歪歪漫画

CASS LAKE 鈥� In partnership with the Cass Lake-Bena 歪歪漫画s has taken a step toward greater energy efficiency after recently receiving an award through the Renew America鈥檚 歪歪漫画s grant program.

As one of 24 recipients across 22 states and being the only grantee in Minnesota, Cass Lake-Bena will share in approximately $178 million of funding, for which the district requested about $8.9 million from the U.S. Department of Energy.

With an application deadline in April, Cass Lake-Bena was among the applicants who submitted over 1,000 concept papers totaling nearly $5.5 billion in requests. This field was narrowed down to 236 candidates who were invited to submit full applications with requests totaling $1.62 billion.

According to a release, the Department of Energy more than doubled its intended funding from $80 million to $178 million given the high demand and overwhelming evidence of public need.

In the process of negotiating its final award amount, the district plans to make improvements including boiler replacements, HVAC system replacements, electrical switchboard replacements, envelope upgrades, LEDs, insulation for piping and replacement of emergency battery fixtures.

鈥淭his is going to allow us to do all kinds of things that will improve the energy efficiency of our buildings and make our buildings safer and healthier for our kids and our teachers,鈥� Superintendent Sue Chase said.

Making necessary upgrades would have otherwise been costly to the district, particularly the upgrade of its current elementary鈥檚 boiler system which Chase noted is original to the building since its installment in 1968. The high school will also need to install new windows that have been part of the building since the 1990s.

鈥淭he sheer amount of this grant means a lot to our district,鈥� Chase said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an investment that we wouldn鈥檛 have been able to do all at once and it would have taken a lot of time to get all of this work done.鈥�

In the fall, the district passed a referendum that will provide about $39 million for the construction of a new elementary school and a remodel of the current elementary for use as an early childhood and preschool site, alternative learning center and district service center.

Chase emphasized the separateness of the grant funding from the referendum and that the grant will go toward improvements to the current buildings.

鈥淚t鈥檚 totally separate funding to accomplish a totally different thing,鈥� Chase said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our existing buildings that this money will help modernize.鈥�

During the grant application process, Chase noted that the district could specify preferences for contractors who agreed to provide apprenticeships for students while the upgrades are being implemented. She credited this as an added benefit for students involved in construction trade courses in the district.

鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping that this has a longer-range effect for our students to get a chance to learn from these contractors,鈥� Chase said.

Crediting Region Five Development Commission for its role in helping the district secure the grant funding, Chase shared her excitement as the district undergoes its facelift.

鈥淲e鈥檒l continue to work closely with Region Five as we do the repairs and remodeling,鈥� Chase left off. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just thrilled and absolutely elated.鈥�

A release adds that about 74,000 students and 5,000 teachers in 97 school buildings across the country will be impacted by this funding, which also claims to support President Joe Biden鈥檚 Investing in America Agenda.

鈥淒OE鈥檚 focus on public schools, which make up the second-largest sector of American infrastructure after transportation, supports (Biden鈥檚 agenda) by promoting STEM education and workforce development, while creating well-paying jobs that stimulate local economies,鈥� the release said.

More information can be found at