School districts continuously seek ways to cut expenses and save money without affecting the quality of education and the number of employees needed to provide the education. The Lampasas Independent School District is no exception.

As it looks to reduce its costs over the next several years because it expects little, if any, help from Texas legislators, the district's trustees Monday night considered two ways to assist the LISD in that endeavor.

First, a presentation from Energy Education of Dallas offered ways to cut energy consumption and promised savings of at least 20 percent in energy bills.

Money saved through the program would put dollars back into the LISD's budget that it otherwise would spend on utilities, said Eddy Froehner, Energy Education representative. "Instead of paying your utility company, you pay your district back in the amount of savings through energy consumption," he said.

Froehner said his company would check all local campuses and come up with thousands of suggestions to cut costs, including making sure equipment is operating at maximum efficiency.

"And if the LISD doesn't save more money than the program costs you, we'll write you a check for the difference," he said. "We know this program works. It is in 1,000 school districts in 48 states across the country; it's in hospitals and community colleges."

Froehner said the program's concentration is on kindergarten through 12th-grade campuses. "That's where our heart is. Putting dollars back into education that you would have put into utility costs."

The fee is based on the number of buildings, square footage and consultant visits established on a four-year program. "We tell districts that hire us that they will be cash-flow positive within 90 days. You pay nothing in the first four months, and by the time you make the first payment, you are cash-flow positive."

In a second effort to control costs, the LISD contracted with the Texas Association of School Boards. Richard Lang provided the research survey and compiled data that he presented to trustees Monday. Lang shared a series of options to consider when balancing the budget.

The TASB representative said changes in operating procedure could generate up to $900,000 in savings for the district.

He looked at all staffing areas of the district, from administration to maintenance, and measured the LISD's numbers against state benchmarks.

Lang suggested overstaffed positions that could be absorbed when the posts become vacant, which would generate savings without firing staff.

He said two high school clerks and one at each of the three elementary schools could be absorbed to save costs.

Lang also noted the LISD has 16 surplus instructional aide positions when compared with its counterparts across the state. "I'm not saying you don't need them. I'm suggesting if you get vacancies, you can absorb those."

At the central office, administrative staff are down by two positions when compared to statewide standards. When that is combined with campus administrators and professional support staff, the LISD has eight less than the state average.

"You have space if there is money to add people in those positions," said Lang. He suggested adding an accountant into the business area and instructional technology personnel. Lang also said if the LISD had funds, hiring two curriculum specialists in science and mathematics would get the district closer to state standards.

The elementary level is staffed as efficiently as possible, he said, and the middle school staff is well balanced and close to state benchmarks.

He also suggested that next year a position could be absorbed when the larger eighth-grade class of this year heads to the high school, and a smaller fifth-grade class moves to Lampasas Middle School.

In athletics, Lang said the number of coaches is average, though he recommended that fewer athletic periods could result in additional academic courses without having to hire an extra teacher.

At Lampasas High School, Lang said class size averages 17 students. "That is below average. It is wonderful to have that, but the benchmark across the state is 22 to 24 students per class."

The district's special education department could support an additional teacher and two more aides to be at benchmark standards, Lang said.

He also reviewed child nutrition and said numbers could improve if more meals were served. "If you don't serve more meals, you might have to look at cutting the labor pool for the following school year."

Lang praised the district's maintenance department, noting money is saved due to the variety of skilled trades personnel on staff.

He added that nine surplus positions could be found in the custodial department, and that six or seven of those could be absorbed due to normal turnover in staff.

"I am here to give options so when you are looking at your decision making process you can look at everything and see what changes can be made to be more efficient," Lang said. "I don't see anything happening at the state level in the next biennium to help at all. You have some tough decisions to make over the next couple of years."

LISD Board President James Briggs said the district is searching for ways to make ends meet. "We are not cutting any jobs," he said.

In other business Monday, trustees hired Christie Miller to teach at Taylor Creek Elementary, and noted that annexation of the remainder of the Kempner-area's elementary school should be completed in the next month. "That will help us meet emergency response needs for the school," said Shane Jones, LISD business manager.

Superintendent Randy Hoyer noted that illness has caused a drop in attendance, and enrollment rates are slightly down in October over September numbers.