Committed to Quality Education
About Us
St. Maries Joint School District No. 41 ~ Home of the Lumberjacks
Greetings and welcome to St. Maries Joint School District No. 41. For years, St. Maries School District has been recognized as a leader in quality educational opportunities. We recognize the role of parents in the success of our students, and we are humbled by the level of trust our parents demonstrate by allowing us to teach their students. We have accomplished a great deal through close cooperation between teachers, administrators, parents, patrons, and local businesses all working toward the common goal of helping our students become successful. We are dedicated to providing an educational culture that will continually assess the knowledge, changing needs, and challenges of our students and adapt our practices to prepare them to become successful citizens.
St. Maries is conveniently located near the University of Idaho in Moscow, North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene, and Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. These outlying areas offer exceptional post-secondary educational opportunities, cultural opportunities, entertainment, and shopping while affording our residents the opportunity to live in our beautiful community.
St. Maries Joint School District No. 41 would like to be the first to welcome you to our community of St. Maries, Idaho!
St. Maries was established at the confluence of St. Maries and St. Joe Rivers in the heart of the scenic St. Joe Valley in 1913. Logging and business opportunities surrounding the timber industry have been the principal economic factor since the valley was first settled.
Major employers in the immediate St. Maries area of Benewah County includes Potlatch Corporation, Stimson Lumber Company, Benewah Community Hospital, Valley Vista Care Center, Idaho Department of Lands, United States Forest Service, Peet Shoe Dryer, Jack Buell Trucking, and the School District.
You can access information concerning St. Maries through the St. Maries Chamber of Commerce website www.stmarieschamber.org. The website of our local newspaper, The St Maries Gazette Record, published each Wednesday, is www.gazetterecord.com. The St Maries School District website is www.sd41.org. Another website: www.stmariesid.com has an excellent six-minute video, “St Maries… Hidden Jewel of the Gem State.”
There is year-around recreation in and around the area. Summer activities include trout fishing on the St. Maries and St. Joe Rivers. Boating down the St. Joe River will connect recreational enthusiasts with over a dozen small lakes which eventually empty into the vast Coeur d’Alene Lake system, roughly 30 miles long. Aqua Park is located on the St. Joe River and has boat docks and a sandy beach to enjoy the summer weather. St. Maries boasts a beautiful nine-hole public golf course and four popular city parks: Aqua Park, Vic Camm Park, Central Park, and Mullan Trail Park. Central Park is the core of many community events and the location of a swimming pool, picnic facilities, a playground, basketball and tennis courts, softball fields, a dirt track, and a soccer field. Our community offers an abundance of hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, and cross-country skiing activities during the winter months as well. St. Maries is indeed a community for all seasons.
Within walking distance of downtown, visitors will find the Benewah County Fairgrounds, with a well-groomed horse arena, RV hookups, and a dumping station. The St. Maries Public Library is located in downtown St. Maries, as well as numerous local businesses, offer a variety of shopping opportunities.
The Route of the Hiawatha Bike Trail traverses through the local mountains, running through old railroad tunnels and offers a spectacular ride. The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes is another paved cycling system that is a must for all ages.
St. Maries is the gateway to St. Joe National Forest, which has hundreds of miles of gravel roads that can be accessed by vehicle, motor homes, horses, and ATVs. Camping can be enjoyed at small campgrounds along the river or along old logging roads throughout the area's forests. Idaho is one of the few states that allows the licensing of ATVs for public roads, making it a great way to travel the mountain back roads.
The St. Joe Valley offers a wide range of real estate, from virtual wilderness to very nice river-front homes.
There are five realty offices in St. Maries;
ST. JOE RIVER REALTY 208 582-2560 https://northwest-national.com/idaho/st-maries
CENTURY 21 208-659-2619 http://www.century21.com
ST. MARIES REALTY 208-245-4502 http://www.stmariesrealty.com/
TIMBER REALTY 208-245-2345 http://www.timberrealty.net
TWO RIVERS REALTY 208-245-2551 http://www.tworiversstmaries.com
Special Announcement
On June 29th, St Maries was announced as a Selectee for the Renew America’s Schools grant, a funding opportunity from the Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Our district, along with 23 other Selectees, will share $178 million in awards to support the implementation of energy improvements in our schools. St Maries will get about 14 million in funding. We are thrilled to have been selected!
The Renew America’s Schools grant is a first-of-its-kind competitive award that garnered unprecedented interest and engagement from schools across the country. DOE received 236 full applications from Local Education Agencies (LEAs) across 44 states. Thank you to your prior superintendent, Alica Holthaus, St. Maries was awarded the Renew America Grant and will be receiving over 14 million dollars to help improve the school buildings.
For the next steps, the senior executive accountant will present information at the July 10th School Board meeting. From there, a timeline for the project will be established. Once the timeline is set, a taskforce can begin to outline the projects based on need and in line with the grant requirements.
In the meantime, you can learn more about the grant by clicking onto their website at https://www.energy.gov/scep/renew-americas-schools.
For further interests, ideas, and questions, you can contact the District Office at 208 – 245 -2579.