By Teresa Herriman, The Courier-Herald

September of 2005 sounded like a long way off - that is, until Linda Masteller, planning principal for the coming Bonney Lake High School, realized there are only three semesters left before the new school opens to an expected 1,200 students.

Plans for the new high school, between 199th Avenue Court East and 104th Street East - directly opposite of Mountain View Junior High School - began in earnest in August of 2000. Site preparation began while the design team finalized plans for the building, allowing the crew to address problems that could have caused construction delays. Garco Construction, of Spokane, won the bid to build the new high school. With site plans complete, Garco crews able to get right to work.

By the end of October, the entire footprint of the facility had been poured and the shell of the main building and gymnasium had been built. Concrete structures, including the sidewalks on the upper campus, have also been completed and utilities and a storm system have been installed. The majority of irrigation is done and fencing is going up next.

"If the weather holds, we hope to have the roof on both buildings," said Mark Bumgarten, Sumner School District facilities director.

A four-way intersection at Mountain View High School will eventually be added at the main entrance to the campus and 199th Avenue Court East will be extended to connect to 198th Avenue East.

Building an all-new school gave the Sumner School District the opportunity to avoid problems that plague other schools and incorporate effective, contemporary design concepts. For example, planners agreed they wanted to avoid long hallways. Instead, a main building, called the commons, was designed with four smaller buildings connected like spokes on a wheel.

"There are virtually no corridors at the high school," Bumgarten said.

Each of the smaller buildings, called Learning Centers, houses specific academic disciplines, including information technology; science, math and engineering; art; and social sciences. The smaller buildings are designed to help both students and teachers feel they are in a smaller school and reinforce the key principle of small learning communities. Research has shown that organizing large schools into smaller centers helps create a nurturing educational environment and personalized attention.

The school is designed to serve as a community center for Bonney Lake residents. The learning center wings can be closed off, giving community organizations access to the commons area and the gym.

"We really see this building as a focal point in this community," Bumgarten said.

About the site

The school district purchased the site for the new high school more than a dozen years ago.

"All of these houses weren't here then," said William Noland, deputy superintendent of the Sumner School District, as he gestured to the surrounding subdivisions.

One of the first challenges for the architectural firm, Erikson McGovern of Tacoma, was how to work with the odd-shaped plot of land. Additionally, a fiber optic corridor runs the width of the property. Shaped like a bow-tie, the site has an elevation change of up to 100 feet on the east end. The campus had to be designed to maximize the site's contours.

Tzzy Wong, lead architect from Erikson McGovern, has been on the project for three years. "We are pleased with the outcome," he said. "We were able to translate the needs and goals of the district."

Noland agrees. "The public will see a lovely campus here," he said. "It is a real tribute to their work." He promises the school will make the community proud.

There are many success stories already, Noland said, partly due to the proactive attitude of those involved in the process. The team from the school district met regularly with the primary engineers, the team at Erikson McGovern and Bonney Lake officials.

"The key word is partnering," said Wong. The smartest thing they did, he said, was to work with the city so there were no surprises. "It’s a great model."

The Advance Team

The Advance Team has been working with Masteller for nearly a year to prepare curriculum and make decisions regarding equipment selection. Recently, they met to review the color schemes and materials selection for the interior of the school. The goal is to create an interior that looks more like a business and less like an institution, Masteller explained.

"It will look very professional," she said. "And it is coming in under budget."

The Advance Team consists of Masteller and seven teachers who assist in the planning processes in addition to their regular teaching assignments. "I feel very fortunate to have an Advance Team who has worked to create a dynamic plan for the best school possible," Masteller said.

All members of the Advance Team will be teachers at the new school. "It’s like getting an automatic berth," said Deb Beckwith, Sumner High School business teacher and volleyball coach.

"It’s exciting to help shape what you will be part of," added Jerry Turner, Mountain View Junior High math and science teacher and coach.

"We get to set the tenor and build the excitement," said Brenda Williams, who is completing her 10th year at Lakeridge Junior High.

One of the most important orders of business was to select a mascot and school colors. After a process that involved input from the community, the Advance Team announced the official school colors for the Bonney Lake High School Panthers are teal, black, silver and white. The team is in the process of selecting a firm to design the official logo. Masteller said, with a laugh, they are already receiving requests for school T-shirts.

The Sports Complex

The football field will be used as a practice field for the Panthers' football team and for soccer games and various events. However, all football games will be played at the shared stadium in Sumner.

Seating in the gymnasium is designed to accommodate the entire student body, plus teachers and staff on one side of the facility for assemblies and events. The design was influenced by seating problems at Sumner High School, which has no indoor location large enough to seat all of its students.

Grass is already growing on the baseball field. From home plate, batters face a spectacular view of Mount Rainier.

"This is going to be one of those places they make post cards of," said an obviously proud Bumgarten.

Building for the Future

Part of planning a new building is to plan for future expansion.

"We sized the building for 1,400 students even though we are going to start with 1,200 students," Noland said.

The design of the new high school includes the ability to add onto two of the four learning center wings. The rest of the infrastructure, from the gym to the commons area, will also accommodate future growth.

Although a bond issue for a performing arts center at the school failed, the design team anticipated that the community may wish to build a center at a later date. A grassy courtyard at the main entry of the common building could accommodate a center without destroying the overall look and feel of the campus.

A separate bond for a swimming pool did not garner much support and, as a result, was not included in the plan for the school.

Teresa Herriman can be reached at therriman@courierherald.com