TIMES/NEWS

The Highline School District received $16.2 million in state construction funds last week for the rebuilding of Mt. Rainier High School in Des Moines.

The funds were part of more than $294 million in capitol construction money released by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to 29 districts.

The money was approved during the 2005 legislative session. The state board of education allocated the funds to the specific projects.

"The record level of funding from the Legislature means that our schoolchildren will learn in safer, healthier and more energy-efficient facilities," said Carolyn Tolas, state board president.

"Thanks to the partnership we developed with OSPI and the House and Senate, the beneficiaries of this hard work are families and communities."

The district will construct new buildings at Mt. Rainier in lieu of modernizing existing buildings. Staffers determined it would be more cost beneficial to construct a new campus.

State money will be given at the same level of funding as if it was a modernization, according to state education officials.

On July 13, Highline board members raised by $9 million the high school's construction budget to a total of $73 million.

Mt. Rainier students will be housed at the Olympic site beginning in September until their new school is ready in Sept. 2007.

The district is in the midst of a major capital facilities project, mostly funded by a $189.5 million bond approved by Highline voters.

Four rebuilt elementaries were opened in Sept. 2004. Mount View and North Hill elementaries will reopen in September, while Cedarhurst and Bow Lake elementaries are set to be replaced in 2007.

Board members also voted this spring to close Sunnydale, Salmon Creek and Olympic schools. Olympic will be used as a transition site for students whose neighborhood schools are being rebuilt.

Valley View Elementary is scheduled to close in 2007, when Bow Lake is rebuilt.