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Board hears site options, timeline for Forks Middle School project; field work moves forward under grant
Summary
District advisers finalized education specifications and reviewed 63,000–73,000 sq. ft. site options for Forks Middle School; trustees were told field infiltration testing and permitting are underway under a state grant distinct from a district bond.
The Quillayute Valley School District board heard detailed site plans and scheduling for a replacement Forks Middle School and related athletic‑field work during its regular meeting.
Guest presenter Jay Hansen told the board an advisory committee has finalized the education specifications — the program that lists the spaces the district seeks for the new middle school — and that the finalized document will be presented to the board for review before it is submitted as part of the district's D5/SCAP funding package. Hansen said the committee exercise also produced several to‑scale site options, including 63,000‑ and 73,000‑square‑foot layouts in one‑ and two‑story forms.
Hansen highlighted tradeoffs between one‑ and two‑story designs, saying a two‑story model typically reduces site footprint and can lower construction cost: “It’s typically cheaper to build an estimated about 10% cost savings in doing 2 story versus 1 story,” he said, using a $50,000,000 example to illustrate a roughly $5,000,000 difference in that hypothetical case. Board members discussed stair circulation and visibility concerns raised by middle‑school staff and agreed to gather wider community and staff input via a forthcoming survey.
On the athletic fields, Hansen said preliminary work is moving ahead on a state grant‑funded phase. “We’re gonna be doing infiltration testing at the athletic field area. That’ll be on the 12th and 13th of this month,” Hansen said, noting the building permit was accepted (pending payment) and that SEPA review had no substantive comments, which would allow the grading permit to be released when fees are paid. He explained the district will bid the turf installation as a separate contract (an alternate) to reduce general‑contractor markup and that dugouts and permanent lighting are not covered by the grant and will be handled as alternates.
Hansen said the district will sequence work to limit contractor access while students are on site and that passing the district bond would affect later phases: if the bond passes on schedule, bid documents are expected in spring 2027 with site work and additional construction timed to allow new facilities to be used by the following school year. The board asked for clearer public communications distinguishing grant‑funded field work from the bond-funded building project so taxpayers are not confused.
