ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / April 29, 2000

RESERVE – Starting this summer, all the schools in the St. John the Baptistpublic school system will be retrofitted to be more energy and cost-efficient.

The St. John School Board approved the contract with the Siemens BuildingTechnologies, Inc. Thursday.”This is a win-win situation,” said Felix Boughton, director of business operations. “We get $3.5 million in improvements, which will pay for itself infive years.”Boughton was able to finance the contract by securing 0 percent financing with bonds for $3.5 million. Siemans guarantees the school board will have $166,000 a year in energy savings and $270,000 a year savings in operation costs.

Siemans plans to get started this summer replacing inefficient air- conditioning systems in all of the schools. Then the company plans toretrofit all the lighting systems and install direct digital control energy management systems in all buildings.

Some of the buildings are going to get improved sewerage systems and new heating pump systems. In all of the schools water taps in large sinks in thekitchens and shops will be replaced with foot-operated pedals that are more efficient.

Siemens has found over $4 million in needed items. Boughton said in July hewill ask the school board for another contract to cover the remaining $800,000 in needed repairs and retrofitting.

In other school board business: Glade School will have a new permanent principal. Perry DiCarlo, who hasbeen the acting assistant principal at Glade, was selected by the school board to take over as principal in a permanent capacity for the 2000-2001 school year. For the past year Robert Schaff has been the acting principal atGlade School.

Boughton got the school board to declare a state of emergency, then the board voted to accept bids to fix the roofs at Leon Godchaux Junior High, West St. John Elementary and West St. John High School.”I’ve seen the roofs, and they are in very bad shape,” Boughton told the school board.

It will cost $75,133 for the roof repairs, and the money will come from the construction fund. The new roofs which will have a rhino lining that comeswith a 20-year warranty. Repairs will take about three weeks. The school board unanimously extended the food service maintenance contract with L & Sons for another 12 months.

“So far we’ve been very pleased with their services,” said Terry Charles, director of child nutrition. ” He did a lot of extra work to get things working.”Charles also said L & Sons was responsible for a 9.69 percent decrease inrepair costs.

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