Schools struggle to pay soaring natural gas bills

Soaring natural gas prices are hitting Indiana schools hard, with some schools paying nearly four times as much as last year.\nThough price increases had been expected, school administrators say the amount of the increase has been a surprise. \n"Our budgets were approved some time around August. Now, there is no way we can generate the funds to meet the increased prices," said Anthony Etienne, assistant superintendent of Warsaw Community Schools. \nThe money it will to pay the extra bills will come from general school funds that pay for textbooks, staff development and salaries, he said.\nBob Schacht, vice president of distribution operations for Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), the utility company that supplies Warsaw Community Schools, attributed the increase to the mild winters of previous years. Large quantities of natural gas went unused during the last few years, which tipped the supply and demand balance and created an excess supply, he said. \nThese conditions caused natural gas producers to suspend development of new wells and sources of natural gas, he said. And producers lowered prices to sell their surplus, creating temporarily low costs. Because producers were not developing new sources, the situation has swung to the other extreme, Schacht said. \nDan Wray, energy manager for Warsaw Community Schools, said schools don't have the benefit businesses have of passing on costs to their consumers.\nOfficials from schools around the state are voicing their concern. \n"We did anticipate an increase and tried to budget for it. But, we expected maybe a 5 percent rise. What we are looking at now is a minimum of our bills doubling," said William Reiter, director of facilities and operations for Muncie Community Schools.\nSeveral community schools are proposing suggestions for a reduction of energy use. \n"We have always been keeping a close watch on energy usage. So now, it is going to be pretty difficult to cut down further," Etienne said.\nAmong the possible options Warsaw Community Schools and others are considering are setting nightside thermostats to a lower temperature and reducing afterschool and weekend use of facilities. That would also mean cutting down evening building staff as much as possible to avoid inconveniences, Wray said.\nIn a letter to state Rep. David Wolkins, R-Winona Lake, Wray suggested setting up a special rate schedule for schools, protecting them from the price increases to which larger businesses are subject. He also suggested changes in school funding programs.\n"Right now, we are still trying to figure out what steps we will need to take to overcome this problem," Etienne said.