Architectural firm will produce study of school district

Design West, the architectural firm that designed the new schools here, has been hired to do the school district’s “study and survey.”

The school study and survey is done every six years and is financed out of a grant from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The cost of the study and survey the last two times it’s been done in the Grand Coulee Dam School District has been $7,441. The grant to pay for the report is based on square footage and other factors, and the exact amount of the grant hasn’t been determined, according to Design West.

The report, which goes back to the OSPI, takes a look at the district’s space needs, its educational programs, student population projections and capital finance and operating capabilities, and provides a look at how the district sees itself and its hopes for the future.

Design West was noted for its ability to draw ideas from the community during the planning process for the new Lake Roosevelt School complex.

While the many public meetings were sparsely attended, Design West architects went on a one-to-one mission, drawing out many individuals and their hopes and dreams of what they would like to see in the new building.

Laurence Rose, chief architect in the firm’s Pullman office, said this week that the report would take at least a couple of months.

During the design phase of the new school, architect Cameron Golightly took over many of the direct duties here in the community.

The selection of Design West was felt by Superintendent Dennis Carlson as a natural, “since the firm already knows a lot about the district.”

The Study and Survey is an analysis of the school district’s facilities, educational programs and plans, student population projections, capital finances and operating capabilities, and needs for new construction.

The need for a new gym to house training, fitness and some classroom space could well be among those things considered.