JEROME, Idaho (KLIX) – A bit of history is being added to Jerome High School.

The Jerome School District Foundation will be installing engraved brick pavers as part of the school’s renovation project. Residents can buy a personalized brick to include in the project, said Foundation Director Megan Williams.

“People are welcome to put whatever they would like on the brick,” she said, including memoriam engravings or the year of their high school graduation. “Most put the name of a person, family or business on them.”

The bricks will be installed outside the new activities entrance at the high school, and beside it being a memorable project for the community it’s for a good cause. Money raised will help fund Foundation projects, such as providing Jerome School District teachers, coaches and employees with mini-grants this fall.

The mini-grants would generally not exceed $1,000, Williams said, and would be used for small projects the recipient would like to accomplish.

“We are hoping to capture the priorities of those who are actually doing the day-to-day work in the district and enable them to do projects they could not do otherwise,” she said. “We will have an open date to start to collect applications for these mini-grants here within the next month.”

The Foundation was founded in 1995 as a means to serve the school district by raising money for special projects. Over the past 20 years, however, it did little in the way of proactively seeking those funds; instead it waited for financial donors to come to it. It’s had some success, such as being able to add the Evelyn Crowder Library to the high school in 2004, Williams said, but for the past five years or so it pretty much has been dormant.

Now, it has a new vision. The Foundation is revitalizing itself to become a stronger force within the district.

“Within the past year we have added directors and are now strategizing to raise funds and become more of an active part of the community and district,” she said.  “We are newly reenergized for progress.”

Beside the paver project, the Foundation has hired an artist to paint a lion’s head on the high school. Other fundraising projects will be implemented from time to time. All money stays within the district to fund school projects.

The dark gray or orange bricks cost $125 or $275, depending on the size. Interested? Contact the Foundation. The deadline to purchase bricks in the first round of pavers is Feb. 29.

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