By Shannon Lukens.

The Moffat County School District is being awarded a grant for $1.57 million to help with their capital projects fund next year. It is a BEST grant, which is Building Excellent Schools Today through the Colorado Department of Education. It is a matching grant, so the school district can and will match the funds. The funding focus will be on overhauling and upgrading the Heating, Ventilation, and Cooling system at Moffat County High School and Sunset Elementary School in Craig. The district hopes to eventually overhaul all HVAC systems in district buildings.

 

Press Release from Moffat County School District; Dec. 9, 2024.

 

For immediate release: Moffat County School District awarded $1.57m grant to contribute to nearly $3m capital project fund

 

CRAIG, Colorado — Moffat County School District will receive a significant boost to their capital projects fund next year, as the district was awarded a $1,574,095 BEST (Building Excellent Schools Today) Grant through the Colorado Department of Education.

 

The award announcement was made Wednesday, Dec. 4. BEST is a matching grant, and districts are designated matching percentages depending on a number of factors. MCSD will match $1,395,895, for a total project cost of $2,969,991.

 

This funding is budgeted to substantially overhaul and upgrade Heating, Ventilation and Cooling at Moffat County High School and Sunset Elementary School. This project will replace overwhelmingly outdated equipment at both schools, and will also add cooling to both facilities.

 

The district’s intention is to make this Phase 1 in a district-wide HVAC overhaul, leveraging future opportunities to fund similar projects at all its buildings. But this opportunity to improve the environments for 700-800 students and their teachers and staff, not to mention become significantly more energy-efficient while replacing beyond-end-of-life equipment is exciting.

 

Moffat County School District will continue to maximize its opportunities to fund facilities projects, which remain a significant priority in a district with aging buildings and limited resources. The district’s top priority is to educate and inspire students to thrive, and the environments in which those activities take place are critical to their success. Moffat County students, teachers and staff, and community members deserve excellent, clean, safe, updated, attractive places to learn, work, play and connect. Pursuing competitive grant opportunities like BEST is part of how we achieve that vision, together with other funding opportunities from many sources outside of our normal operating budget.