The York Suburban School District is looking to save money on energy over the next 15 years by hiring Johnson Controls for a program called guaranteed energy services.

School board members have been discussing the details of the contract for several months and discussed the options in detail at last week's meeting.

The project calls for improvements to increase the efficiency of the district's facilities from a standpoint of energy use.

Johnson Controls provided a list of recommended projects, including replacing the heating, ventilation and air conditioning in the pool area, renovating the same system in the board room, and repairing lighting throughout the district.

If the board chooses to go ahead with all the upgrades, the project would cost $2.8 million.

The base plan would cost $1.2 million and only includes the projects for which Johnson Controls is guaranteeing utility cost savings.

The main topic of discussion among school board members was the pool upgrades, which represent about $580,000 of the proposal.

Board member Joel Sears suggested closing down the district's swimming pool and using the pool at the YMCA's Graham Aquatic Center on Newberry Street in York instead. He said he does not support committing money to upgrade the pool.

But board member Lynne Leopold-Sharp said the district would have no say in the maintenance of the Graham center pool and said the district should commit to using the pool they have on-site.

Board member John DeHaas said the district would likely have to pay to use an outside pool. But Sears said that still might be less expensive than on-site upgrades and maintenance costs.

The district intends to use money from possible debt refinancing to cover the cost of the project, said Dennis Younkin, the district's director of finance.

The contract with Johnson Controls and capital projects will be voted on during the Monday, Aug. 20, board meeting. The options for financing the project will be discussed in September.