With kids out of the school buildings for Christmas break, one local district is taking the opportunity to upgrade part of their facilities.

The Maroa-Forsyth School district will be upgrading the lighting in all of their gyms. Superintendent of Maroa-Forsyth Schools Mike Williams says the lights in their gym are very much in need of upgrades. He say they still have the old bulbs that when you turn on, take 15 minutes to get to full brightness and have to be left on all day.

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The district was fortunate enough to receive a grant to take care of a portion of the cost for the upgrades. Williams explains the grant is through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, DCEO. He says they have an individual consumer sector and another for governmental entities. They learned about the grant in making some energy efficiency upgrades to other systems in the school buildings.

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Not only will the lights be more energy efficient, but Williams says it will give them flexibility in the opportunities they will have. Turning the lights on and off will no longer be a problem. If they need to turn the lights off at graduation or during a sporting event, they can do it without having to wait 15 minutes for them to brighten back up. They also will not have to leave the gym lights on all day now.

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The cost of the project is about $35-thousand, but the DCEO is covering a little more than $21-thousand, leaving around $12 to $13-thousand for the district to cover. Williams notes the cost savings should pay for the project in less than two years.

Williams is hopeful with the new lighting, they will be able to host some more tournaments and other events. Maroa-Forsyth schools are scheduled to host the Okaw Valley tournament in late-January.