Tentative decisions reached on school overcrowding issue

MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake School Board tentatively decided to convert Columbia Basin Secondary School into a middle school and move high school students at CBSS to Moses Lake High School. The high school would go to a six-period day and the schedule will be expanded classes before and after the normal school day, as well as night courses.

District Superintendent Michelle Price said those were the tentative conclusions from a workshop that board members held July 21. Board members also tentatively decided to submit a new construction bond to voters, either in November 2014 or February 2015. If the bond fails, board members will consider instituting year-round school, she said.

Price provided a summary from the workshop as part of the regular board meeting Thursday. Whatever option the board chooses would go into effect in the 2014-15 school year.

District voters defeated a $115 million construction bond in February 2012. The bond needed 60 percent approval to pass, but received just over 50 percent. That proposal included two new elementary schools and a new high school.

Board members asked for updated information on district demographics, projected population increases, projected enrollment and other information that would help a bond committee work on a proposal. Mark Johnson, the executive director of business and operations, said district officials will advertise for a company to conduct the research before the end of August.

If the board decides to convert CBSS and change the high school schedule, the district will establish a transition team for the CBSS students going to the high school, Price said. There would be a separate group working on the new high school schedule and another group working on the transition of CBSS to a middle school, she said. That, she said, would include establishing geographical boundaries for the new middle school.

If voters approve a bond including a new high school, that building would probably open for students in the 2019-20 school year. That reflects the projections of the time needed to design the building (about 18 months) and build it (about two years), Price said.

A vote on the overcrowding proposal could come at the Aug. 8 board meeting.

In other business, Johnson reported that construction at the Columbia Basin Skills Center is ahead of schedule. The exterior is being installed, he said, and some equipment is being ordered (although it might not be installed) ahead of schedule.

Johnson said Aug. 1 is the target date for the last walkthrough and inspection of the district's new bus garage, a process called a punch list. That will identify anything that needs repairs, which is the last step before construction is completed.