When Teresa Rensch became the new superintendent for St. Maries School District, in the rural stovepipe area of Idaho, she knew her predecessor had applied for a federal grant. But neither of the women had any idea when word on the grant application would arrive. 

“One of her last days in the office, as I’m entering the office, we got word that we got the grant,” Rensch said. “Our previous superintendent, the board, and myself, we were just ecstatic. To receive it was, like, wow!”

St. Maries is a small community of about 2,000 people where timber is the town’s biggest industry. Residents hunt, hike, and fish across the area’s rugged, remote landscape that includes mountains, forests and waterways. The St. Maries School District was the only school district in Idaho to receive a grant during the 2023 cycle. 

They became a recipient of the Renew America’s Schools program, an initiative managed by the Department of Energy that aims to support clean energy improvements in schools — from reducing energy costs to improving air quality. 

For St. Maries, the nearly $15 million it received in funding will go a long way towards addressing improvement projects that, until now, didn’t have the financial support they needed. It means the 100-year-old elementary school will receive new windows. And it also means that another three schools will receive new heating and ventilation systems the following summer.

The improvements will help with energy efficiency and create a more comfortable learning environment, especially in the winter, when St. Maries experiences considerable snowfall and temperatures that sometimes dip into negative degrees.

“It’s tough to heat a building in that kind of cold. Regulating the temperature takes a lot of energy,” Rensch said. “Adding double-paned windows and the heating unit will save us on energy costs, but I can only imagine how much it will boost the comfort and focus of our students.”

The outgoing superintendent joked with Rensch that she would be leaving her with “all this homework” if the grant came through. But the work, which will include updated ventilation systems for each school building, Rensch said, will be worth it. 

“The school district will appreciate some of the efficiency we’re going to have and the cost savings, especially when we’re on a tight budget,” Rensch said. “The air regulation in the buildings will be big.”

The grant allows the district to tackle other big budget projects that were no less urgent, but further down the to-do list — like plumbing. The funding, Rensch said, gives the district flexibility to use its facilities budget in a more proactive way rather than waiting for catastrophe.

“St. Maries was taking a fund balance and transferring $100,000 each year to facilities knowing there was always going to be a facilities project to upgrade, or repair and maintain. But we were never able to catch up,” she said. “With this project, it’s refreshing to know we don’t have to keep chipping away to find the money or hold our breath and wonder what happens when that HVAC system breaks.”

Thanks to the funding, the district’s to-do list looks a little different now and feels more manageable. “We have close to $1 million saved in our facilities budget,” Rensch said.