Long Range Planning

2020

• NAC architectural design team was selected to help facilitate planning for an upcoming bond (scheduled to run in Feb. 2021). Planning was underway when, unfortunately, the process came to an abrupt halt in the middle of March 2020 due to school closures associated with COVID-19. As a result, the original anticipated timeline to run a bond was pushed back.
• The planning that took place prior to the start of the pandemic focused primarily on a new, third high school, upgrades to RHS and HHS, a replacement for REHS, and replacement of all support services and transportation facilities. The process included an architectural and engineering Study and Survey, the first step in qualifying for future state construction match. A committee of staff and community members held several meetings and visited various schools over a period of a few months. Students participated in prioritizing their likes and dislikes for school settings.
• The Study and Survey is a comprehensive document that includes all factors related to all school facilities in the district. It is required as part of the School Construction Assistance Program (SCAP) from the Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction (OSPI) for future school construction projects. It includes an analysis of current and future education programs and needs; current enrollment of student populations and projections of future enrollment; assessments of existing school facilities and their adequacy to meet educational needs; current square footage calculations of all buildings, additions, and improvements; assessment of building conditions including systems, subsystems, physical conditions and compliance with codes and regulations; considerations for high-performance building requirements; and evaluations of financial resources and the Long Range Educational and Facilities Plan.

2021-22

• After schools reopened, a ThoughtExchange survey was sent to staff, students and the community to help reestablish a list of bond project priorities. The school board used the identified priorities to draft a bond proposal, which was sent to the community in a new survey for additional feedback.
• In April 2022, a team from NAC Architecture and the Richland School District's Capital Projects team shared the latest information from the Facilities Planning Committee, including recommended bond proposal packages developed by the committee and tax rate information provided by DA Davison.

2023

• To expedite the completion of some much-needed safety and security updates, the school board opted to run a Capital Projects Levy focused on modernizing safety in our schools and pre-design work for several future projects. Voters approved the levy in February 2023.
• In May, community forums were held to gather feedback on what should be included in the new third high school. NAC helped facilitate these forums, taking the information they received and created the pre-design for a new high school. Pre-design was also completed for a new choice secondary school campus for River’s Edge/Pacific Crest Online Academy and an expansion for Three Rivers HomeLink.
• In November, Dr. Patrick Jones the Executive Director for Institute of Public Policy & Economic Analysis at Eastern Washington University was hired to run a new demographer study looking at current and future growth in the area and enrollment data. The study concluded by 2030 the district would see an increase of 1,000 students district wide. By 2035, the district would see an increase of an additional students district wide. Dr. Jones forecasted that a new high school is not needed until 2035. 

2024

• In February, a new ThoughtExchange survey was sent to students, staff and the community to further narrow down bond project ideas. More than 2,000 individuals participated in the survey.
• During the Spring, under the direction of the school board, four Town Hall meetings were held to gather community feedback. In conjunction with these meetings, new ThoughtExchange surveys were run to gauge interest in certain projects between Town Hall attendees.
• In July, the board approved Resolution No. 978 to run a bond for school construction and remaining district-wide safety and security enhancements.

The school board worked to identify future bond projects. This list includes projected costs as of 2024. These are estimations and costs, as well as bond projects listed, can change.