Long Range Facilities Master Plan downloads
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Executive Summary
Master Plan overview (25MB)
Study and Survey (120MB)


October 22, 2009

Facilities master plan looks far down the road

A 25-year master plan for maintaining and renovating schools in Oak Harbor has been finalized, with the expectation that in coming years Oak Harbor will need to establish a capital improvement levy to keep facilities in good condition.

Tom Bates, with BLRB Architects, concluded an almost 2-year process of analyzing facility needs and planning for future school upgrades during a keynote presentation before the school board. A full review of school facilities is required by the state every six years.

Overall, Bates said, Oak Harbor schools are now in good-to-very good condition. The most pressing needs are replacement of the maintenance facility and bus barn on Midway and the replacement of Oak Harbor Elementary's south building.

The Long Range Facilities Master Plan includes projects developed in six phases, with the final phase concluding in 2033. Topping the list in Phase One is the conversion of the two octagon-shaped buildings at Oak Harbor High School to be used as maintenance, warehouse, and information technology centers. Those buildings will no longer be needed for classrooms once the ongoing high school modernization is complete. The cost of that conversion will be paid using investment income from the high school modernization fund, along with any remaining balance from that fund.

Phase Two would require a bond, possibly in 2013, which would be used to replace the south building at Oak Harbor Elementary and construct a new bus barn. The elementary building is the last school structure in Oak Harbor that has not been through a recent modernization. A facilities committee determined the building should be replaced rather than modernized, with an estimated cost of $27.5 million.

Building a new bus barn also provides the district with a choice: 1) keep the buses in the same location; or 2) move the bus barn adjacent to the city garage on Goldie Road. The cost of that improvement is estimated at $12 million.

Around the same time, Bates said, Oak Harbor should establish a capital levy providing the necessary funds to protect community investments in schools. In the last 12 years, Oak Harbor has modernized the high school, including two new buildings; built North Whidbey Middle School; fully modernized Oak Harbor Middle School; renovated Clover Valley, Crescent Harbor, Broad View, and Olympic View elementary schools; and modernized Oak Harbor Elementary North.

"It's time the focus shifts from construction to maintenance so the people of Oak Harbor can get the most out of those buildings," Bates said.

The facilities plan identifies several million dollars in basic improvements at the schools that will be needed over time. Phase Three would spend six years taking care of a laundry list of minor facility improvements throughout the district.

Phase Four, which would start around 2019, would provide funds to renovate and possibly add to Hillcrest Elementary. Phase Five, in 2023, would spend another six years on basic improvements to the schools.

Phase Six, to be considered around 2029, would be modernization or replacement of Broad View, Crescent Harbor, and Olympic View elementaries, as well as renovation and possible additions at Oak Harbor Middle School.

The plan's schedule may or may not be realistic, Superintendent Rick Schulte pointed out. "It's not that important that we adhere to the schedule precisely," Schulte said. "But it is important that we identify the priorities and plan ahead so that we can fund the various projects as they are needed."

The basic goals of the plan, Schulte said, are to keep tax rates stable, stagger major modernization and construction projects, and complete major maintenance needs, all on a scheduled on-going basis. Deferring maintenance and construction only leads to a crunch where too much needs to be done in a short time frame.

Schulte said the community doesn't want to get into a position again where it has to completely remake all schools in just 15 years. "The cycle of upgrading all facilities should be 30 to 40 years so that it doesn't create unfair burdens on taxpayers," he said. "This plan is a solid start to getting us on that long-range cycle."

The facilities master plan will be revisited and updated every six years.