Dillon County school districts have received more than $212,000 in federal stimulus funds from the South Carolina Budget and Control Board’s State Energy Office to make energy efficiency improvements throughout the county.

Dillon School District 1 received $58,647 to make several improvements to heating and air conditioning systems and also upgrade lighting fixtures to more efficient models. These improvements will help the district save more than $25,000 annually in energy costs.

Dillon School District 2 received $80,000 to install a heating and air conditioning control system to Stewart Heights Elementary School, saving the district more than $13,000 annually.

Dillon School District 3 received $73,993 to replace heating and air conditioning systems which were more than 20 years old. The district will also install an energy management system to monitor the thermostat and overall energy use of these new systems.

These improvements will help the district save more than $26,000 annually in energy costs.

The state’s 85 school districts are sharing $20.3 million in grants and loans for energy efficiency.  The state’s public colleges and universities 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.