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Steamboat Springs — Ruth McBride's first year in the Steamboat Springs School District was a record-setting one.

McBride, the grant writer for Steamboat Springs, Hayden and South Routt school districts, received a total of $1.46 million in grants during the 2007-08 school year. The $1.2 million she secured specifically for Steamboat was more than the district had received from grants in the past eight years combined. During the 2006-07 school year, the district received just $53,500.

McBride said the key to her successes was matching the needs of the district with what grants are available.

To find the right fit, McBride visits the location where the grant will be used and learns as much as she can about the project and who will benefit from the money.

"It's this little dance of knowing the project inside and out," she said. "The number one reason a grant is not funded is because of the fit."

The bulk of the money this year came from two grants - one for $533,784 from the U.S. Department of Justice for a "Secure Our Schools" program and $500,000 from the Department of Local Affairs for the Steamboat Springs Middle School entrance renovation.

The "Secure Our Schools" grant will be used for emergency radios and backup communication equipment, she said.

McBride also said working with other administrators in the district office helps her better understand the needs of the project.

For the middle school entrance grant, Facilities Director Rick Denney made the pitch to the Department of Local Affairs, who voted to fund the project as soon as he was finished.

Denney said he and McBride traveled to Denver for the presentation and listened as several other applicants presented their appeal and were denied.

Finally, Denney presented the middle school's needs, and the board voted to approve the half-million dollar grant.

"It sold on its own merits, more than what I did, because it was such a worthwhile project and because the school district was willing to have such a great portion of match to it," he said.

Before the final presentation, McBride said she spends between a few days to a few months preparing the applications, depending on the requirements of the grants. The final products can be a small packet or fill a three-ring binder.

Several of the grants the district received last year came from local sources, such as the Sara Craig-Scheckman Family Foundation and the Yampa Valley Community Foundation, but the biggest money came from state and national organizations.

McBride said there also is a careful balance about asking for the right amount of money.

"You don't want to ask too much, because it creates unhappy feelings," she said.

McBride, whose salary is paid by the Education Fund Board, writes grant applications for the three school districts as well as the Northwest Colorado Board of Cooperative Educational Services.

Last year, McBride received $130,000 for Hayden and $37,000 for South Routt. Both of those numbers are down from previous years, but there also was $69,514 awarded for "regional" projects.

JoAnne Hilton-Gabeler, whom McBride reports to, said the cooperation between the three districts allows the group to get funds they would not be eligible for on their own.

Hilton-Gabeler also said the grants aren't used for frivolous projects or "wants," but for things the district needs.

"We would have found money in another way because things like (the middle school entrance) couldn't wait," she said. By finding the funding from grants, however, more can be spent on other projects.

McBride is talking to district officials, teachers and staff about their needs in the upcoming school year as she begins the process anew. She said it was still too early to say what grants she would apply for this year.