Evergreen Public Schools have been educating kids in Washington’s Clark County since 1945. With almost 80 years in public education, the school district has continuously expanded and now includes 38 schools which cover approximately 3.6 million square feet. As of 2024, the district has an enrollment of about 22,000 students, making it one of the largest in the region.
Since its foundation, Evergreen Public Schools has shown a commitment to providing a quality learning environment for students and faculty. In 2018, this commitment was highlighted when the district passed a $695 million bond for capital renewal. The passing of this bond along with additional state funding, provided the financing needed for Evergreen Public Schools to start making infrastructure improvements across the school district.
The bond was an instrumental step towards continuing Evergreen Public Schools’ goal of creating and maintaining a learning-conducive environment. Many of the district’s school buildings were built between the 1970s and 1990s and had accumulated a long list of needed repairs. There were some schools with outdoor layouts which needed constant heating. In addition, frequent temperature adjustments resulted in variable classroom temperatures, which caused significant strain on the HVAC system. The outdated infrastructure combined with inefficient heating and cooling practices led to high repair costs and energy bills.
“Since we did not have a standardized process, we were doing things to the equipment that were causing premature failure,” said Martin Madarieta, maintenance director, Evergreen Public Schools.
To combat the high energy bills and worn-out equipment, the school district took advantage of their long-standing relationship with Energy Trust of Oregon and NW Natural by harnessing energy efficiency. “We have been doing work in energy efficiency for a while. Our energy conservation program started in 2009. We have worked with Energy Trust through that entire process,” said Madarieta.
By continuing their work with Energy Trust, Evergreen Public Schools was able to stretch every bond dollar across their maintenance projects and improve energy efficiency at several of their schools. New commercial condensing gas boilers and tank water heating systems were installed in 17 schools, totaling over $185,000 in cash incentives from NW Natural and Energy Trust.
With decreased energy consumption and strain on aging HVAC and water heating systems, the new equipment will save Evergreen Public Schools an estimated 29,900 therms each year, which is equivalent to approximately $49,500 in annual utility bill costs.
Additionally, the cash incentives Evergreen Public Schools received made the upgrades more affordable, freeing up funding to make additional improvements towards their district-wide capital improvement plan.
“With the money we saved from the incentives, we were able to complete more projects, and the more we can put back into the schools, the better,” said Adam Cormack, program manager, R&C Management working with Evergreen Public Schools.
The new equipment will help improve the experience for staff and students by regulating temperatures and enhancing air quality.
“The equipment upgrades have helped us create a safe, comfortable learning environment that is controllable, and that staff and students can enjoy. That is the bottom line, we are here to educate the students. If we can’t make them comfortable, we can’t educate them,” said Madarieta.
Learn more about saving energy and money for your business with support from Energy Trust by visiting our Washington cash incentives page. To get started on your energy-saving project, email existingbuildings@energytrust.org or contact an energy advisor by calling 1.866.605.1676.