The future is on the near horizon for a La Conner school system steeped in history.

La Conner School Board members on Monday accepted bids from a Seattle firm to solarize two campus buildings between now and June 2026.

The board voted during its Feb. 24 public session to enter separate pacts with A&R Solar to install solar panels on the middle school and elementary school buildings. The contract for work at the middle school building, which houses the school district’s popular History Wall, includes installation of a battery energy storage system and 10-year maintenance agreement.

The two projects will be funded through a $1.96 million Washington State Department of Commerce Decarbonization Grant awarded last year to the La Conner School District. 

Because the A&R Solar bid for the middle school work and maintenance came in at just over $1.270 million, monies remained to solarize the elementary building as well.

The contract sum for panels and maintenance at the elementary school is $238,198.

“The bids we received came in less than the grant amount,” La Conner Schools Superintendent David Cram confirmed to board members prior to their unanimous vote, “so we’re able to do some solar at the elementary.”

The long-sought project has been a collaborative effort between La Conner Schools, the Washington State Commerce Department, the Skagit Valley Clean Energy Alliance (SVCEA), and Cascadia Renewables of Bellingham.

“I’m glad to be here for this moment,” said meeting attendee MaryLee Chamberlain, a La Conner Town Councilor and SVCEA representative. “I’m so glad it all worked out.”

Cram thanked Chamberlain and Mary Wohleb, also a member of the Town council and SVCEA, for the initiative taken by the clean energy alliance to promote the campus solarization project.

Cram and Chamberlain lauded the role played by Cascadia Renewables, which served as the “technical arm” in the process, they said.

Cascadia Renewables completed the project’s feasibility design and will be a guiding force as the owner’s representative for the remainder of the project.

Cram said the bulk of work will be undertaken during summer vacation and breaks in the school district’s academic calendar.

Chamberlain noted that the battery energy storage system will allow the middle school to serve as a public emergency shelter. It will also help provide clean backup power for critical community needs during power outages.

“This is helping us get ahead in terms of climate resiliency,” Chamberlain said.

Because the bids were so favorable, Cram is hopeful that funds might be stretched to also install a battery backup system at the elementary school.