School seeks ways to save on electricity

COLUMBUS (AP) -- Columbus teachers are being told to pull the plug to cut costs.
School district officials have told the teachers to get rid of the microwaves, coffee pots, minirefrigerators, toaster ovens, space heaters and other small appliances they keep in their classrooms.
Chief Operating Officer Karin Rilley said the district can't afford the electricity to run them anymore.
Without the moves, the district anticipate a $420,000 shortfall in the electricity budget this school year. Officials already had asked that computer monitors be turned off at night.
Columbus Education Association President Rhonda Johnson called the edict "idiotic." She said the change will hurt morale.
"Teachers are asking if they can pay money out of their check each month to pay for a refrigerator," she said.
It's unclear how much the new rule will save in electricity costs -- the district did not know how many teachers have appliances in their classrooms and had no estimates of the cost to run them, Rilley said.
Rilley said the no-appliances rule wasn't expected to close the $420,000 gap but that every little bit helps. The district already cut $66 million from the current year's budget.