District Gives Inside Look at Construction of Centralia Schools

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Class may be out for winter break, but for Dave Roberts, principal at Fords Prairie Elementary School, Friday was like being a kid in a candy store.

He spent the morning on a tour of the new school building he will oversee beginning next fall. Heads of the construction team working there and on the remodel of Centralia High School led members of the Centralia School Board, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and school district staff on what amounted to a guided progress report.

For Roberts and almost everyone else in attendance, it was the first time they got a glimpse of what years of hard work and a $74 million bond measure approved in 2017 will ultimately become.

“It’s just a feeling of thankful bliss that the kids will have the pleasure of getting to use such a fine building,” Roberts said near the end of the tour. “I’m grateful the community trusted us. I still really can’t believe it.”

Officials from FORMA Construction and OAC Services, both located in Olympia, showed the group around the new Fords Prairie building as well as the first phase of the high school remodel. Those two along with a new Jefferson-Lincoln Elementary School make up the construction funded by the bond.

Though the two projects showcased Friday are on budget and on pace to be completed for the 2019-2020 school year, according to district communications and public relations coordinator Ed Petersen, much of the buzz centered around Fords Prairie.

There, classrooms are taking shape and larger spaces are fast becoming a reality. Small touches like a circular window cut out of a second-floor landing meant to mimic a treehouse accented centerpieces of the project such as a STEM-specific classroom.

Architect Jeremy Doty said the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) room won’t resemble the other classrooms in the two-story building. Some of the mechanical and electrical infrastructure will remain exposed and the flooring will be able to withstand additional wear and tear.

Much of the building is watertight, except for a section that will house the gymnasium, a multipurpose room, music room and kitchen. Workers are expected to finish roofing that section within the next week or two.



“This is one of the few times you can see and feel what you’re building in the education realm,” said school board member Jami Lund. “Otherwise, you’re building lives of students, which is great but you can’t exactly see when you’re done with that. This building will certainly be an attraction for people who come to our schools to be proud of.”

Following a lunch break, the tour group moved over to the high school, where students have been attending most classes in temporary portable buildings during the current academic year.

Demolition work within the outer shell of the school has left the interior as a display of trenches and exposed rebar, with occasional reminders of the brick-heavy interior left standing.

Some specific aspects of the remodel are beginning to take shape, such as the expanded library located off of what will be a rebuilt, secure entrance hall. A template for the sealed concrete flooring for hallways is marked off against a wall.

“Demolition work for phase one is completed and we’re going into the build-back portion now,” said FORMA Construction Superintendent Chris Pleasant. 

Underground work such as the installation of plumbing and electrical systems is ongoing. Crews hope to be framing individual rooms within the next four to six weeks. 

Members of the tour group seemed pleased with the progress shown. Some took note of the countdown clock located in one of the trailers used by construction crews showing 252 days until completion.

“As someone who graduated from (Centralia High School), it’s great to see,” said Centralia Public Works Director Kim Ashmore. “As a member of the school board, it’s simply awesome to have these new schools on the horizon.”