GRANITE FALLS — Brandon Klepper figured there could be savings in waste.
So the head of the Granite Falls School District’s grounds crew suggested to his bosses that they let him take care of the trash.
The result, district officials estimate, will save more than $2,500 a month during the school year.
Instead of having a contractor pick up the garbage, the district collects the garbage daily and Klepper hauls it to a county transfer station every couple of days.
Like most cash-strapped school districts hoping to maintain programs and preserve jobs, Granite Falls has been looking for “every penny we can save,” said Vervia Gabriel, the district’s assistant superintendent.
District officials are waiting nervously for the Legislature to adopt a budget to see how it could affect education across the state. Lawmakers face a $2.6 billion shortfall.
Finding ways to save now will help the district later, officials said.
The school district has gathered cost-cutting ideas from its employees as well as local residents in two community meetings.
“We have a long list of suggestions we are going over now and putting dollars to,” Gabriel said.
Garbage was a good place to start with immediate savings.
“This is all Brandon’s idea,” Gabriel said.
Klepper, who grew up in Granite Falls, said the fact that the district’s schools are all within about a mile of each other makes collecting and hauling the garbage a relatively quick job. It’s a task that can be done in about 90 minutes, he said.
“I just knew in the back of my mind, it wouldn’t cost that much,” Klepper said.
Klepper also is researching recycling options to see if the district can save all or part of that bill of about $1,400 a month.
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