energy audits.”

The new employee will check to see if computers and lights are left on, if the heat is turned on during non-school hours, if water is leaking from a water main. There are all kinds of ways energy can be wasted, and that costs the district money, Rubino said. The new energy monitor will work about 20 to 25 hours a week making sure that such waste is identified and eliminated. If a teacher leaves the lights on in a classroom after school, the energy monitor will turn them off, then work with the teacher to make sure such habits don’t continue.

Water bills will be examined to look for spikes in costs, and electronic sensors will monitor classroom temperatures at night to ensure that the heating system is not inadvertently activated.

The new position will pay $16,000 per year, with a bump to $20,000 annually if the person remains in the position for four years.

Energy Education promises its program will save the district substantial money. Rubino estimates that the district will save an average of $300,000 per year for 10 years, or $3 million over 10 years.

“If they don’t save you money, you don’t pay the company,” he said.