Boards Hear of Progress On 2 Schools to be Built On Tech College Property

The 2014-15 school year seems a long way off, but there is plenty to do in the meantime.

After all, building two schools is no quick process.

The Clover Park School Board and Clover Park Technical College Board of Trustees met Monday, along with representatives from Integrus Architecture and Aeda Construction Management, to discuss plans for a new Harrison Preparatory School and consolidated Oakwood/Southgate Elementary School to be built on the college’s campus.

The partnership between the two initially began in 2009.

“Education has come a long way in the last few decades,” said CPTC President John Walstrum. “The system of education should not be broken up into segments.”

By working together, he added, “We’re hoping that the school district and the college can serve as a model of a real sound educational system.”

The construction project, which is 15 percent complete, is actually two separate schools housed in an L-shaped building. Harrison Prep will be on the west side of the college, with its entrance adjacent to CPTC, and the new elementary school, which has yet to be named, will be to the east, facing out into the community along Lakewood Drive.

“We’ve been planning for this for two years, and it’s nice to see the final steps coming into play,” CPSD Superintendent Debbie LeBeau said. “This is what the community voted for.”

Construction of the two schools is part of a $92 million school-construction bond proposition approved by voters in February 2010. The new Hudtloff Middle School, which is expected to be completed by spring 2013, is also part of that package.

LeBeau said that when the ballot measure passed, voters were not yet aware that the district would be combining the two elementary schools at CPTC, but that “they were in favor of a new Harrison Prep and the new schools.”

The project requires 10 acres of land, some of which will come through a property exchange with the college. The former Alternatives for Individuals (A-I) High School sits on four acres that CPTC will acquire, and CPSD will purchase the other six acres once they are appraised.

The exact price is not yet known, but Walstrum said he expects it to be “very cost effective.”

“There are a variety of ways we can do this for the taxpayers,” he said. “This goes beyond the brick and mortar.”

The process is subject to permits – the process is under way with the city of Lakewood – but project organizers hope to start moving dirt this summer and go to public bid by the end of the year. The district is also working with Puget Sound Energy, which has an easement and power polls on the property, and has worked out the legal wording regarding the land boundaries. A traffic study with the city is also planned.

“We’ve taken a step back and cleaned up some prior issues,” said Lynn Wilson, the district’s administrator for business services, operations and capital projects.

The new schools will be built on what CPTC calls its “portable village,” and in turn will result in the removal of 65 parking spaces. CPSD plans to help offset the loss and potentially build a new parking lot.

Additionally, the project calls for the completion of Runway Road, a continuous southern road that runs behind the Sharon McGavick Center and is billed as crucial to the college’s growth. Wilson said they are working through who will pay for which portions of the road.

CPSD already houses the Lakewood Career Academy on the CPTC campus. The new schools will be constructed to hold 650 elementary-school students and 800 at Harrison Prep, which serves students in grades 6-12.

About 5,000 full-time equivalent students attend the technical college.

The plans were met with praise from both sides.

“It was really exciting to be part of the feasibility study and now to see it coming to fruition,” said CPTC Trustee Mary Moss.

School Board President Carole Jacobs said that she hopes that having all levels of education – including a preschool predominantly used by CPTC students – on the campus will be a strong selling point for the district.

“Our kids don’t need to go anywhere else,” she said. “This will be an educational program and facility that will serve our kids, and we expect families to come back to the Clover Park School District to be a part of this.”