Camas School District is close to purchasing the former Sharp Laboratories of America building and surrounding property to use for a new middle school that would open in the fall.
The district announced the $12.5 million deal in an email to parents on Friday and followed up with more information about it in its newsletter, The Flyer. According to the newsletter, the district has a purchase and sale agreement to acquire the lab building, 5750 N.W. Pacific Rim Blvd., Camas, and about 30 acres of land.
The building is move-in ready, which will give the district some immediate and much-needed help with overcrowding at Liberty and Skyridge middle schools. The new middle school will open to 60 sixth-graders and 60 seventh-graders starting next school year. Within five years, it would grow to approximately 400 students.
The purchase of the building would alter proposed plans for a $120 million bond voters passed in February. Some of the money from the bond was originally planned for construction of a project-based learning high school on the current Camas High School campus, and purchasing land to help with packed middle schools.
Public Meetings
• What: The Camas School District will take public comment about two new schools proposed for the old Sharp Laboratories of America property.
• When: 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. today.
• Where: Zellerbach Administration Center board room, 841 N.E. 22nd Ave., Camas.
• What: The Camas School District board will discuss the possible new schools during a workshop.
• When: 4 p.m. Monday.
• Where: Zellerbach Administration Center board room, 841 N.E. 22nd Ave., Camas.
If the deal for the Sharp building goes through, that building would house the new middle school project-based learning program. It could also mean building the new project-based learning high school on the Sharp grounds instead of next to the current high school.
Project-based learning allows students to collaborate on complex questions, problems and challenges over an extended period of time. The projects cover multiple subject areas and typically address real-world issues.
The district is seeking input from the community about the new schools. It will take public comment about whether the new high school should be built on the Sharp property or on the current high school campus. The board will discuss the item at a workshop on Monday, and if there’s enough interest, hold a public hearing at its June 27 meeting.
An advisory committee of citizens, teachers, staff and students met last month to discuss the changes. Phil Bourquin, co-chair of the committee, said a vast majority of advisory members were in favor of building the new high school on the Sharp property because the current high school already has parking and traffic issues, it would allow for outdoor learning spaces and it would help establish some program autonomy, such as how classes are scheduled and how the program is run.
“If you’re going to go to a project-based high school, having kids start out at a project-based middle school helps with the culture and acceptance,” said Bourquin, who is the development director for Camas. “Our community starts to see what project-based learning looks like.”
The committee’s other co-chair, Alicia Brazington, said, “It will allow this new educational center to be its own entity with this totally different learning format, but while still capitalizing on opportunities for crossover with our main high school.”
There’s been a demand for project-based learning in the district. According to the district newsletter, if more than 120 students applied to be in the program’s inaugural year, the district would hold a lottery to pick students. About 190 students applied for the program, according to an email from district spokeswoman Doreen McKercher, and a lottery was held this week.
Brazington, president of the Skyridge PTO and member of the Grass Valley Elementary School PTA, said she was at Grass Valley on Tuesday and a lot of parents were anxiously waiting to hear if their kids were picked.
She also said when the committee met last month to discuss the possibilities of building the high school at Sharp, they had a few concerns. Building at Sharp would limit access for students in the new school to offerings and electives at the current high school, and it would be more difficult for programs at the current high school to potentially use space in the new building.
She said the group also was worried about the group changing plans from what was originally proposed to voters, although she said the district has been very open throughout the process and in seeking community input.
“Nothing is decided right now,” she said. “The district wanted to bring this opportunity to light. Everyone is involved in this decision.”
