New Jackson building to free up classroom space

By Ian Alexander

Enterprise writer

When students return to Jackson High School this fall, they will not only have a new principal but new classrooms as well.

Mike Gunn, director of facilities and planning for the Everett Public School District, said sometime this fall, the new addition to the school will be nearing completion.

“What we are doing is we are building 12 new classrooms and taking one of the existing classrooms and converting it (into a hallway),” Gunn said. “So we’ll have a net increase of 11 classrooms.”

The project, which is costing approximately $2.7 million, began in September 2003 and is located on the west side of the school near the tennis courts.

Jackson High School Principal Fred Dahlem, who retired June 30, said the new classrooms will accommodate a total of 330 students.

“We have expanded so much. We are jammed already even with the kids here now in the building,” Dahlem said. “We will have enough kids now to use all 11 classrooms.”

Dahlem also said the new addition will get students out of the six portable classrooms and give them greater access to school facilities and services.

“For the most part, it will allow students to be in the main building,” Dahlem said. “It is going to result in an increase in access to technology.”

The addition will include more ports and computers as well as built-in digital projectors in classrooms.

Dahlem said the project is a little behind schedule and planners still hope to have it completed by the original end date.

“(Planners) anticipate Sept. 1, but they are not sure it is going to be September,” Dahlem said of the project’s completion. “They anticipate Nov. 1 as the worst date. It is still quite a ways away and lots of work to be done so that could change easily.”

Dahlem said classes scheduled for rooms under construction will be moved to existing open classrooms in order to accommodate students.

Despite the project’s setbacks, Gunn said the project was going well.

“Construction has its ups and downs,” Gunn said. “I would say generally things are going as well as can be expected.”