CPPS to buy land to grow
By Terry Murry on Thursday, February 25th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
COLLEGE PLACE – The College Place Public Schools Board of Directors has unanimously approved purchasing 40 acres of land in the city for $1.6 million. The board has been saving money to secure a future site for a new school for some time and also working on finding the right property.
In a prepared release, Superintendent Jim Fry said that the entire purchase of the land and all of the associated costs will be paid for out of those savings and will not involve any added cost to taxpayers. Both the city and the school district have continued to see significant growth. That growth is expected to continue and will largely surround the property the district is purchasing.
The school district has seen an average of almost six percent enrollment growth each of the past seven years. That is expected to continue based on city planning, construction permits, and development plans.
“We have continued to see growth in College Place because it is a very desirable location to live and raise a family,” Fry stated in a prepared release. “I am appreciative to the board for their diligent work in their planning for this growth and their prudence with state and local dollars to enable us to make this purchase without increasing local taxes. We will be positioned to be right in the middle of an area of significant growth with a beautiful new school in the future.”
The property, which is currently farmland, is about a half a mile southeast of the current high school, middle school and district office site. The acreage can be used by the district for athletic practice fields until the district is ready to build.
CPPS expects that the time for a new school proposal will come within the next six to 10 years. The district has already performed a number of pre-evaluative steps, including an initial appraisal, water rights assessment, and access evaluation.
More work remains to be done before a school becomes a reality. Fry said to ensure it meets state and local requirements for a school there must be soil, engineering, geotechnical, wetland and other studies. Those studies will begin immediately.
