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, theDetroit 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.