Energy Conservation Program Creates $1 Million Cost Avoidance for Montgomery ISD

August 29, 2022 –– As the cost of utilities continues to rise, an energy savings partnership is supporting Montgomery ISD’s commitment to sound fiscal management and conservative budgeting practices.

Montgomery ISD partnered with energy management company Cenergistic during the 2020-21 school year to create energy efficiencies across the district. The combined efforts of Cenergistic’s energy specialists, MISD technicians and district employees generated a cost avoidance of more than one million dollars in the first year.

Montgomery ISD is using these funds to bridge the gap between the state funding Montgomery ISD receives per student, which is considerably less than the average per student funding received by other school districts across Texas. Additionally, Montgomery ISD is subject to a state law referred to as “Robin Hood”, which, because of Montgomery ISD’s rising property values, requires the district to send a portion of its local property tax revenues back to the state for redistribution to other school districts and charter schools.

“With the gap between the state per pupil funding and MISD significant and growing, we must always work intentionally to be efficient with taxpayer dollars in order to remain competitive with teacher compensation and academic programming,” Superintendent Dr. Heath Morrison said. “Conservative fiscal management is a top priority for our board and leadership team, and we are constantly examining ways we can manage our limited resources more effectively. Our partnership with Cenergistic gives us extra assistance to conserve energy and identify ways to put those savings back into our budget.”

Cenergistic is also helping Montgomery ISD identify areas that may need equipment upgrades so that the facilities are running most efficiently. The Cenergistic program also allows the district to realize cost avoidance on an ongoing basis.

“We know how important it is to ensure every facility, every classroom has proper ventilation in order to provide a comfortable and productive learning environment for students and teachers,” Dr. William S. Spears, Founder and CEO of Cenergistic said. “Additionally, our goal is to help school districts save money on energy costs with no up-front capital investment.”

“Our school district budget is incredibly lean,” Montgomery ISD Board Trustee Mike Hopkins said. “The cost avoidance from this partnership has been critical to the district as we planned our budget for this year. I applaud our district’s focus on fiscal management to bridge the per- student funding gap we see in our district compared to the rest of the state.”

The Cenergistic energy conservation program delivers financial savings as well as an environmental benefit from a reduced carbon footprint. Cenergistic partners typically save 24% on expected energy costs without adding any new equipment and have earned more than 13,000 ENERGY STAR recognitions.

About Cenergistic

Since 1986 Cenergistic has partnered with 1,500+ educational, local government, healthcare and faith-based organizations, delivering $6.4 billion in utility savings. These strong results come from the application of Cenergistic’s science-based strategies enhanced by our patented Cenergistic Optimize™ software platform to drive building and equipment optimization. Our energy conservation program reduces utility consumption by an average of 24% with no capital investment while maintaining or improving the comfort and quality of building environments. For 14 consecutive years, Cenergistic has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year or Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence. To learn more, visit www.cenergistic.com.