This summer a part of the Pasco High School building, known as the A wing, will be torn down for renovation. The project will cost an estimated $11 million, and construction is expected to finish by the end of next year.
Funded by the 2023 voter-approved capital bond, the district’s goal was to address overcrowding and reducing the number of portables in our schools. Thanks to this bond, the construction of Sageview High School and Orion High School was put into effect. Construction of an athletic field is also set to take place this summer for PHS; a softball field for the girls’ softball team.
“Pasco High was built in 1953,” said John Weatherby, the district’s project construction manager. “We want to remodel all the classrooms and shops on that wing, bring them up to date and modernize them.”
The renewed building will hold space for most of the same classes that are currently in the A wing, such as robotics, auto, metals, and wood workshops, culinary, and the art room; with the inclusion of new and spacious bathrooms and upgraded infrastructure.
Students will still have the opportunity to take those career and technical classes next year until the renovations are complete. Many of the classes in the wing will be relocated, and some courses will be altered for the time being. Teachers in the A wing will be moved throughout the school, most to the portables. For robotics teacher Mr. Brown, he’s not worried about the coming changes.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “The architects were very open to our suggestions, and we got some say in the design of our spaces. I’ll be going to the portables next year, two connected portables at the back of the field. With the amount of space I’ll have, my classes won’t change as much; we might even get access to drones to play with.
“We’ve been fortunate enough that almost nothing in the course will change, which can’t be said for everyone,” he added.
Ms. Ard, the school’s art teacher, echoed the statement.
“I’m excited about the renovation, I think it’s a really good thing for Pasco students and teachers. I’m not so excited to pack. I’ll be going to portables in the Captain Grey area, and as a result, we’re not going to be using clay because we aren’t able to have a kiln in the room. Instead, we’ll see about making sculpture out of other things like wire and plaster.”
Construction will affect everyone within the area. For floriculture teacher Mrs. Smith, her room will be off limits during renovation even though she isn’t in the A wing.
“The greenhouse will be improved during construction for drainage purposes, so instead I’ll be in a portable by Captain Grey next year,” she said. “There should be no changes with my classes, I will teach floral one through four as well as landscaping.”
“Next year we’ll focus more on student projects because of the portable situation, and we’ll have to take fewer customer orders. We won’t be able to house as many flowers and will need to use them shortly after they arrive because we will be working with a smaller cooler. It’s a lot of change for some small gains in AG, but we’ll take it with grace. I wish I didn’t have to move for the next school year, but I think it’s super great for the school to gain a lot of new CTE equipment.”
I’m excited to see how it turns out, and I hope that everyone who’s attending next year would have a good time even with renovations going on.
