The economic stimulus package signed into law by President Obama continues to make headlines. A lot of the news is about where all of the stimulus money is going. Many of the nation’s schools will be benefiting from the money, which in turn may have some significant benefit for the construction industry and HVAC contractors.

According to several sources, billions of dollars will be going to the renovation and retrofit of school buildings. The goal is to not only bring school buildings up to code, but bring them into the future.

Many cities across the country have made it a mandate that all state-funded building projects will achieve a certain level of sustainability or achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification. Now states are looking towards their schools with the same goal in mind. While states are not mandating that their schools achieve LEED, they are definitely looking for ways to make their school buildings more efficient and sustainable.

For example, the Detroit Free Press reported that the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools in Michigan has applied for $13 million in federal stimulus money to improve the energy efficiency of its schools.

Stories like this can be found everywhere, and it signals that your next project may be in the school system. If you are looking for ways to keep busy as the economy drags along, you might want to find out what your local school system is planning.