On Feb. 10, 2025, the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) School Board approved Phase 1 of the MCPASD Sustainability Project, a plan which aims to reduce the District’s carbon footprint and utilize more renewable energy.
Phase 1 will cost $9,960,990 and includes solar panel installations for Pope Farm Elementary, Elm Lawn Elementary, Sauk Trail Elementary, Middleton High School and Glacier Creek Middle School. It also includes the addition of a charger for the district’s new electric bus at the district’s Transportation Center as well as district-wide energy efficiency upgrades. These upgrades include installing more efficient appliances, investing in air sealing for district buildings and more. The project will begin construction as soon as March 22, 2025, building racks on the roofs of Pope Farm and Elm Lawn to hold solar panels.
The approval of Phase 1 marks a significant step towards meeting the district’s Sustainability Resolution, which created a deadline to use 100 percent renewable energy for all district operations by 2035. The Sustainability Resolution was signed on March 22, 2021 and since then, the district has been working with the consulting, construction and energy company, McKinstry, to reduce the district’s energy usage and carbon footprint.
McKinstry works with organizations to optimize their facilities’ energy use and reduce their impact on the environment. The company analyzed the district’s buildings and equipment to produce a Renewable Energy Roadmap outlining what improvements the district can make to its buildings and equipment to utilize more clean energy. Based on this information, McKinstry and the district proposed Phase 1 of the MCPASD Sustainability Project for the school board to consider.
Phase 1 was initially brought to the school board to be voted upon on Jan. 27. However, it was tabled by the board until their meeting on Feb. 10 in order to gain more detailed information on the project. Additionally, the board asked for more options for Phase 1, receiving options that cost varying amounts.
On Feb. 10, the Board received multiple options for Phase 1, with the main difference between them being whether or not to install geothermal heating at Sauk Trail Elementary. This installation would cost $3,523,932, and the monetary energy savings–the costs avoided from not having to buy power from an outside company–from the geothermal heating would be less significant than the other projects.
The geothermal project would, however, move the district an additional 6.8 percent of the way to their goal of using 100 percent renewable energy. The most energy efficient option included installing geothermal which would cost $13,484,922, and would move the district 26 percent closer to using only renewable energy to power district operations.
Phase 1 will be funded through various sources including $3,000,000 from the Long Term Capital Improvement Trust Fund, $282,067 from the Focus on Energy Incentive and $2,807,135 from the Investment Tax Credit–commonly known as the Inflation Reduction Act. The rest will be taken out in a loan, which will be paid back using the annual energy cost avoidance saved from Phase 1.
One major fiscal hesitation the Board had on passing Phase 1 with the geothermal project was the uncertainty of receiving the Investment Tax Credit. The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in 2022 by former President Joe Biden, invests in clean energy and would provide the MCPASD School District with around $2 million to support Phase 1. With the current Trump administration’s differing views on climate change and federal spending, some Board members voiced concerns about whether or not the Inflation Reduction Act would be repealed in the near future.
Bob Hesselbein, one of these concerned board members, said, “The federal perspective towards sustainability […] has dramatically changed as of January 20th. We’re counting on two million dollars of federal money that there’s absolutely no guarantee it’s coming our way.”
The school board voted to move forward with the most energy efficient option–just without the geothermal installation. The board plans to reconsider installing geothermal heating at Sauk Trail in June.
Despite geothermal heating’s removal from the approved Phase 1, the passing of this plan is a major success for the MCPASD School District’s reduction of its carbon footprint and promotion of sustainability. The implementation of the approved Phase 1 will move the District roughly 19 percent of the way to their 100 percent renewable energy goal by 2035. Students, staff and community members can learn more about the district’s efforts in sustainability on the MCPASD website.
