FORKS — The first portion of Forks High School will tumble down today.
The 1950s portion of the building will be taken down first thing this morning, project manager Kasey Wyatt said.
It is the first part of a demolition project which will stretch over the next couple of weeks, Wyatt said.
Last on the list is the 1925 portion — which has been immortalized in the Twilight series because the main characters meet and fall in love in the classrooms of that building.
The construction of new buildings to replace the condemned portions of the school is expected to be completed by fall 2011.
$11 million construction bond
Voters in the school district approved an $11 million construction bond issue in February for the high school.
District officials also expect to get about $7 million in state funding.
The tax rate set by the bond is about $1.18 per $1,000 assessed valuation.
That means the owner of a $200,000 home will pay an additional $236 annually in property tax.
Before voters approved the bond in February, a proposal had failed in November 2008.
At that time, voters also had the option of another bond to build a new sports stadium.
A total of 1,500 bricks from the 1925 portion of the building will be saved, cleaned and donated to a foundation to be sold as a fundraiser for the school, Superintendent Diana Reaume said.
In addition to selling the old bricks, when the construction project is officially bid — so far only the demolition has been arranged — it will have two alternatives.
One will include a stand-alone facade mimicking the historical look of the old building and the other will be the school without that.
Reaume said that if keeping the facade is not overly expensive, the board has committed to do whatever possible to preserve the historical feel.
The sign, which is in front of the 1925 building, will also be moved so that Twilight fans can safely have their pictures taken during construction.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
