The Centralia School District is looking to improve the way its schools function with help from the state.
Fords Prairie Elementary School Principal David Roberts met a group of state and local officials at the front doors of the school he leads around 2 p.m. Thursday.
State Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Chehalis, and other state and local officials came through the door, admiring the building that was completed in 2019 and looking forward to a tour of the facility.
The group, which mixed professionals in education, administration, architecture and building maintenance, came ready to find the best and worst parts of the building, which was paid for with a bond approved by voters.
The visit to the local elementary school was the fourth and final stop of a day trip for Abbarno and others visiting four school buildings throughout the 20th Legislative District on Thursday.
The trip included tours of two schools in Toutle in north Cowlitz County before coming to Washington Elementary and Fords Prairie Elementary schools — both part of the Centralia School District.
For Abbarno, the tour was part of a regular exercise he has taken on, touring four school districts each year. During the tours, he and a team of other state officials analyze the needs of the schools with hopes of helping them apply for grants or qualify for other funding from the state or the federal government.
“We talk about how we can partner with the school district to improve the facilities, whether it's parks or playground equipment in the back, whether it's water, sewer, whether it's seismic,” Abbarno said. “After we do this, we do kind of a post mortem, and we try to find competitive grants to apply for, OSPI grants to apply for, or local community projects to apply for.”
Abbarno also serves on the Washington state House of Representatives Capital Budget Committee. The tours can be a chance for local districts to advocate for funding needs directly to a committee member who may contribute to decisions on valuable grants.
Roberts served as tour guide to the group, deftly navigating the school he knows so well and has managed since its construction in 2018. Roberts has served as principal of Fords Prairie Elementary School for 22 years, extending to the previous elementary school building of the same name and at the same spot.
Roberts and Centralia School District Superintendent Dr. Lisa Grant used the visit as a chance to highlight what their new building does best as well as highlight areas where they may be looking for funding to improve the building's function.
The tour also served as a chance for Abbarno and other state officials with the state's Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington Association of Maintenance and Operations Administrators (WAMOA) to see what the designers of the school got right and what could be done better in the future.
Walking around the school through the different facilities, school and district administrators spent a lot of time pointing out multiuse spaces. The school's cafeteria and gym are separated by a sliding wall and can be opened up for larger event space. Its STEM lab and library are large and can be used for many different subjects and classes.
On the other side of things, both Roberts and Grant also pointed out some minor details they would change if given another chance to build the school. These included thinking of small corners and blind spots on a playground and also recommending building schools much larger than the expected needs in growing areas.
“If you can, shoot for an extra office in the office,” Roberts said. “And if you can, have a classroom to grow in.”
While Fords Prairie was built to be larger than needed after the bond passed, now it has less room for growing class sizes than the district had hoped.
Grant added that the school would benefit from an upgrade to its HVAC system. The current system is not in poor condition. However the district was forced to opt for a cheaper and lighter use system during construction as soil stabilization for the Jefferson-Lincoln Elementary School was more expensive than expected.
Finally, the group discussed elevator challenges as the school has at times seen its elevator break down. According to Abbarno, elevator maintenance is a regular issue in public buildings as maintenance is expensive. However, the two-floor school relies on the elevator to remain accessible to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
In the end, Abbarno and his team said they could help the school and district staff with finding grants for most of the changes they were looking for. Abbarno added that issues with the elevator might require a bigger fix, like more money in the state budget regularly put aside for elevator maintenance.
“They take so much maintenance. I know that that was a top issue for our counties,” Abbarno said. “Love to have more playground equipment, but there's certain things that most certainly are necessary for the school to function. ADA and accessibility issues are absolutely No. 1.”
The Centralia School District is planning to place a levy on the ballot for the February special election.
Citizens for Centralia Schools will host an initial meeting on the levy next week.
The meeting is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 17, at 5 p.m. and will last about 90 minutes. It will be held at The Juice Box, which is located at 216 S. Tower Ave. in Centralia.
For more information about the meeting and campaign, email citizensforcentraliaschools@gmail.com.
