Woodson USD 366

Woodson USD 366 is a Kansas unified school district headquartered in Yates Center, KS. The district includes the communities of Yates Center, Neosho Falls, Piqua, Cookville, Durand, Vernon, and nearby rural areas. District facilities include Yates Center High School, Yates Center Elementary/Middle School, the Board of Education office, a bus barn and a sports complex.

The Woodson School District needed to address a wide array of facility repairs and improvements, including the replacement of several major pieces of heating/cooling/ventilation equipment, ceiling repair, painting, and various other items. Rather than us-ing a bond issue to ask local taxpayers for additional money, the District first turned to ESP to determine if there were energy or operational savings opportunities that could potentially fund some of the improvements.

ESP and the District developed a project that would address the pressing facility needs and avoid the need for a bond issue. The project included new LED lighting, water-saving fixtures, sealing air leaks, building controls to operate equipment more efficiently, a new chiller, upgrades to walk-in freezers, multiple HVAC improve-ments, motor upgrades, finish work to replace ceilings and re-paint, and energy conservation training.

By implementing the energy-saving improvements, the District was able to cut utility bills by 30%. This allowed the District to use util-ity savings and existing budget dollars to pay for the improvements over time rather than turning to the community for tax money. The upgrades have created a better learning and teaching environment for students and staff.