Orcas School's Open House and Facilities Tour Next Saturday, Jan. 23

On Saturday, January 23rd from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Orcas Island School District will host continuous presentations and tours of the grounds and facilities in order to educate the community about the upcoming renovation and construction bond that will appear on the February 9th ballot.

Ongoing presentations in the School Library by Mahlum project architect David Mount, will give background information on the projects to be undertaken, as well as to discuss the various costs connected with the projects, the materials to be considered, systems that will need renovation, such as the heating and ventilation systems, and many, many more details that have been studied over the past four years to arrive at the scope of the project.

During the discovery process, local builders, landscape designers, engineers and other island and off-island contractors were consulted. The exhaustive studies that were done allowed Mahlum to create a plan that will not only refurbish the school’s long-standing elementary school, built in 1946, the Old Gym, built in 1957, but will construct new buildings for the middle school, cafeteria, library, and career and technical education building. The conclusions are that this level of renovation, construction and grounds work will create a safe and sustainable campus that will last for the next 50 years.

School board members Scott Lancaster, Janet Brownell, Keith Whitaker and Tony Ghazel will give tours of specific facilities around the campus with information on the conditions and needs of those particular buildings and grounds. There will be maps available in the Library with detailed information about each location. For more information see the school site
www.orcasislandschools.org.

Coffee and bagels will be served. All materials for the Open House & Tours will be donated by the YES, for Schools Committee.