Senate votes to relax costly energy mandate for Selkirk Schools

OLYMPIA – The Washington Senate voted last week to exempt the Selkirk School District and others like it from state energy code rules that could significantly increase the cost of school construction.

Senate Bill 5941, sponsored by Sen. Shelly Short, R-Addy, relaxes a renewable energy requirement for small school districts in cold regions of the state. Under state rules, new non-residential construction of more than 10,000 square feet must include a renewable energy system. But Selkirk officials complained that the rules put an unreasonable burden on the district, which serves about 260 students in Pend Oreille County, about 90 miles northeast of Spokane.