FORKS — The walls of the older portions of Forks High School will begin to come down this month.
A committee overseeing the construction of new portions of the high school to replace the crumbling older portions will fine-tune a schedule for the demolition work this week, Quillayute Valley School District Superintendent Diana Reaume said.
Reaume said she expects the work to begin next week, but the committee — which was appointed by the School Board — will help fine tune that.
The 1925 portion isn’t expected to come down until after July 4, she said.
The work is expected to be completed by fall 2011.
$11 million 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.
Two alternatives
In the work on the high school, bids will be requested for two construction alternatives.
One will be only the cost of replacing the aged portions of the building and connecting all the buildings on the campus except for the career and technical education building.
The other will include a grand entryway, using the historical facade of the 1925 building, Reaume said.
Estimates of keeping the facade range from $100,000 to $250,000.
The architects’ drawings depict a free-standing portion of the facade, reinforced with additional brick to make it more substantial.
As a way to counter some of the expense of keeping the facade — which is important to history buffs and fans of the Twilight books — the district is considering a fundraiser.
“We will save 1,500 of the bricks from the old 1925 portion of the building, clean them and then donate them to a foundation,” Reaume said.
Sell or auction
The foundation in turn will be able to either sell or auction off the bricks to alumni or fans or community in general.
The foundation will also sell new bricks with names engraved for the path leading up to the school as a fundraiser for the district, she said.
“One other thing we are wrestling with right now is where to move the Forks High School sign that is like the one used in the movie ‘Twilight,'” Reaume said.
“We want to allow fans to take pictures and enjoy the tour, but we also want them to be safe.
“So we are trying to figure out where to move the sign that will allow both.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
