Bond Project Update: January 2023
Thank you, voters!
Elementary School #19
District leaders hosted an open house at Graham Elementary to update the community on the progress we’re making on our upcoming 19th elementary school, which will be located in the Lipoma Firs community. Using VR goggles, kids and families got to walk the halls of Elementary #19 before the first shovel of dirt was thrown. Construction crews will break ground on the project this spring and look to have it completed in the fall of 2024.
Also this month, the School Board authorized administration to move forward with the advertising for bid proposals related to the Elementary School #19 project. The approximately 68,000-square-foot building will house approximately 500 students.
New Naches Trail Elementary
Construction on the New Naches Trail Elementary School is still on schedule for its completion this fall. The new 77,000-square foot school will house 41 general classrooms.
Naches Trail Elementary was originally slated to get a complete remodel and expansion. But a cost analysis determined it would actually be more expensive to modernize the current school than it would be to build a new school.
Evergreen Elementary Expansion
Once the New Naches Trail is completed and staff and students move into the building, the old Naches Trail Elementary will become home to the Evergreen Elementary staff and students in 2024, while the renovation and expansion of their school takes place.
The Evergreen Elementary project will expand and modernize the current building, which was originally built in 1979.
The project is scheduled to be completed in 2025.
Graham-Kapowsin High School Expansion
Construction is well underway on the Graham-Kapowsin High School expansion project. The 33,000-square-foot expansion is adding a new classroom wing, an auxiliary gym and weight room, along with a larger commons area and administrative spaces. The new wing will allow students and faculty members to move from portables back into the main building.
Once construction is done, GKHS will also be home to a new School-Based Health Clinic, the construction of which is being funded through congressional award that Congresswoman Kim Schrier spearheaded. It will offer students and staff from GKHS, Frontier Middle, and Nelson Elementary a free clinic for an assortment of medical needs.
This project is scheduled to be completed by this fall.
New Bethel High School
Construction on the New Bethel High School project is anticipated to begin in early 2024. The construction timeline is 27 months, with an anticipated opening in the fall of 2026, subject to permitting.
PCSC Evergreen Building
While it’s not a bond-funded project, the Pierce County Skills Center will soon have a brand new facility for two of its most popular programs. The Evergreen building is scheduled to house the Fire Sciences and Construction Trades programs once it’s completed.
When the building opens it will also include a brand new pre-electrical program, which was selected as a result of a survey of student interest and industry demand.
The project is all thanks to a $9.8 million award from the Washington State Legislature.
As part of OSPI’s requirements for state funding, a value engineering (VE) study was performed by OAC Services, Inc. to review the architect’s design and make recommendations for cost avoidance, cost verification, and added value proposals.
