As the new Jennings Creek Elementary School nears completion, Warren County Public Schools is adding other more low-key improvements to school facilities designed to save money by cutting energy consumption.

Several schools are getting new solar panels, geothermal heating and cooling systems and energy-efficient LED lighting as part of a $30 million energy savings project that will continue over the next 15 months.

We see this project as a positive step for the district for several reasons, with the first being that this will save money that could be returned to the classroom.

The district expects to save a minimum of $850,000 a year once the project is complete.

Additionally, the project will encourage students to participate by giving schools energy saving goals. If the school meets that goal for low energy use, it gets to keep half of the money it saves, with the other half going back to district operations.

That money could give schools greater flexibility in creating new learning opportunities and programs or even paying for school supplies and education tools, such as 3D printers.

Students will also be able to track their school’s energy consumption with software that could enhance learning in the classroom. Chris McIntyre, the district’s chief financial officer, recently told the Daily News that each school will have a dashboard for energy consumption.

Perhaps most important, these changes will help educate students about the importance of reducing their energy use and having a positive environmental footprint. With luck, some might choose to adopt small lifestyle changes that will make our community more environmentally healthy over time.

It’s easy to see the myriad benefits of scaling down energy use over time, especially at public schools that use taxpayer money. We all want to see the government spend our money wisely in a way that creates value.

That’s why we applaud Warren County Public Schools and hope that other school districts will follow its lead.