Lake County Voters Approve School District Bond Measure
November 5, 2019—On Tuesday, Lake County voters approved a $13.9M bond measure that will allow Lake County School District (LCSD) to receive a $20.8M Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant. The grant will allow LCSD to replace the West Park Elementary School facility with a new building to house Preschool–Grade 2 students.
“We want to thank our community for their trust and support,” said LCSD Superintendent Dr. Wendy Wyman. “We are excited to be planning a new building that will serve our community for generations to come.”
The Preschool–Grade 2 project was prioritized as part of LCSD’s 2019 master planning process, managed by the school district with input from the Community Visioning Team and the broader Lake County community. The two school facilities (West Park and Pitts) that currently serve LCSD’s Preschool–Grade 2 students are ranked among the poorest condition schools in the state by the Colorado Department of Education.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to extend our gratitude to the Great Schools for Lake County campaign committee and everyone who publicly shared their perspective on the importance of the bond to the future of our community,” said LCSD School Board President Amy Frykholm. “Whether you personally toured our schools, watched a tour online, wrote a letter to the newspaper or talked to your friends and neighbors, thank you for investing time in learning about our facilities and supporting our plan for a new school.”
Work on the PK-2 school will begin right away. This fall, the school district selected Dynamic Program Management as its owner representative and Hord Coplan Macht as its architect. The district formed a Design Advisory Group comprising staff and community members who will provide input and guidance to the architects. The design process will take place between November 2019 and May 2020, and site work will begin in spring 2020, depending on snow accumulation. The new PK-2 School will be built on the West Park Elementary School property and could open as soon as the 2021–2022 school year.
“Plans will be made to honor the history of West Park and preserve building contents meaningful to the community and past generations of students,” said Wyman. “We expect that the new building will include spaces that support student collaboration and enhance our expeditionary learning spirit, as well as a large gym for student and community use.”
The school district will provide regular updates to the community on the progress of the planning and construction.
