Marion County school districts receive federal stimulus funds

Marion County school districts will receive $264,000 in federal stimulus funds from the South Carolina Budget and Control Board’s State Energy Office to make energy efficiency improvements.

Marion School District 1 was awarded $116,904 to install new heating and air conditioning control systems in Johnakin Middle School and Easterling Primary School. These improvements will save the district over $15,000 annually by lowering utility bills.

Marion School District 2 was awarded $89,166 to install energy efficient heating and air conditioning efficiency control systems at Palmetto Middle School and McCormick Elementary School, saving the district more than $12,000 annually.

Marion School District 7 was awarded $57,500 in stimulus funds to install energy efficient heating and air conditioning control system at Britton’s Neck Elementary School and Rains Centenary Early Childhood Center. This new system will help Marion School District 7 save more than $7,000 annually.

“Marion County schools will be able to see significant annual savings as they use this stimulus money to make energy efficiency improvements county-wide,“ John Clark said, director of the South Carolina Energy Office.

The state’s 85 school districts are sharing $20.3 million in grants and loans for energy efficiency.  The state’s two- and four-year colleges are receiving a total of $12.2 million, and state agencies are getting $7.4 million for energy efficiency improvements.  Each entity’s allocation is based on the size of the organization’s energy bill. 

The South Carolina Energy Office (SCEO) provides a broad range of resources designed to help citizens, businesses and public entities save energy and money. In recent years, the SCEO has helped save South Carolina over $250 million through public and private energy-saving measures and new energy technologies. The SCEO is a unit of the South Carolina Budget and Control Board.