The Keota School Board decided at their recent meeting to look at the possibility of using solar energy to power the district.

Superintendent Mark Schneider says the cost to install the necessary equipment to power the entire district would run about $900,000. He says with the savings in power usage, it’s estimated it would take about 10 years for the district to get payback on the investment. Schneider says another advantage to switching to solar, is that the costs could be paid out of either the sales tax fund or the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy, or PPEL fund. Currently energy costs come out of the general fund.

Schneider says the district could also opt for doing the solar transition on a smaller scale. Yet to be decided is how the district would pay the upfront costs.