One campus, two school model recommended for WSVSD

WHITE SALMON —  After a year of study that included site visits and community conversations, the White Salmon Valley School District (WSVSD) Facilities Advisory Committee has unanimously recommended the district consolidate its schools into a one-campus model located at the current middle school / high school site.

Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn said the plan will create one K-6 and one 7-12 school, “each designed to meet the developmental and academic needs of their students.” It will require significant modernization of the Henkle Middle / Wallace & Priscilla Stevenson Intermediate School, and the addition of new classrooms and a multi-purpose area at Columbia High School (CHS).

“The CHS upgrades will feature a flexible multi-purpose area designed to function as a cafeteria, commons, and performing arts venue,” Polkinghorn said. “New construction will also connect the existing buildings to create a secure, enclosed environment that supports both academic and extracurricular programming.”

The recommendation includes the decommissioning of Whitson Elementary School, which is 75 years old and has reached the end of its serviceable life, as previously reported by Columbia Gorge News.

Polkinghorn shared concept plans for each of the two sites at the Sept. 25 board meeting; see columbiagorgenews.com for renderings.

State funding

While the total project cost is an estimated $112,068,624, the district’s portion would be around $77,658,568 because the unified K-12 campus / two school model qualifies WSVSD for as much as $30 million in state capital funding, as defined by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

The facilities committee has recommended a bond be placed on the February 2026 ballot to access those funds. Funding is also determined by full-time enrollment, and this is the last year the district can take advantage of pre-COVID numbers, which were higher than they are today.

“We stand to lose a significant amount of funding if we fail to pass this capital bond,” he said.

The bond amount will be decided in November and will require a board resolution. WSVSD must register for the ballot in December.

“Things are ramping up pretty fast as far as our next steps,” he said.

New spaces

Polkinghorn said that shared spaces for school and community purposes has been one overarching goal, as has improved safety, security, and overall accessibility.

Enrollment trends also played a big role in determining the committee’s recommendations.

“You go back to 2018, pre-pandemic, and we have enrollment of almost 1,300 students,” he said. “There’s been a steady decline for the past five or six years.”

Thus, both sets of concept plans were designed to accommodate a smaller number of students based on those projections.

“That’s why we’re going with the two school approach — because enrollment would not allow for [three],” Polkinghorn said. “It allows us to think about our operations, and operating two schools is less expensive than three schools. Getting down to two facilities will save us operational dollars as well.”

The improvements are overdue, he said, and construction costs will only rise.

Maybe more importantly, “our kids are in school now — our youngest kids will benefit from these improvements,” he said. “If we’re successful, we probably won’t break ground for three years, but down the line, these are improvements for our students who are coming through, who deserve to have really nice facilities.”

The project will now move into its next phase, with community engagement continuing to be a top priority. He said staff will continue to gather feedback, refine cost estimates, and explore funding options in preparation for the potential bond measure.

For more information about the Facilities Advisory Committee, including building concept plans and archived meeting minutes, visit www.wsvsd.org.