Thanks to grants and an agreement with AT&T, Granite City School District will improve its school buildings and baseball field — projects the district otherwise couldn't afford.

"Without being aggressive and looking at other ways to fund projects like this, we can't get them done," District Superintendent Harry Briggs said.

A $1 million grant from U.S. Steel is enabling the school district to replace old, drafty windows with energy-efficient windows at all schools except the high school and Coolidge Middle School.

U.S. Steel provided the money as part of an agreement with local environmental groups that allowed construction of the coke plant and a cogeneration facility in Granite City. The company and Gateway Energy and Coke Co. reached the agreement in 2008 to reduce fine particle pollution and provide $5 million for energy efficiency projects at city schools, parks and libraries. In return, the Sierra Club and American Bottom Conservancy agreed not to challenge requests for air pollution permits.

The district is ordering about 750 windows designed to be better insulated than the current 1960s-era windows, said Brad Eavenson, district director of building services. The new windows should cut 15 percent, or about $100,000 a year, from heating and cooling bills, Eavenson said.

The school board on Jan. 10 awarded a contract to St. Charles Glass Co. of Edwardsville for $261,700 for new windows at Grigsby Middle School and Prather Elementary School, according to the minutes from that meeting.

Installation at those schools, the first to be done in the project, should start in about six weeks. All buildings should be done in about 18 months, Eavenson said.

Another grant of $125,000 from the Illinois Energy Commission is providing for energy-saving lights at all gyms in the district and some shop classes at the high school.

The lighting project should save about $15,000 to $20,000 a year, Eavenson said. It started at the beginning of the school year and should wrap up this week.

And the district recently finalized a 25-year lease with AT&T. In exchange for using one of the high school baseball field light towers as a cellular phone antenna, the company is paying $179,000 for new lighting and new steel poles and $81,000 for other projects.

The project is more extensive than originally anticipated, Eavenson said. Originally, AT&T was to sign a 10-year lease and provide $87,000 for new poles. However, the lease is now extended to 25 years, allowing for the replacement of the lights as well.

The school board voted last week to have All Purpose Erectors of Lebanon do the work. Materials have been ordered, and the project should be complete by April.

Contact reporter Jim Merkel at 618-344-0264, ext. 138