HOCKINSON SCHOOL DISTRICT

Update: On March 13, the HSD received an additional grant for $152,630 from the Department of Commerce. The total 2024-25 total Department of Commerce grant award is $580,000. This follows a $470,000 energey efficiency grant awarded in 2021 and completed in September 2023.

This winter, the Washington State Department of Commerce announced that Hockinson School District will receive a $427,000 grant to fund energy-efficiency projects at Hockinson Heights Elementary School (HHES). The grant will enable the replacement of aging HVAC units on the east side of the HHES campus. It will also fund new tankless water heaters in the school’s classroom buildings.

The replacement HVAC units and new tankless water heaters will be more energy-efficient, lowering energy costs and improving student and staff comfort. The aging units have been reliable for many years, but are at the end of their operational lifespans. 

This is the second Department of Commerce grant that Hockinson School District has applied for, and received, in the last four years. In 2021, Hockinson School District was awarded the largest Energy Efficiency Grant of the 2021 cycle. That energy efficiency grant funded improvements to HVAC systems on the west end of Hockinson Heights Elementary School, the Hockinson Community Ed Center and the District Office. The grant also funded energy-efficient LED lighting retrofits at Hockinson Heights Elementary School and Hockinson High School.

Hockinson School Facility Improvements Guided by Family Input

In facility planning surveys last spring, responding families prioritized repairs to school facilities and asked Hockinson School District to pursue a variety of funding sources to improve and maintain Hockinson schools.

“This Department of Commerce grant helps to check one item off the list of facility repair and improvement projects communicated to us by our families,” said David Wilson, HSD Operations Supervisor.