Mattawa school is ahead of schedule

Board approves $1.23 million for increases in cost of materials

MATTAWA — Completion of the new high school in the Wahluke School District is ahead of schedule, even with rising costs of construction materials that required the project to come to a brief standstill.

The initial August 2006 completion date has been moved up to June.

In a board meeting in October, the board unanimously voted to approve $1.23 million in limited general obligation bonds to pay for increased costs of construction materials.

LGO bonds are repaid from existing revenues whereas unlimited general obligation bonds rely on voter approval for repayment.

Rick Molitor, associate superintendent for the WSD, said the LGO bonds will allow the district to continue construction and keep a promise to voters that there would be no new taxes imposed on them.

"The number one thing out there was keeping the promise to the voters," Molitor said.

When complete, the project will include a 400-seat auditorium, 10,000-square-foot community fitness center, community plaza, a new gym, science labs and commons area for serving meals and holding community events.

Since the original design was implemented, four additional classrooms have been added to allow for future growth as stated in a letter written by WSD superintendent Bill Miller to the community in October.

In the letter Miller also stated that it is unusual for a small community like Mattawa, with limited resources, to accomplish a project of this magnitude.

"It took quite a struggle with the state to convince them we would ever be big enough for the current high school," Miller wrote in the letter.

The WSD enrolled 1,774 students in October of 2004.

The project, which will now exceed the initial $19 million projected estimate, is also funded with monies received from a $10 million bond that was passed by voters in 2003 and funds allocated out of the school district and state budgets.