Honeywell Helps Power Poway Schools With Green, Renewable Energy

 

Honeywell Helps Power Poway Schools With Green, Renewable Energy

Solar Power Agreement Reduces Utility Costs, Provides District-Wide Educational Tool

January 29, 2008: 09:07 AM EST

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Honeywell today announced that Poway Unified School District in San Diego, Calif. has awarded the company a solar project that is expected to save the district more than $1 million in energy costs over the next 20 years. Under the agreement, Honeywell will install solar arrays at four of the district's schools and sell the electricity the panels produce to the district.

"This structure allows the district to incorporate green, renewable energy sources with no capital investment," said Doug Mann, executive director of facilities for Poway Unified School District. "The combination of minimizing our environmental impact while reducing energy costs makes the project a win for the district, as well as the San Diego community."

Honeywell will install the solar arrays on the roofs at Poway High School, Westview High School, Oak Valley Middle School and Chaparral Elementary School. The arrays are expected to generate a collective 578 kilowatts of power and more than 1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually -- enough energy to power 90 homes per year. They also will cut energy costs during peak consumption when utilities typically charge a premium.

In addition to reducing costs, the solar arrays are expected to provide an educational tool that faculty can use to teach students about energy conservation and alternative energy sources. Through a Web-based portal, teachers and students will be able to see the real-time electrical output from the solar technology and learn how the systems operate.

The new arrays will deliver substantial environmental benefits as well, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 1.1 million pounds per year. According to figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this is equivalent to removing more than 100 cars from the road or planting 400 acres of trees.

"The environmental benefits of renewable energy are well known," said Kent Anson, vice president of Global Energy for Honeywell Building Solutions. "But it can also have a positive financial and educational impact. Working with the school district, we identified the green technology and financing structure that would deliver the greatest benefit to the schools and surrounding areas."

The power purchase agreement builds on Honeywell's previous work with Poway Unified School District, which includes the installation of cogeneration systems at two high schools. These systems allow the district to generate electricity for its facilities while recycling the waste heat produced to heat its swimming pools. As a result, the district minimizes the use of natural gas and creates ongoing energy savings by avoiding pool heating costs.

Honeywell expects to install the solar arrays and begin providing the schools with electricity by October 2008. After the 20-year agreement expires, the district can continue purchasing electricity from the company or acquire ownership of the arrays.

Honeywell International is a $36 billion diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell's shares are traded on the New York, London and Chicago Stock Exchanges. It is one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is also a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. For additional information, please visit http://www.honeywell.com. Honeywell Building Solutions is part of the Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions business group, a global leader in providing product and service solutions that improve efficiency and profitability, support regulatory compliance, and maintain safe, comfortable environments in homes, buildings and industry. For more information about Building Solutions, access http://www.honeywell.com/buildingsolutions.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of fact, that address activities, events or developments that we or our management intend, expect, project, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on management's assumptions and assessments in light of past experience and trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other relevant factors. They are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results, developments and business decisions may differ from those envisaged by our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements are also subject to risks and uncertainties, which can affect our performance in both the near- and long-term. We identify the principal risks and uncertainties that affect our performance in our Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Honeywell Helps Power Poway Schools With Green, Renewable Energy

No Excuses Program - Program starts younger Inland students on path to college

 

No Excuses University is in place in 16 schools in California, Oregon, Texas and Illinois, serving about 9,000 students.

Paul Alvarez/The Press-Enterprise

Second-graders Macie Luszeck Johnson, left, and Georgia Cuevas read with teacher Paulette Feraldi at Harvest Valley Elementary.

The concept came five years ago from an elementary school principal trying to make a district initiative relevant to his young students.

At the time, Poway Unified School District in San Diego County had decided that all students would be ready for college, said Damen Lopez, co-principal of Los Peñasquitos Elementary School.

Countless workshops offered middle and high school teachers the tools to help prepare students, but few sessions were aimed at younger students.

No Excuses University became a way for elementary educators to reassert their importance in preparing children for higher education.

"Our work has been dumbed down because we haven't taken our seat at the table," Lopez said. "Now, we're saying there's a lot that can be done from when a 5-year-old enters kindergarten."

After two years, Lopez and Jeff King, Los Peñasquitos' co-principal, made No Excuses University available to interested schools. The school's Academic Performance Index --a state measure of progress from one year to the next based on results from the California Standards Test -- was 875 in 2004 and has since risen to 906.

... for the whole story, follow the link...

Program starts younger Inland students on path to college | Inland News | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California

School officials say proposed budget means big cuts North County Times

 

School officials say proposed budget means big cuts

By: PHILIP K. IRELAND - Staff Writer
North County educators decry governor's plan

NORTH COUNTY ---- Educators across North County said last week that they must hack millions of dollars from their annual spending plans after the governor recently unveiled a proposed budget that calls for "across-the-board" cuts in funding to most state agencies.
Midyear layoffs, larger class sizes and school closures are among the ideas administrators said they were considering.

Citing a projected $14 billion budget shortfall over the next 18 months, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency during his state-of-the-state address Jan. 10.

He ordered most state agencies to gird for what he described as a 10 percent reduction in expected state funding. That number was based on what agencies received this year and the increases they expect next year.
In truth, school districts will see an actual 2 percent reduction in per-student revenue next year, said Sandy Silberstein, assistant executive director of the California Association of School Business Officials.
She said programs such as special education, known as categorical programs, can expect a 6.5 percent cut. Those programs now account for about 30 percent of state money flowing to school districts now, she said
Schwarzenegger proposes giving the state's public schools and community colleges $400 million less than they had anticipated for the remainder of this fiscal year. He also proposes cutting $4.4 billion in anticipated spending for the fiscal year that begins in July.
Carlsbad Superintendent John Roach called the governor's command for across-the-board cuts "cowardly, lazy and thoughtless."
"When a governor proposes an across-the-board cut, he's taking what work should be his and giving it to others," Roach said Thursday. "Slashing everyone equally doesn't take any real thought."
The numbers
North County school districts now get an average base allocation of $5,500 from the state to educate each student. Under Schwarzenegger's plan, which must be approved by the legislature, school districts will get about $5,390 per student in 2008 ---- $110 less than last year and hundreds less than they had anticipated next year, officials said.
At the same time, the costs of labor, utilities and materials continue to rise, a fact that will mean "drastic cuts" in personnel and services, North County school administrators said.
According to district officials:

Carlsbad Unified School District would need to cut $4.3 million in spending.

Escondido Union School District would need to cut $12.6 million spending.

Poway Unified School District would need to cut $12 million in spending.

Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District would need to cut $4 million in spending.

San Dieguito Union High School District would need to cut $3.7 million.

Oceanside Unified School District would need to cut $12 to $14 million.
Quick action
Oceanside Unified officials have already acted. On Tuesday, trustees approved plans to lay off 15 temporary teachers when the semester ends in two weeks.
Oceanside Unified, which operates on a $175 million budget, has also frozen hiring of "nonessential" employees. The actions will save the district about $600,000, Superintendent Larry Perondi said Thursday.
"This is my 33rd year in education and this is about as bad as I've seen," said Perondi. He said plans to "turn over every rock in the district" looking for ways to trim spending.
Officials in other school districts said this week they are in the early stages of developing budget-cutting plans.
Carlsbad's Walter Freeman said the district will try to keep the cuts as far away from the classroom as possible. He ticked off a litany of questions to show that no department will be spared the budgetary knife.
"How many district office staff can we afford? How much maintenance? How often do we need to cut the grass? What personnel services are necessary? What level of payroll staff can do the job? How many psychologists can we afford? How many counselors, nurses and teacher aides that support classroom teachers can we afford?"
Freeman was among several district officials who said the fiscal crisis will hurt the quality of education in the classroom.
"It's going to have a dramatic impact on our educational program," said Poway Unified Superintendent Don Phillips, who oversees Poway's $259.2 million spending budget.
"It's just a really unfortunate series of events coming together and unfortunately our students are the real losers in this," he said.
Poway will look at increasing class sizes and reducing support services as part of the cost-cutting solution, Phillips said.
Phillips said the budget woes are compounded by the fact that districts went through major cuts in the 2003-04 school year.
"(We) haven't fully recovered from the first cuts and this one will take us at least as deep as the last time," he said.
"It's devastating," agreed Superintendent Lou Obermeyer of the Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District. He said the district had already scaled back its spending dramatically over the past five or six years.
To save more money, officials in Valley Center are now looking to close the district's Upper Elementary School and relocate fifth-graders to the Lower Elementary and sixth-graders to Valley Center Middle School, Obermeyer said,
The Vista Unified School District could end up getting $4 million less from the state than expected, said Pam Hayden, chief financial officer for the district, which has an annual budget of slightly more than $200 million.
"There's no way we would be able to handle that kind of budget reduction without making cuts," she said.
The district's first budget priority is to keep cuts away from the classroom, Hayden said.
However, that may be difficult. The district has already cut $28 million in planned expenditures over the past several years because revenues did not increase as anticipated, Hayden said.
"We've got a lot of work ahead of us," she said.
Staff writers Stacy Brandt, Shayna Chabner, and John Meyer contributed to this report. Contact staff writer Philip K. Ireland at (760) 901-4043 or pireland@nctimes.com.

School officials say proposed budget means big cuts North County Times - North San Diego and Southwest Riverside County News

Poway Unified School District wins--it was right on this one

 

Thursday, January 17, 2008

This ruling was(temporarily)de-published by Supreme Court so the lower court could rule on certain matters. The lower court has now ruled, and so this decision may be re-published any day now.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the decision of Poway Superintendent Donald Phillips and principal Scott Fisher not to allow student Tyler Chase to wear to school a T-shirt that said

“HOMOSEXUALITY IS SHAMEFUL ‘Romans 1:27.’”

THE COURT WROTE:

"Poway High School (“the School”) has had a history of conflict among its students over issues of sexual orientation. In 2003, the School permitted a student group called the Gay-Straight Alliance to hold a “Day of Silence” at the School which, in the words of an Assistant Principal, is intended to “teach tolerance of
others, particularly those of a different sexual orientation.”

"During the days surrounding the 2003 “Day of Silence,”3 a series of incidents and altercations occurred on the school campus as a result of anti-homosexual comments that were made by students. One such confrontation required the Principal to separate students physically. According to David LeMaster, a teacher at Poway, several students were suspended as a result of these conflicts. Moreover, a week or so after the “Day of Silence,” a group of heterosexual students informally organized a “Straight-Pride Day,” during which they wore T-shirts which displayed derogatory remarks about homosexuals. According to Assistant Principal Lynell Antrim, some students were asked to remove the shirts and did so, while others “had an altercation and were suspended for their actions."

... to read the rest of the story, click the link below...

San Diego Education Report Blog: Poway Unified School District wins--it was right on this one

SD County Taxpayers Association: Ballot Measure Recommendations

 

Sent in from the San Diego County Taxpayers Association this weekend...
February 5, 2008 Election
Ballot Measure Recommendations
Click on the links below for a detailed analysis of each measure.
LOCAL:
Proposition C: YES
Poway Unified School District $179 Million Bond Measure
Proposition D: YES
Cajon Valley Union School District $156.5 Million Bond Measure
Proposition E:  NO
Rancho Santa Fe School District $34 Million Bond Measure
STATE:
Propositions 94-97: YES
Amendment to Indian Gaming Agreements
The remaining state ballot measure recommendations will be announced on January 21st.

A supermajority 60% vote of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association (SDCTA) Board of Directors is required for a position to be taken on any ballot measure.

For 62 years, SDCTA has worked to inform its membership on the issues that affect our lives and our pocketbooks.  Please read your ballot carefully, and if you have questions, don't hesitate to give us a call at (619) 234-6423. 

SD County Taxpayers Association: Ballot Measure Recs - San Diego County, Part of the Red County Network

Governor's budget would be a major setback for schools

 

'Staggering' cuts trouble educators

By Bruce Lieberman, Sherry Saavedra and Tanya Sierra

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS

January 13, 2008

SAN DIEGO – The budget cut respite, if there ever was one, is over.

Public school officials said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts in education funding for 2008-09 would reach deep into classrooms.

STATE EDUCATION BUDGET ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

The governor has proposed several large cuts in public education over the next 18 months:

$400 million: In midyear cuts this fiscal year

$4.4 billion: For K-12 districts in 2008-09

$1.1 billion: For higher education in 2008-09

SOURCE: Governor's office

Last week, the governor proposed cutting more than $5.6 billion from education budgets in fiscal 2008-09. He called for a $400 million “midyear” cut this year.

According to Schwarzenegger's office and state education officials, the cuts would be distributed this way:

K-12 school districts would lose $360 million this year in a “midyear” cut and $4.4 billion more in fiscal 2008-09, which begins July 1.

The state's community colleges would lose $40 million in a midyear cut and $484 million more in 2008-09.

The University of California system would have to cut $332 million in 2008-09.

The California State University system would face a $312.9 million decrease in 2008-09.

Cuts within California's public colleges and universities could result in fee hikes for San Diego County's college students.

...For the rest of the story, follow the link...

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > State -- Governor's budget would be a major setback for schools

Schwarzenegger budget slashes education, releases prisoners

 

Schwarzenegger budget slashes education, releases prisoners

By AARON C. DAVIS Associated Press Writer

Article Last Updated: 01/10/2008 06:08:45 PM PST

SACRAMENTO—Facing a ballooning deficit and a shaky economy, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday proposed an enormous pullback in state spending that will affect nearly all areas of government service, from classrooms to parks to dental care for the poor.

Schwarzenegger announced the cuts as he seeks to close a $14.5 billion shortfall and, for the first time, declared a state fiscal emergency that will force lawmakers to begin immediate work on the budget mess.

Schwarzenegger's $141 billion budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year proposes cutting 10 percent from every state agency, even as California struggles to provide for millions of new residents, fix failing schools and address myriad problems in its overcrowded prisons.

The across-the-board spending cut is the kind of draconian tactic his Republican Party colleagues have long sought to realign state spending and revenue.

For the rest of the story, follow the link...

MontereyHerald.com : - Schwarzenegger budget slashes education, releases prisoners

New principals taking over at 5 Poway district schools

 

New principals taking over at 5 Poway district schools

By Blanca Gonzalez
STAFF WRITER

June 2, 2007

Five elementary schools in the Poway Unified School District will get new principals next year, including one from Escondido, one from San Diego Unified and one from Los Angeles.

The new principals and their schools are:

Mark Atkins, Adobe Bluffs in Rancho Peñasquitos:

Atkins, a former assistant principal at Poway High, has been an assistant principal at Escondido High School since 2002. He previously taught fifth, sixth and eighth grade in the Lancaster School District. He also served as dean/vice principal at Antelope Valley High in Lancaster.

Atkins earned his master's degree in educational administration from California State University Bakersfield and his bachelor's degree in history from UCLA. Atkins will succeed Cindy DeClercq who was recently named principal of Willow Grove Elementary, set to open in 2008-09 in Poway Unified's Santaluz community.

Sabriya Pedretti, Tierra Bonita in Poway:

Pedretti has been an assistant principal at Meadowbrook Middle School in Poway since 2002. She taught sixth grade and physical education for the Rowland Unified School District in Los Angeles County. Pedretti worked as an elementary school teacher in the South Bay Union School District in Imperial Beach from 1996 to 2001.

Pedretti received her master's degree in educational leadership from Point Loma Nazarene University and her bachelor's degree in communications from California State University Fullerton. She will take over from Susan Foerster, who came out of retirement to serve as interim principal after Maureen Newell retired in December 2006.

Andrew Johnsen, Valley in Poway:

Johnsen is director of the Los Angeles Unified School Charter Schools Division and also teaches courses in administrative leadership at California State University Northridge. He was previously principal and director of instruction at Santa Monica Community Charter School. Johnsen was assistant principal at Santa Monica Elementary School and has served as a parent education coordinator and classroom teacher.

Johnsen has a bachelor's degree in Spanish from California State University Long Beach, a master's degree in educational administration from Pepperdine University and a doctorate in educational leadership from UCLA. He will succeed Sue Smith, who will be working on special district projects involving intervention programs and closing the achievement gap.

Carol Osborne, Morning Creek in Sabre Springs:

Osborne is director of literacy and history/social science for the San Diego Unified School District. She previously was principal at Brooklyn Elementary School in the San Diego district. Osborne has also been a K-1 classroom teacher, a literacy resource teacher and a vice principal.

Osborne received her bachelor's degree in elementary education from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota and her master's degree as a reading specialist from San Diego State University. She will succeed Doug Johnson, who was recently named principal of Del Sur Elementary, which will open in 2008 in the northwestern part of the district.

Cynthia Venolia, Stone Ranch in 4S Ranch:

Venolia is assistant principal at Park Village Elementary in Rancho Peñasquitos. She previously worked in the Ramona Unified School District, including nine years as a teacher at James Duke Elementary School.

Venolia earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education from San Diego State University and her master's degree in administration from National University. She will succeed Suzanne Roy, who has accepted a position as a middle school principal in the Rancho Santa Fe School District.

For the rest of the story...

New principals taking over at 5 Poway district schools | The San Diego Union-Tribune

Building For Success Poway Bond

Building for Success Program
The Building for Success Program, authorized under the passage of Proposition U, includes modernization and expansion of sixteen elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, and one continuation high school in the Poway Unified School District. Some of the key aspects of the program are to optimize state school facilities program funds, minimize learning disruption, and maintain safety and quality standards.

Schools completed include Midland Elementary, Westwood Elementary, Tierra Bonita Elementary, Garden Road Elementary, Painted Rock Elementary, Twin Peaks Middle, Poway High, and Mt. Carmel High Schools. The first phase of Chaparral Elementary School is complete, and includes a new ten-classroom building, technology and playground upgrades.

Technology and playground upgrades are also complete at Sundance Elementary, Sunset Elementary, Turtleback Elementary, Rolling Hills Elementary, Deer Canyon Elementary, Canyon View Elementary, and Morning Creek Elementary Schools   
Schools currently undergoing modernization and expansion include: Los Penasquitos Elementary, Valley Elementary, and Abraxas High Schools.  

Schools in the design process include Meadowbrook Middle, Black Mountain Middle, Pomerado Elementary, and Rolling Hills Elementary.

The complete modernization and new construction program for the 24 schools in the program is projected to be finished in approximately 2010.

... See the pics...

Building For Success Poway Bond Prop U

Poway parents kick off Proposition C school bond campaign - North County Times

 

Poway parents kick off Proposition C school bond campaign
By: SHAYNA CHABNER - North County Times

POWAY - Residents of Poway and the surrounding areas began seeing blue in their mailboxes, on their neighbors' lawns and even in car windows over the weekend.
The barrage of blue signs and fliers was delivered by a duo of Poway Unified School District parent volunteers to kick off the "Yes on Proposition C" campaign. The proposition - a $179 million bond measure that would pay for technology enhancements, security upgrades and modernization projects at 24 of Poway Unified's schools - will appear on the Feb. 5 primary ballot.

"In the next three days, people will know a lot about (Prop. C)," Lorene Joosten, campaign co-chairwoman, said Thursday while sitting at Prop. C headquarters - a three-room house converted into offices off Midland Road in Old Poway.

...Follow the link below for the rest of the story..

Poway parents kick off Proposition C school bond campaign - North County Times

New goals, construction, budget cuts mark 2008

 

New goals, construction, budget cuts mark 2008
By: SHAYNA CHABNER - Staff Writer
Poway, Ramona school districts prepare hurdles, growth

Construction on several campuses, plans to set multi-year goals, a school bond measure and possible spending and program cuts as the state grapples with a growing deficit in 2008 will likely make this year a momentous one, school officials said last month.
And many of the most significant and difficult decisions will come this spring as the Poway and Ramona districts wrap up the 2007-08 school year, they added.

"We are trying to build off past successes and not rest on our laurels," said Poway Unified Superintendent Don Phillips. "Our commitment is to do the very best job we can in educating our youngsters and challenging them."

Tight spending year
An estimated $14 billion shortfall at the state level could still pose a significant hurdle to that goal as officials are likely to have to limit spending and cut some programs, possibly midyear, district officials said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently announced that the budget proposal he will release Jan. 10 will come with a fiscal emergency declaration. The emergency means that lawmakers will have to reopen the budget the governor signed in August and decide how to eliminate about $2 billion from the current year's spending plan.

...Read the rest by following the link below...

New goals, construction, budget cuts mark 2008 - North County Times

Bond, new policies to shape PUSD year

 

Bond, new policies to shape PUSD year

By Pat Kumpan
January 2, 2008

Top issues facing Poway Unified School District in 2008 include gearing up for a $179 million bond extension on the February ballot to complete school renovations; fencing the perimeter of most schools; finalizing and implementing hate and harassment procedures; plus, eventual budget cuts.

Superintendent Don Phillips said those are the top priorities that he knows the PUSD school board and administrators will be dealing with in the new year.

If passed, the current bond that voters approved for renovations in 2002, will be extended by another 11 years with final payments due in 2044.

“Taxpayers won’t be asked to pay higher fees,” Phillips said. “The new bond would be an extension of the existing bond, or the same fees over a longer period of time.”

The original bond for the PUSD’s “Building for Success” program, passed by voters in November 2002, was for $198 million. The district secured $158 million from other sources to renovate 24 of the district’s 34 schools.

...Read the rest by following the link below...

Bond, new policies to shape PUSD year | The Pomerado Newspaper Group