Bond Project Update: January 2022
Welcome to Katherine G. Johnson Elementary
We’re excited to announce that Katherine G. Johnson Elementary will open its doors to students on March 21!
While the school is opening later than anticipated due to issues the power company encountered, students and staff started this school year in class together using space in nearby schools. That way, once construction is complete, they will be able to move into the new school without missing a beat.
Although our COVID protocols currently don’t allow visitors to the building, we are planning to have building tours in conjunction with student conference week — March 28 through April 1.
School hours will remain the same, and students will continue the school year with their current teacher and classmates in our brand new building.
Right at School will start at Katherine G. Johnson Elementary on the March 21 start date.
Challenger High School Phase II (2022)
Our construction crews continue to make great progress on the second phase of Challenger High School’s renovation and expansion project. Framing on the 31,000-square foot project is well already underway and is expected to be finished and ready for students in September. The new building will add more classroom space, as well as more parking and a practice field. Click the image above to watch a cool drone video showcasing the latest additions to the project.
New Bethel High School (2025)
The original timeline for opening the new Bethel High was September 2023. Changes to the Pierce County Stormwater regulations have delayed the opening until 2024 or 2025.
The updates to the Pierce County Stormwater Manual’s regulations have resulted in development standards that are different than when the District purchased the property in 2009.
These include more stringent threshold methodologies to determine if the site’s stormwater could impact a “Category 1 Wetland,” which is located in the southeast corner of the new Bethel High School site.
The District has already begun work to study the movement of the site’s groundwater, but the process can take up to one year.
But that hasn’t stopped the design work on the new school. Earlier this year the School Board approved a plan to build a memorial in honor of Casey Crate on the New Bethel High School property. Plans show a plaza that would memorialize Crate and all the other graduates of the Bethel School District who lost their lives in combat activities in defense of our country.
Graham-Kapowsin High School Expansion (2023)
The Graham-Kapowsin High School expansion project is moving forward, and the School Board has already approved the site’s Value Engineering Report and Design Development Drawings.
The 33,000-square-foot expansion will add a classroom wing, a gym and weight room, along with administrative spaces and a larger commons.
New Naches Trail Elementary (2023)
The Naches Trail Elementary project was originally slated to be a complete remodel and expansion, but a cost analysis determined it would actually be more expensive to modernize the current Naches Trail than it would be to build a new school.
Originally built in 1979, Naches Trail is one of our oldest elementaries. The school received some facility improvements in 1997, but the student population has outgrown the building and the 14 portable classrooms that are now being used on campus.
By building a completely new school on adjacent property the district already owns, Naches Trail students won’t have to be relocated during the construction, which saves money, makes the build quicker, and is safer for students and teachers.
Elementary #19 (2024)
We’re getting closer and closer to finalizing a site for our nineteenth elementary school! The district and DR Horton are now in agreement on the language of the First Amendment to the Purchase and Sale Agreement for the future site of the school, which will be located within the Rainier Ridge at Lipoma Communities. Our School Board adopted the resolution at a special meeting in October.
Pierce County Skills Center Evergreen Building (2023)
We’re excited to announce that the Piece County Skills Center is expanding.
The project, which is not funded by our 2018 bond, will transform a warehouse on the Skills Center campus into an educational space.
The building was formerly owned by the Tacoma News Tribune and is currently being used as a PCSC warehouse. The project is being funded by the State of Washington.
