In 2008, the school approved it’’s third strategic
plan with four broad goals. One of these goals is to
make our school operation more sustainable, in a phrase,
““to green the school.”” In 2009 our Jr. High students
organized a Green Science Fair to analyze the various
inputs used by our school and suggest possible ways to
““green”” our operations. One of those strategies was to
reduce our dependence on purchased electricity and use
the on-site potential for generating solar electricity for
all campuses.
“Our three solar arrays will prevent the
production of over 81 tons of CO2 each year.”
In November of 2014 the Board of Trustees
approved of a plan to place solar electric panels on the
school’’s three campuses: The Main campus, the
Willowbrook campus, and the Winston campus.
Going Solar - The Story
Since the first day of class fifty years ago, Santa
Cruz Montessori has held true to its mission of guiding
and nurturing children in harmony with the principles
developed by Dr. Maria Montessori. The time has
come for the school to fulfill its promise to the greater
community and be a good steward of the earth.
The Scope of the Project
The three campuses will receive south-facing
rooftop solar photo voltaic systems. These systems will
generate electricity and offset the school’’s electrical
usage. Solar panels operate at maximum efficiency when
they are installed on south-facing roofs with a minimum
of shading from trees and other buildings. It is also best
to locate solar arrays as close as possible to the main
electric service panel for a minimum of electrical loss
from wiring.
“Based on 2014 utility rates the school will
save $75,000 in the first five years of
operation.””
At the Main campus the electrical service panel is
located on the Primary building just outside of the
Ohlone class. This project calls for four solar arrays on
the Primary building, one pyramid-shaped array on the
roof of each Primary classroom. The roof area is just
large enough to provide solar electricity that will offset
the electric bill for the entire Main campus. The south
side of the Primary building faces the lower field.
The Willowbrook and Winston campuses both
have wide south-facing roofs that are ideal for solar
panels.
Fortunately, our Winston and Willowbrook
campuses have roof shingles that are just a few years old.
This will allow us to install solar panels without
additional roof repairs.
Our Primary building roof system is at the end of
its useful life and is slated for a full roof replacement.
In addition, the original attic ventilation design was
flawed when built in the 1980s and needs to be
upgraded. This solar project presents the perfect
opportunity for us to remove the old roof system, repair
the ventilation flaw and re-roof the building. This will
allow us to put our four solar arrays on a new roof rated
for forty years of service. The roof and ventilation
repairs are approximately $80,000 of the total capital
campaign goal of $230,000.
Why are we doing this project now?
Where exactly will the solar panels be?
There will be three sets of solar arrays. One on the Primary building on the
main campus, one on the Winston campus, and one on the Willowbrook
campus (Cypress & Adobe class building).
Will there be an educational component to this?
Yes. There are educational kiosks planned at each campus. In addition, the
main campus will have an interactive student solar display at the campus
center and a ceramic art plaque at the front of the school to let the
community know we are a solar school.
How much money will this save?
Based on 2014 utility rates the school will save $15,000 in the first year of
operation. Utility rates are expected to rise at 3-5% per year so our savings
Questions & Answers
Every five to six years the school develops a strategic plan to guide the
school’’s growth and improvements in an organized way. The 2008 strategic
plan was delayed by the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009. One of the
goals in this plan is to make our school operations more sustainable by using
resources more wisely and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Solar
panels will allow us to generate most of our electricity on site and divert
carbon emissions that we would be responsible for if we continued to
purchase electricity from our public utility. It is possible to take advantage
of federal and state incentives that are available for solar systems. These
incentives are set to be phased out at the end of 2016. Timing is of the
essence if we are to realize the savings from the incentives.
will grow over the 20-25 year life of the solar system. The annual savings
from the lower electrical bill will go into a facilities maintenance fund for
campus upkeep.
Why don’’t we lease a system instead of a purchase?
Solar panel leasing is an important tool for home owners to create solar
energy with little or no money down. However, with a leased solar system
the lease payments are equal to or slightly less than the electricity bill would
be. The school’’s goal with this campaign is to green our operations and
lower our monthly expenses. A solar system purchased with capital
campaign funds is the best way to accomplish this goal.
How long will the installation take?
Installing the solar panels and routing the electrical lines will take only a few
weeks. The lengthiest part of this project will be the repair of the Primary
building roof and attic ventilation system. That part of the project will take
one to two months.
What if we don’’t raise the entire campaign goal?
The Development Committee of the Board has reviewed the school’’s
potential to raise the full amount of this campaign and has confidence we
can do it. However, if we don’’t raise the full $230,000 we have two good
options. The first option is to shrink the size of the solar arrays so that
instead of producing 90% of our electricity they would produce 60 or 70%.
The second option is to keep the solar arrays full size but only purchase a
portion of the panels. The rest of the panels can be leased from the solar
installer at no greater cost than the electricity the panels would offset.
Are solar panels well suited to our electrical use patterns?
As a business we are on a time-of-use electrical meter. This means we pay
more for electricity at peak usage times (weekday afternoons) and less at
off-peak times (nights and weekends). A school is the best place to install
solar panels. This is because we operate only during the peak weekday times
when our electricity is at the highest price. Similarly, when our solar system
is producing electricity at peak time we are receiving peak prices for sales of
electricity back to the utility through net metering. Unlike a home or 24
hour business, our facilities are not in use at night when our solar panels are
asleep. This allows us to trim our peak hour electrical costs, the most
advantageous strategy for solar panel operation.
What is a Capital Campaign?
A capital campaign is a fundraiser for a specific project. Tuition and fees
only cover part of the school’’s operating expenses so when we want to build
something new we raise capital through a special campaign. Capital
campaigns are often larger than year to year fundraising and can take years
to complete. Because of the size of this campaign goal ($230,000) many
donors give a large once-in-a-lifetime gift in addition to their annual
donations. Our plan for this campaign is to fund the entire solar project
through gifts. Capital campaigns typically happen every 5-7 years. They are
only launched when a specific project or improvement is needed. All
donations to our capital campaign are fully tax deductible.
Don’’t building costs come from my tuition?
In order to keep the tuition at SCM as affordable as possible, the Board sets
tuition revenues that cover 88% of the schools annual operating expenses.
The remaining 12% of annual revenues comes in the form of donations and
gifts. None of our tuition revenue is reserved or budgeted for construction
projects. These funds are gathered through capital campaigns and
borrowing from commercial lenders.
What are the risks to this project?
This campaign has very few risks. If we don’’t raise the entire campaign goal
we can reduce the size of the solar system or lease a portion of the system.
The federal government, and to a lesser extent the state of California has
solar rebates that expire in December of 2016. It is our intention to
complete the installation by that time to take advantage of the rebates. If we
don’’t raise the funds and install the systems by that date the cost of the
system could go up by 10-20%. The permitting standards for electrical
installations at schools are higher than for residential buildings. The
highest quality equipment and highest safety standards will be employed.
The systems will be installed by a licensed and bonded solar in staller.
Going Green Capital Campaign Committee
Kristine Albrecht
Dustin Jolley
Nico Peruzzi
Kathy Rideout
Brion Sprinsock
Jon Winston
SCM
Board of Trustees
Lynne Keener
Nikki LeGassick
Tom Lepoutre-Postlewaite
Melissa McGuffin
Joel McKelvey
Amy Nishikata
Kathy Rideout
Evelyn Strauss
Kate Green Tripp
Katherine Upshire
The People
President Chris Ohlsen
Vice President
Nico Peruzzi
Treasurer
Brion Sprinsock
Secretary Joel McKelvey
SCM
Development Committee
Margot and Tifaga Aiono
Kristine Albrecht
Sean Arbogast
Jen Astone
Stuart Beck and Dulce Ivanko
Ray Beutens & Staci Sambol
Edison Bonjardim
Angela Bridi-Milligan and Kasey Milligan
Paricia Bridi
Dawn Castello
David Darnell
Alaya Davila
Sabine DeBonis
Thomas DeCarli
Shannon Durham
Roger and Alison Ekers
Terry Ellis
Amy Geller
Lisette Gerald-Yamasaki
Barbara Harker
Dustin and Jessica Jolley
Jieun Kim
Mike Lew
Deauna Mansfield
Kimberly Miles
Dave Mareau
Jodee Noll
Cheryl Otto
Lynne Owen
Kevin Painchaud
Nico Peruzzi
Lea Reed
Kathy Rideout
Satci Sambol
Brion Sprinsock
Anne Stephanson
Carly Todisco
Kate Green Tripp
Katherine Upshur
Patty Washko
Helen Wight
Jon and Jill Winston
Going Solar Project Costs
Architectural fees donated ($15,000 in-kind contribution)
$0
Project management donated ($10,000 in-kind contribution)
$0
Solar panels and installation
$140,000
Primary building roof replacement
$80,000
Acknowledgments
$10,000
Total costs
$230,000
# of Panels
Main Campus
Annual Production
% of Electric Demand
88
37,895 kWh
100%
Willowbrook Campus
22
9,510 kWh
93%
Winston Campus
66
28,385 kWh
99%
Total
176
75,790 kWh
98%
Fossil fuel power plants produce on average 2.14 lbs. of CO2 per kilowatt generated.
Our three solar arrays will prevent the production of over 81 tons of CO2 each year.
Solar system specs may change with final supplier bid.
The Numbers & Plans
Technical Details
Giving Levels and Acknowledgments
Partnership Gifts
Power House Sponsor (Whole solar project naming, educational interactive kiosk naming. Two positions available) $50,000
Terawatt Donors (Willowbrook & Winston campus interpretive sign. Two positions available) $25,000 to $49,999
Gigawatt Donors (Solar Array plaque on one of three campuses. Two positions available) $10,000 to 24,999
Leadership Gifts
Megawatt Donors (Individual family bench on one of three campuses. Ten positions available) $5,000 to $9,999
Kilowatt Donors (Etched brick on front office patio or stairs. Twenty positions available) $2,000 to $4,999
Centawatt Donors (Multiple family bench on one of three campuses. Thirty positions available) $1,000 to $1,999
Supporters
Decawatt Donors (Etched brick at Willowbrook campus) $600 to $999
Watt Donors (Trivet made by SCM students) $250 to $599
Friends of SCM Solar (Name on ceramic acknowledgment board) $1 to $249
*All donors at all giving levels will be acknowledged in the ceramic art piece
at the front of the main campus.
SOUTH
Patio Brick
Acknowledgements
Primary Building
Main Campus
Solar Panels
(4 pyramid roofs)
Parking Lot
ive
e l Dr
Soqu
Solar
Kiosk
Administration Building
Willowbrook Building
Elementary Building
Willo
wbro
ok La
ne
Interpretive
Sign
Willowbrook Solar Panels
Site map of the Main and Willowbrook campuses.
Parking Lot
Alturas
Way
Interpretive
Sign
lo C
o
l
l
e
ge
D
Solar Panels
Cab
ril
Toddler &
Jr. High Building
r.
SOUTH
Site map of the Winston campus.
Going Solar Timeline
July, Aug. 2016
Roof Repairs
15
20
April 2015
Fundraising
Begins
Oct 2015
Capital Campaign
goes Public
Oct, Nov 2016
Solar Installation Starts
16
20
Dec 2016
Kiosks &
Acknowledgements
Installed
Fund-raising Goal
Achieved