Washougal School District hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday to officially kick off construction of a new building that will house Jemtegaard Middle School and Columbia River Gorge Elementary School students. The building is expected to open in fall 2017. (Courtesy of the Washougal School District)
Construction on two new schools in the Washougal School District is officially underway. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Tuesday for the projects to replace Jemtegaard Middle School and build the new Columbia River Gorge Elementary School.
The schools are expected to open in fall 2017. Construction also is expected to start this summer on a new Excelsior High School and district transportation facilities. Excelsior, an alternative high school, is expected to open in time for the 2017 school year, and the new transportation facility should be ready for occupancy around May 2017. A groundbreaking was held for those two projects on May 10.
The projects are all part of the $57.7 million capital improvement bond Washougal voters passed in 2015 to address safety and facility needs in the district.
The new Jemtegaard Middle School should hold around 600 students, and the elementary school is expected to fit roughly 400 students. The two schools will be in one building, with the middle school on one side and elementary school on the other. Students from both schools will share some areas, such as the cafeteria, gym and library.
The new schools will be north of Jemtegaard, where the track used to be. The new track will go in where the school is right now.
The current Jemtegaard student body and Washougal Superintendent Mike Stromme were in attendance on Tuesday, and Stromme tried to put the event into perspective for the students.
“Groundbreakings are important to commemorate milestones such as the building of these two new schools,” Stromme said in a release from the district. “For those of you who stay and raise families in Washougal, you may have children who attend these schools and can say that you were here for this special occasion.”
Also in attendance was Alma Jemtegaard Ladd, niece of the middle school’s namesake, Gudrun Jemtegaard, who taught in Washougal for 42 years starting in 1924. The school was named for Jemtegaard in 1981, and Ladd said it was the “highlight of Jemtegaard’s life,” according to the release.
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