TO: NASEO State and Affiliate Members
FROM: Rodney Sobin, Senior Program Director
RE: NASEO Webinar--Cooperative Services Model for Rural Public Sector Energy Management
Long distances, lack of scale, and limited resources challenge the delivery of technical assistance and services in rural areas. In most states, Educational Service Agencies (ESAs, but go by various names across the country) provide K-12 public school districts and other institutions a means to share professional, technical, administrative, and procurement resources and expertise in the educational sphere. They strengthen the range and quality of services to students, support teachers and staff, and save school districts and taxpayers money.
Cooperative Educational Service Agency 10 (CESA) 10 in Wisconsin stands out among ESAs by providing a range of energy-related facility services to its member school districts and beyond. Among these offerings are energy management, facility assessment, construction management, owner's representation, and environmental health and safety. CESA 10 partners with the utility-supported Focus on Energy and the State Energy Office (SEO) in the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Wisconsin by implementing the Focus on Energy Agriculture, Schools and Government Program which delivers energy efficiency incentives and technical assistance throughout Wisconsin which also emphasizes project development in rural areas.
This webinar will explore the cooperative services model for rural public sector energy management based on CESA 10's experiences, including how CESA 10 came to offer facility and energy-related services, how it works, and how rural K-12 schools benefit. The webinar will consider opportunities for SEOs and ESAs to work together to enhance energy management in schools and the potential for cooperative services to address rural communities' energy priorities and opportunities more broadly.
Speakers:
- Jolene Sheil, Focus on Energy Portfolio Manager, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
- Heather Feigum, Assistant Director of Facilities Management, Cooperative Educational Service Agency 10 (CESA 10)
- Charlie Schneider, Executive Director of Facilities Management, CESA 10
