The Pendleton School District surmounted a tight budget and nearly $100 million in capital needs to invest in brand new schools, lower costs and improve the classroom learning environment.

The district achieved the impossible thanks to a $59.4 million bond measure coupled with cash incentives and technical assistance from Energy Trust, and SB 1149 funds through the Oregon Department of Energy. They built two identical 64,000 square foot elementary schools and renovated an existing building into an early learning center. All three feature a solar array plus energy-efficient lighting and mechanical systems. Energy-efficient upgrades were also made to the existing middle school and high school.

Energy Trust provided the district with $330,400 in cash incentives toward its improvements, which are estimated to save over 664,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, 38,700 therms of gas, and generate approximately 228,000 kWh of energy annually.