Bend-La Pine finalizes land deal for new high school
Bend-La Pine Schools haave finalized a land swap for the property where Bend’s new high school will be located. The school board made the decision Tuesday evening.
It will be built on about 80 acres of land at the corner of Southeast15th Street and Knott Road. The land used to belong to J.L. Ward Company.
Originally, the school was going to be built along Country Club Road, which will now belong to the J.L. Ward Company.
Chief of Operations Brad Henry said the district believes the land will serve the community for the next 100 years, especially as the town continues to grow south and southeast.
Henry said there are several components the district looks at when deciding where to place a school.
“We look at the growth of the community and where that is happening,” Henry said. “(We look at) where the land is available. (It) is always a big component (because) there’s not land available in the city to (build) a school. We look at what constraints there might be on properties, such as the access to the property.”
A middle school will also be built on the same land, but Henry said that construction is still about 10 years away. The new high school is scheduled open in 2021.
Meanwhile, the school board also awarded the contract for a major update of Marshall High School. A new gym and two new classrooms will be built on the school grounds.
The district finalized the contractor, 2KG, on Tuesday evening. The two classrooms will be separate from the school and one will serve as an art room, while the other will be a wood shop.
The current gym also serves as the cafeteria, so the upgrade will help alleviate some pressure on the cafeteria itself.
“(It) will look like most of our elementary school gyms, (and it) will probably look very similar to the gym we did at Silver Rail,” said Facilities Development Supervisor Angus Eastwood. “We are experiencing growth all over the school district, so one of our biggest areas of growth is high schools. Any time we can expand and alleviate pressure on high schools, it’s really important.”
The project will cost about $6.2 million. It’s scheduled to begin in May and be finished by next January.
