Marysville ponders new school

MARYSVILLE – The Marysville School District could open a temporary ninth-grade campus within the next two to three years.

Such a move would speed up the district’s push to add room and convert all its middle school campuses to accommodate sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade classes, Superintendent Larry Nyland said.

Eventually, Marysville Junior High, which houses eighth- and ninth-graders, would become a third large middle school, providing relief to Marysville Middle School, 1,045 students, and Cedarcrest (Middle) School, 967.

Marysville Middle, which houses sixth- and seventh- graders, would add an eighth grade.

A temporary freshman campus actually could be in two locations, and it would accommodate ninth-graders who would otherwise attend Marysville Junior High.

“Right now this is just a concept,” said John Bingham, the district’s facilities supervisor. “It may not make sense, and we may decide we have to wait.”

One of the goals behind a $118 million bond package voters passed in February was to align middle schools to have the same grade levels. It includes a new high school on Getchell Hill that is projected to open by fall 2011.

A temporary ninth-grade campus could quicken the transition for younger students, Nyland said.

“It would give us the opportunity to make the middle school conversion three to four years earlier than if we had to wait for the new (high) school,” he said.

It would allow the district to have more consistent instructional programs and curriculum at the middle school, he said.

Just where the roughly 450 ninth-graders would end up could be like falling dominoes. Much is dependent on the district’s plan for a secondary options campus that could consolidate three small schools on the same land.

Marysville Arts &Technology High School will be moved to district-owned land near Quil Ceda Elementary School as early as fall of 2007. Such a move would provide space for more than 200 ninth-graders at the leased building now occupied by Arts &Technology.

Tenth Street School, a small band-oriented middle school, also could be moved, freeing up space for more than 160 enrollment slots for freshmen.

Another possibility is the district could buy an existing building in Marysville that could serve as a temporary school for freshmen and be used for other district programs when the new high school opens, Nyland said.

The options school project, which would use custom-designed classrooms built in a factory, also could include Tulalip Heritage High School.

Initial plans call for separate campuses that share common spaces such as a library, a cafeteria, a gym, play fields and administration offices.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.

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