Jared Hughes has taught forestry as a science class at Priest River Lamanna Jr./Sr. High School since 2003.

His students rarely got to see his concepts in action.

Then in 2023, Hughes applied for a grant through the Idaho Career Ready Students program to build a forestry shop where students could use industry-standard tools.

The district received the grant in November 2023. It was a joyous moment, said Hughes, who began shopping for sawmills and ordering gear, tool chests and computers that use mapping software.

But leadership turnover, failed levies and school board controversies halted progress, despite the grant funds.

“It took a few superintendents,” Hughes said, drawing chuckles from the crowd at the building’s grand opening Thursday. “If you guys know our history, six in 18 months.”

Former interim superintendent Joe Kren and current superintendent Kim Spacek saw Hughes’ vision, which became reality last month when students first stepped into the shop for the first time.

“One of, if not the largest, natural resources in our state and region are our forests,” Hughes told the crowd he hopes to teach all aspects of forestry.

For Hughes, forestry is personal. His wife, Faith, was a wildland firefighter and is now an award-winning timber salesman.

Hughes visited the building almost daily as it was built, checking on the progress and helping when he saw a need, Faith said. He also picks her brain frequently for ideas. Faith said she’s just happy to see the project completed.

“He’s one of those people that just have to make everything better,” she said.

Students were thrilled with the new digs, the district’s first new building since the 1980s. Students commented on the fresh paint, modern setup and how clean everything was, Hughes said. Even the water in the new building tastes better, students reported.

Senior Ethan Meyer hopes to be an electrician one day. He’s pursuing an Idaho STEM diploma, taking natural resources and forestry courses to meet program requirements.

“It’s amazing,” Meyer said of the new building.

Sophomore Sam Daniels agreed.

“Way better than the other shop,” he said.

Hughes is one of Daniels’ favorite teachers because he cares and makes class exciting, Daniels said.

Hughes’ passion is what programs and projects like the new forestry building need to get off the ground, Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield told Thursday’s crowd.

“We need to clone that guy and put him everywhere in the state,” she said. “I’m absolutely blown away by what he just listed off that will be available for your students in your community.”

The district has four pathways housed in the building:

• Fish and wildlife management
• Forestry
• Sawmills
• Logging

Hughes teaches 85 students across five classes. Nearly 300 students are expected to take a career-technical education course this year at the school, which has about 350 students.

The district received $725,000 from the Idaho Career Ready Students program, with donations and facility funds from House Bill 521 making up the rest of the approximately $1 million project.

“No longer do we want to tell our kids that they have to leave the community that they grow up in and that they love to be successful or to have good jobs or to take care of themselves or to raise families,” Critchfield said. “You can do that right here, and it starts with a shop like this. It starts with a teacher like this. It starts with the vision, just exactly like this.”

Sophomore Bodey Cosgrove wants to work in a mill or as a logger because that’s what his grandpa did.

“He got really excited,” Cosgrove said of telling his grandfather about his new classes. “He wants to show me how to use all the right tools and stuff.”