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School officials say let the sun shine in on new solar project

By Britt Combs | The McDowell News

Published: November 25, 2009

There won't be any "semi-pro" football games at McDowell High School but there will be an expanded course offering there. The school administration is preparing for a fancy new solar power system and accepting estimates on major roofing projects

Those are some of the highlights of the McDowell County Board of Education's regular meeting for November.

Board Attorney Chris Campbell made a rare appearance at the meeting to explain his contract negotiations with FLS Solar of Asheville. FLS proposed to the board last summer a plan to install solar water heaters on the roofs of three schools and provide hot water at a fixed rate for 10 years. The rate is cheaper than the current cost per gallon of hot water heated by gas.

FLS will own the system and hold a lease on the roof space. The company will be in a position to sell the tax credits available to users of solar power on the open market. Such tax credits are valuable offsets for industrial polluters, Campbell explained.

As a government entity, the school system would not be able to realize or market the tax credits themselves.

The school system would have the option to renew the contract or buy the equipment at the end of the contract's term, Campbell explained.

"You'll be pioneers in this area," he stated. "Many of my clients are talking about this and most are looking at doing business with FLS." Campbell represents several public school systems in the region.

Associate Superintendent Mike Murray said, as he told the board after FLS's presentation last summer, that he had visited FLS facilities in Buncombe County and was very impressed by what he had learned. He said he expected to save about 30 percent over the current cost of hot water.

The board instructed Campbell to finalize the negotiation and to advertise the roof space lease, as required by law. If all goes as planned, the high school, East Junior High and Marion Elementary will have solar systems installed on the roofs.

Those schools were selected based on the condition of the roofs.

On the subject of school roofs, Murray reported that the roof at West Marion Elementary was shot, due to poor ventilation. The school has asphalt shingles, and these have been overheated.

Airflow in an attic is critical to preserving shingles. Murray said the state Department of Public Instruction had sent engineers to investigate. The engineers reported that the roof would need a new, higher, steeper structure built atop the existing roof with more adequate airflow.

Installing new shingles on the existing structure would be throwing good money after bad. The first phase of the new roof would cost "about $350,000," he stated. The total cost of the West Marion roof would be close to $900,000.

Superintendent Ira Trollinger said there was enough money in the system to deal with it.

"We have adequate construction funds to cover this," he said. "It seems expensive, but we recommend you move forward with this."

The board agreed. Board members instructed Murray to obtain bids on the roof project. Board Member Brian Piercy wanted to know if the architect who designed the facility could be held responsible.

Campbell said architects were well protected from actions based on shoddy work.

"Six years is the outside of the liability on this type of issue," he said.

MHS Principal Ben Talbert presented the board with several new high school courses he hopes to offer in the 2010-11 school year. They include

-- Art III Honors. The course will be taught in conjunction with Art IV and AP Art and will be open to juniors and seniors on the recommendation of the teacher.

-- Global Consciousness and Diversity. This course is designed as an alternative to World Literature and Composition. The course was designed by teachers Amy Clark and Jessica Ferguson, Talbert said, and will differ from World Lit in having a goal of "global understanding" using literature and writing as well as trips and service as tools to make the broader world open to students.

-- Journalism II. This comes on the heels of the very popular Journalism I as taught by Andy Ferguson and Jessica Ferguson, Talbert said. The course will cover "advanced techniques for news writing, editorial writing, features writing and sports coverage." There will be sections on page design and photography as well, he added, and monthly submissions to the school newspaper will be required.

-- AP Calculus BC. An extension of Calculus AB, Talbert said, and would require a similar depth of understanding. He told the board that calculus was a popular alternative to statistics for advanced students.

-- European History Honors. This course would be a fall semester prerequisite to AP European History, concentrating on the later Middle Ages and the political, military and economic conditions prevailing under the feudal social structure. College credit would be available for those scoring well on the exam, Talbert stated.

The board members received the recommendation enthusiastically and instructed Talbert and Assistant Superintendent Becky Pearson, who is in charge of curriculum, to proceed. The courses will be offered, pending approval by state authorities.