The Cheney School District will be hiring a Realtor to work with the school district analyzing where future growth is occurring and planning for future school sites, the school board decided at their Aug. 15 meeting.
The school board went through an interview process with five different candidates before selecting Mike Livingston of KiemleHagood. Livingston has worked with the Central Valley district and Spokane District 81.
“He brings a level of experience and background, and I think he’ll be an asset to us,” Sean Dotson, associate superintendent, said at the meeting.
As of press time, Livingston could not be reached for comment.
District superintendent Rob Roettger said new elementary school sites would come first, with the possibility of looking into another high school site.
“I think initially we’ll be looking at the West Plains and Airway Heights as far as future school sites,” Roettger said. “I feel like the elementary need will probably come first.”
With the addition of Amazon to the local business community, school officials are anticipating that area growth with be significant, and there is a possibility of skyrocketing student enrollment.
“You can plan for normal growth, but you don’t really know when those big situations are going to occur and how you’ll respond to that,” Roettger said. “If all of a sudden there are 500 more students, then maybe the need for an elementary school is much greater.”
The district’s alternative high school, Three Springs High, is currently located on the Needham Hill campus, but the district hopes to eventually purchase land and relocate it. About $750,000 has been set aside for this purpose, but the district has not yet made an offer on any property.
In accordance with policy, the district will attempt to acquire building sites far in advance of the actual need to construct the facilities to minimize project delays and save money. The school board must approve any purchase of real estate once a decision is made.
That probably won’t be for quite a while, Roettger said. The district is not planning on making an offer on land any time soon. First, the district must be analyzed for growth trends and future needs.
“We’re going to sit down and look at the whole district, look at where the growth is coming from, what makes the most sense and what property’s available. You can’t just put a school wherever you want,” Roettger said.
The district will carefully consider local rules and regulations, including zoning laws and rules governing development in aircraft crash zones before making any kind of decision on property.
Shannen Talbot can be reached at [email protected].
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