High schools – some being built now and others perhaps down the road – are springing up around the Tri-Cities in the latest capital project news for local school districts.

Pasco is building two new high schools, Richland is hoping voters will approve a needed third one, and Kennewick is improving Tri-Tech Skill Center.

Here’s a look at what’s happening around the region:

Pasco School District

The Pasco School District has the biggest projects underway in the region after voters approved a bond in 2023 with a 60.9% approval rate.

The two major projects are two high schools: Sageview and Orion.

Sageview will be the district’s third comprehensive high school, with capacity for 2,000 students. The 300,000-square-foot school at 6091 Burns Road will cost $185 million, of which almost $140 million comes from the bond, with the state matching another $45 million.

Anna Tensmeyer, director of public affairs for the Pasco School District, said its completion date of Aug. 1, 2025, is still on target.

“Construction is progressing well across all areas, with Fowler Construction making great strides,” Tensmeyer said. “The baseball and softball fields are complete, and sod was recently laid on the practice football field. Inside the building, wall finishes are nearing completion in the E, F and G wings, and the courtyard landscaping between the E and F wings is set to begin soon. The building remains on track to be weather-proofed by mid-November.”

The district also is building a smaller high school.

Orion High School, at 1815 E. Salt Lake St., is a smaller, innovative high school with capacity for up to 600 students.

The cost of the 65,000-square-foot facility will be $37.9 million – all coming from the bond.

Orion is a career and college academy, developed with input from business and industry leaders, families and students. While similar to Delta High School in Pasco, Orion will exclusively serve students from Pasco.

“Steel erection is progressing, with the west side of the building’s steel framework nearly complete,” Tensmeyer said. “The team will soon begin work on the east wing.”

The completion date for Orion is Aug. 5, 2025.

“We are pleased to report that both Sageview and Orion high schools are on schedule and on budget,” Tensmeyer said.

The schools are needed as the district continues to grow. It employs 2,428 people, and the latest estimate of student enrollment is 18,486.

The operating budget for the district for the 2024-25 school year is $331 million.

The replacement of Ridge View Elementary School in Kennewick cost $31 million. It reopened in January 2024 at 7001 W. 13th Ave.

| Courtesy Kennewick School District

Kennewick School District

The past year saw the completion of a few projects at the Kennewick School District.

In January 2024, after the winter holiday break, students returned to a new replacement of the 30-classroom Ridge View Elementary at 7001 W. 13th Ave. The project cost was $31 million and the final project of the 2019 bond approved by voters. The state’s School Construction Assistant Program also provided funding for the project.

The district added 9,500 square feet to Tri-Tech Skills Center at 5929 W. Metaline Ave. in September 2023.

The approximate cost of $5 million – which included the costs of construction, architectural plans, engineering and furnishings – helped build a single-story building on the campus that includes two classrooms, a shop, a lab, an exam room, an office and one kennel for the pre-veterinary and pre-electrical programs.

The funding source came from the state skill center funding program.

And Tri-Tech will continue to grow.

The next phase of Tri-Tech’s core modernization is scheduled to begin next summer, said Robyn Chastain, executive director of communications & public relations for the district. 

The facility was originally built in 1981 and is 66,000 square feet.

The modernization would include energy and life safety improvements, along with a reorganization of the 41-year-old spaces to satisfy current programs.

The district’s current Educational Programs and Operations, or EP&O, Levy and the Capital Technology Levy expires at the end of 2026. The current plan is for the district to run both levies in February 2026. The next bond measure is estimated to be run sometime in 2027 or 2028, Chastain said.

The district’s operating budget for the 2024-25 school year is $327 million.

Through Sept. 13, the district employed 3,516 people, and the preliminary student enrollment numbers was 19,018, which includes Tri-Tech enrollment.

Richland’s third comprehensive high school is planned for land near the Teaching, Learning & Administration Center at 6972 Keene Road in West Richland. The new high school is included in a bond proposal going to district voters in November 2024.

| Courtesy Richland School District

Richland School District 

The Richland School District is finishing up safety and security projects that were approved by the community in the $23 million capital projects levy passed by voters in February 2023.

That levy mainly focused on safety and security, as well as planning for future high school facilities.

The security improvements involve the entrances at the following schools: Carmichael, Chief Joseph and Enterprise middle schools, Hanford, Richland and River’s Edge high schools, Jason Lee, White Bluffs and William Wiley elementary schools and Three River’s HomeLink and its Lynx campus.

All security projects were completed by August 2024.

In addition, the levy approved for the development and design of a third comprehensive high school with capacity for 1,800 students in West Richland. That project is scheduled to be completed in December 2024.

Other projects include a Hanford High School roof replacement, including metal flashing and insulation and the full replacement of all flat roof membranes. 

Work also includes the original asphalt roof system on the gymnasiums, library and auditorium roofs that did not get replaced during renovations in 2007.

And the development and design of an expansion of the building on the Three River’s HomeLink campus is the final project from the 2023 levy.

The district’s operations budget for this school year is $232 million.

It has 1,853 employees, and the headcount in mid-September for enrollment was 14,100 students.

RSD is asking voters to consider a $314 million bond in November 2024 that includes a third comprehensive 260,000-square-foot high school.

The bond also would fund the replacement for River’s Edge High School – the district’s oldest building – that would be 40,000 square feet and have 300 students; improvements at Hanford High’s stadium, as well as additional space for the school’s drama department; a multipurpose practice room addition at Richland High for P.E. classes, wrestling, cheer and dance; and a new Transportation Department building.