Avista gives Salish School of Spokane $724,000 for 'clean energy' at future campus
As the Salish School of Spokane inches towards realizing a once "pie-in-the-sky" dream, a grant from Avista Utilities is the catalyst for another.
The Salish School of Spokane received a $724,000 grant from Avista Utilities to install solar panels and battery storage at the school's yet-to-be built campus along the Spokane River.
The private, nonprofit immersion school teaches around 50 kids from preschool to eighth grade entirely in Colville-Okanagan Salish. Open since 2010, it is the school's mission to revitalize the endangered language that proliferated the Inland Northwest before European settlers colonized the area.
The installation of solar panels as a "clean" energy source is in line with the school's mission of traditional cultural reclamation, said Brea Desautel, co-executive director at the school.
"It just really, really aligns with our personal philosophies of a sustainable campus," Desautel said. "Especially being right on the river, we want to make sure that we have a clean campus that follows those green guidelines."
The sum will pay for panels covering the roofs of a future school and community center at the 2-acre site, 2752 W. Elliot Court, donated to the school by Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington as a reparations gift.
Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington is building a 72-unit housing development called "River Family Haven" nearby and has pledged to give the development to the Salish school after 15 years.
The solar panels will supply enough energy equivalent to power about a dozen average homes annually. It's likely not enough to fully power the school and accompanying community center, Desautel said, but will get the school closer to its goals of a "completely green campus," relying fully on alternative energy sources.
A backup power system installed on the campus as part of the grant will further support the school and center in the event of a power outage or other emergency. When homes go dark, Desautel predicts the community center could be a gathering place for families without power or if people are displaced by natural disasters.
"That's just something that's important to us, to be able to have that peace of mind, knowing that that will always be an option for our people," Desautel said.
The system will prevent an estimated 260,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually, according to information from Jim Dawson, capital campaign director at the school. That's the equivalent of 25 fewer cars on the street each year.
The award is part of Avista's Named Communities Investment Fund that awards grants in communities disproportionately affected by environmental change in compliance with the state's Clean Energy Transformation Act, passed in 2019. Each year, Avista awards $5 million to tribes, rural areas, poor communities and communities of color, for example. Past recipients include the Malden community center, Raze Early Learning Center and Family Promise of Spokane.
The Salish School of Spokane is still raising money to build the school and community center. It's campaign is shy of its $17 million goal by around $2 million. The Avista grant doesn't add to this funding stream, but school staff plan to break ground on construction by the end of May and plan to open in December 2027.
The school's current location , 4125 N. Maple St., is listed for sale. It is still housing kids and adult learners in the school's night classes as school staff look for the "right fit" in a buyer, Desautel said.
Meanwhile, the Salish School of Spokane is growing. Desautel said another eight kids enrolled for next year, when the school will add ninth graders.
"By the time that we're at our new campus, the dream is to be able to serve children and families with students age 12 months old all the way up till they're 18," she said.
Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the title of Avista's Named Communities Investment Fund.
Elena Perry's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
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This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 11:42 PM.