Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Arkansas School Converts Utilities Savings to Teacher Raises

  • By Matt Jones
  • 03/30/21

The Batesville School District in Batesville, Ark., isn’t the first school district to save money on utilities by switching to solar power. It may, however, be the among the first to pass those savings directly to teachers.

In 2017, Batesville High School installed hundreds of solar panels into an unused field behind the school. It also installed a solar canopy spanning across the entire front of the building for a total of about 1,500 panels. This source of solar power has saved the district more than $600,000 in utilities costs. It also converted the district’s annual budget deficit of roughly $250,000 into a $1.8 million surplus, and the district is on track to save a minimum of $2.4 million during the next 20 years.

The district’s average teacher salary previously ranked second-to-last in that region of the state, with an average of about $45,000. Superintendent Michael Hester said he was losing teachers and having trouble hiring new ones. “People aren’t in this business, obviously, for the money,” he said, “but they should not have a vow of poverty to teach, either.”

The district chose to funnel its financial savings into its greatest resource: teachers. The district has offered bonuses two years in a row and raised teachers’ salaries by up to $15,000 each, making it one of the best-paying districts in the county.

“Let’s use that money to start pumping up teachers’ salaries,” said Hester. “It’s the way we’re going to attract and retain staff. And it’s the way we’re going to attract and retain students in this day and age of school choice.”

Jeanne Roepcke, a teacher in the Batesville School District who received a significant raise, is understandably elated. “No, it would not have been one of the things that I thought,” she said. “But, what a great idea. The sun is going to be shining anyway, so why not cash in on that? It’s good to know that they care about us. It feels really, really good.”

About 7,300 schools around the country use some form of solar power, up 81% in the last five years.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Year-Round Schools Require Year-Round Indoor Air Quality Planning

    While many schools are out for the summer, year-round schools follow a more “balanced” schedule with shorter, more frequent breaks spaced throughout the school year. Even though this offers educational benefits, these facilities have less downtime for building maintenance. This can become an issue when facilities managers overlook the importance of routine HVAC maintenance and air duct cleaning services.

  • Wyoming District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    Laramie County School District #1 in Cheyenne, Wy., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the upcoming Mountain View Elementary School, according to a news release. The facility has an estimated completion date of summer 2028, and it will have the capacity for 650 students in fifth and sixth grade.

  • Texas Recruitment

    Texas Recruitment

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The University of Texas at Austin's Texas Recruitment has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.

  • Building Beyond Simulation: Creating Immersive Ecosystems for Healthcare Education

    Health sciences education is one of the fastest-growing facility types in colleges and universities. The demand for medical, nursing, and allied health professionals is driving the creation and renovation of medical simulation training facilities that provide students with real-world experience through advanced simulation-based learning.