The Opportunity
The Center School District is in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri and serves 2,700 students. It is considered a “boutique” school district in that it serves a diverse student population in a small setting. The district consists of one high school, one middle school, four elementary schools, and one alternative school. Like many other school districts across the country, Center School District was faced with aging facilities, rising utility costs, and limited financial resources. They had a growing list of facility needs and did not have a clear mechanism to fund them. Among the long list of failing equipment and other facility needs, the roofs at the high school and the middle school were leaking badly. The past winter season and spring rainfall had taken their toll and these roofs were in need of emergency repair.
The Technical Solution
Navitas suggested a phased approach to the district’s problems. This allowed them to address the urgent need of replacing the roofs on the high school and the middle school immediately, without waiting for the in-depth study of the other facility needs. While the work was proceeding on the roofs, Navitas conducted a comprehensive investment grade audit to identify the other facility needs and develop energy conservation and facility improvement measures to address them. The improvements included in the phase two part of the project are lighting system upgrades, rooftop unit replacements and other mechanical system upgrades, building weatherization, building automation system upgrades, and kitchen equipment upgrades.
The Financial Solution
The utility & operational savings, along with several rebates, generated over $7.4 million that Center School District was able to use to fund the needed improvements. In addition, the district worked with their architect to create a master facility study, which was instrumental in the passing of a $48 million bond issue. By partnering with Navitas and leveraging the energy savings from our project with this bond issue, the district was able to implement over $55 million in needed facility improvements.
