When students and staff returned to Enumclaw High School Monday morning, they headed into classrooms and labs being used for the first time.
A three-day weekend had allowed work crews and teachers time to move materials into the new, two-story addition that sprang to life in the heart of the EHS campus.
The new space was formally dedicated the evening of Oct. 8 with short speeches, a ribbon-cutting and self-guided tours.
Standing before a crowd that filled the school gymnasium, School Board President Bryan Stanwood welcomed all to “a learning environment that’s absolutely breathtaking.”
Superintendent Mike Nelson agreed, referring to the addition as “a beautiful place for our students.” Completion of the project at the campus core was, he said, “a monumental day for our school system.”
The ground floor of the new space has one wing devoted primarily to the health and social sciences and another containing science classrooms and, across the hall, science labs. One of the upstairs wings is identified for world languages and language arts; a second wing is geared toward math classes and the upstairs space also includes a new school library.
During his remarks, Nelson – who graduated from Enumclaw High in 1981 – noted that the sound of heavy construction doesn’t end with occupancy of the new space.
With one phase of the EHS project complete, workers will now tear down an old portion of the building. In its place will be dedicated space for the school’s band and choir programs along with a wrestling room that will sit next door to Chuck Smith Gymnasium. That work carries an anticipated completion date of January 2020.
In all, the new construction will total 122,000 square feet of educational space.
The construction timeline ends in 2020 with the demolition of the old library building and final landscaping.
The Enumclaw High project was made possible by a 2015 bond measure that passed by a razor-thin margin. The measure called for $67 million in local money – generated through property taxes – which paired with $18 million in state funds; the $85 million total also paid for construction of a new Black Diamond Elementary School, which opened in fall 2017.
