Built in 1938, Warm Springs Elementary School is the oldest operating building in the Jefferson County School District, and officials believe its time for a new school.

The cafeteria, built in 1957, is not attached to the main school, and students have to cross a street and field, equaling the distance of about a city block, for lunch. Seven modular buildings have slowly accumulated over the years to accommodate the increase in enrollment.

And maintaining the building, officials said, is becoming increasingly difficult. Superintendent Rick Molitor didnt have a specific amount on how much it costs to maintain the building.

So, Molitor said hes determined to find ways to use federal stimulus dollars to finance a new building, which could cost anywhere from $13 million to $20 million.

There is money out there for school construction projects. And there is money out there specifically for school construction projects that receive impact aid, Molitor said.

Impact aid is federal money the district gets in lieu of property taxes from the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.

Molitor said the district is in the early process of searching for grants. At this point, he said, hes not sure of any looming deadlines to apply, but if the district receives the money this year, it could be ready to start construction within three months.

We think it could be up and running relatively soon, he said. You show us the money, and we can get it done pretty quick.

Since the Warm Springs Indian Reservation owns the land where the school would be built, Molitor said hes working to figure out what the relationship with the tribes would look like.

Most likely, the relationship will continue as it is now, where the Jefferson County School District owns the Warm Springs Elementary School building as long as the district continues to operate it. Once it stops using the building for educational purposes, the building becomes Bureau of Indian Affairs property.

Five years ago, the district had hopes of building a new elementary school. The economy sidelined the project.

Molitor said having a new building in Warm Springs would help foster a sense of pride in the school for both the students and the community.

Laurie Danzuka, who lives in Warm Springs and serves on both the Warm Springs education committee and the Jefferson County School Board, said this has been a project Warm Springs has wanted for a long time.

Its a really old building, she said. It doesnt accommodate the numbers they have in Warm Springs. … And its feasible, its just a matter of jumping through all the right hoops. The school district wants it. The Warm Springs tribal membership wants it. … Its always there in peoples minds. There needs a place to set up new technology and even simple things like having air conditioning.