PORT ANGELES — The next Port Angeles High School should have solar panels, art studio classrooms with natural light, public parking near the auditorium, an open-air courtyard and additional playing fields, said some participants at a forum earlier this week.
Forty people — students, parents, community members, school staff and district officials — talked about their vision for a new school in the second of three public forums Tuesday.
The School Board plans to place a bond measure on the February special election ballot for construction of a new high school on the 39.7-acre campus at 304 E. Park Ave.
To place a measure on the ballot, the board must approve a resolution by Dec. 26.
The proposed bond would be an estimated $80 million to $100 million. The amount won’t be known until the architects complete preliminary plans.
If voters approve the bond measure, the new school likely would open for the 2018-19 school year.
The preliminary concept is to build a new school to replace most of the 11 buildings, except for the Port Angeles Performing Arts Center and perhaps the gym.
The replacement would increase the square footage from 222,000 to 237,000.
Chris Lilley, managing principal architect of McGranahan Architects of Tacoma, hired by the School Board to create a design concept, asked participants in Tuesday’s forum about their preferred design aesthetics, what should be kept or changed and what they see as the immediate and future needs of the school.
Eight teams
Split into eight teams, participants were given cardboard layouts of the property, with “puzzle pieces” to represent various school elements, and were challenged to arrange them on the steep, oddly shaped campus.
Most suggested an outdoor courtyard where students can gather. Art classrooms with many windows or skylights also were a popular option.
All agreed that the auditorium should have more parking nearby.
Participants also were given the option of adding baseball and softball fields to reduce the travel costs of the teams, which currently are bused to Civic Field and Dry Creek to attend practices and home games.
Seven of the eight teams added at least a softball field, seven of eight left the gymnasium in place, and most placed the new building on the northeast corner of the property to avoid displacing the school’s 1,150 students during the construction period.
Third forum
A tour of the school and the third community facilities forum to discuss a replacement for the aging school is planned Oct. 14.
The tour will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the school main office, followed by the forum at 6:30 p.m. at the school library.
Lilley will report then on feedback received at Tuesday’s forum.
Most of the buildings on the campus were built in 1953. Reviews of the structures’ needs have indicated that it would cost nearly as much to remodel as to replace.
Construction bonds for the rebuilding of Jefferson Elementary will be paid off in November 2015 at the same time a high school bond, if approved, would come into effect.
Paying off that debt would not entirely offset the larger high school bond.
If the bond is approved, it would be the only debt the district carries, school officials have said.
Saving the auditorium
Lilley said the planned school design is expected to preserve, remodel and update the auditorium, known as the Port Angeles Performing Arts Center.
Bringing the 1,122-seat venue up to code would be expensive but less so than replacing the well-designed building, Lilley said.
“It’s so large, it would be hard to replace. It’s hard to justify the seating space for the size of the school,” he said.
The auditorium is used by community groups for concerts and performances after school and during summers.
Participants suggested placing solar panels on the large south-facing roof of the auditorium to reduce the school’s utility costs.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
