North Penn Home and School Coordinating Council, Inc. Minutes
November 16th, 2011
The main objective of CC is to provide a forum for parents of the North Penn School District to exchange ideas and to
promote an ongoing relationship between the schools, administration, board and community.
Location: Gwynedd Square Elementary
Member Organizations: A.M. Kulp; Bridle Path; General Nash; Gwynedd Square; Gwyn-Nor; Hatfield; Inglewood; Knapp;
Montgomery; North Wales; Oak Park; Walton Farm; York Avenue; Pennbrook; Penndale; Pennfield; North Penn HS; NP
Assoc. for Gifted Education; NP Athletic Alumni Assoc.; NP Booster Club; NPHS JROTC Squires; NP Music Aides; NP Special
Education Council; Students With Aspiring and Achievable Goals; Wrestling Parents.
Member Organizations represented: Bridle Path; General Nash; Gwynedd Square; Gwyn-Nor; Hatfield; Inglewood; Knapp;
Montgomery; North Wales; Oak Park; Walton Farm; York Avenue; Pennbrook; Penndale; Pennfield; North Penn HS; NP
Music Aides
Welcome –President Kathy Stella
Guest Speaker – Tom Schneider, Manager of Energy and Operational Efficiencies



Summary: The reduction in energy usage has traditionally been viewed as motivated by environmental concerns;
however, in these challenging financial times evaluation of energy use can identify opportunities to reduce energy
costs. Since 2008, North Penn has decreased energy costs by 23% through a combination of conservation and
efficiency initiatives. Energy conservation is not consuming energy; energy efficiency is consuming the least
possible energy while consuming. Initiatives include the improved monitoring, maintaining and scheduling of
HVAC systems, and Green School grants to involve students in the energy usage evaluations of their own schools.
Contact at schneit@npenn.org or 215-833-1140 (office) or 610-721-1548 (cell) with questions or concerns about
energy usage in district.
Please see specific speaker notes attached below as an addendum following the Business Meeting minutes.
Coordinating Council Business Meeting
Welcome and Introductions
Gwynedd Square – Nicole Daly, President, Gwynedd Square Elementary Home & School Association
 Praise for Principal Lou Ann Justice and faculty and staff. Several teachers and staff members have worked in
building since 1991.
 Home & School is very active with great parent support. Events include Welcome Back Party, Hay Ride, and
Science Night.
 Fundraising meets and exceeds budgeted amounts each year.
o First clothing drive raised $1,000, and will be repeated in spring.
o Box Tops raises $2,000 annually.
o This year’s Kidstuff book sale was most successful ever.
o Book Fair is currently underway.
o Adult social evening features dinner dancing and silent auction
 New committee created last year to address budget surplus. Smart board, speakers and cameras were purchased
for school.
NPCC minutes 11-16-2011 final.doc
1
Meeting items
1. Approval of Minutes –
 Minutes of the October 19, 2011 meeting were approved.
 Minutes can be found on www.npenn.org under For Families/Coordinating Council/CC Meeting Minutes.
2. Treasurer’s Report – Becky Ellstrom, Treasurer
 Current balance – $2626.65
 Income: dues
 Expenses: postage, and food and beverages for Fall Festival
 State tax exemption: State received our paperwork but has 15-week backlog. Becky was told to call again
in December and ask for extension if exemption is still in backlog.
3. Correspondence – Wendy Beatty-Burg, Corresponding Secretary
 Please notify Wendy with Coordinating Council representative contact information if you did not receive
an email.
 Passed along special education grant.
 Received a mailing from IRS dated 1/20/2006.
4. Old Business
 Louse buster
o Kathy Stella reported that parents will be charged $35 for each treatment. District cannot
guarantee same-day or next-day treatment appointments.
o District head lice paperwork was updated on 11/11/2011, but does not mention louse buster
machine.
o Questions remain: lack of communication, treatment locations, and higher fee to use.
 Busing
o Early arrival of high school students questioned. Students cannot enter classrooms and must sit
in cafeteria or roam halls. Is supervision adequate?
 Fall Social
o Attendance was poor. Should the social be held at another time or even discontinued?
5. New Business
 Alternate Revenue Committee
o District is still looking for applicants. Deadline for resumes was 11/15.
 Service Fees for My School Bucks
o Effective January 1, parents using MySchoolBucks will have a $2 fee charged for each online
electronic transfer to a student’s account.
o New policy was communicated on MySchoolBucks and NPSD School Nutrition Services webpage;
however, MySchoolBucks autopay users were not notified. Kathy Stella will investigate.
o NPSD was the only school district in the state that had not passed this fee to parents, costing the
district $50,000 last year. Other online services were investigated, but MySchoolBucks had
lowest costs.
 Reading Olympics
o General Nash librarian (Mrs. M. White) ran Reading Olympics at school in past but now is unable
to help because she is a shared resource with York Avenue.
o Teachers claim that they do not commit to advising programs because the Reading Olympics
competition schedules are posted late.
NPCC minutes 11-16-2011 final.doc
2
o
6.
7.
8.
Inglewood Home & School was not allowed to run Reading Olympics when a teacher was not
available.
o Faculty member must be present night of Reading Olympics meet.
 American Education Week
o Parents can only visit elementary school classrooms for 2 days during strict times. This is a
district-wide policy implemented this year to lessen disruption in the classrooms.
o District also disallowed the elementary schools from holding any Grandparents’ Day tie-ins with
American Education Week.
o Is this another example of North Penn moving away from the Family Friendly approach?
Level Reports
 None
Ideas, Concerns, Comments and Announcements
 IRONKnights Triathalon
o Triathalon will be held for district students, K-6, on June 9, 2012, at NPHS.
o Each elementary school physical education teacher was invited to form a committee to run
before- or after-school club to prepare interested students.
o Students must provide their own gear.
 Young Authors Conference at Walton Farm in April
o No information has been distributed. Those previously involved are concerned that planning is
very late this year.
o Cheryl McCue informed Kathy Stella last week that the Young Authors Conference was still under
discussion with the reading specialists. Changes may be made to the program.
o Walton Farm Home & School heard that the program is on hold.
o District is concerned that some schools do not have parent involvement in the program.
 Home & School Socials held offsite
o Must be approved by district.
o Complete sales and solicitation form carefully before submitting.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned.
Addendum:
Tom Schneider, NPSD Manager of Energy and Operational Efficiencies
 Specializes in cost reduction initiatives for NPSD.
 Cost avoidance provides money to use elsewhere in the budget.
o Council Rock reduced energy use 49% over 5 years and cost-avoided $9 million.
 Why focus on energy?
o School districts are not very energy efficient.
o Energy costs 1.6% of budget.
o Energy is a budget line that actually can be controlled and reduced
o Reduction of $1 million /year reflects 10% of structural deficit (current structural deficit is $8
million)
o School districts spend $6 billion each year on energy nationwide. A 2003 study found that
schools can reduce energy 30%.
NPCC minutes 11-16-2011 final.doc
3





Results
o Energy costs in NPSD have been reduced 23% ($1 million) since 2008.
o Total energy cost reduction is potentially 40%.
How to achieve reductions?
o Refine operations
o Save energy when the buildings are not in use. Schools are in operation only 25% of a year’s
hours.
o Maintain a standard temperature policy when the schools are in use
 Heating season, 68-72˚ F
 Cooling season, 76-80˚ F
Why turn off heating and cooling systems?
o Common misconceptions
 Resuming operation requires more energy than that saved during shutdown.
 Starting and stopping mechanical systems damages parts.
o Shutdown actually reduces total energy consumption.
o Code requires a public building HVAC system to import 15 cubic feet of outside air per person
per minute (375 cubic feet per minute for average classroom).
 The system is not only heating or cooling internal air. It must also heat or cool a
constant influx of fresh cold or hot outside air. This is what eats energy in a public
building.
How is North Penn reducing costs?
o Employ Energy Star Porfolio Manager software to assemble system performance in our buildings
and benchmark against similar schools across nation.
 12 of 20 North Penn buildings are ranked as “high performing”.
o Train personnel on proper use and maintenance of equipment.
o Reassess how each building is actually used.
 A building HVAC system is designed and installed based on full use and full capacity of
the building.
 Buildings are not always at full capacity or completely in use.
o Purchase energy on the open market
 Natural gas for this year was purchased at 35% below budgeted amount.
o Incentive program – on hold
 Reward schools that outperform expected standards.
 Some NP schools are currently outperforming similar schools across state.
Additional benefits of energy efficiency
o Improved air quality
o More consistent temperatures in a building make students and employees more comfortable.
o Improved preventive maintenance.
o Reduced equipment failures.
o Longer equipment life
NPCC minutes 11-16-2011 final.doc
4






Summer 2011 July/August experiences:
o Cost-avoided $164,000 compared to previous summer.
o School Nutritional Services consolidated all perishable food in a few walk-in coolers to allow
most school refrigeration to be shut off.
o Summer cleaning was performed by teams. This allowed a school to be cleaned in a shorter
amount of time. Schools not undergoing cleaning could have HVAC shut down.
Alliance to Save Energy (1970) Green Schools Program
 2-year grant received this year for use at NPHS, Penndale, Pennbrook, Bridal Path,
Gwynn-Nor, Hatfield, Kulp, Oak Park
 North Penn is only district in Montgomery County to participate.
 Program aligns energy conservation and efficiency with K-12 curriculum.
 Students do energy audits, report findings, and suggest changes with guidance of
teacher mentors. The administration creates solutions for presentation to school board.
 Schools that participate usually see 5-10% reduction in energy use.
Energy myths to forget:
o The lights in this room really do not use much electricity.
o Computers are harmed if you turn them off.
o Appliances use no energy when turned off.
o Mold will grow in summer if air conditioning is not operating.
 Truth: Mold requires moisture to grow. Moisture comes from condensation of water
vapor during cooling.
Truths not to forget:
o The United States has 5% of world population and uses 25% of world energy resources.
o Electricity is the only energy source used instantly. It cannot be stored but must always be
available for user to use.
o 2 watts of electricity must be generated for every 1 watt used.
o The reduction of a thermostat by 1 degree during heating season can save 1% to 5% in energy
costs.
How can parents help the energy initiatives?
o Support district programs.
o Inform administration of waste and issues.
o Home & Schools can create Green and Sustainable committees to support energy initiatives and
projects in schools.
o Dress children appropriately for school.
Questions
o What can be done about high temperatures in classrooms at schools such as Knapp Elementary
on hot days?
 Agrees that all classrooms in district should be air conditioned, but there is no cost
effective method to achieve this. Building renovations include HVAC upgrade. The
typical cost to add building air conditioning is $2 million.
NPCC minutes 11-16-2011 final.doc
5

o
o
o
o
o
Donated window units are not allowed or practical. They are not cost effective and do
not bring in outside air as required by code.
 No restrictions on use of fans.
Can schools use portable air conditioning units?
 Portable units are a waste of energy and would have little effect. A 70-ton chiller
(12,000 btu per ton) is used to cool Gwynedd Square Elementary. Temporary modulars
each have a 5-ton chiller.
Why are systems sometimes not operating when buildings are in use?
 Communication of building schedules does break down and needs improvement.
Equipment schedules are set based on the schedule for each individual building. District
does not enact a universal run schedule for all buildings. Head custodian in each
building needs to be responsible for run schedule.
 System shutdowns are tailored to known building occupancy, and outside air is only
added to the building when the entire building is in use.
 Systems had a great deal of difficulty this summer removing humidity.
Why does Montgomery Elementary have no lights on side?
 Parking lot lights should be set to stay on for half hour after last scheduled event.
 Lot lights burn a great deal of energy. District trying to reduce use while maintaining
safety.
Will Green Schools program be expanded to other district schools?
 Expansion costs are $600 per toolkit, stipends for teachers and continuation of program
manager (currently Jackie Baxter)
Why is solar not being included in building renovations?
 Solar systems are not cost effective to a large organization. The 4 megawatt system that
would be required to handle half of the average elementary school’s electricity
requirements would cost $24 million. Grants are no longer available, and renewable
energy credits are depressed. A solar system would not pay for itself for 25 years.
Next meeting of Coordinating Council will be held on Wednesday, January 18, 2012, at the Inglewood Elementary School in
the IMC. Superintendent Dr. Curtis Dietrich will be the guest speaker. Please forward to Wendy Beatty-Burg
(beattyburg@aol.com), Corresponding Secretary, any business items or questions your organization would like to have
placed on future agendas.
Respectfully submitted,
Donald Mackowiak
Recording Secretary
NPCC minutes 11-16-2011 final.doc
6