On Wednesday, Aug. 22, the Fountain Hills Unified School District Governing Board met to vote on entering into an agreement with Schneider Electric to complete an investment grade audit (IGA) for an energy improvement plan.

Before the vote on the IGA the board heard from Superintendent Dr. Allen as well as Director of Transportation, John Flynn.

Allen reviewed with the board all the background work that led the district to this point.

FHUSD first started to look into an upgrade of its facilities to modernize and make them more efficient in the fall of 2017.

SRP preformed a preliminary analysis of potential areas for energy savings. After getting the results back, FHUSD fielded several proposals from energy saving companies.

“After a review of the proposals by district staff it was determined Schneider Electric provided the best option for the district in terms of products and customer service,” Allen said. “Given the financial complexities of an energy savings contract, the district engaged the offices of Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc. as the placement agent to ensure fiscal compliance pending the potential issue of municipal securities related to a lease purchasing agreement. The district also had legal counsel review the terms and conditions of the proposed Schneider Investment Grade Audit.”

Flynn answered the board’s questions about pervious clients’ satisfaction with Schneider Electric.

Flynn, who was involved in the deal, had been in contact with five companies to whom Schneider Electric wrote checks to because of an overestimation in savings.

Flynn reported that all five companies said that Schneider Electric was quick to write that check and, in one case, a client was not even sure why they had received a check from Schneider.

After hearing from both Allen and Flynn the board unanimously voted to approve the IGA with Schneider Electric.

There was one public comment concerning the IGA submitted by Bob Shelstrom, who recently filed as a write-in candidate for the school board.

His concerns ranged from Schneider Electric’s proposal “stating opinion as fact” and that he felt Schneider “may be grossly” overestimating potential savings.

“It is clear all due diligence required for FHUSD has not yet been performed,” Shelstrom said. “The terms of the agreement are disadvantages to the district.”

One of the examples offered in Shelstrom’s comments was Schneider Electric’s claim that LED lights positively impact the learning environment.

Governing Board member Judy Rutkowski responded to the concern, explaining that Schneider Electric provided references to support that stance in their presentation to the board at the previous meeting.

Board Vice President Jill Reed went on to add that many of the other stated concerns had also been addressed by Schneider Electric during their proposal at the Aug. 8 meeting.

Reed added that she was confident in her decision to approve the IGA.

“I feel that our superintendent has done his due diligence,” Reed said. “He is very meticulous when it comes to facts and following guidelines and legal issues of contracting out with different vendors. I think that Mr. Woodward provided a very in-depth presentation.”