In the coming years, Hoquiam School District will operate fewer schools than it does today, but which schools will remain, and their configuration, is still in question.

At a March 30 special meeting, the Hoquiam School Board requested the district come up with a plan to reduce district size by one campus, directing the Long Range Facilities Committee to collect community input on downsizing and present a plan at a May 18 board meeting.

The request marks the first official action from the school board in an effort to shift the number of operating schools from five to four, a move officials say will allow for much-needed improvements to remaining buildings and match the size of the student body.

“We have a footprint in our district that is approximately double what the state funds us for,” said board member Hoki Moir.

Hoquiam School District has declined by nearly a quarter in the last 20 years, while the amount of square footage it owns has stayed the same. Since the state’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction’s building budget funding formulas are tied to student enrollment, the district is now vastly underfunded for the amount of building repairs it needs to make.

The district started consulting staff about possibly shrinking the district with a series of meetings in January, and then conferred the community with more meetings in February. According to a report brought to the board March 30 by Superintendent Mike Villarreal, the district has already determined the high school, middle school and Lincoln Elementary will all be retained, mostly through process of elimination; the middle and high schools have a unique function, while Lincoln was recently renovated and would be a lost investment if ditched.

That means the district, and the community, will need to decide whether Emerson or Central Elementary gets the axe.

“When we hold our community meetings and things, those are what our discussion is going to have to be,” said board member Tanya Anderson. “There’s a lot of pros for each one and a lot of cons for each one. We want to make sure we’re doing what’s best for kids for educational purposes.”

As it currently stands, the district needs to make between $31.5 million and $35.5 million in repairs, and $23 million to $27 million would be devoted to a high school modernization. Repairs to Emerson would cost $3.1 million while repairs to Central would cost $2.2 million. Both need new roofs, asphalt, carpet, HVACs, and system upgrades, among other things.

According to Villarreal, it’s uncertain what the next use for the outlying building would be, but the district might have the option to sell or lease it and put the money back into capital improvements.

Deciding which building to cut is only the first step in the downsizing plan.

Given the amount of money needed for repairs, the district will likely run a bond in the 2024 February election. Before that can happen, the district needs to know which repairs need to be made, and therefore, how much to ask taxpayers for. That will be the task of a 25 to 50 member bond committee this summer.

Villarreal’s report also recommended cutting the square footage of the high school in half, which he said would allow the district to access matching state funds in the bond proposal. However, the school board hasn’t yet approved that part of the plan.

Should Hoquiam voters approve the bond next February, the earliest the district could reconfigure would be for the start of the 2025-2026 school year.

“We don’t want to rush this,” Moir said. “If our community’s not ready for it, our families aren’t ready for it. But we do have a timeline we need to meet. If we aren’t ready at that time, we continue on with our meeting and our process we’re doing now.”

At the same time, Villarreal cautioned, “Staying course with what we have, the district can’t handle paying for what we’re doing. The money’s not coming in fast enough to be able to repair the buildings.”

Board member Chris Eide said this is a “proactive” measure and that the district was “not in a bad financial situation.”

Board members confirmed the downsizing would not affect class size or number of staff.

The district will host six upcoming community input meetings in April and May. The schedule is available at https://www.hoquiam.net/page/hsd-facility-planning.

Contact reporter Clayton Franke at 406-552-3917 or clayton.franke@thedailyworld.com.