The New Guy Learns about EAIS, Part 1

You don’t know what you don’t know.

As the new guy around the Energy Association of Iowa Schools (EAIS) office, I’m in warp speed learning mode. Because there’s a lot I didn’t know about this nimble organization’s to-do list. In short, EAIS provides energy management, radon reduction, and facility management support to help school districts save budget dollars and lives. But what are the details below the surface? In this first of a two-part series, I’ll take a look at EAIS’ energy work.

“In short, EAIS provides energy management, radon reduction, and facility management support to help school districts save budget dollars and lives.”

If I’ve learned one thing about the staff of EAIS, it’s that they are responsive to its members and stakeholders. When school radon testing was identified early on as a need, EAIS created a support system to meet that call (more on that in the next installment of this series). When members schools voiced their difficulties in finding qualified staff to run their buildings, EAIS rose to the occasion with the creation of the Building Operator Pathway (BOP) Program.

 

When I graduated from high school way back before cell phones, the internet, and back-up cameras on vehicles, I didn’t know anything about boilers, glycol chillers, sump pumps, or HVAC, but all of these are things I’ve had to learn about as a home owner or within various vocations over the years. What a gift it might have been to have had access to these types of competencies and more when I was a young student!

“What a gift it might have been to have had access to these types of competencies and more when I was a young student!”

Thanks to EAIS (as well as the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Iowa Energy Center), BOP is a student work-based learning opportunity that can not only equip one with understanding on how homes or buildings function and how they are maintained, but can also lead to a potential career path. And it turns out that good building operations translate to energy and financial savings. Win. Win. Win.

Piloted in 2020, BOP has trained dozens of students and district staff across Iowa. The program is going on hiatus for the 2024-25 school year for some restructuring, but will return in 2025 to help equip more young people statewide with practical life skills and a brighter future.

In addition to BOP, EAIS is working to update its energy supports for schools. Look for our work in the areas of renewable energy and building electrification as well as helping to bring Inflation Reduction Act dollars to Iowa schools.

Coming on September 25, we’re very much looking forward to our Iowa School Energy Conference in Ames. Topics of discussion will include electrifying schools, renewable energy, accessing dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act, federal Direct Cash for clean energy, and electric buses. To register, click here.

Do we know every detail about what is to come in this small-but-motivated organization? No. Do we look forward to learning about what’s next? Yes!

For more information on EAIS and what it offers its members, visit EAIS’ website.