The Vancouver School Board has directed Superintendent Steve Webb and his staff to move forward on all projects originally planned for the district’s current phase of facilities improvements. To address the inflationary costs of construction and stay within the overall bond program budget, both the Vancouver Innovation, Technology and Arts (VITA) Elementary and an elementary school to be located on Northeast 25th Avenue will be built at a reduced size with the opportunity for future expansion. With this option the board does not need to amend the scope of the bond program.
Building each of the two new elementary schools for an enrollment of 300 students will enable both facilities to be constructed within budget while still meeting the enrollment needs of two high-growth, high-development areas in the district. In putting the projects out for construction bids, the district will include additional classroom spaces as “alternates” to provide the option of making those schools larger if the project bids are lower than expected.