MLSD provides more details on Groff legal action

MOSES LAKE – Moses Lake School District officials announced during a Friday press conference that Groff Elementary will remain closed for the 2025-26 school year due to the ongoing infrastructure issues tied to the original construction of the building. The district is also pursuing legal action against Fowler General Construction Inc., the contractor that built Groff, for breach of contract and breach of warranty. 

“In recent weeks, our school district has been actively investigating concerns tied to the construction of Groff Elementary School, and the investigation has yielded some deficiencies in relation to the original construction of the school, and so those concerns have contributed to our current challenges with the school, and have risen to a level of more urgency than that had been previous,” MLSD Superintendent Carol Lewis said.  

Background

Groff Elementary began construction in summer 2020. The school was funded by a $135 million school construction bond approved by voters in February 2017 and was built by Fowler. The bond was used to build both Groff and Vanguard Academy. The school had its ribbon cutting ceremony Sept. 7, 2021, and opened officially for the 2022-2023 school year.  

According to the district, the school has had previous issues, including a closure in April 2024 regarding electrical safety concerns.  

On March 1, it was announced that the school would be closed from March 3 to March 7, with students attending classes from home. The district said a person on campus received an electrical shock, resulting in the initial closure. However, at the March 6 school board meeting, the district announced the school would be closed for a longer period. At the March 20 board meeting, the board voted to close the school for the remainder of the current school year.  

“We've continued to work within the boundaries of our existing contract with Fowler Construction while we've been pursuing all available remedies that we have within that existing contract,” Lewis said. “That includes working with legal counsel to ensure that any responsible parties are held accountable and that our district's interests and our staff and students' well-being are protected.” 

Groff Elementary Principal Nikki Mackey said parents were concerned when the closure was announced.  

“They just wanted to know, ‘What's the plan? How are you taking care of our kids?’ There was the initial shock, and then once they learned what our plan was, they trusted us that we had their kids' best interests in mind,” Mackey said. “They're our family. They're with us all day long; every day we take care of them. And when families saw that we still had a plan to take care of them, they were very confident and comfortable.” 

The district decided it would be best for the students to be relocated to different buildings but keep grade levels, classes and their respective teachers together. The kindergarten and second-grade students were moved to Lakeview Elementary School. The first grade and life skills program were moved to Garden Heights Elementary. The third-grade classes were moved to Longview. The fourth and fifth graders were moved to Vanguard Academy. 

“It's been different than anything I've ever done in education before,” Mackey said. “It’s been stressful. We've learned a lot. We have come together and figured out how to move forward.”  

2026-27 closure 

“Since we've identified the concerns related to the school's construction, we've engaged in a really extensive consultation with forensic building experts and contractors and legal counsel so we could understand the scope of what we're facing with this school,” Lewis said. “After all of this analysis and with strong recommendation from the experts, we've determined that we need to keep Groff Elementary closed for the (2025-26) school year as well.” 

The district has yet to decide on what and where the students at Groff Elementary will go for the upcoming year.  

“I would like to talk with my staff and with families and kind of find the pros and cons of what we're currently doing,” Mackey said. “We really don't know yet. We have a little bit of time to figure this out, in comparison to the quick move that we made for where we are currently. We'll take a little bit of time and be thoughtful and mindful and get feedback from folks and come up with a good, comprehensive plan for all of our kids and staff.”  

Lewis said the decision to close the building for another year was not easy; however, it was necessary to ensure the building wouldn’t re-open, have further issues and then have to close and resulting in further relocation and uncertainty for students. 

“Rather than bringing students back and then potentially having to say it's time to close again, because there's another issue, it's really everyone involved, their opinion, that we should just close the school for the 2025-26 school years so that everything can be taken care of,” Lewis said. “We're going to be able to focus on the comprehensive repairs and those long-term solutions without those pressures of finishing quickly so that we can get students back quickly.” 

Legal action 

During the April 3 regular school board meeting, the MLSD board voted to pursue legal action against Fowler regarding the campus’s deficiencies.  

“During last night's board meeting, the Board of Directors for Moses Lake School District approved a resolution authorizing the initiation of legal action against the contractor responsible for the construction of Groff, and that's Fowler General Construction, along with its bonding company, and this was done to protect the district's interests and also in accountability to our taxpayers,” Lewis said.  

Palouse Hills Consulting President and CEO Brian Sewell said that along with electrical issues, they have discovered issues with the mechanical systems, the roof, stairs and other structural issues.  

“The claim that we have filed is around two points that I can talk about, breach of contract and breach of warranty with Fowler Construction, and those are part of the litigation that is being filed,” MLSD Director of Public Relations Ryan Shannon said.  

There is still an ongoing investigation, Lewis said. She said a lot of information about the exact issues within the building will remain private as legal action is pursued, a common practice in legal circumstances of a similar nature.  

“One of the things that we need to do is we need to get teams in there to determine the actual extent and cause of the electrical issues, and so I really can't expand too much more on that,” Lewis said.  

Currently  

Groff students will continue to learn from their new locations as the building receives further examination and repairs. Mackey said a lot of the students are doing great in their new locations.  

“The kids are handling it well,” Mackey said. “Kids handle things probably better than adults do because they don't have those deep-rooted feelings about one thing or another. They just want to be with their friends. The kids have been excited. I've gone out and visited them in all their different schools, and they love to tell me, what's better about the other school or what they miss most about Groff. They'll tell me, ‘Well, these toys are better. Can we get these when we get back?’ And, ‘But we really like this at our school, so when do we get to go back to our school?” So, the kids are finding the pros and cons of everything.” 

MLSD Board Member Carla Urias said she has two students in Groff that have been relocated. She said it was hard for them to be away from one another at first, but they have found joy in riding the school bus and in their new schools. 

MLSD is working with Graham Construction to address the repairs needed within the building, district officials said. As of now, it is unknown when the building will be reopened.  

“The staff has already talked about it; we are Groff Gators,” Mackey said. “We'll be back. We're not done. We're not going anywhere. We're just somewhere else for a little bit.” 

    Groff Elementary has been found to have electrical, mechanical, roof, stairs and other structural issues and defects. The district is pursuing legal action against Fowler General Construction Inc., the contractor that built Groff, for breach of contract and warranty.
  

    Superintendent Carol Lewis said the district is working on a plan for Groff Elementary students for the 2025-26 school year.