The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

An energy savings project for Grand Coulee Dam schools got a little momentum Monday night when the board of directors approved a production schedule submitted by the firm of McKinstry.

Superintendent Dennis Carlson said the schedule was based on the assumption that the district will receive a grant from the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

He told Grand Coulee Dam School District board members that the district faces a tight construction schedule and that by approving the schedule in advance the project can be moved on more rapidly.

The OSPI grant award is scheduled for April 2, with the final contract up for approval and signature April 20. The final design work would begin April 20, with work scheduled for this summer.

The project will cost from $1 million to $2 million, depending on the amount of the grant.

The school board plans to commit non-voter approved funds up to a $1 million to go along with the grant.

Different incentive packages will augment the various funding sources. Recently, the town of Coulee Dam pledged $30,000 of BPA incentive funds to help with the project work at the Lake Roosevelt High School gym.

The project will replace light fixtures that are now obsolete, plus control systems and other energy savings processes.

OSPI has set aside $20 million for special needs districts for projects like this. Carlson explained that the grants are highly sought after.

The project would cover Lake Roosevelt High School, the Grand Coulee Dam Middle School and Center Elementary.

Special attention, Carlson said, is being paid to doing projects that will be retained as part of the district's facility plan.

The shop building was cut from being covered by the project, as was the district office.

The need to replace the lighting fixtures was necessitated because replacement fixtures and lighting bulbs of the kind that the district has will no longer be manufactured.

Part of the cost of the project will come back to the school district in reduced energy costs.