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Taylor ISD aims to go green By Jason Schaefer Cleaner, more effective products, equipment help district lower impact on environment At Taylor ISD, green is no longer just a color for the football team. With safer cleaning products that are more effective, cleaner-running equipment and methods to save energy, custodial staff and administrators alike are working to improve efficiency, lower the district’s effect on the environment and “go green.” “The first thing we did was compare the prices of the products we were already using to green products,” Taylor ISD Energy Manager and Custodial Supervisor Mike Janak said. “We found that with some of the products we had, there wasn’t much difference in cost.” The district switched to “green-seal” antibacterial foaming hand soap in all bathrooms, a product that cost the same as liquid soap, which is more wasteful. The precise foaming dispensers have been set to deliver 2,500 sprays per bottle. In addition, TISD is now using paper towels and toilet tissue manufactured from recycled paper. Cleaning facilities has also become more of a “green” task. The custodial staff now uses safer cleaning products, switching from aerosol and unmixed chemicals to premixed, green-certified liquid cleaning products. Before, maintenance staff had to mix cleaning agents themselves, which can cause dangerous reactions and more waste products. Staff now use four low-impact professional cleaning products, all from the Hillyard Arsenal line — two are environmentally preferred, one is hydrogen-peroxide based and one has a neutral pH. In addition to these products, TISD has been a part of Energy Education, a program that helps school districts improve their energy efficiency, for seven years. Last year, the district won an award for saving more than $1 million in energy costs. To achieve energy efficiency, all campuses have been switched to an “energy setback” system, where the lights are turned off and the air conditioners automatically adjusted to a higher temperature — between 80 and 85 degrees during the summer — late in the day when few students are in the classroom. The air conditioning units must stay on to prevent humid conditions inside the school that can lead to molding, but are set to conserve energy. The air conditioners cool the facilities to between 74 and 77 degrees early in the morning, before the students arrive. The units are set to adjust at 5 p.m., but will be re-adjusted for extracurricular events and parts of the school where students remain for after-school activities. “If we have a volleyball game, we have the air conditioning programmed for it,” Janak said. “We get the schedule from the coaches, and we can pre-program for these events, and anytime the school’s occupied for a function.” The district will also modify the cooling schedule for practices if requested, but some coaches request the air conditioning remain off, Janak said. In addition to these efforts, TISD has added soapless hand sanitizer dispensers in all classrooms to help prevent the outbreak of bacterial infections. The district has also switched to trashcan liners that are manufactured with recycled materials and vacuum cleaners that contain hypoallergenic filters and are noise-approved. “We’re just trying to provide a better environment that’s safer for our kids,” Janak said.
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