Colleges Go to 4-Day Week to Save Energy

In an attempt to save money and electricity during the ongoing state energy crisis, most employees of the Ventura County Community College District will work four-day weeks this summer.

The decision, approved by the Board of Trustees last week, is the latest step by the district to become more energy efficient, said district spokeswoman Pat Kistler.

“We have a lot we are already doing,” Kistler said. “We’ve been buying energy-saving equipment and have been working with [Southern California] Edison on this for the last five years.”

Long before the crisis peaked in March with rolling blackouts across the state, district officials had installed energy-efficient air conditioners at Moorpark College and replaced old computers with power-saving ones at Moorpark and the district’s other two colleges, Oxnard and Ventura.

Trustees inquired about a shorter workweek in January after seeing news reports about the state’s declining energy supply, Kistler said.

The trustees “wanted to know what we were doing to do our part,” she said.

Because most summer classes are traditionally conducted Monday through Thursday, the new summer work schedule caused little inconvenience for teachers and to student class schedules, said Eva Conrad, executive vice president of student learning at Moorpark College.

“The staff will have the same number of work hours, we’ll save a little electricity, and students will have the same range of courses,” Conrad said.

The fewer than 10 classes that were offered on Friday have been rescheduled on other days, he said.

College officials estimate that the shorter workweek could save up to 40%--or $86,000--this summer in electricity costs. Conrad said she thinks a large chunk of that savings could be from the Moorpark campus.