Portage Township Schools is looking at putting solar panels atop Portage High School when a portion of the roof is replaced.
“On paper, I would say a project does make sense,” Stratelign Managing Partner Bob McKinney told the School Board Monday. The district would save about $69,000 in the first year based on current energy rates, he predicted.
A 20-year system would be expected to pay for itself in energy savings over 9.5 years, he said. But that’s with some “ifs” attached.
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“Wages are two times above scale for some of the electricians, so it might not make sense financially,” McKinney said. Responses to a request for proposals should be enlightening. “We are interested to see where labor rates come in. It is a very fluid market.”
Another factor is whether the federal government will discontinue IRS support for these projects. “It’s a very fickle time in government,” McKinney said.
The Trump administration is reversing previous federal policies that have supported renewable energy, supporting fossil fuels like coal instead.
Stratelign’s feasibility review projects that a 389.7-kilowatt system would produce 525,114 kilowatt-hours a year, saving the district just under $2.6 million over 20 years.
That includes the $350,753 direct pay investment tax credit, bringing the district’s net cost down to $69,296.
Those figures are all tentative, to be fine-tuned when proposals come in.
“We’re agnostic as to whether a client does a project,” McKinney said. Stratelign is a consultant, not a contractor.
“We serve as your construction manager, then after your project we monitor the savings,” he said.
Stratelign has six projects in Northwest Indiana, and every project has exceeded expectations, McKinney said. “This isn’t to say that these projects miraculously outperform the guarantees” because the estimates are conservative.
In other business, the board agreed to participate one more year in a federal program that pays 70% of the cost of students’ breakfasts and lunches. The district pays the remaining 30%.
This is the fourth and final year before reviewing eligibility for the program, which is based on Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program participation, Superintendent Amanda Alaniz said.
“I feel it should be every child nationwide” getting these free meals, she said.
Alaniz said she’s happy that students will continue to benefit from fresh fruits and vegetables and high-quality grains. With food prices up, this is an even bigger benefit for families, she said.
“I’m grateful that we can still offer this program at least one more year,” Maletta said.
“Studies show that a well-fed child performs better in school,” he noted.
With the new school year starting Aug. 12, Maletta asked Alaniz about enforcement of the new policy restricting students’ access to cellphones, smartwatches and other personal internet-connected devices during the school day.
A new Indiana law requires districts to set policies to keep the devices away from students during the school day.
Elementary students will be required to put the devices in their backpacks before entering the school, Alaniz said. Those backpacks aren’t accessible when school is in session.
Other students will be assigned lockers, where their devices will be locked up until the last class ends. Before this policy was in effect, not all students needed a locker, choosing to take their books from class to class, Alaniz said.
Parents can still message students through school-issued devices if needed, she added.
“We have not received a lot of negative feedback. I think our plan was well thought out,” she said.
If a student gets caught with a personal device during the school day, the teacher or other adult will confiscate the device and surrender it to an administrator either during or after class. A parent will then be required to pick it up.
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Even with the district’s previous policy, a parent summoned to pick up a student’s device might complain about not being able to pick up the device on a Friday afternoon, leaving the student without a phone over the weekend. This time, though, the law gives the district no leeway.
Students who violate the policy will be subject to progressive discipline, with the penalty getting worse with each offense.
“Put it in those lockers, and do not have it out or on, and it will be fine,” Alaniz said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.