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County schools to see the light

By Mark Harrison
The Times-Journal

Published November 24, 2009

Eleven DeKalb County schools will get nearly $350,000 in federal money to upgrade lighting.

The grant is part of more than $4 million in stimulus money awarded statewide Tuesday to help 70 schools in 14 systems save energy and reduce utility bills by upgrading equipment, according to Gov. Bob Riley.

“We had been hopeful we would receive it, but we didn’t know for sure,” said DeKalb County superintendent Charles Warren. “Certainly this is a blessing when funding is tight. This will really help us save money.”

With the $346,383 grant, the DeKalb County Board of Education will upgrade the lighting systems of several schools. These updates will produce an equivalent amount of light using lower wattage bulbs. The schools scheduled to receive the upgrades are Crossville High School, Crossville Elementary School, Henagar Junior High School, Moon Lake Elementary School, Collinsville High School, DeKalb County Technical School and Geraldine, Ider, Plainview, Sylvania and Valley Head schools.

“Once the bid is approved, we will start with these upgrades,” Warren said. “It’s estimated that lighting is 40 percent of the total utility costs. Once we upgrade lighting, our utility bills should go down. We are looking forward to these upgrades. It’s a win-win for us.”

And Warren said the money will not have to be paid back, and the board does not have to put up matching funds.

“It is truly a grant with no strings attached,” Warren said. “With this grant, hopefully we will get these upgrades completed.”

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grants, which Riley awarded from funds made available by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

“The school improvements funded by these grants will reduce each school’s energy consumption, and that saves taxpayers’ money,” Riley said. “This is a good investment both for our schools and our taxpayers.

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