By NANCY HILER
Science teacher Jennifer Buczynski has worked with students in the school's science club and in environmental science classes to raise $4,900 through two contests that became fund-raisers.
As classes wound down throughout the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District this June, Buczynski said she thought the total would reach $6,000 by September, pointing to eight boxes of bulbs in her classroom that she thought students would sell by then.
She was also hoping for matching grant dollars to double that number to $12,000, although she had no definite commitments yet. That amount, she surmised, might be sufficient to pay for a small rooftop solar-electric (photovoltaic) system installation.
No system specifics
Buczynski could not provide specifics about the size of the proposed system, where it might be installed, or how much energy she expected it to generate. "I'd be happy if it produced enough electricity for the whole third floor [of the school] or just two or three classrooms," she said. When asked how soon Calhoun could expect to have a solar-electric system in place, Long Island Power Authority spokeswoman Sharon Laudisi said, "The project is in preliminary, planning stages," and it's too early to set a time frame yet.
Also, although several school districts on Long Island in recent years have or are in the process of installing multiple photovoltaic (solar-electric) systems to reduce their electricity costs, the goal for Calhoun at this point is chiefly educational. A small photovoltaic system could be used as a learning tool to show how solar energy can be converted into electricity, Buczynski said.
By all accounts, the price tag, however, is likely to be greater than the teacher's initially hoped.
The installed cost of a five kilowatt system, for example, which is considered a small system even for a house, averages about $40,000 before rebates, according to LIPA.
Through its Solar Pioneer Program, LIPA offers rebates of $4.75 per kilowatt to schools and other non-profits who install photovoltaic systems.
That's a dollar more than the amount offered to residential and commercial installations which, unlike tax-exempt entities, are eligible for tax incentives also.
The rebates would mean a deduction of $23,750. That leaves $16,250 on the table, which probably would involve additional time for the students to do more fund-raising.
Waiting for the sun
Further waiting and another fund-raising effort probably wouldn't dampen Buczynski's enthusiasm, however. She and her students and fellow teachers have been working toward their goal for about two years now, originally expecting it to take as long as five years to bring solar power to the school.
In those two years, the students have participated in two major contests that they parlayed into major fund-raisers for their cause.
"First, we collected empty ink cartridges and old cell phones for recycling, and raised $3,500," Buczynski said. That was begun in October 2005 when the Science Club entered the Staples' $25,000 Cartridge Chase, hoping to be the student group that collected the most cartridges nationally to win a $25,000 prize on Earth Day 2006.
The club did not win, but they did receive $3 for every cartridge and phone turned in to office supplies giant Staples for recycling -- adding up to the $3,500. This also became a school-wide recycling initiative, one that continues today.
Bulbs light the way
This spring, juniors in Buczynski's environmental science inclusion class became involved in a second contest, which led to a second fund-raiser. "We added another $1,400 so far selling CFL light bulbs," Buczynski said. CFLs, or compact fluorescent lamps, are those spiral-shaped bulbs sold in most stores today, which last longer and use less energy than traditional incandescent ones.
LIPA donated 500 CFL bulbs to the school when the class won first prize (which is actually second to a grand prize) in the company's Long Island Schools 2007 Clean Energy Challenge and Showdown. LIPA officials came to the school in the spring to present the light bulbs and gift certificates for each student participant, kicking off the fund-raiser, as well as to announce the winners of another clean energy-related contest, the "I am an Energy Star" talent show.
The students earned first prize for designing a model of a "green" Nassau Coliseum. They explored various types of clean energy alternatives as part of their classroom studies. It was the students' idea to build the model, Buczynski remarked. "We didn't help them with anything," Special Education teacher Emily Paluseo confirmed.
For the contest, "they had to decide what [clean energy choices] would be best for the Coliseum," Paluseo explained. "They didn't think wind power would work for the location, for example. They narrowed it down to geothermal and solar energy. And bio-deisel for the Zamboni [the ice resurfacing machine used for the Islanders' ice hockey rink]."
"Kids really make a difference when it comes to understanding the importance of clean energy and energy efficiency," said Richard Kessel, chief executive officer and president of LIPA said at the time. Incidentally, Kessel grew up in the community and graduated from Calhoun High School.
"All the students in the environmental science class educated other students in all the other science classes in the school about the light bulbs, and helped to sell them," Buczynski said.
"I'm very proud of how our teachers have involved our students," David Seinfeld, principal of Calhoun High School, said of the LIPA contest. "And this fund-raiser will serve as a 'green energy' event to promote our collective concern for our environment."
"We raised a lot of money," Matt Warren, 17, one of the winning students, said. "We had 500 bulbs and we are selling them for $4 each," his classmate Daniel Kahn, 17, explained. "They're $8 in stores." In addition to selling the bulbs to fellow students, their parents, school officials and staff in the building first-hand, the students also posted a fund-raising form on the school's Web site, hoping people throughout the community would participate.
Buczynski suggested that anyone interested in donating to or otherwise helping their cause or any government official who may be able to secure grants toward the solar-electric system were welcome to contact her at the school.
"Maybe we can have solar by next summer," she speculated.
Comments about this story? Contact nhiler@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 234.
