Moses Lake’s new elementary school expected to serve 550-600 students
A new elementary school to replace North and Larson Heights schools is tentatively expected to break ground next fall and be ready for students in the fall of 2029.
FILE PHOTO
MOSES LAKE — The 12th elementary school in Moses Lake will actually be a combination of two existing schools, North and Larson Heights elementary, Executive Director of Safety & Well-Being Scott West told the Moses Lake School Board at its meeting Thursday.
“It will be our largest elementary school,” West said. “If the school were to open next week, we'd be welcoming approximately 550 students in the combination of Larson Heights and North elementary schools. Our largest elementary school to date is right around 460.”
The timeline is tentative, West said, but the district hopes to break ground in fall 2027 and have the new school ready and welcoming students in the fall of 2029. The Klosh Group, based in Portland, will manage the project. The new elementary school will be located where North Elementary currently is, West said.
An elementary school with an enrollment of 550-600 students is something new for Moses Lake, West said, but not for Washington as a whole. Some K-5 schools on the west side have more than 900 students, according to the school ranking website Niche. The largest elementary school east of the Cascades is in College Place, with a 2025 enrollment of nearly 700.
The district will send delegations of district officials and other community stakeholders to check out other large elementary schools in the region and see what they’re doing right that Moses Lake could emulate, West said.
“Some of those areas of focus are the educational classroom size and configuration, special education and library media, as far as the educational aspect goes,” West said. “Safety considerations, student arrival and dismissal: those are key considerations as we're developing the designs of a new school. Visibility, emergency response, so our emergency crews can come in and out of the school facilities quickly and efficiently. Also the operation is going to be a key consideration: custodial efficiency, access for maintenance, food deliveries, and other storage and supervision; those are all considerations.”
West plans to report to the board on the progress of the listening and study sessions every month, he said.