Brockport School District has received an award for saving money on energy. The Million Dollar Club Award is awarded from EnerScope, a company that assists the district in the preparation of bids for natural gas and alternative energy sources.

By purchasing what is called "transport gas" through gas brokers, Brockport saved $1 million over a ten-year period, compared to what would have been spent if gas had been purchased directly from a local energy company. "This is an enormous savings," said Dr. James Wood, Assistant Superintendent for Business. "These savings really help the district, especially during a difficult budget time. By controlling our overhead costs, there are more resources available for instruction." In order to purchase transport gas, the district calculates how much gas may be used for the year and submits a bid. "It isn't always a local company," said Wood. "We could purchase gas from a company in Pennsylvania or Texas. It just depends on who has the best price."

To further help energy savings, the district installed a geothermal heating/cooling system in the 48,000 square foot addition at the high school. Approximately one third of the high school is heated and cooled geothermally. Brockport High School is the first school in New York state to use the natural heating system that relies on heat exchangers and ground temperature to extract energy for heating and cooling. One hundred wells were drilled to the depth of 500 feet each. Water in a closed loop piping system picks up ambient temperature of the earth, about 57 degrees F and is pumped back through a heat pump that extracts the energy for heat. To cool, hot water circulating in the building is pumped back into the ground and is cooled to 57 degrees F. The additional expense for the well field was covered by a $250,000 grant from NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Agency). In its second year of operation, the geothermal heating system has saved the district $70,000, according to district representatives.

The district received a plaque for its energy savings. The district tracks energy consumption for all its schools on a monthly basis.