Puyallup School District to build new administrative and learning center for $25M
The Puyallup School District is consolidating several learning programs and administrative offices into an estimated $25 million project.
The Kessler Building will be added to the district’s extended campus near South Hill’s Costco. Construction is expected to start in May and last 18 months, said Mario Casello, the district’s chief operations officer.
The administrative and learning center will relocate 37 staff and 421 students, according to spokesperson Brian Fox.
The 38,000-square-foot building will include administrative offices for the special education department, a hall for school board meetings and space for Child Find, a program that tests young children for learning disabilities.
The 253 students enrolled in the online class program, Puyallup Digital Learning, will be moved from a rented warehouse on East Main Street, Fox said.
The district’s Advance Program for adult students ranging from 19 to 21 with mild disabilities also will be moved to the new center. The move will be beneficial to the program, because students can get experience working at the printing press, laundry facility or kitchen, located on the South Hill campus, Casello said.
Puyallup School District had been renting buildings across the area to fulfill each need. For the classroom buildings for the online classes and the Advance Program, the district pays $193,705 a year, according to Fox.
Casello said some of those buildings were old and in disrepair, like the special education instructors’ office building, or not conducive learning environments, like the warehouse for online classes.
The estimated $25 million comes from the 2015 $292 million bond to expand and build the district elementary schools. The state is expected to contribute $77 million, Casello said. With the state funds, the district will start middle school expansions next summer and build the Kessler Center.
Board President Chris Ihrig said the move will make the district more effective and cheaper in the long run.
“From a financial perspective, getting out of leasing/renting and building equity is good stewardship in this situation,” he said in an email. “The central location of the property and the ability to group support building, service and programs have a direct impact on daily operation costs and efficiencies.”
The school board approved the proposal in August, and bidding is expected to start in February.
This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
