If construction plans for Aviation High School fly, it will be the first new Highline district high school built since Tyee in 1962.

Supporters of the school are busy planning for the new building, which will be next to Tukwila's Museum of Flight.

Although Aviation High is located outside the district, Highline administers the school.

About 60 percent of Aviation High's students are from the Highline area.

The popular school with an aviation-based curriculum also draws students from 18 other school districts and a total of 21 legislative districts.

Students come from as far away as Port Orchard, Vashon Island and Monroe to attend the unique program. The district does not provide transportation.

One hundred applicants are selected each year after submitting essays and going through a thorough interview process. Enrollment is limited to 400 students in grades 9 through 12.

The school has been housed just north of Boeing Field at South Seattle Community College's Duwamish campus since opening in 2004.

The college wants the space back so Aviation High students will move in September to the district's Olympic site in Des Moines.

Mt. Rainier High students will leave Olympic for their completely rebuilt school this fall.

The Occupational Skills Center, which draws students from Highline and other schools for vocational training, was constructed in 1972.

But the new Aviation High would be the first four-year high school building in the Highline district in more than 40 years.

The site for the proposed building is 6.5 acres along East Marginal Way, just south of the Museum of Flight, which the museum recently purchased.

Museum officials plan to erect a Space Gallery and a covered structure to display large aircraft as well as provide land for the new high school.

The Concorde supersonic transport, currently on exhibit outside, will be moved into the new display facility.

The property is a former industrial site that has been cleaned up under the direction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"A key parcel like this part of the Rhone-Poulenc facility is a perfect candidate for re-use," Rick Albright, director of the EPA's Office of Air Waste and Toxics in Seattle, observed.

"By becoming both an extension of the museum and part of an innovative high school program for high achievers, this will serve as a prime example for other redevelopment projects both locally here in Seattle and across our region."

A switch from Boeing Field's north side to the south means students would remain close to aviation businesses that mentor the students.

Although the district has a location for the new school building, it does not have the money for construction yet.

District officials were hoping for $9 million from the state Legislature this biennium and another $11 million in two years.

However, the appropriation so far is not in the proposed budgets offered by the governor, House or Senate.

"The students come from all over Puget Sound, so it is fair that the state participate in constructing a new building to house the school," Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, commented.

"I am working hard to find new money in the Senate budget to help get this project going."

Construction proponents argue that legislators should back a school that emphasizes math and science and will provide skilled employees for aviation and high tech jobs.

The district plans to allocate $5 million from its budget for the project to go along with $5 million from the Port of Seattle earmarked for Aviation High as part of a noise mitigation agreement.

Private funding is also being sought, according to district spokeswoman Catherine Carbone Rogers.

In a district often criticized for low test scores, Aviation High is a bright spot for Highline.

Besides being featured on a network news show and in numerous print articles, Aviation High has placed among the top five schools in Washington Assessment of Student Learning results.

In reading, 98 percent of 10th-grade Aviation students met the state standard and 97 percent gained the standard in writing.

In math, 89 percent met standard while 71 percent met standard in science.

Rogers also pointed out that 26 percent of Aviation students qualify for free or reduced lunches, compared to less than 4 percent at each of the other top four schools.