Bond Update: June 2021
School is out, but construction continues!
Summer is officially upon us, and the weather’s not the only thing heating up in the district. Our planning and construction teams continue to make amazing progress on a host of ongoing bond projects.
GKHS Addition and Renovation Project
We’re continuing to make headway on our Graham-Kapowsin High School expansion and renovation, and this month we made two big steps towards completing the project when the School Board 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. Part of the expansion, which is scheduled to be ready for the 2024/25 school year, will include a full traffic impact analysis, as traffic in the Graham area has been a concern.
Challenger High School Phase II
Another exciting bond project that’s picking up steam is the second phase of Challenger High School’s renovation and expansion. The 31,000-square foot project will add new classroom space, as well as more parking and a practice field.
The bid for construction for the project was recently awarded to Jones & Roberts Company, of Olympia, Washington.
The completed school is slated to open to students in the fall of 2022.
Bethel Early Learning Center gets new name
The Board selected Bethel Hope Early Learning Center as the new name of the Bethel Early Learning Center. Hope is a connection to the Lively Hope Community Church, which occupied the building prior to the district purchasing the property. It also shows the hope we have that the children attending the school will have a positive, productive start to their education.
The center will be the first of its kind in the district. It was designed to allow us to move preschool classrooms out of our crowded elementary schools and into the new building. The 12,000 square foot center will feature seven classrooms, administrative offices, support facilities, and will house approximately 250 students each day.
The center will open to students this fall.
Katherine G. Johnson Elementary
It was another busy month for workers at our 18th elementary school, Katherine G. Johnson Elementary.
In recent weeks, crews have installed siding and done exterior caulking on the school’s A-Wing. They also installed carpeting and siding in the B-Wing and did roof work and installed an elevator in the G-Wing.
They’ve also been busy on site work outside of the school, including pouring concrete for curbs, setting light poles, and working on an irrigation system.
