Manteca Unified is on pace to save over $1 million in electricity and gas.

Last week, Victoria Brunn and Kimberly Wright, who are Energy Education Specialists, presented the school board with a check for $1,186,175.

“That’s the amount (the district) would have spent if we had not entered into the conservation effort,” said Brunn on Wednesday.

Trustees were instructed to tear up the check designed by the Energy Education Specialists.

It’s been a year since the Manteca Unified teachers took on the special assignment task made possible by Energy Education Inc. The two were trained by the energy consultant on methods to cut down cost of electricity and gas while closely monitoring the 27 school sites and district office on power usage.

The district officials initially hoped to trim energy cost by 10 percent, instead, they are getting more than they bargained.

Wright noted that the energy-saving plan kicked off last November during the Thanksgiving break. Included was a complete shutdown of the district office and other facilities.

“It was all about behavior modification,” she said.

A similar shutdown was orchestrated in December during the winter break, setting the wheels in motion for the summer plan.

“We started implementing (the plan) two weeks after school ended,” Wright said. “By then, we were a well-oiled machine.”

Brunn added that the Energy Management System in place made sure lights and air conditioning system were not in use. Not included were East Union High, Weston Ranch High and Neil Hafley School due in part to the summer programs.

Custodians operated in teams, working one wing at a time per school site to cut down on power.

All sites including the district office remained closed on Fridays.

“In June, we were able to reduce electric and gas bill by 49 percent,” said Wright.

The Energy Education Specialists will continue to monitor gas and electricity.

“Our next step will be water conservation,” Brunn said.