Facility advisory committee recommends single 650‑seat elementary to replace North and Larson Heights

The Moses Lake School District’s facility advisory committee recommended at the Sept. 4 board meeting that the district build a single, roughly 650‑student elementary school on district property in the north of town to replace North Elementary and Larson Heights.

The recommendation, presented by community member Chuck Sutton, urged officials to combine the two older, maintenance‑heavy schools into one new facility to gain state construction aid and reduce long‑term upkeep costs. "If you replace some current aging schools with a new school, you'll be eligible for the SCAP funds," Sutton said during the presentation.

The committee’s recommendation is grounded in an analysis of building condition, demographics and enrollment forecasts. Committee members showed composite condition scores that ranked many mid‑century elementary buildings among the district’s lowest, noted ongoing and rising maintenance work at those sites, and described projected enrollment that would keep North and Larson overcrowded through the coming decade.

Why it matters: Replacing two aging schools with a single new school—sited on district property in the north—could qualify the district for substantial state School Construction Assistance Program funding, reduce repeated maintenance spending on deteriorating 1950s‑era buildings and free resources for other facilities needs. Committee slides presented to the board estimated a substantial gap between the district cost of building alone versus building and qualifying for SCAP aid.

Committee members emphasized that the north property serves a growing area and would have minimal boundary disruption in early years. "Those are overcrowded and, you know, for the next 10 years, they're projected to be overcrowding," Sutton said. The committee proposed salvaging North Elementary’s gym where feasible and selling other surplus property.

Board members and attendees asked questions about siting, size and community impacts. One student speaker who said they attend schools on the north side urged planners to include students from both Larson and North in design and transition planning: "Whenever you build a new school, make sure that all the people are included in it because... it kind of tears you apart from your friends," the student said.

No formal board action was taken on the committee recommendation at the meeting; the committee said it would continue work on a multi‑year facilities plan and that any construction would require future board decisions and likely another bond measure. Board members and presenters also said the district already has elementary design documents that can be adapted and expanded to 650–750 seats.

The committee presentation and board questions included details on expected next steps: further demographer work, site assessments on the district’s north property, additional public engagement and planning for a potential future bond.

The board did not vote on the recommendation at the Sept. 4 meeting; committee members and district staff said the advisory work will continue.