SEQUIM — School Board members might prefer to close the post-World War II Sequim Community School building if the money were available.
But that is now a long-term goal since an architect estimates it will take more than $3 million to demolish and rebuild the structure on West Alder Street.
The Sequim School District staff, should the board choose to do so in the future, proposes a Community School project that would require voter approval of a capital projects levy or bond issue to finance it.
In the meantime, the district’s facilities committee and board members are looking at the affordability of securing a $200,000 to $300,000 loan to remodel the 71,000-square-foot structure so it can still be used, albeit temporarily, with improved energy efficiency and other upgrades.
A board decision on how to approach the remodeling project must be made no later than Feb. 1, district officials said.
Community meeting
The School Board has called a community meeting on the matter for 6 p.m. Wednesday in the building’s commons, 220 W. Alder St.
“We’ll do our best to try to get the numbers” to share at the meeting, district Superintendent Bill Bentley told the School Board on Monday night during a work session on the Community School’s future.
Proposed in the short term is renovating the district’s base kitchen, home economics and wood shop class space, which was added on in 1979.
Renovating it would create usable class space for the Olympic Peninsula Academy.
What to do over the long term with the 1950s-era Sequim Community School, which houses several programs for both the school district and other agencies, is under serious consideration.
A district facilities committee report released in October describes the aging building on Alder Street as containing asbestos and having failing heating systems, old and outdated plumbing, and inadequate insulation for energy efficiency.
The most recent report states that fuel oil to heat the building soared in cost to nearly $61,000 during the past school year.
“Is that building worth good money being put into it? I don’t think so,” said School Board Chairman John Bridge.
Bentley said while the building should be remodeled in the short term, the district would be careful to not “go down a rat hole” long term.
Another strategic issue is where the board can house district programs elsewhere before the facility is closed.
While work is done, expected for six to seven months after commencement in February, non-district programs will have to be relocated.
Programs housing
Programs operated by the district and housed at the Community School include the alternative school, Developmental Preschool and Special Programs Administration.
The district leases Community School space to Head Start, First Teacher, the Snap Program for those with disabilities, the Olympic Peninsula Academy and Peninsula College.
The Clallam County Department of Health’s use of the facility is gratis.
“The prevailing judgment is that the continued operation of the building is not cost-effective or advisable in the immediate or long term,” the most recent report on the Community School building said.
“It is also noted the cost of renovating the structure is estimated to exceed the cost of building a new building.”
Reconfiguring existing district facilities is the preferred option, the facilities committee’s report states.
The committee reviewed the issue and identified and explored options, including leasing Fairview Elementary School, which was shut down by the Port Angeles School District in 2007 and is on the Sequim district’s western boundary; establishing shifts outside of normal scheduling; leasing other space; or buying or leasing portable buildings.
“While the district would desire to continue to provide space for each lessee, the opportunity and availability of space to house these programs does not exist,” the report said.
As proposed, the Community School building would be closed with the exception of the base kitchen area, the commons area, the 1979 addition and the Community School gym, which could be used with minimal remodeling.
Playgrounds still in operation
Board member Bev Horan said the playgrounds around the school would remain in operation during remodeling, and there would be the possibility of some programs having to operate after school hours.
Board member Sarah Bedinger asked that the district assist non-district programs in relocating.
She asked that the district firmly state that non-district programs would have to move out.
Bentley said the school would have to be vacant while work is done.
School Board member Walter Johnson suggested the board listen to interested residents at next Wednesday’s community meeting.
“We should go into it with the intention of having a better program,” he said.
Bentley agreed, saying the meeting would be intended to establish a dialog and accept other possible approaches.
The meeting will broken up into groups for smaller discussions, and School Board members said if things are unsettled, another community meeting could be scheduled.
________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
