WHITE SALMON — Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn laid out the expected bond-funded, unified campus project timeline at the June 25 White Salmon Valley School District (WSVSD) board meeting.
• Mid-May to mid-September 2027: Bruin stadium and Henkle Middle School (HMS) and Wallace and Priscilla Stevenson Intermediate School (WPSIS) play area will be upgraded.
• July 2027 to August 2028: HMS/WPSIS remodel. Students will vacate the building, with 5-6 at Whitson Elementary and 7-8 in temporary classrooms near Columbia High School’s (CHS) multipurpose building for the 2027-2028 school year.
• Mid-July 2028 to August 2029: CHS remodel and construction, starting with the A-court, which will become the new middle school area. High school students will utilize the temporary classrooms, with grades 7-8 at moving to Whitson.
• July 2029 to August 2030: CHS C-court construction. This includes building the library connection. Again, students will be utilizing temporary classrooms.
Polkinghorn said they originally looked at starting with CHS, a 2-year project, but that put bidding on middle school project back a year, meaning higher construction costs.
The district could also potentially lose a portion of their School Construction Assistance Program (SCAP) funding, with the window to use 2019 enrollment numbers closing.
“My first priority is to maximize resources and put every dollar into the facilities,” he said.
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