School board approves November bond measure for Wenatchee Schools project

WENATCHEE — After more than three years of facility planning and community review, the Wenatchee School Board has unanimously approved placing a $275 million bond proposal before voters this fall to fund a major reconstruction of Wenatchee High School and improve air quality systems across the district.

The measure, scheduled for the Nov. 3 ballot, follows recommendations developed by the district's Long-Range Facilities Planning Committee, which spent 15 months evaluating school facilities, educational programming needs, construction costs and long-term priorities.

District officials said the proposal focuses on two primary projects: rebuilding most of Wenatchee High School and upgrading heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at schools throughout the district.

"This proposal is the result of a thoughtful process that included community members from many different backgrounds and perspectives," Superintendent Kory Kalahar said in a news release. "They reviewed the data, toured facilities, considered multiple options, and identified the highest priorities for our students and community."

While often described as a new high school project, the proposal would preserve significant portions of the existing campus.

Wenatchee High School, originally constructed in the early 1970s, was designed to serve approximately 1,400 students across three grade levels. Today, the school serves about 1,900 students in grades 9 through 12, according to the district.

Under the plan, students would continue attending classes on the current campus while construction takes place. The district would retain and renovate approximately 100,000 square feet of existing facilities, including the gymnasiums, swimming pool, auditorium, locker rooms and band classrooms, while replacing most of the academic building.

District officials estimate that preserving those facilities rather than replacing them entirely reduces project costs by approximately $27 million.

Board Director Julie Norton said the proposal was developed with an emphasis on fiscal responsibility.

"This [bond] is not a facilities wish list — this is a facilities reality," Norton said in the release. "This is an important, responsible and sensible use of taxpayer funds. I want to emphasize that this proposal was built with fiscal discipline at its core. The people that designed this proposal were thinking like savers not spenders."

In addition to the high school project, the bond would fund HVAC improvements at seven schools throughout the district. Officials said many existing systems were not designed to address prolonged wildfire smoke events, maintain consistent indoor air quality or accommodate increasingly frequent periods of extreme summer heat.

The district estimates it could receive up to $83 million in state matching funds. Those are already-contributed education dollars from taxpayers that would not be available to Wenatchee schools without a qualifying local bond measure. District officials said the funding would allow the community to bring millions in state education money into local school projects while reducing the portion paid through local property taxes.

State assistance could cover more than 20% of total project costs, reducing the amount that would need to be funded locally while increasing the overall investment available for school facilities.

District officials said additional information regarding project costs, timelines, facility details and community outreach opportunities will be released in the coming months.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media