Potlatch school to replace gas range

The Potlatch School District was recently awarded an $8,963 equipment assistance grant to replace a gas range in its kitchen that failed months ago.

Kitchen Supervisor Tammy Deerkop says the gas range inside the cafeteria at Potlatch Elementary School is hobbling along until a replacement arrives.

“It was getting to where we couldn’t depend on it,” Deerkop said. “I kept having to call the repair people to come out and fix it. The last time they did, just before school started, the guy told me he couldn’t get any more parts.”

The gas range has been with the building since it was first constructed in 1954.

Potlatch School District Superintendent Janet Avery said the grant will cover the majority of a new gas range, which has already been ordered from Fork Refrigeration in Moscow. The remaining costs, about $2,000, will be covered with money from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund.

“It lasted many, many years but eventually it did go out,” Avery said. “And it’s old enough that we can no longer get parts for it.”

The federal grant funding for the gas range came from a pool of money allocated by the State Department of Education through its Child Nutrition Programs. In addition to Potlatch, several other school districts in Idaho received funds for items including a refrigerator, convection oven and walk-in freezer.

While the old gas range in Potlatch is defective, it may also be posing hazards to kitchen staff.

“It’s gotten to the point where we can smell propane in the building when we go in on Monday morning after having the school shut down for the weekend,” Deerkop said. “I really want to get the new one for air quality reasons because we have to turn on fans when we get in there for a bit to dissipate the smell.”

Deerkop and Avery collaborated to write the grant and secure funding for the new piece of kitchen equipment, which they expect to arrive sometime in December.

While the kitchen has one other gas range that does function, the loss of the second has limited the types of meals cafeteria staff can prepare.

“Having this new range will give them the tools they need to prepare breakfasts and lunches for our students in a more timely manner,” Avery said. “We’re very excited.”

The kitchen is the only one in the district, serving students at both the Potlatch Elementary School and the Potlatch Junior-Senior High School. Until the new gas range is delivered, Deerkop says her staff will continue to improvise.

“We just have to try to do the best we can with what we have,” she said. “We have to be able to pivot.”

Palermo can be reached at apalermo@dnews.com or on Twitter @apalermotweets.