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http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl0625...k.3b905876.htmlSkyrocketing utility costs force SLU to move to four-day workweek10:29 PM CDT on Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Maya Rodriguez / Eyewitness News
As the dog days of summer stretch on, Kim Pinion will be spending fewer of them at work.
"I was excited," Pinion said. "Very, very excited."
Pinion is just one of the employees at Southeastern Louisiana University that is now working one less day a week. To cut down on soaring utility costs, the university decided that for the summer many of its employees would work ten hour days, four days a week.
"The cost of energy is going up for everyone, whether it's a regular citizen and certainly with all the buildings and facilities we have. So, part of our decision was predicated on that and part of what's best for our employees and students," said Dr. Randy Moffett, president of SLU.
It's one less day of buildings being air conditioned and having their lights turned on. It all adds up to big savings for Southeastern.
"We estimate by the end of this period, August 8th, we'll save about $100,000," Dr. Moffett said.
It is a savings for the school and a savings for employees, who have one less day of commuting. For Pinion, it cuts one day out of her week, when she is driving her 50-mile commute to work.
"Of course, everybody's budget is getting hit right now," she said, "so, it's really helping out at my house."
The university is taking its fuel savings plan a step further by creating a carpooling system for its faculty and staff. Physics Professor David Norwood is just one of two dozen people who signed up for the new service.
"This made something happen that would not have happened otherwise," he said.
Norwood and another professor now carpool to the university's Hammond campus from Baton Rouge. Another faculty member plans to join them on the same commute.
"The more the merrier, the more you save," Norwood said.
The university plans to get students involved in the carpooling plan as well, especially since most of them commute to class at SLU every day. The program will be set up on a password protected website.
"It's going to help the students from the Baton Rouge area and the New Orleans area that commute," said SLU senior Adam Watkins.
"It's a great idea, especially for college students, because we have limited resources as far as financials go, so I think it's wonderful," said Fallon O'Neal, a junior at SLU.
University officials plan to keep the car pooling system going for as long as there is interest in it. The four-day workweek will last through August 8th, but SLU is now looking into whether it could be expanded into the fall semester.