CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION
                      NEWS RELEASE


For Immediate Release: November 16, 1994
More Information Contact: Rob Schlichting - (916) 654-5159


        STATE LOAN PROVIDES CAMBRIAN SCHOOL DISTRICT 
             WITH ENERGY EFFICIENT IMPROVEMENTS


The California Energy Commission today approved a $150,000 
low-interest loan to the Cambrian School District in San Jose for 
new energy efficient lighting.

The loan, made through the Commission's Bright Schools Program, 
will enable the district to save energy and reduce costs at seven 
sites in the San Jose area. The improvements should cut the 
district's electrical bill by nearly $32,000 annually. 

"Cambrian Park schools offer ample opportunities for energy 
improvement because of their age, " said Nick Nixon, Director of 
Buildings and Grounds for the Cambrian School District.  "Most of 
them were built in the mid-1950's, when this was still a farming 
area."  

Energy-saving improvements will be made to Farnham, Sartorette, 
Bagby, and Fammatre elementary schools, as well as Ida Price 
Middle School. Outdated lighting equipment will also be replaced 
in the district headquarters, housed in what was once Houge 
School, and at Metzler School, a facility owned but not presently
used as a teaching site by the district.  The surplus Metzler 
campus is rented out to such tenants as a pre-school and the Pine 
Hill School for Learning Disabilities.  

In addition to energy savings, Nixon said that maintenance costs 
at all seven sites will be reduced once the new lighting is 
installed. "The latest generation of energy-efficient florescent 
bulbs are longer-lasting.  That means additional savings, since we
won't have to pay to have them replaced as frequently," he said.

"The money we save will be plugged back into the classroom and 
into teaching," Nixon said.  "That's why our district supports 
energy-efficiency as strongly as we do.  It allows us to cut costs
while improving quality, an important goal in an era of tight 
educational budgets."

The Energy Commission's Bright Schools Program was established to 
help finance energy-saving projects for small school districts 
with fewer than 2,501 students.  The funds come from negotiated 
settlements and court judgements against petroleum companies for 
consumer overcharges between 1973 and 1981.

"We think it's fantastic that the district can borrow money this 
way from the Energy Commission,  said Nixon.  "This low rate loan 
is vital to the survival of our energy plans.  We couldn't have 
afforded these improvements on our own."  

Energy savings generated by the improvements should enable the 
loan to be paid back in just under six years.


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Nick Nixon, 
Director, Buildings and Grounds, 
Cambrian School District (408) 377-2103

Energy Commission Contact: 
Claudia Chandler, Assistant Executive Director, (916) 654-4989


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File Name: 94-11-16_Bright_Schools_Cambria