Simply indispensable. From the vantage point of the twenty-first century, it is hard to imagine living in a world without the basic necessity of indoor plumbing. Yet this often overlooked but highly important efficiency of modern civilization has only been in use in Idaho schools for just a little over 100 years.
After the hotels that lined Main Street in Idaho’s capital city, Idaho schools in the Boise Independent School District were some of the first buildings constructed in the new State of Idaho to include indoor plumbing, fixtures, and toilets connected to a sewer system. Schools like Longfellow Elementary, Lowell Elementary, and Roosevelt Elementary were constructed in three parts, with plumbing as one distinctive and essential part. These schools were all constructed during the first twenty years of the 20th century.
As we know today, cleanliness and personal hygiene are very important in the maintenance and operation of schools, but also for students to feel independent. For some students, having access to a bathroom, especially one designed to support special needs children, is the difference between their ability to attend school in person, or not. The Idaho Lottery learned this in 2015 when we offered a Scratch Game that allowed schools the opportunity to submit projects for additional funds. The game, Money Makeover, awarded several program grants to schools across the Gem State. One of those schools was Indian Hills Elementary in Pocatello who requested funding to make restroom safety improvements for their younger and special needs students.
“Our younger students, and special needs students, have difficulty with the old facilities,” said Jill Pixton, Indian Hills Elementary School Principal during a 2015 interview with KPVI in Pocatello. “This gift from the Idaho Lottery is a wonderful necessity and it will help our younger students gain even more independence. Thank you.”
It is by no means glamorous, but crucially vital to the continued well-being of every school in Idaho. That’s why today we’re celebrating Snappy New Plumbing Upgrades Day and these recently completely projects by these districts and Charter schools who utilized Idaho Lottery dividend dollars to repair and upgrade their plumbing facilities:
American Falls Joint School District
Compass Charter School
Gooding Joint School District
Heritage Academy
Idaho Science and Technology Charter
Kootenai Bridge Academy
Kuna Joint School District
Marsh Valley Joint School District
New Plymouth School District
North Idaho STEM Charter
North Valley Academy
Richfield School District
West Ada School District
