Bond Project Update: May 2022

Thank you, voters!

New Naches Trail Elementary (2023)

Students and staff helped break ground this month on the new Naches Trail Elementary School!

Originally built in 1979, Naches Trail Elementary was 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.

Six bids were received for this project. The administration recommended and the Board approved that the bid for construction be awarded to Neeley Construction Company of Puyallup, Washington.

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.

Evergreen Elementary Expansion (2025)

Once the New Naches Trail Elementary School is completed and staff and students move into the new building, the old Naches Trail Elementary will become a swing school for the Evergreen Elementary staff and students while their renovation and expansion takes place.

This project will modernize the current building, originally built in 1979, and add 15,000 square feet. That will increase the capacity to 625 students.

“That area and that community is really going to benefit from that [project],” said David Hammond, Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Schools, at a recent School Board meeting.

Graham-Kapowsin High School Expansion (2023)

Construction is underway on the Graham-Kapowsin High School expansion project. The 33,000-square-foot expansion will add a classroom wing, an auxiliary gym and weight room, along with administrative spaces and a larger commons.

Challenger High School Phase II (2022)

This month the School Board toured the new addition to Challenger High School. The 31,000-square foot project is adding more classroom space, as well as more parking and a practice field to the school. It is on track to open in September of this year.

Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School (Project Complete!)

Katherine G. Johnson is the first new elementary school in our district in 13 years, and the first completed school funded by our 2019 bond.

The new school’s namesake, Katherine G. Johnson, was an American mathematician who calculated and analyzed the flight paths of spacecraft during her more than three decades with the U.S. space program. Among many other accomplishments, her groundbreaking work helped send astronauts to the moon as part of 1969’s Apollo 11 mission.

“Katherine G. Johnson has inspired us to reach for the stars and that’s what we’re inspiring our kids to do. So, we talk about her, we’ve read about her, we’re learning about her. We’re using her as an inspiration for our kids to be future scientists and engineers, mathematicians, artists,” said Mary Waddell, a STEAM specialist at the school.