Evanston Township High School District 202 is weighing an $11.75 million energy-efficiency and solar project that would shift financial risk to contractor Honeywell, with the company guaranteeing roughly $400,000 in annual savings.

District 202 CFO Kendra Williams presented the plan to the school board on Tuesday, July 14, telling members that an investment-grade audit conducted with Honeywell identified eight energy conservation measures the district could pursue. The project would be financed through debt certificates over a 20-year term, with annual utility savings covering the payments.

The key selling point: Honeywell guarantees a specific dollar amount of savings each year. If actual savings fall short, the company writes a check for the difference, Williams told the board. Once the 20-year debt is paid off, the district keeps all future savings.

From concept to audit

Honeywell representative John Rocco and ETHS operations director John Crawford first pitched the solar concept to the board in February 2026. At that presentation, Rocco said Honeywell has generated $7 billion in energy savings since the 1980s and cited $600,000 in potential annual savings for ETHS.

The current proposal's $400,000 figure is lower than that initial estimate. The district has not publicly explained the $200,000 reduction.

Williams told the board that solar panel installation alone would account for 53.4% of total projected savings, or about $212,251 per year. The plan could also cut ETHS electricity use by nearly half, according to EvanstonNow reporting on the proposal.

How the financing works

Debt certificates are a form of borrowing that Illinois school districts can issue without a voter referendum. The district would take on $11.75 million in debt, then use the guaranteed energy savings to make annual payments over two decades. According to a Williams memo attached to the board agenda, once construction is complete the district would use the savings achieved to cover the debt payments.

The structure means taxpayers are not asked to approve a bond issue, and Honeywell bears the performance risk if the building improvements don't deliver projected savings.

What's next

Pending review by a third party and the district's legal counsel, the board plans to vote Monday, August 10, on issuing the debt certificates and approving the energy conservation measures.

"Long overdue," Superintendent Marcus Campbell said of the project.