Bonfanti: Peabody starting to think green

PEABODY – “Green” was the overwhelming theme of Tuesday night’s School Committee meeting, as members and their student counterparts discussed many ways to save money and the environment.Committee member Ed Nizwantowski got the energy saving ball rolling when he held up the inch-thick meeting agenda.”Do we really need to know all of this?” he asked his fellow members, referencing the detailed 30-page, double-sided maintenance report. He pointed out some “wasteful” information, such as the completed requests to fill barrels with sand and fix a toilet that wouldn’t flush properly.”(Business Manager Mike Musto’s) time could be spent doing other things,” he said. “In my opinion, it’s a waste of time.”Nizwantowski said he’s “just trying to save a tree,” and motioned for oral reports, rather than multiple page printouts.Committee member Dave McGeney informed the board that the original intent behind receiving a monthly maintenance report was to put to rest rumors that requests were not being answered. He agreed with Nizwantowski that the great length of the report was a waste of paper, and instead suggested that members receive emailed PDF files.The Committee voted in favor to do just that.Towards the end of the meeting, Ed Charest brought up the idea of conducting an energy audit on all of the 11 school buildings; a process he said was conducted by neighboring Saugus Schools. Although most members and more specifically, Bonfanti, agreed that saving energy with schools is a positive thing, it might not be the most feasible.”It’s a costly venture,” said Bonfanti, noting the importance of looking closely at the payback.However, Bonfanti also stated that Peabody is “starting to think green and starting to think better.” He said it was a shame that the city didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to be more energy conscience when they built schools in the past.”Hopefully your generation will be a little smarter than my generation,” he told the students on stage. “We’re relying on you not to make the same mistakes?Hopefully you’re getting the message my generation didn’t quite get.”Students chimed in on possibly using hand-dryers rather than paper towel dispensers in the bathrooms. Musto replied, saying that in years past, it was almost common practice for students to take the dryers off the walls; however, they will be testing them out again.Charest said he hopes energy savings will become a normal part of School Committee conversation, since he himself, has been hearing from students about “the need to be green.”