Stimulus money boils over to East Porter County schools

By Brian Williams, Times of Northwest Indiana
brian.williams@nwi.com

KOUTS | Federal stimulus money might warm East Porter County students and possibly Valparaiso students.

The East Porter County School Corp. board this week approved an agreement with Thermodynamic Process Control of Indianapolis to upgrade boilers at the district's three school complexes.

An evaluation of the schools' heating systems by Thermodynamic showed they were eligible for improvements and the federal dollars to pay for them, Superintendent Rod Gardin said.

The approximate $1.6 million cost of the work will be paid with funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Gardin said.

The work likely would begin this fall and continue into next year, Gardin said. It is contingent on release of the federal stimulus money, he said.

The district's boilers are not currently experiencing problems, but the upgrades will make them more efficient, Gardin said. The agreement includes boiler replacement if necessary.

East Porter Business Manager Lisa Rosinko said Thermodynamic projected energy savings between 24 and 40 percent with the upgraded boilers.

Valparaiso Community Schools has applied with Thermodynamic for the same type of agreement to seek stimulus funding for boiler upgrades at all schools, David White, the district's finance officer, said.

If approved, the work could save the district more than $4 million, with no financial risk, White said.

Valparaiso likely would hear a response to its application in July, White said. If approved and if the federal monies are released, upgrades would probably start in late summer, and full boiler replacements, if necessary, would be done after the winter heating season, he said.