Schools tagged for demolition

The CK School District released its list of doomed schools.

Doomed to be demolished in the next few years because of old age. The School Board hopes a voter-approved bond in early 2004 will help pay for replacements, as well as federal Heavy Impact funds and matching state funds. Heavy Impact funds are federal dollars to help offset loss of tax income in areas with military installations.

“What we want to look at is the overall needs of the district,” said Richard Best, director of construction, facilities and maintenance. “We’re actually planning ahead to 2020 on this.”

Best was frank about the planned bond.

“It’s generally more difficult to pass them than levies — I don’t want to deceive you,” he said to about 20 members of the district’s facilities committee at a meeting at Jackson Park Elementary, Thursday evening. “But I think if we can get enough voters to take tours of these schools, they would realize the need for replacing or modernizing them.”

Some schools in the district are nearly 50 years old. The list:

l Replace Central Kitsap Junior High, built in 1959, and modernize the gym, built in 1979. Revenue sources — a local voter-approved bond and state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) matching construction funds.

l Replace Jackson Park Elementary, built in 1967. Revenue — local bond and OSPI.

l Replace Seabeck Elementary, built in 1958, but retain the gym built in 1990. Revenue — bond, OSPI.

l Modernize Cottonwood Elementary. Add educational spaces, reconfigure classrooms and core areas, complete upgrades to heating and ventilation, electrical, lighting, data-stream capability, and telephones. Revenue — fed Heavy Impact, OSPI.

l Expand Clear Creek and Cougar Valley elementaries’ special education programs. Additions to special education areas and upgrade classrooms and support spaces. Revenue — Department of Defense.

l Modernize Fairview Junior High, built in 1971 with additions in 1975. Add educational spaces, reconfigure classrooms and core areas, complete significant upgrades to heating and ventilation, electrical, lighting, data stream for computers, and telecommunications (phones).

l Build Klahowya Secondary School auxiliary gym. Revenue — the feds.

l Longer-range plans include modernizing Silverdale, Clear Creek and Esquire elementaries between 2008 and 2012. Revenue — Bond, feds, OSPI.

l Modernize Olympic High 2013-2016. Revenue — bond, feds, OSPI.

l Replace Brownsville and Tracyton elementaries, and Alternative High, 2013-2016. Revenue — bond, feds, OSPI.

l Renovate food services/warehouse building, 2013-2016. Revenue — bond, feds, OSPI.

l Modernize Central Kitsap High, Ridgetop Junior High, Woodlands Elementary, 2017-2020. Revenue — bond, feds, OSPI.

Plans for facilities for special services, career/technical, transportation (buses) and the Jenne-Wright administration building are still being worked out, Best said.

“Schools marked for replacement would have cost too much to modernize,” he explained. “Many of these schools will stay open as we start construction on another part of the school grounds.”

The pressing need to replace? He used Jackson Park as an example.

“Jackson Park was built before (computer) data communications were even thought of. Back in those days, if you put more than one electrical outlet in a classroom, you had to ask yourself, ‘What’re we ever going to use the second outlet for?’”

Now he said it’s difficult to get enough electrical power to schools, what with the growing use of telecommunications and computers.

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