Same buildings. Same budget. Twenty years apart.
Two school districts. Both spend $1 million a year on utilities. One makes a decision in year one. The other waits. This is what happens next.
Chapter 1 — The Starting Point
It’s 2026. Both districts look identical.
Riverside USD and Elmwood USD are neighboring districts. Same size. Same aging buildings. Same $1 million annual utility bill. Both superintendents have heard about Energy Performance Contracts. Only one acts.
Chapter 2 — Five Years In
The bills start to diverge.
Energy prices don’t stay flat. They never do. 4.5% per year feels small — until you watch it compound.
Chapter 3 — Ten Years In
The gap becomes impossible to ignore.
Chapter 4 — Twenty Years Later
The final tally.
It’s 2046. The kids who were in kindergarten when these decisions were made are now in their mid-twenties. Here’s what those decisions cost — or built.
Chapter 5 — What $13.4 Million Looks Like in a School
This isn’t an abstract number.
In a 2,000-student district, $13.4 million over 20 years is $670 per student. Here’s what that buys — or doesn’t.
