Committee Looks at Options for Rebuilding Old Schools

Capital Facilities Advisory Committee:
September 8 Meeting Recap 

Highline’s Capital Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC) met on September 8 to continue its work toward a bond package recommendation for fall 2026. Members reviewed recent progress, discussed challenges at seven aging school sites, planned for site visits, and elected a new co-chair. 

Meeting Materials 

• CFAC Meeting Slide Deck
• Site Map Handouts
• Video Recording of September 8 CFAC Meeting 
  • Welcome 
  • Capital Project Updates 
  • Where We’ve Been (recap of last year’s CFAC meeting progress) 
  • Where We’re Going (discussion of upcoming site tours) 
  • Site Maps Recap (handout of site boards first shared at previous meeting) 
  • Small-group Discussion (mostly no audio) 
  • Groups Report Out 
  • Election 
  • Feedback Opportunity & Co-chair Announcement 

Site Analysis Recap 

Architects from Bassetti shared analyses of seven school sites, highlighting challenges and opportunities listed on the site maps: 

• Middle Schools: Cascade and Sylvester face significant challenges and may require replacement, while Chinook offers better building conditions and more space for rebuilding on site. 
• Hilltop Elementary: A large site with a mix of building ages, offering opportunities for consolidation and infrastructure improvements. 
• Big Picture and CHOICE Academy: Both facilities are dated with extensive exterior circulation and infrastructure issues. 
• Valley View Early Learning Center: The building is quirky with open concept spaces, acoustic and plumbing challenges, accessibility issues, and ongoing leaks. 

Small Group Discussions 

The architects led three small-group conversations about potential projects.  

• All three breakout groups cited the remaining older middle schools — including Cascade, Sylvester and Chinook — as priorities due to safety, accessibility and facility conditions.  
• One group shared that rebuilding Cascade and Chinook are a higher priority for safety reasons due to more outdoor walkways, and that they each have higher enrollment than Sylvester. The other two groups shared their takeaway that Sylvester and Cascade have a more urgent need for new facilities than Chinook, based on building conditions. 
• The architects noted that rebuilding at the Cascade site might be technically feasible, but challenging for construction access on a small footprint, and likely taller and more expensive due to logistical constraints, including a major underground sewer easement, setbacks from wetlands, plus the nearby park and the Evergreen athletic field.   
• Two groups wondered about the feasibility of rebuilding Cascade at the nearby, former Salmon Creek Elementary site, which would offer a large site and is not currently being used as a school.  
• Some expressed that they felt it was important to invest in providing better facilities for some of our alternative schools of choice, including CHOICE Academy and Big Picture, which face serious infrastructure challenges and ongoing plumbing repairs. 
• Members raised equity and community balance as important considerations when shaping a bond package. 
• Members expressed appreciation for the nuanced discussions and the information presented on the site maps.  
• The committee acknowledged the importance of communicating the broader context of facility needs, including maintenance and upgrades, besides new construction, to present a comprehensive bond package with districtwide appeal. 
• Student co-chair Ana Croasdile-Vasquez suggested CFAC collect community input beyond the committee itself. 

 

Road Map Ahead 

CFAC’s goal is to develop the next bond package recommendation, including scope and cost, for school board consideration by spring 2026.  

This fall and winter, members will use the key factors they identified last year — equity, capacity, health and safety, building condition, cost effectiveness, financial responsibility, and construction logistics — to evaluate projects. They will receive cost estimates for various scenarios, enrollment updates, and 20-year tax rate projections at future meetings. 

Committee members will tour seven of our oldest active school sites as well as our two new high schools. Visits to Chinook, Valley View, Evergreen, Cascade, Hilltop, Sylvester, Big Picture, and CHOICE Academy are scheduled in September. Community grand openings at Tyee (October 7) and Evergreen (October 9) will provide additional opportunities to see the new facilities. 

Project Updates 

Staff also shared updates on construction projects funded by the 2022 bond and other capital projects: 

• Evergreen High School opened to students September 3. Work will continue this year to construct a main parking lot and softball/baseball fields where the original school was located. 
• Tyee High School students started September 3 in their new building, with final work underway in the courtyard and athletic field.  
• Pacific Middle School demolition and earthwork are in progress. The new building will be all-electric and include solar panels, charging stations and geothermal wells. 
• Transportation Building sections are in place, forming a new home for Highline’s transportation team this fall when the interior is finished, and utilities hooked up.  
• Valley View Early Learning Center’s three-classroom additional building is nearing completion, with classrooms expected to open mid-September. A state early learning facilities grant is helping fund this project. 

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New Co-Chair Elected 

CFAC members elected Aundria Preece as a new co-chair in the annual election. She will help guide the committee’s work toward its 2026 recommendation. Aundria introduced herself as a SeaTac community member with young children, eager to deepen her community involvement.     

Looking Ahead 

The next CFAC meeting is scheduled for October 6. CFAC will continue with meetings in November, January and February, with March reserved if additional time is needed before presenting a recommendation to the school board.