Everett Schools are using a unique appeal to find people to serve on a committee to come up with ways to address overcrowding at the District’s High Schools. Here’s what they’re looking for.
The current solution consists of portables.
You might qualify to serve on the High School Growth Mitigation Planning Committee
At its August 28 meeting, the district’s board of directors approved the makeup, task and timeline for a committee charged with finding solutions to a classroom puzzle – where and how to provide enough high quality classroom space for the district’s growing number of high school students.
The district is accepting applications online until 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 13. The 30-member committee will include:
- Three community members from each of the comprehensive high schools – Cascade, Everett and Jackson
- One student from each of those high schools
- Two community members from each of the district’s five middle schools – Eisenhower, Evergreen, Gateway, Heatherwood and North
- Administrators representing the three high schools and five middle schools
The committee begins its work on Sept. 26, 2018 and is to report its suggestions for solutions to the superintendent by March 31, 2019 – in time to give high school families across the district a year of preparation for the changes for fall 2020.
“Families are choosing to move to our region because of the quality of life our community, the number of jobs in our region – and because we have great schools,” explained Mike Gunn the districts Executive Director of Facilities and Operations. This committee’s insights and perspectives will help us with a temporary solution for 2020 and until we can build more high school space.”
Gunn notes that no matter what solutions the committee recommends, they will likely touch hundreds of families in the future. “We expect the committee’s work to be complete in March. You will be able to follow the work on the district website.”
How fast is the district growing?
When school starts in September 2018, 20,088 students are projected to attend classes in the district’s 26 elementary, middle and high schools. By 2027, it’s projected to be 21,712.
Most of that growth is in the district’s southern region and is having heavy impact on Jackson High School in Mill Creek.
Jackson High was built in 1994 for 1,500 students, and then expanded in 2004 and 2012 to accommodate enrollment growth. This fall 2,188 students are projected to be in the hallways and in the 17 portables now at Jackson. If the district were to rely on portables as the only solution for Jackson’s growth, 30 more of them would be there by 2023, taking up space now used for tennis courts and parking.
September 1, 2018
Everett Schools