Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) has received three grants, for a total of $1,764,736, from the California Energy Commission to help renovate school facilities.

The California Healthy Air and Plumbing Efficiency Program, or CalSHAPE, awarded SBUSD $191,825 to upgrade plumbing at some facilities. About $83,000 of that is for the remodeling of Santa Barbara Junior High School’s restrooms. The money will go toward replacing toilets, urinals and faucets with low-flow/high-efficiency models.

The district also received two rounds of funding to work on heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems throughout multiple campuses.

One fund awarded $418,737 for the HVAC systems at Cleveland Elementary School, Franklin Elementary School, Santa Barbara Junior High School, La Cumbre Junior High School, Santa Barbara Community Academy, Harding University Partnership School and McKinley Elementary School.

The other grant of $1,154,174 will help update HVAC systems at Santa Barbara High School, La Cuesta Continuation High School, Roosevelt Elementary School, Washington Elementary School, Monroe Elementary School, Adams Elementary School, La Colina Junior High School, Goleta Valley Junior High School, San Marcos High School, and Dos Pueblos High School.

The funds will be used to assess and repair existing HVAC systems, new air filters, and carbon dioxide monitors. The assessment also will inform efforts to get a new round of funding to replace old HVAC units. 

“We want our district’s buildings to be as up to date as possible,” said Hilda Maldondo, district superintendent. “We thank our partners at the California Energy Commission for the funds and look forward to beginning this vital work for our campus communities.”

The Board of Trustees accepted the funds at a recent meeting.