Tahoma School District officials would like to fix things up, but they’ll need money to do so and are considering putting a bond issue on the ballot next spring.

During the next few months, the district will get estimates from architects for the costs of the various projects it would like to tackle as suggested by its Community Relations Committee. Kevin Patterson, district spokesman, said a final tally for the bond won’t be determined until later this year.

“We’re looking at four or five pieces to this,” Patterson said. “One would be long-term maintenance, like replacing roofs or siding, some ventilating and heating upgrades at some of our schools. Building fix-ups is essentially what we’re talking about on one portion.”

Patterson said people may wonder why the district doesn’t budget for those kinds of maintenance projects. But given the state’s tax distribution formula, there isn’t any money provided for it.

A common solution by districts across the state is to put bond issues to voters in the spring to ask to pay for specific items.

Also on the list, Patterson said, is a desire to retire portable buildings at Tahoma High School and build a new wing.

“We’re looking into the future and seeing the enrollment peaking at 1,800 in the next 10 years,” he said. “Right now there are about 1,500 students. We’re going to need more classroom space for future students. At the same time, we’d like to provide improved permanent classroom space for students who will be there the next few years.”

A second large lecture hall that would hold 90 to 100 students is also a possible addition to Tahoma High, but that is still being discussed.

New classrooms will be added to Tahoma Junior High, which is home to nearly 1,200 eighth and ninth-graders, including space for alternative education programs that are going to be integrated into the school this fall.

“We want to cover more of the plaza next to the commons,” Patterson said. “Kids like to eat lunch out there year-round.” With that space covered, kids at the junior high will stay dry if they choose to eat lunch outside.

Cedar River Middle School, which has about 550 students in sixth and seventh-grades, will receive a fair amount of attention, as the district also wants to move kids into permanent classrooms and out of modular portable buildings.

The commons, where the kids eat lunch, is small and needs to be reconfigured. The school could also see some additions to its athletic fields, like an oval track.

A major project of the proposed bond, which will likely be decided on by the end of October in order to be placed on a spring ballot, would completely overhaul Lake Wilderness Elementary School.

“It hasn’t been remodeled since the mid-1980s, and the first wing was built in 1959,” Patterson said. “There are two parts to the project. One is upgrade the building. It needs new everything. The other part is we have a number of portables and want to convert them to permanent classrooms.”

Additionally, there was at one time two separate schools on the site, so there are two gyms, two offices, two libraries and so on. The renovation project would consolidate the school and make it one cohesive campus.

Another idea that came out of the Community Relations Committee discussions was the idea of creating space in the elementary schools by developing one or two kindergarten centers.

Patterson said kindergarten students aren’t totally integrated with the rest of their school. Since the district is expecting even enrollment across all grades, moving the youngest kids into one centralized location would provide room for growth in first through fifth grades, while allowing for better collaborative teaching among kindergarten educators in the district.

But, that’s still in the discussion phase, as is the possibility of moving the district’s administration into a different place – though officials aren’t sure where – and then renovating the district headquarters for another use.

Patterson said it’s “most likely” that district officials will decide to put the bond before voters next spring.

Staff writer Kris Hill can be reached at (425) 432-1209 (extension 5054) and khill@reporternewspapers.com