OXFORD – Oxford School District officials will consider whether to hire an energy consulting company that guarantees savings above their fee.

Retired Petal Superintendent James Hutto spoke to the Oxford Board of Education on Monday at the request of Superintendent Kim Stasny to tell of his district’s experience in contracting with the same company, Energy Education, about four years ago.

Hutto said the Petal School District saved $416,000 on utilities in 32 months’ time after starting the program, and the company boasts more than $2 billion in cumulative savings for some 1,000 clients.

“Energy is one area you can save some substantial money in,” he said. “There’s only so much money you can save on travel and supplies.”

Texas-based Energy Education serves higher education, school districts and large churches. It provides a series of consultants and trains a district employee to retrain employees in water and energy use.

The oversight includes sophisticated testing, Hutto said, along with such mundane tasks as monitoring after-hours use of lights, computers and thermostats.

“There’s a saying, ‘You don’t get what you expect: You get what you inspect,’” he said. Athletic facilities and cafeterias get special scrutiny, Hutto said, but no one is asked to sacrifice comfort.

The company guarantees savings at least equal to its fees.

“They’re pretty conservative on their projections, because they’re going to have to pay the difference if they don’t meet the target,” he said.

Oxford officials did not take action on the issue Monday.