Four schools plan repairs with state grant money

Four schools in the county are shaping up with some repairs this spring after being awarded state grants.

Colton will replace its gym bleachers; Palouse will make repairs on its 1965 elementary school wing; Oakesdale will get a new roof on its 1957 building and St. John will replace parts of its boiler.

The schools all applied for the state’s small repair grant program and were awarded funds, along with a total of 39 other school districts around the state. A total of 120 districts applied for the $3 million with an award cap of $100,000 per district.

Palouse has selected an architect, Castellaw Kom Architects, to design the plans for the elementary school remodeling.

The $100,000 grant will repair the building’s entry way, patch up the roof and restructure some of the brick walls.

“We’re very thankful that we got the grant so we don’t have to go into our fund balance,” said Palouse Superintendent Bev Fox.

Ninety-two children go to school in the elementary wing.

Oakesdale is looking to replace the roof on its 45,000 square foot elementary building which was built in 1957. The 12-room building has been leaking so badly the past few years that school staff have placed buckets in hallways and rooms to catch the water.

“Some

are in the hallways. We put up buckets. Our maintenance guy does a lot of mopping,” said Jake Dingman, Oakesdale superintendent.

Many of the leaks are over the school’s administrative office, Dingman said.

The school has a flat roof, which doesn’t do well under the heavy snows such as the extreme snowfall of last year. The flat structure also tends to collect and pool water, rather than letting it flow off the roof.

Approximately 87 elementary students go to class in the building.

The school received an additional $5,000 grant from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, called a study and survey grant. The grant will help them evaluate the state of the building.

With its $85,000 grant, Colton already has its new bleachers on the way, set to be installed by the end of the month.

The aging St. John boiler has been having problems off and on for several years.

The $60,000 awarded to the school will help replace some of the inner parts of the boiler.

All of the school grant money must be spent by June, 2011.