ACE committee urges district contingency planning for aging Post Middle School; offers double‑shift, portable and modular options
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
The Arlington School District’s ACE committee reported mid‑year findings on contingency plans for the aging Post Middle School, outlining double‑shifting at Haller, moving sixth graders into portables at elementary schools and longer‑term modular or replacement options; the committee recommended COOP revisions and community engagement.
The Advisory Council for Education presented a mid‑year report on contingency plans for Post Middle School on the Arlington School District board’s agenda, warning that Post (built in 1981) could require partial or full vacating if key building systems fail.
ACE members described three contingency approaches. The first—double‑shifting at Haller—would place seventh and eighth graders on the Haller campus while sixth graders would return to their elementary schools with classroom portables. ACE members flagged major logistical challenges: reconfiguring bus routes and driver schedules, redesigning meal schedules, sharing classrooms and storage for teachers, canceling many extracurricular programs, and significant personnel and custodial impacts.
Presenter Michelle Cadie summarized portable needs and timing: the team estimated portables by site (Presence 2; Eagle Creek 3; Camp Prairie 2; Pioneer 1) and said installation and permitting would likely take 12–18 months. The transcript records inconsistent cost figures: at one point the report cites “about $1,000,000 per portable,” and later an “approximately $11,000,000 per portable” figure appears; ACE members told the board that final cost estimates would require additional fiscal analysis and are not on reserve.
The committee’s second option—retrofit or temporary community facilities—produced no immediately feasible short‑term alternatives for roughly 700 students without significant new capital. ACE researched local industrial buildings, athletic facilities and city‑owned sites but concluded those options would be expensive and logistically complex.
ACE secretary Gary Sable recommended short‑term steps the board could take now: revise the district Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) to address non‑pandemic contingencies, hold broader community engagement (surveys and public ACE meetings) and keep modular construction as a long‑term replacement option. “We need to be able to continue education and keep everyone safe,” the committee told the board.
Board members pressed on details—security and SRO coverage during double shifts, labor and contract considerations for staff shift selection, special‑education service continuity, and technology alignment across campuses. District staff said OSPI’s COVID-era continuous online learning authority has sunsetted for the 2025–26 year, limiting online options for extended displacement.
The ACE committee concluded there is no low‑cost, short‑term building solution that would safely house an entire Post student population without passing a capital measure or repurposing substantial district dollars. The board asked ACE and staff to refine COOP updates, continue stakeholder outreach and return with more precise cost and timeline estimates.