St. Vrain Valley's plans to renovate its Main Street School building for special education students will get a financial boost from a state grant.
The district won a $2.2 million state BEST — Building Excellent Schools Today — grant for the renovations. The $2.2 million will be added to about $5 million from the district's $260.3 million bond issue approved by voters in 2016.
"We can start to restructure the building to really accommodate the needs of the students," said Brian Lamer, assistant superintendent of operations.
The Colorado State Board of Education recently approved $447 million in those grants for 35 school construction projects statewide.
The competitive grant program is funded in part by excise tax revenue from legal marijuana sales. Applicants also must contribute matching funds.
After schools apply for the grants, the Capital Construction Advisory Board reviews applications, prioritizing them and submitting their recommendations to the state board for approval.
Justice High, a Boulder Valley charter school for at-risk students, applied but didn't receive a grant.
In St. Vrain, the Main Street School houses three programs for students with intensive needs. Most of the students have behavioral and mental health needs, while some have physical disabilities.
About 50 students are 18- to 21-year-olds who need services to transition from high school to adulthood.
Another 50 to 65 K-12 students are enrolled in the Intensive Behavior Support Program for students with mental health and behavioral needs.
The Sierra School program also serves 20 students from kindergarten through age 21 with communication disorders.
The district moved those programs to the Main Street building in 2014. The original building was built in 1925 and has undergone multiple renovations and remodels.
St. Vrain designated $5 million in its bond issue to repair building deficiencies at the school, then applied for a BEST grant to expand the scope to reconfigure spaces and make improvements to better serve the student population.
The school only has one handicapped accessible bathroom, its chair lift that provides access to the second floor cafeteria for students who use wheelchairs breaks often, and there is no central heating and air conditioning and ventilation is poor.
Concerns about indoor air quality in the building have meant that some students can't attend for medical reasons.
The building also needs a single, secure and accessible entry point.
Because of the student population's needs, other features also create safety hazards, according to school staff members.
Students have injured themselves by punching or kicking through the glass in classroom doors and the stairwells. Upset students sometimes climb on or over low stair railings.
"Monitoring students on the stairs for safety is a harrowing experience for staff," Christina Tillery, an instructional coach at the school, wrote in the grant application.
Student work also can only be taped to the walls because of the presence of asbestos, many of the old auditorium seats are broken and there's mold in the building, according to the application.
"Our students deserve access to a safe and equitable education," Tillery wrote.
Design work for the Main Street renovations started this week, while construction is expected to start next summer.
Amy Bounds: 303-473-1341, boundsa@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/boundsa