Charter school receives $100,000 grant
SANDPOINT — The Sandpoint Charter School anticipates unwrapping a particularly nice gift this week — a $100,000 check from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation.
SCS Principal Alan Millar received word that the school was receiving the grant on Thursday, just before they released students for the holidays. While checking his e-mail, he spotted a message from the foundation.
“I had to read it five or six times just to make sure it was real,” he said. “It was pretty late, so no one was around to celebrate except for our custodian. But I told him and we had a pretty good celebration anyway.”
The grant was issued as a part of the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation’s end-of-the-year donations to Idaho charter schools. The biggest provider for Idaho charter schools in the state, the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation has a history of generosity toward SCS, awarding it one large grant to get started and another competitive grant years later. According to Millar, this latest donation couldn’t come at a better time as the school anticipates accommodating next year’s expanded student body in a still-unfinished facility.
“We were thinking that we’d be facing a pretty crowded year,” he said. “This money will allow us to get more classrooms ready to be used.”
Millar said the buffer period between now and the next school term will allow charter school officials to continue readying their facility one classroom at a time. However, the $100,000 probably won’t be sufficient to complete the school in its entirety. Instead, they’ll be seeking continued support from community businesses and individuals.
That community came through for the charter school in the fall when they received a $29,500 grant from Equinox, a subsidiary of Inland Northwest Community Organization, to complete a school kitchen. In addition, Probuild donated all the cabinetry and countertops while S and S Construction offered free labor. Now completed, Millar said the kitchen will be a great addition for students and staff alike.
“The kitchen has multiple stations for kids to use during cooking classes,” Miller said. “That’s great because I know they really enjoy those classes.”
According to Millar, the kitchen and recent grant are just more examples of the excellent support the community has demonstrated over the years.
“We’re extremely appreciative of all the generosity people and organizations have shown us,” he said.