The Lake Washington School District’s (LWSD) Long-Term Facilities Task Force recently came out with a number of recommendations for the district regarding its growing enrollment.
According to a district press release, districtwide enrollment is estimated to increase to more than 30,000 students by 2021-22. That is more than 5,000 more students than district schools were built to serve, the release states. There is little space left in current school buildings, some of which need replacing due to their age and building conditions.
“The district continues to experience significant growth and it’s critical that we develop a long-term facility strategy to address both our growth and our aging facilities,” said LWSD Superintendent Dr. Traci Pierce.
This was the challenge the task force faced as it began its work last December. A smaller working subcommittee of the task force dug into the details of the district’s overall needs, use of space, funding for school buildings, ways to reduce costs and other issues. The task force also reached out to the broader community through surveys and open houses for input on their work.
They have now developed a set of draft recommendations and are asking for feedback from the community. The recommendations address classroom capacity issues, cost reduction, efficient use of space and other issues. They also recommend specific projects to be undertaken in the future. Some of the major recommendations concerned capacity, aging facilities and funding.
An online open house provides information on all of the draft recommendations. A survey on the site is open through Oct. 11. Community members can also participate in in-person Learning Community meetings this month, as well as a task force town hall from 6-8:30 p.m. on Oct. 7, at Rose Hill Middle School, 13505 N.E. 75th St. in Redmond.
“Members from all parts of our community have come together in the Task Force to develop a recommendation. They have taken on a complex topic and have thoroughly explored the district’s space issues and needs,” Pierce said. “Throughout their process, the Task Force has sought feedback from the entire community, and I encourage everyone to participate in these continuing feedback opportunities. It’s important to hear from as many people as possible on an issue that could have a tremendous impact on our schools and our community for years to come.”
Next steps
The task force is engaging in a series of efforts to gather feedback from the community on the draft recommendations. Community members can give input via the online open house through Oct. 11.
In addition, task force members will also present the draft recommendations at meetings in schools around the district this month. Community meetings also will be held in each of the district’s four regions.
A final task force town hall on Oct. 7 will provide an additional opportunity to provide input to the task force.
The task force will review the input collected through these different methods, then meet to determine revisions needed in the recommendations. They plan to share the final recommendations with the school board in November.
To see all of the task force’s recommendations, visit tinyurl.com/qzof9km.
