Architects from McGranahan PBK presented the schematic design for the district’s new Tohoule (spelled variously in materials) middle school during the Dec. 16 board meeting.

The team said the project program includes 39 teaching spaces, science labs, CTE spaces, athletics, special education and music facilities, and general circulation organized in three zones. The building was described at approximately 130,000 square feet to serve 900 students in grades 6–8. The project MAC was listed at $130 million; at schematic design the architects reported they were roughly $7 million under that MAC on their latest estimate. Site elements include football, softball and baseball fields, parent and bus drop‑off areas, and a landscape buffer of existing trees. Architects described interior design choices that draw inspiration from Mount Rainier and emphasized heavy timber and daylighting in commons and library areas.

Trustees asked several questions during the presentation. One trustee inquired about protective fencing near the fields; the architect confirmed 50‑foot fencing at the edge of the field adjacent to Tohoule Boulevard to mitigate foul balls. Board members also questioned sightlines to a nearby lake; presenters said lake views were not a primary design driver and that trees obscure most sightlines except potentially from upper‑floor classrooms.

The presentation was informational; no funding approval or formal action was taken at this meeting.