Campus swap follows addition by subtraction model

The historic La Conner Elementary School building will be going out with a bang this summer.

Fourth of July fireworks will have barely been silenced when demolition begins to remove the old brick structure, built during the height of the Great Depression, in order to make way for a new middle school complex.

July 5 is target date for the start of demolition, a major phase related to the ongoing bond-financed La Conner School District capital improvement project that will result in upgraded facilities and a swap of elementary and middle school campuses.

But for now, much of the work is taking place behind the scenes.

That according to Capital Pro-jects spokesman Bryan Young, who updated school board members at their Monday public session.

Young noted that he and La Conner Superintendent of Schools Dr. Tim Bruce had recently conferred in Seattle with interior designers on that aspect of the project, which he indicated is quite detailed.

Same with the demolition plan.

Young said work crews will employ a sophisticated negative pressure system that can operate round the clock during the demolition period.

A large compressor at the front of the job site is to run during the day, Young said, while a smaller compressor at the rear of the work area will be used at night.

He said workers will suit up on site before entering the structure. They will unsuit and shower before leaving the premises.

The district’s old health curriculum textbook is also hitting the showers.

La Conner teachers Suzanne Marble and Johnny Lee reported to the board Monday on their search for a new health text, giving highest marks to Holt’s “Decisions for Health.”

Marble and Lee said the Holt book, among many they reviewed, best fits La Conner’s curriculum. “Decisions for Health,” they added, is color coded by grade level, and each book begins where the previous one left off.

Another bonus, Marble and Lee stressed, is the Holt text is supported by technology that reduces the total number of books the district will need to purchase.

Upon questioning by board member John Thulen, Lee said Oak Harbor is among local districts that uses and is pleased with the “Decisions for Health” format.