Exit133

February 26, 2013 · Exit133

$500 Million Buys a Lot of School

The TNT has some updates on what Tacoma can expect to see paid for out of the recently passed $500 million Tacoma Public Schools bond measure.

The $500 million will pay for 14 new or remodeled schools for Tacoma’s kids, beginning with the Washington-Hoyt Elementary remodel. That project has already gone through design and public comment processes, with construction expected to begin this summer, and completion expected in time for a fall 2014 opening.

The list of 14 projects for the school bond would use the vacant Hunt Middle School as a temporary home for students while the schools are under construction – some for up to two years.


     
  • Washington-Hoyt Elementary – A remodel of the historic Washington school building, including space to bring kids from Hoyt down the street under one roof. Open by fall 2014.

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  • SAMI – A new building for students at the Science and Math Institute, who have been attending classes in portables since the school opened at Point Defiance. Open by fall 2015.

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  • McCarver Elementary – Renovation of the historic building, maintaining the exterior, scheduled for completion by fall 2016.

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  • Wilson High School – Renovation scheduled for completion by fall 2016.

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  • Stewart Middle School – Renovation scheduled for the historic school building, maintaining the historic exterior. Scheduled for completion by fall 2017.

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  • Wainwright Elementary – Construction of a replacement building for the currently closed Fircrest school. Scheduled to reopen by fall 2017 to accomodate anticipated enrollment growth.

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  • Arlington Elementary – Construction of a replacement school building. Scheduled to reopen by fall 2017.

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  • Brown’s Point Elementary – Construction of a replacement building for the northeast Tacoma school. Scheduled for completion by fall 2018.

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  • Mary Lyon Elementary – Construction of a replacement building for the school, scheduled for completion by fall 2018.

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  • Birney Elementary – Construction of a replacement building. Scheduled for completion by fall 2019.

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  • Grant Center for the Expressive Arts – Construction of a replacement building. Scheduled for completion by fall 2019.

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  • Boze Elementary – Construction of a replacement building. Scheduled for completion by fall 2020.

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  • Downing Elementary – Construction of a replacement building. Scheduled for completion by fall 2020.

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  • Hunt Middle School – Reconstruction of the school. Closed in 2010 for low test scores and declining enrollment, the school will temporarily house students from many of the above projects during their construction. Enrollment in Tacoma schools is expected to grow, creating the need for a new Hunt by the time the project is scheduled for completion in fall 2021.

And if your neighborhood school isn’t on the list, it may still be getting an upgrade or two on the list of nearly 200 smaller capital improvement projects that will also be funded by the bond. More about the list of projects from the TNT.

Filed under: Tacoma Schools

6 comments

  • fred davie February 26, 2013

    That TNT link doesn’t take you to listing of the 200 smaller projects. It just redirects folks to the same listing provided in the story above.

    It remains to be seen if the $500M is going to “buy a lot of school.” The School Board is free to trim or modify the project listings as it sees fit and most of the proposed work hasn’t even been put out for bid. In a few years maybe we will be able to say we got a lot for our money. Too premature to say right now.

  • JJ February 26, 2013

    You could buy 5 modern thermonuclear weapons for that price.

  • Jesse February 26, 2013

    It does buy a lot of schools!

  • stu February 27, 2013

    Would be smart to see some economies of scale applied and build as many as possible of the new schools the same. Standardized design, construction and maintenance will keep costs down.

  • jsisbest March 1, 2013

    @stu. You would think that standardized design/construction would keep the cost down, but for buildings as large as schools and with needing to hire different contractors for each school, it’s rarely the case. There have been school districts who have tried building multiple elementary schools in a “standard” construction method. But in each school, each contractor offers cost-saving opportunities in altering the construction that are different based on material availability/cost, phasing/scheduling issues, prior experience, etc.

    Another reason that “standard” designs are rarely put in place is that school designs are uniquely tailored to each school and community. The design includes the students, teachers, principal, parents, and community in the process. Some school curricula require learning spaces shared by a cluster of classrooms, others do not. Some schools are used after hours for community meetings and gym uses, others are not.

    Bottom line, each school, site, and community are unique and contemporary school design takes these influences into consideration. You’re absolutely correct that standard systems should be used for ease/cost maintenance reasons. Generally that relates to the mechanical, plumbing, fire suppression, communication and electrical systems. School districts as large as Tacoma have standards in place for these systems that design teams are encouraged or required to use. But such standards are often living documents that change with advances in technology and each project’s lessons learned.

  • Greg S. March 24, 2013

    So, how are we going to keep them accountable with the spending? Do we taxpayers get to see where this $500 million is going exactly, as it’s “going”? Or are they going to get just half of this done and say they need another 500 million?