Ephrata schools to upgrade three kitchens with grant funding

EPHRATA – Earlier this year, the Ephrata School District successfully secured a $165,000 Healthy Kids-Healthy Schools Grant from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Ephrata School Board approved a series of electrical upgrades during their meeting Oct. 28, marking a step forward in improving the school facilities. 

“The beauty of the equipment is the equipment we’ll be able to reuse for yes, for a long term,” Ephrata School District Superintendent Ken Murray said.  

He highlighted the necessity of investing in electrical upgrades, acknowledging that “this electrical work may be obsolete if we land on a direction, on a future bond that moves us away from these buildings or in a different direction with these buildings, but the only way we can utilize the equipment is to invest the money in the electrical now.” 

The grant funding will facilitate essential renovations, repairs, and the purchase of new equipment, particularly aimed at enhancing cafeteria and kitchen facilities across the district. During the board meeting, directors agreed to allocate part of the grant for electrical upgrades at Grant Elementary, Parkway Intermediate, and Ephrata High schools. The district has contracted Holmes Electric, based in Quincy, to carry out these electrical upgrades at a total cost of just under $39,000. 

Following these upgrades, each school will benefit from upgraded kitchen facilities. Grant Elementary will receive a new industrial refrigerator and freezer, a convection oven, a professional dishwasher, two warmers and a hot food well. Parkway Intermediate will enhance its kitchen with a new double-stacked convection oven and a professional dishwasher, while EHS will acquire a new convection oven, a buffet warmer, and a hot food well. 

The new equipment will be kept and utilized at any new or fully remodeled campuses that may be approved by the community during their service life, district staff said.