FRANKLIN PIERCE — Nationally recognized energy and facility services firm McKinstry and Tacoma Power jointly presented the Franklin Pierce School District with a rebate check for $28,001 at Tuesday’s school board meeting after completing $2,078,768 in facility improvements to help lower energy usage and reduce operational costs. The project cost was also offset by a $1 million grant from the Off ice of Superintendent of Public Instruction that McKinstry helped the district secure, and $44,555 in energy conservation incentives available for lighting and heating systems upgrades.

Facility upgrades included the following:
* Replacement of aging heating and ventilation systems at Ford Middle School and Washington High School gyms
* Interior lighting upgrades at Washington High School, Franklin Pierce High School, Ford Middle School and Keithley Middle School
* Exterior lighting upgrades at Washington High School, Franklin Pierce High School, Ford Middle School, Keithley Middle School and Midland Elementary School
* Building exterior (“envelope”) upgrades and weatherization measures
* District-wide water conservation measures

Annual energy savings from these facility improvements are expected to be
$30,259. In addition, the district will save an estimated $7,000 in annual
operational and maintenance costs. These energy improvement measures will reduce carbon emissions by 616,474 pounds a year, which is the equivalent of removing 58 cars from the roads or 14 houses from the power grid.

“This project is an important long-term investment in the health of our
schools. Not only does this project save the district money, it creates a
better environment for students to learn and teachers to teach,” said
Superintendent Dr. Frank Hewins. “We’re thankful for this partnership with
McKinstry and Tacoma Power.”

The grant from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is part of
the 2012 Jobs Now Act. Approved by the Washington State Legislature in April 2012, the Act (now the Washington Energy Efficiency Grant program) allocated nearly $78 million to competitive grant programs to fund energy and operational cost saving improvements in public buildings across the state. The Legislature has authorized an additional round of funding for 2013-2015.

Since 2009, McKinstry has helped its clients secure over $94 million in state
grant funding. Those grants have been leveraged into more than $200 million in project work. In addition to enhancing facilities, projects also stimulate the local economy by employing local consultants and contractors.

About Franklin Pierce School District

Franklin Pierce School District (“Franklin Pierce Schools”) is a
PreK-12 public school district located in unincorporated Pierce County, WA. We have nearly 1,000 highly skilled professionals that serve approximately 7,500 students in 14 schools. Our District has several recent ccomplishments including, but not limited to, high-performing schools with test scores and graduation rates that outperform other districts with similar demographics, two school principals who were recently recognized as Washington State Principals of the Year, a multi-year awardee of the Washington State School Directors Association’s Board of Distinction, and multi-year “clean” audits on safety, accounting practices and equitable treatment of students.

For more information, visit www.fpschools.org

About McKinstry

McKinstry is a full-service, design-build-operate-and-maintain (DBOM) firm
specializing in consulting, construction, energy and facility services. Our
innovative, integrated delivery methodology provides clients with a single
point of accountability that drives waste, cost, time, and redundancy out of
the design/build process. We employ more than 1,700 professional staff and
trades people throughout the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, West, Midwest, and Southwest regions of the United States with operations in more than 15 states. McKinstry advocates collaborative and sustainable solutions designed to ensure occupant comfort, improve systems efficiency, reduce facility operational costs, and ultimately optimize profitability “For The Life of Your Building.”
For more information, visit www.mckinstry.com