Fresno Unified leaders Thursday afternoon urged state lawmakers to consider poverty and extreme weather conditions when granting $2.5 billion in Proposition 39 funds to improve energy efficiency in schools.

Spreading the funds equally among the state's 1,000 school districts makes sense on the surface, but "I don't think that's an equitable way to distribute it," trustee Carol Mills said during testimony at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on fiscal oversight and bonded indebtedness in Fresno.

Fresno Unified, the fourth-largest district in the state, has higher energy usage than coastal districts because of the central San Joaquin Valley's hot summers and cold winters, Mills told state Sen. Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, who convened the hearing and was joined by Assembly Member Henry T. Perea, D-Fresno.

Poverty also should be part of a weighted formula for allocating funds, Mills said. Eighty-two percent of Fresno Unified students are impoverished and qualify for free or reduced- price lunches, she said.

Fresno Unified's poverty and other student demographics mirror Los Angeles Unified, de León said, but he acknowledged Fresno's extreme climate: "It's just hot," he said of his visits to Fresno.

The hearing was a chance for school officials and representatives from green energy and labor industries in the central San Joaquin Valley to comment on Prop. 39.

"It's critical that we get the implementation of Prop. 39 right," Perea said.

Outside the hearing, superintendents from Firebaugh and Fowler said some type of funding formula that takes school size and poverty into consideration was warranted. But Fowler Unified Superintendent Eric Cederquist added a caution: "We should be careful not to alienate areas of relative wealth or areas without extreme weather," he said. "Prop. 39 was passed by voters of California."

The rural district superintendents also said that there should be a minimum allocation for smaller districts to guarantee sufficient funds.

The proposition was designed to create jobs that cannot be outsourced from California, capture energy savings that schools can put back into education and reduce pollution, de León said.

California schools spend about $1 billion annually on energy costs, de León said. The hope is that with upgrades that could be reduced by 25% to 30%, he said.

Fresno Unified's yearly energy bill is about $15 million, said Ruth Quinto, chief financial officer, who provided testimony for the district along with Mills and trustee Cal Johnson.

Quinto said a 25% savings likely would be a minimum. Fresno Unified began an energy efficiency management program in 2002, which mainly involved replacing old light fixtures, she said. Just from that change, the district has saved almost $30 million in energy costs, she said.