LRSD will get more than $11 million to upgrade 17 schools’ energy infrastructure

Little Rock, Arkansas – The Little Rock School District will receive more than $11 million to support improvements to indoor air quality and energy efficiency for K–12 public schools.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2024 Renew America’s Schools Prize and Grant competition was won by LRSD.

Upgrades to 17 district schools—Central, Mabelvale Middle, Bale, Carver, Baseline, Gibbs, Chicot, King, Geyer Springs, Stephens, Washington, Mabelvale EL, Wakefield, Watson, Dunbar, and Romine—will be made possible by the funding.

The funds will be disbursed in three stages, according to officials, and a $300,000 cheque for phase 1 was handed during the LRSD board meeting on Thursday.

The district was able to get the grant with the assistance of Energia, a K–12 energy management consulting firm, and Protect|ED, a national leader in indoor air quality solutions for schools.

“Partner with school districts and help them find funding mechanisms to get light done, get their HVACs updated, create kind of a better learning environment for their students and educators,” stated Veronica Niter, vice president of business development at Energia.

She claimed that gathering data from each LRSD school facility “was an extensive process.”
According to Niter, every LRSD school provided data on energy usage, necessary renovations, and a narrative outlining the monies’ intended uses—both inside the schools and in the community at large.

Phase 2 will see the DOE Energia and LRSD enter into a joint agreement so that school audits can begin, according to Niter.

Phase 3 will see LRSD “get the larger sum of money to actually do the work,” according to Niter.

Out of all the schools and districts that applied, just 16% of the over 350 local school agencies who participated in the competition across 42 states were awarded funding.

Niter said it’s still worthwhile to give your district a shot, despite the low odds of success.

“At least you now have the data to understand what your buildings need, even if you don’t get it,” she remarked.

Niter stated that Energia does complimentary evaluations. Visit EnergiaSaves.com for more information, or contact Niter directly at [email protected] or 404-902-6756 ext. 422.