Santa Barbara Unified Schools receive more than $1.7 million in grants for facility improvements

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Santa Barbara Unified School District announced Friday that it received more than $1.7 million over three grants from the California Energy Commission to help renovate school facilities.

SBUSD said it received $191,825 from the California Healthy Air and Plumbing Efficiency Program (CalSHAPE) to upgrade plumbing at some facilities – about $83,000 of which will go towards remodeling Santa Barbara Junior High School's restrooms.

The money will go towards replacing toilets, urinals, and faucets with low-flow/high-efficiency models, according to SBUSD spokesperson Ed Zuchelli.

Two more rounds of funding were granted to the school district to work on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems throughout multiple campuses, according to Zuchelli.

A fund of $418,737 went towards 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, according to Zuchelli.

Zuchelli said that these funds will be used to assess and repair existing HVAC systems, new air filters, carbon dioxide monitors, and will help 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 Dr. Hilda Maldondo, the district’s 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.”