CSAS receives grant to increase energy efficiency, plans to stay downtown
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – A historic school in downtown Chattanooga will soon be getting needed upgrades.
The school building that houses the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences (CSAS) has been in use since 1922, previously as Chattanooga and Riverside High Schools.
As Hamilton County Schools begin to take action on their school facilities plan, some have wondered what this means for this campus.
However, a new grant signals the school’s commitment to staying right here.
CSAS’s successful School Uplift application to win a $410,000 grant from EPB and TVA was led by a group of highly motivated students, from Left to Right: Karen Lin, Rithvik Siddenki, Sullivan Smith and Aarev Patel (not pictured Hetvi Patel). Courtesy: EPB
The energy was palpable inside of CSAS Thursday morning as the school received a $410,000 grant from the TVA EnergyRight School Uplift Program.
A group of senior students led the grant application process, which included Sullivan Smith, Karen Lin, Aarav Patel, Hetvi Patel, and Rithvik Siddenki.
They worked with EPB Energy Pros to measure energy efficiency and air quality on a daily basis across the school.
Smith reacted to getting the grant by saying, “We’ve been working on it all year really and I mean I knew we were finalists but to come in and get the award? That’s great.”
They volunteered to apply for the grant, which in partnership with EPB, helps schools across Tennessee become more energy efficient with upgrades to school infrastructure such as lights and air conditioning.
Jennifer Mitchell, former E-Lab Teacher at CSAS, now the Current East Ridge High School Assistant Principal, said, “They sat there and wrote the grant application. They would send it to me and my co-chair, Ms. Davis, and we looked over everything, and they submitted a lot of the paperwork and did a lot of the runaround.”
Due to the age of the school, CSAS currently does not have a central air or heating unit outside of their auditorium and gym.
Most classrooms have outside aging air units that’s attached to the windows adjacent to their rooms.
With the improvements, all air units will be replaced and connected to a dedicated outdoor supply.
All fluorescent lighting will be replaced with LED lighting as well.
Smith said, “A lot of students I’m sure like if you just ask them, they could name one or two teachers whose classrooms are too hot or too cold, and that’s just something that’s been part of the experience here, I guess. But with like centralized A.C. or even like just improved mini splits or whatever other improvements we can get, that’s going to make the comfort much more even and well-rounded around the school.”
As new schools get built across the county, some have asked if CSAS should join them.
However, this assures that they will stay downtown for the foreseeable future.
Mitchell said, “Everybody wants it. UTC wants it, Erlanger wants it, but it’s a great location to be it because our kids can walk to 90 percent of their field trips. So, we can go to the Challenger Center, walk to the Hunter Museum, walk downtown, walk to the Creative Discovery Museum, or wherever they need to go, and that’s valuable within itself.”
The school plans to install the new equipment by the beginning of next school year.
They hope it saves up to 10% in annual energy costs.
