Oxford High School, in Oxford, Mississippi, is a small-town school with big expectations. In 2011, when the district needed to accommodate growth in its student population, administrators partnered with Johnson Controls. Three years later, they opened a high-tech, energy-efficient, state-of-the-art, secure school to more than 1,000 students.
A bold vision.
Create an energy-efficient school. Make it safe, secure and comfortable. Put a laptop in the hands of every student in grades seven through 12. It was a bold vision. If realized, Oxford High School would be the first in its state to deliver a one-to-one digital learning environment. The community supported the initiative; a bond referendum raised $30 million for construction of the new high school. But it wasn’t enough to deliver everything on the district’s wish list.
Start with the end in mind.
Oxford High School needed to stretch its investment beyond what traditional construction would allow. Johnson Controls suggested the district use future energy savings to overcome the funding shortfall. Through an Energy Services Agreement (ESA), efficient lighting, heating and air conditioning systems were installed during construction with the expectation that over the lifecycle of the building, the projected energy and operational savings would more than make up for the first costs associated with creating a more sustainable facility.
Create a connection.
Technology contracting typically lowers first costs by 8-12% and, in the long term, decreases operational and utility expenses because customers don’t need to manage multiple systems under various vendors. Oxford selected Johnson Controls as the single-source technology contractor to create a connected educational environment. The school now features campus-wide Wi-Fi, streaming video, 70″ LED screens in every classroom, and laptops for every student.
Keep it safe.
In any learning environment today, teachers can’t teach and students can’t learn if they don’t feel safe. The new Oxford High School was designed to put security and safety first, and the Technology Contracting model made it possible to implement the most advanced security, fire safety and access controls strategy at Oxford.
Visit with our K-12 energy, security and technology experts at the ASBO annual conference where vertical market director, Gwenn McDaniel will co-present “What Every School Administrator Should Know About K-12 Security”, October 23-26 in Grapevine, Texas – Booth #705.
