Bond Measure Proposal Aims to Upgrade Long-Neglected Investments in High School and OCEAN

News by Scott France

The Port Townsend School District (PTSD) is asking voters for financial assistance to renovate its physical facilities and create enhanced learning environments necessary for students to meet the challenges of entering adulthood in the 2030s.

If the $99.25 million bond measure is approved by Port Townsend voters on February 10, funds would be allocated to Port Townsend High School and the OCEAN K-12 alternative school. Of the five buildings serving the two schools, the newest is 73 years old.

A community driven process

Students, families, staff, and the community have contributed to the vision of improving the school campus with bond funds. PTSD held more than 20 community events, with more than 550 community members participating. Separate committees were created to address design considerations at each school, and a facilities committee was established to address facilities issues for both schools.

If the measure is approved, the high school renovation is projected to be completed by the end of 2030, and the OCEAN School renovations are projected to be completed by the end of 2028.

Some of these specific renovations planned for Port Townsend High School include:

• Rebuilding and expanding parts of the Main Building
• New science labs and updated career and technical education classrooms and shops
• A central cafeteria and commons for student meals and gatherings
• Increased natural light with the restoration of original window heights and energy-efficient windows
• Seismic upgrades across the campus
• Removal of the deteriorated Annex Building
• Gymnasium improvements, including seismic and other basic building system updates
• Improvements to the parking and grounds

“More modern classrooms will engage students more in learning, and help them have a clearer sense of what they want to do after graduation,” said PTSD Superintendent Linda Rosenbury.

OCEAN provides a valuable service worthy of a real home

The OCEAN School is currently housed in a couple of trailers behind Blue Heron Middle School. Under the proposal, the school would be relocated to the Gael Stuart Building, which would be fully renovated with bond funds. That building sits adjacent to the high school and is now used for administrative purposes and the media lab.

The OCEAN School offers three personalized learning options for students who struggle with traditional learning structures.

K-12 students in its family partnership program attend part-time on campus and spend part-time learning at home with family support.

OCEAN’s online program for middle school and high schoolers has students taking online classes either full or part-time.

The Open Doors Program for ages 16-21 provides re-engagement for students who are not on track to graduate on time. It focuses on career preparation, high school graduation or GED completion.

OCEAN has an enrollment of 150 students, 120 of whom are on campus five days a week.

It does not have enough dedicated space for science labs or shop class, and there is no gathering space for meals or school-wide events. It also lacks the space to provide specialist services, such as language learning.

The bond is only designed to cover part of the cost

The cost of the entire planned renovations is $108.6 million. Proceeds from the bond measure would be augmented with an estimated $4.4 million in state assistance and $4.95 million in other grant assistance.

The estimated increase to homeowners’ taxes would be approximately $34 on a home valued at $600,000. This increase would bring school district taxes on Port Townsend residents to a level below the average local school tax rate in Washington state.

Upgrading buildings, equipment and the classroom experience

“Our chemistry lab is out of date and won’t tell students who want to be a scientist what it'll be like to be a scientist in 2030,” Rosenbury said, “Our hope is that students will feel safer and enjoy coming here and that academically they will have more opportunity for exposure to industry-standard equipment and spaces.”

Rosenberry said the district recently purchased a CNC router for use in the computer-aided design lab and the Marine Woodwork class, but the electrical system can’t accommodate the load.

A fume Hood in the chemistry classroom used for venting smoke and fumes from chemical reactions. Experiments cannot safely occur in the hood due to its small size and poor ventilation draw. Photo by Scott France

”One of the reasons that the bond is so crucial at this stage is because our current classrooms cannot accommodate industry-standard equipment,” Rosenbury said.

A key element of the proposed design plan for the high school is to consolidate its classrooms and facilities from five buildings into two.

The outdated building systems translate into a higher annual operating cost and environmental impact due to energy inefficiency and frequent maintenance needs, according to a PTSD presentation.

Class time has also been compromised due to “multiple full campus evacuations in the past two years from fire alarms triggered by experiments in the chemistry classroom that were not ventilated properly,” stated Principal Sean Moss in an email to The Beacon.

Senior Sawyer Duval said that “it is very hard to do experiments without the alarm going off due to the lack of ventilation in the chemistry lab. I believe that Port Townsend, High and OCEAN students deserve the best classrooms possible.”

“Now is the best time because of the facilities’ needs that are very urgent, and because it will only get more expensive if we wait,” Rosenbury said.

The district is holding campus tours on January 14 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. and January 20 from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. There will also be a virtual presentation on Zoom on January 29 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.