School Board Approves Plan For Solar Structures at 12 PUSD Sites

Amid declining enrollment, school closures and all manner of budget woes, the Pasadena Unified School District school board generally finds itself planning year to year, crisis to crisis. But Thursday the board played the long game.

By a 6-1 vote, the board approved a resolution under which solar-paneled structures will be erected at 12 PUSD sites. The board also entered into a 25-year power-purchase agreement with a solar provider that, according to staff estimates, will save the district about $4.8 million in energy costs over the life of the contract.

The board vote came during an afternoon meeting conducted remotely under “Safer at Home” guidelines during the coronavirus crisis.

The solar plan passed Thursday calls for a company called California PV Energy 3 to design, construct, install, maintain, and own and operate the power-generating structures — at no construction or maintenance costs to the district.

The new “photovoltaic” power-generation hardware will ride atop car and shade structures and be operational by April 30, 2021, according to a staff report.

The structures would not generate all the energy needed for each PUSD site, so the district will, in time, pay two energy bills each month — one to California PV Energy, the other to either Pasadena Water and Power or California Edison, depending on the location of the site.

But ultimately, the district would save around that $4.8 million figure over 25 years, based on an estimated 4 percent rise each year in the cost of energy, according to the staff report.

The plan is a scaled-down version of an earlier, similar proposal that was scrapped amid uncertainty over the long-term future of some PUSD sites. That plan had called for solar structures to be built at 28 PUSD sites, but sparked controversy because of the uncertain futures of some district facilities amid school closures.

In September, the board announced the closures of  Franklin, Jefferson and Roosevelt elementary schools for the next school year.

Then in October, the school board announced the upcoming closure of Wilson Middle School. In March, the board also eliminated 55 full-time positions, including some 44 teachers and four principals, for the 2020-2021 school year.

Indeed, one caveat noted in the staff report regarding the solar plan said that, as a result of the agreements, “the ability of the district to sell any one of the 12 sites without the encumbrance of the solar system is restricted. Moreover, closing of a school does not relieve the district of the obligation to continue to purchase energy produced by the site solar system.’’

However, in an interview with Pasadena Now, board Vice President Scott Phelps said of the 12 PUSD sites that will receive the solar structures, “We’re pretty darn sure we’re going to be utilizing (long term).’’

Those sites are: Altadena Arts Magnet Elementary School; Elliot Arts Magnet Academy; Field Elementary School; Hamilton Elementary School; Jackson STEM Dual Language Academy; John Muir High School Early College Magnet; Madison Elementary School; Pasadena High School; Sierra Madre Elementary School; Sierra Madre Middle School; Webster Elementary School; and Willard Elementary School.

“The concerns of the community that were raised when we had the previous deal have been addressed, plus the concerns of the board about not doing too many schools, or schools where we’re not going to be occupying them anymore,’’ Phelps, who voted in favor of the move, told Pasadena Now following the meeting.

“It’s a money-saving thing, it’s good for the environment, a lot of school districts do this. It doesn’t cost us up front, it’s just a good idea.

“That’s why you saw such an overwhelming vote – we’ve talked about it for months. The community was concerned we were doing too much, (but) we scaled it way down, 12 schools, and only the schools that we’re pretty darn sure we’re going to be utilizing.’’

Only board president Patrick Cahalan voted against the plan. He did not respond to an email or phone message from Pasadena Now to detail his reasons.

Phelps, meanwhile, said that while the solar plan will not produce an immediate windfall of savings for the district, it still makes good long-term fiscal sense.

“It’s true that it takes many years to have it be worthwhile, the payoff – but it’s still a good idea, even if it takes a long time,’’ said Phelps, who added that his own house has been equipped with solar panels “since 2009 or 2008.’’

According to the staff report, “Benefits of the agreements include: reducing district dependence upon SCE and PWP … contributing to a cleaner environment … reduced cost of energy … (and) the construction of shade and parking structures.”

At the end of the 25-year agreement, according to the staff report, “The district can: 1) exercise an option to extend at pricing negotiated at the time; 2) purchase the systems based upon a formula; or 3) cause the systems to be removed.’’

Armenian Academy Update

In other news, Dr. Elizabeth J. Blanco, the district’s chief academic officer, gave an update on enrollment progress for the new Armenian Dual Language Immersion Program that’s planned for next year at Blair High School – a plan that was conditionally approved by the board on March 26.

Blanco reported to the board that, “at my last check, it was 58 students’’ applying for open enrollment so far.

Blanco said she was encouraged by the number of enrollees, given that the district has been marketing the program for only about a week.

“This is a week after marketing, so we are hoping that our numbers will increase, because we have the marketing materials ready and are also advertising on some cable stations,’’ Blanco said.

One of the conditions of the board’s conditional approval was that the program produce 150 students new to PUSD – a number that would generate some $2 million in additional state revenue as the district wrestles with funding issues from falling enrollment.

But Blanco said she was confident there will be an Armenian program in some form next year even if the numbers should fall short.

“We meet weekly to discuss option A and option B,’’ she said. “I want to clarify that we intend to have a program. The program may look slightly different if we don’t have the enrollment, but we’re going to offer those opportunities to the families who want to enroll, and we will have a parent orientation prior to the final answer on what the program design is.’’

She added: “I think from the overall big scheme, if we take this 500-foot view and think about recapturing some of our community that did not give us an opportunity before to educate their children, it’s going to benefit all of the children in PUSD.’’