Ash Grove Schools to go greener, new energy saving measures guaranteed to save money

Ash Grove School District has recently committed to energy efficiency, following a presentation from Entegrity Energy Partners on March 25.

The district will overhaul their HVAC, lighting and water systems in order to be more efficient and save more money in the long term as legislation that threatens to cut funding makes its way through the state legislature.

The process began in February of 2025 when the district allowed Entegrity Energy Partners to undertake an energy audit and monitor energy systems. In August of 2025, they began discussions to make greener the school district.

Entegrity brought forward a plan to the board that would replace many of the light fixtures in the district with LED, a much more energy-conscious option. Also in the plan was an overhaul of sinks and water fixtures in order to conserve water. HVAC was also cited as an area where the district could be more energy efficient with a proposed centralized HVAC control system on the table.

Another package presented by Entegrity involved the addition of solar panels, but this was declined by the board of education, though the potential savings were enticing said Superintendent Shane Medlin.

“While the cost savings looked desirable over the life of the project, the upfront cost for this project in addition to pending budgetary concerns from the state and our current building projects tabled the proposal at this time,” said Medlin.

Proposition Pirates compliant

The district had already planned on renovating the HVAC systems around the district as part of Proposition Pirates. Entegrity offered a proposal to install the new HVAC at a price point that would save the district a significant amount of money, said Medlin.

The district unanimously approved these energy efficient measures at the March 25 board meeting. According to Medlin, these improvements will total nearly $750,000, $200,000 being a buy down and the remaining $548,766 being financed. This, however, will actually help the district save money in the long run, as was guaranteed by Entegrity.

“After reviewing the HVAC bids, Entegrity provided an additional proposal of installing the new HVAC systems that would have been part of the project at a significant savings,” said Medlin. “This would require a $200,000 buy down for the project with a financed amount of $548,766. The projected utilities savings would be $748,996 over the 15 years of the financed project.”

The overall savings could be more, said Medlin.

“The estimated savings through this plan are conservative so we hope to exceed the predicted savings,” he said.

Medlin said the approval of this plan has multiple benefits for the district. One is the reduction in power usage in the face of increasing utility rates from Liberty, which he said will climb by 16.1 percent in the next three years.

Another benefit to these energy and cost-saving measures, is the reduction of expenditures in a time when state funding is dwindling.

“Numerous legislative bills are being proposed that would impact the state's tax base and negatively impact public education funding,” said Medlin. “The state has already underfunded the formula for Ash Grove Schools by more than $194,000 this year and we expect greater underfunding next year. Allowing money we already have to spend on utilities to do the work for us is a win in the long run.”

The projects are slated to begin once school dismisses for summer break.