The Kennewick (Wash.) district is building an elementary school that is nearly twice the size of most of its other elementary campuses.
The Tri-City Herald reports that the Kennewick school board has approved plans for the district's 16th elementary school. It will be the district's largest elementary, with 38 classrooms and capacity for 730 students.
Growing student enrollment in recent years, combined with state initiatives to lower class sizes and provide full-day kindergarten, has led to crowded facilities often supplemented by portable classrooms. Board members say they decided to build a school designed to handle those demands.
Other elementary schools in Kennewick typically have 22 to 24 classrooms, but growth in west Kennewick, as well as a lack of suitable school sites in the area, persuaded the board to construct a facility that can handle a heavy load.
The new school is projected to cost about $21.3 million and is expected to open in 2018. Funding for the construction comes from a $89.5 million bond approved by district voters in February 2015.
