When the Echo School District received a $4 million grant from the Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching Program in January 2016 and then passed a school bond in May 2016, the work was just beginning. The school district has built a 30,000-square-foot addition to their campus, which they will celebrate with a ribbon cutting on Aug. 22 at 5:30 p.m.
The ribbon cutting will be followed by a short program in the new gym, tours of the new facility, refreshments and a regular school open house. The event is free and open to the public.
Construction on the project began in June 2017. Superintendent Raymon Smith said the process has been somewhat challenging and stressful, as most large construction projects are, but the district and the community will benefit from it.
“This is a beautiful, new, modernized school facility and the completion of a longstanding dream for us, so we are very excited to celebrate this milestone,” Smith said.
The combined bond and matching grant from the state meant $8 million was available for the project, all of which the district has used. The addition includes:
- Six new classrooms including 3rd, 4th and 5th grades, middle school/high school science room, an agriculture room and a K-12 Art Room
- CTE Shop (for welding and woods)
- New gym (10,000 square feet)
- Pioneer Hall/Community Center (150 people seating capacity)
- School/Community Fitness Center
- Improved security for entryway, new security cameras
Smith said the addition of the new gym will allow better operation during the school day of P.E. classes and less juggling of areas of the school for P.E. when the single gym was not available. The new Art Room will allow students to have a designated space for creating and for the district to ensure the arts stay part of the student experience. The Art Room has a large glass garage door to allow for indoor/outdoor art experiences.
The new gym contains a fully digital scoreboard, the first of its kind in Oregon.
“The new scoreboard can show slide shows, videos and live fans shots, and the new gym is truly a multipurpose space,” Smith said.
The Pioneer Hall/Community Room will serve as a gathering space for Echo’s senior citizens, something they had been searching for, Smith said. The Fitness Center will be available after school hours to community members.
The Echo School District secured some additional funding through grants from the Good Shepherd Foundation and the Wildhorse Foundation to support the Pioneer Hall/Community Room and Fitness Center for improved community health and communication.
