The Lake Washington School District’s new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) School will open in the fall of 2012 in temporary quarters at Eastlake High School in Sammamish.
Its permanent building, to be located next to Alcott Elementary School in Redmond, will not be ready in time for the opening of school. Delays in required permits have pushed back the expected completion date of the first phase of construction of the STEM School building to late fall or early winter.
With the district’s change to four-year high schools starting next fall, a classroom wing, other additions to the building and the move of Renaissance School to portable classrooms will increase Eastlake High School’s capacity to 1840 students. Based on current projections, the school will be able to accommodate the two grades (9th and 10th) that the STEM School will serve in its first year.
“I am disappointed that this new school will be in temporary quarters for a while,” said Dr. Chip Kimball, superintendent, “but we are fortunate that Eastlake will be able to host it this fall. In future years, Eastlake will need that space.”
This decision was made after extensive research into alternatives. The facilities department worked with commercial realtors, looking into retail, warehouse and office space. Unfortunately, owners of spaces large enough to house the school could not accommodate a short-term lease. The cost of renovating those spaces into classrooms, especially science classrooms, was prohibitive for such a temporary use.
The district also contacted neighboring school districts and the Lake Washington Institute of Technology to determine if classroom space was available elsewhere. Those inquiries were not successful. A third option was determining where space was available in schools within the district. That review showed Eastlake as the site that would be able to house the school temporarily.
Two appeals to the conditional use permit approved by King County to build the school were denied last week. After a 21-day waiting period, the district will be able to move forward with construction if there are no more legal challenges. The project will be built in three phases, with the first phase providing classroom space for the 9th and 10th grade students who will be the inaugural classes in the new school.
“I know the Eastlake staff, students and parents will be gracious hosts for their STEM school counterparts during this short-term stay,” Kimball said. “I recognize the inconvenience involved and appreciate their understanding.”
Students attending the STEM who live outside the Eastlake High School area will have bus transportation available to them from their home high school to Eastlake and back.
