Officials say a comprehensive energy conservation program completed at Ascension Parish public schools should save about $860,000 a year.

During the last year, Chad Lynch, director of planning and construction for the system, says contractors from Johnson Controls Inc. implemented more than $10 million in energy-efficient upgrades such as replacing outdated fixtures, automating air conditioning and heating units, and installing motion-sensitive lighting in classrooms.

Lynch says the project was funded through the sale of $10 million in federal Quality School Construction Bonds granted to the system in 2009.

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