COAL GROVE — Taking advantage of an energy conservation program has already begun to pay off for one local school district.

At Monday’s board of education meeting, the Dawson-Bryant Local School District was awarded a check for $148,376.84 from American Electric Power as a one-time rebate for reduced energy costs.

AEP customer service representative O’Tello Banks presented the oversized, as well as real, check to the board members.

The district has been making “green” improvements to its buildings through the Ohio School Facilities Commission Energy Conservation Program, or House Bill 264.

According to the Ohio School Facilities Commission, the Energy Conservation Program gives districts the ability to borrow funds without having to pass a ballot issue for the authority to borrow.

Based on an assessment by Sabo/Limbach Energy Services, and the ability to use HB 264, the district took out a $1.69 million dollar loan at about a 6 percent interest rate to be re-paid over 15 years.

The main condition of borrowing money for energy improvements is that the resulting savings must be enough to pay back the loans.

This limited borrowing authority, according to the Ohio School Facilities Commission, has given districts the ability to save millions in utility bills and operating costs, all at no additional taxpayer expense.

Sabo-Limbach estimated that as a result of the improvements, the district could save about $161,700 in utility bill and maintenance costs annually.

Through the project, the district has replaced water heaters and lighting and will also replace chiller air units, upgrade kitchen range hoods and install a computerized control system that would manage the heating, cooling and lighting system electronically.