New Grants to Help Improve Santa Barbara Unified Schools

By the Santa Barbara Unified School District

Santa Barbara Unified School District received three grants 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. Approximately $83,000 of that is for the remodeling of Santa Barbara Junior High School’s restrooms. The money will go towards 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. In addition, the assessment 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 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.”

The Board of Trustees accepted the funds at its Tuesday, October 25, 2022, meeting.

These are just some of the many projects in the works at Santa Barbara Unified. Earlier this year, SBUSD unveiled five new classrooms at Monroe Elementary.

The district also “flipped the switch” on its massive solar panel project that will touch every district school, with completion expected by year’s end.