The Bellevue School Board of Directors voted April 17 to award a $250,000 master-planning contract for Interlake High School to Hutteball and Ramos Architecture.

Jack McCloud, Executive Director of Facilities Operations, told the board the master plan will identify Interlake's needs, prioritize projects, and establish a basis for later design and construction budgets. McCloud said staff shortlisted three firms and recommended Hutteball and Ramos on March 31; several principals on the proposed team have prior district experience, and a principal in charge is an Interlake graduate, McCloud said.

Directors asked about site circulation and transportation planning, phasing construction while the campus remains occupied, accessibility upgrades that remain from earlier work, and how the district will protect specialized instructional spaces (for robotics, horticulture, CTE) from future displacement. McCloud said the district will retain transportation specialists (he named a consultant class of firm) to perform traffic counts and impact analyses for the city review and that construction phasing is being managed in current projects such as Newport High School.

Board President Carolyn Watson called for a voice vote. "All those in favor, please say 'aye,'" Watson said; directors responded and the motion carried with no recorded opposition.

Background: Voters approved a 2020 bond measure authorizing multiple high-school projects. McCloud provided a recap of bond-funded projects and said Newport High School and portions of the Big Picture School work are underway; Interlake's master plan is at the planning stage. McCloud said a number of bond-funded projects remain to be sold and scheduled. The board asked staff to return with design and phasing plans as the master-planning work proceeds.

The board also asked staff to ensure accessibility, safety and program-specific needs are integrated into the master plan and to preserve specialized instructional spaces where feasible.