Construction for $37.8 million expansion project at Sumner High School is in the works
Those who pass by Sumner High School can expect to see construction vehicles on the west side of campus next month as the first phase of the high school’s modernization and expansion project reaches a milestone.
Students, staff and community members in the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District broke ground at the high school on Sept. 23. During the event, speakers took turns expressing their excitement about construction for a new building finally starting.
“I’m so excited and so grateful to have this new school built for us,” Vinny Ly, associated student body secretary, said during the event.
The three-story, $37.8 million building will offer students and staff a new common area, library, kitchen and cafeteria. There will also be additional classrooms as well as technology, security and restroom facilities.
Project manager Matt Guilanians told The News Tribune the building will be constructed on the high school’s softball field and is expected to finish between fall 2022 and spring 2023. It will have a lot of glass windows and “state-of-the-art air conditioning,” he said.
“We’re basically correcting all the things that were wrong with the high school,” Guilanians said.
The high school was built in 1954 and had problems with lack of space, The News Tribune reported. Some students resorted to eating lunch in the hallway because the lunchroom was too crowded.
Guilanians said the last time the high school had construction done was in 1992 when the gym was built, among other things.
Plans for phase two of the high school’s modernization and expansion project are already in the works, but the district will need to put out a new bond before the project can move forward, Guilanians said.
“We’re looking at trying to figure out exactly when the best time to go out for a bond is,” Guilanians said.
The News Tribune reported the second phase would add 11 classrooms, eight tennis courts as well as replace the pool and performing arts center, on top of other upgrades. The district put out a bond in February 2020, which voters did not approve.
“I don’t think we have any plans in the near future to put it on the ballot because it takes some time to develop,” Guilanians said. “I don’t know when it’s going to be, but it’s definitely going to happen.”
The new building is funded through a $145.6 million bond that voters approved in February 2016. The bond also covered construction for other schools, including Tehaleh Heights Elementary and Bonney Lake High School’s performing arts center.
The school district expects to see the student population increase by 18 percent in 2023, The News Tribune reported. .
With a total of seven projects under the 2016 bond, the only remaining project that has yet to start construction is Mountain View Middle School. The school district will break ground at the middle school 3 p.m. Sept. 29.
This story was originally published September 27, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
