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Amid a budget crunch, Oregon public schools are facing across-the-board funding cuts for programs and staff. But there may be some good news for schools this legislative session 鈥� money for green retrofits.

Gov. John Kitzhaber‘s 鈥溾�� torch has been picked up by a handful of legislators, who are promoting a 鈥渘onpartisan鈥� bill that could generate $150 million to pay for energy-efficiency upgrades beginning this summer.

鈥淚n my opinion, it’s one of those programs we should have thought of a long time ago,鈥� said Maurice Rahming, president of O’Neill Electric.

Green retrofits not only reduce energy use and create construction jobs, but also improve conditions for students and teachers. Some statistics show that certain types of HVAC upgrades can result in improved student health and performance.

鈥淭he governor feels that Cool Schools puts Oregonians back to work, by retrofitting a lot of these public schools to make them clean, healthy facilities,鈥� said Christine Miles, spokeswoman for Kitzhaber. 鈥淐ool Schools will also offer a safe, good environment for kids to learn in. And the money that is saved 鈥� will eventually go back to the school district.鈥�

Rep. Jules Bailey, D-Portland, proposed to kick-start an institutionalized statewide program for retrofits in K-12 schools. The bill itself only sets up some accounts to pay for energy-efficiency upgrades, but a group of stakeholders is working on a set of amendments that would provide a financing mechanism.

Oregon’s Small-Scale Energy Loan Program will be accessed to create a pot of $150 million that would be immediately accessible for loans for school retrofit projects. The money will be supplemented by public purpose charges to keep the loans at either low interest or none at all, Bailey said. The public purpose charge is paid by subscribers on energy bills and covers a variety of energy-related programs. School districts receive 10 percent of public purpose charge money for energy conservation.

鈥淪chools have had access to these public purpose charge dollars, but in a lot of cases this money isn’t enough to go beyond the low-hanging fruit,鈥� Bailey said. 鈥淎t the same time, school districts have been wary of taking out loans.鈥�

Upwards of 50 projects could be funded through the loan program; individual project costs will depend on the age of the school and what needs to be done, Bailey said. The bill will include a set of prioritizing criteria, including the value of the energy savings available, the ability to start work immediately and a particular priority to schools that can change to a biomass-fueled boiler, which will provide an economic boost to the Oregon biomass industry, Bailey said.

Bailey is hoping HB 2960 will be passed by the Legislature this session.

鈥淚t’s not a partisan bill,鈥� Bailey said. 鈥淚t doesn’t cost any taxpayer money, and everybody’s for job creation.鈥�

Portland Public Schools, meanwhile, is placing a $548 million, five-year bond measure on the May ballot. That money would go toward upgrading energy efficiency in many of the district’s schools and completely rebuilding eight of them.

鈥淭he way we look at it is, a one-time capital investment can save us money out of our general fund year after year,鈥� said Matt Shelby, spokesman for Portland Public Schools. 鈥淭he bulk of our general fund goes to putting teachers in front of students. Every dollar we can free up for the purpose is a dollar well spent.鈥�

While Portland Public Schools’ bond is being hotly debated, many schools aren’t even trying to get a bond passed in difficult economic times, said Alec Holser, partner at Opsis Architecture.

鈥淭his year will probably have the lowest number of school bond initiatives in decades,鈥� Holser said. And that’s why the building industry will be watching Cool Schools closely, hoping that it will pick up projects where bond measures don’t.

鈥淚t’s probably doubly important because of the lack of other bond funds available to do renovations,鈥� he said.

A green retrofit can mean changing out lightbulbs, repositioning windows or changing a boiler; costs and benefits vary for each.

鈥淚 want to dissuade people against the golden bullet: one strategy to apply, regardless of school type,鈥� said Ihab Elzeyadi, an associate professor and researcher at the University of Oregon. He is creating a set of best practices for school retrofits.

Holser hopes that Cool Schools will take a holistic approach to green retrofits, including daylighting, insulation and boiler replacement. Another concern is the speed of projects: bidding for school projects usually occurs near the beginning of the year so that materials, contractors and thoughtful engineering can be sorted out to start work immediately after the last day of school and finish before students return, Holser said.

House Bill 2960 is the beginning, but legislators hope for more. 鈥淐ool Schools is not merely a bill, but a long-term commitment to retrofit schools for energy efficiency,鈥� said Rep. Jefferson Smith, D-Portland.

The next step could be a public-private partnership, where private companies could provide school districts an initial investment in exchange for buying some of the projected energy savings.

鈥淭here’s value in energy efficiency,鈥� Bailey said. 鈥淲e want to invest in it like we invest in energy generation.鈥�