Seismic planning for Aberdeen schools draws officials’ interests

By The Daily World • November 20, 2024 9:30 pm

The Aberdeen School District is an active participant in the state’s School Seismic Planning Process and last week, 19th District Reps Jim Walsh of Aberdeen and Joel McEntire of Cathlamet toured district facilities.

“We truly appreciate the amount of time Representatives Walsh and McEntire spent learning more about the seismic planning process and what it could mean for Aberdeen,” Co-Superintendent Lynn Green said. “On behalf of the School Board and my co-superintendent Traci Sandstrom, I just want to share again how grateful we are to be a part of this process and for the opportunity being afforded to our community to keep our students safe.”

During the visit, the lawmakers learned more about the seismic safety process that could see Aberdeen schools in the tsunami inundation zone rebuilt on higher ground and others retrofitted to withstand a catastrophic earthquake event.

So far, the Legislature has funded the planning process up to “shovel ready.” Once ready to go out to bid, the district will be eligible for state construction funding.

Four in the tsunami zone

The average age of Aberdeen schools is more than 50 years and four schools are in the inundation zone:

Miller Junior High School

Stevens Elementary School

The Harbor Learning Center

A.J. West Elementary School

Three schools are under evaluation for retrofitting:

McDermoth, Robert Gray and Central Park elementary schools.

Aberdeen High School, the newest building in the district, is not in the inundation zone and is not eligible for funding.

Reps. Walsh and McEntire toured the two buildings that will most likely be the first to receive construction funding — the Harbor Learning Center and Stevens Elementary School. They also visited potential sites.

The tour was arranged through the Washington Association of Maintenance and Operations Administrators. Representatives from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the American Institute of Architects were also on the tour.