PORT TOWNSEND — The State Board of Education has approved a waiver for Salish Coast Elementary that means the students and staff will not need to make up days missed because of a labor dispute and work stoppage.
Construction of the new $28.1 million, 68,000-square-foot school, which replaces the Grant Street Elementary, was expected to be completed in August and the school was scheduled to open on Sept. 4.
Instead it opened a week later, on Sept. 11. The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 stopped work on Aug. 21 and resumed work on Sept. 7.
The State Board of Education approved the waiver Thursday.
Superintendent John Polm requested the waiver due to “financial hardship and logistical hardship of trying to run food service and transportation for one of the school buildings in the district for five days at the end of the school year.
“The hardship for parents who have students in more than one building would be difficult,” Polm wrote.
The waiver was based on a substantial lack of classroom space.
Polm said the school district demolished the former Grant Street Elementary School this summer in anticipation of the opening of Salish Coast Elementary and noted that there were no other vacant school facilities in the district.
Community facilities were explored as alternate options, including space at Fort Worden. There were no facilities available that could accommodate 500 students, he said.
“The impact of the work stoppage delayed critical work paths to enable fire, building, health and other inspections to take place as scheduled,” Polm said.
Some safety items had not been completed at the time of the request, including a lack of paved fire lanes and some exposed campus areas.
The district worked with the city of Port Townsend to obtain a temporary occupancy permit while the rest of the construction is completed.
It is anticipated that all work will wrap up by the end of November.
Salish Coast Elementary School classes will be in session 175 days, with a district-wide average of 1033 hours of instruction. The normal school year is 180 days.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Jeannie McMacken can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jmcmacken@peninsuladailynews.com.
