2020 Levy Construction Projects

Kent Prairie Elementary Flooring Replacement- July 2020
In February 2020, Arlington Public Schools' voters approved a four-year Capital Levy to provide resources for school building improvement projects. One of those projects is replacing the flooring in Kent Prairie Elementary throughout the building, including classrooms, common areas (library and hallways), offices, and the multipurpose room.

Arlington Public Schools is a member of the KCDA purchasing cooperative. KCDA has conducted a competitive bid process on behalf of all members. The proposed purchase meets the competitive bid requirements embedded in District policy.

Total project costs are estimated to be $440,960, including tax. The original budget for this project was $540,000.

Post Middle School Fence Installation- July 2020
In February 2020, Arlington School District voters approved a four-year capital levy to fund a wide range of capital improvements to the district's school facilities. One of these improvements is the installation of fencing at the Post Middle School site.

The Post Middle School site is difficult to secure. The site is comprised of a series of distributed buildings, disconnected from one another and not served by interior hallways. Access to instructional areas is virtually unimpeded, whether on foot or in a vehicle. Access to classrooms is via exterior doors for staff, students, and visitors and there is no structural way to bar access to classroom doors on the perimeter of the building. Additionally, due to the open nature of the site, students and visitors to the school are not compelled to enter the school through a single point of entry. Controlled access using a single point of entry allows school staff to vet visitors, complete a National Sex Offender registry check, compare visitor names to exclusion lists based on protection orders, and record their presence on campus. Even though the COVID-19 crisis may be limited in duration, without the controlled access provided by a secure entry, documenting visitor presence to allow comprehensive contract tracing will prove difficult.

In 2019, school staff engaged with a fencing contractor and building administrators to create a fencing plan to accomplish several goals:

- Control access to the interior and exterior areas of the school site, while still creating a welcoming environment. This is primarily accomplished by using decorative fencing in areas that are the most public facing.

- Allow for expedited egress from the school during an emergency situation. Gates equipped with crash-bar latching hardware interspersed throughout the field of fencing are used throughout the district to create this expedited egress.

- Create an exterior single point of entry so visitors to the school would be allowed access to the school only after registering as a visitor with main office staff. Providing this single point of entry at Post will help bring equity to the school as it will provide benefits similar to other APS school buildings who are planned to receive secure entryways also funded by the Capital Levy.

- Allow authorized school bus access to the loop driveway surrounding the building complex while not requiring transportation employees to exit a school bus to open and close gates. Maintenance and grounds staff and first responders will also be able to access the loop driveway using the same devices as buses.

The designer consulted with school staff throughout the design process. The incoming site administrator has also reviewed the plan.

Capital Levy Planning Underway- June 2020 Update
In February 2020, Arlington School District voters approved a Capital Levy to fund construction of classrooms at Arlington High School and make security and utility efficiency improvements across the district. While the current COVID-19 crisis has changed the short term nature of providing public education, we are confident that students and staff will return to our buildings in the future. The relevance of the projects funded by the Capital Levy remains.
District staff are working to make those projects a reality. Planning began in April to begin projects this summer. First up are carpet replacement at Kent Prairie Elementary, construction of secured entryways at Kent Prairie and Eagle Creek Elementary Schools, and installation of security cameras at Arlington High School, Post Middle School, and Haller Middle School. McGranahan Architects and Owyen Consulting (project management) are working with the district with the goal of completing these projects before the anticipated start of school in September 2020.
Arlington Public Schools is grateful for the voters’ trust in the February election. The improvements will add much needed instructional space and make our school buildings more secure so they will be ready when students return.

Questions about the 2020 Capital Levy projects can be directed to Brian Lewis, Executive Director of Operations, 360-618-6238, blewis@asd.wednet.edu.