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Important Update About Capital Facilities Committee Work

Below is a message that was shared with staff, families and community members on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, regarding the work of our Capital Facilities Committee over the past 18 months. For more information about this committee, please visit our Capital Facilities Committee webpage. 

Hello Tahoma families and community members,

I am writing to share an update about the work of the district Capital Facilities Committee, and options the committee recommended we bring to our families and staff for consideration as part of a 25-year Capital Facilities plan. Please excuse the length of this post. I want to be sure you have as much information as possible to proactively answer some of your questions and ensure you have some context for upcoming community engagement opportunities.

The Capital Facilities Committee was formed in Fall 2024 and has been meeting regularly since then. The Tahoma School Board tasked the committee with addressing overcrowding at Tahoma High School) and both short- long-term facilities needs. Here’s some information about this group and what they’ve been working on, followed by their recommendations for consideration, which we will be discussing in the coming weeks. 

Committee Membership

Membership on the committee includes parents and community members (35 people), which were selected from applications by random drawing, including:

  • Community members from each of the 5 board director regions 
  • Community partners: 
    • City of Maple Valley 
    • Maple Valley Community Center 
    • Maple Valley Food Bank 
    • Voices of Tahoma Education (VOTE) 
    • Parent-Teacher Groups 
    • Greater Maple Valley Unincorporated Area Council 
    • Tahoma Basketball Association 
    • Valor Soccer
    • Maple Valley City Council 
  • Staff members/school board: 
    • Representatives from TEA (2) and PSE (2) 
    • Director of Public Relations, Chief of Finance and Operations, Superintendent
    • School board directors (2)

Scope of Committee Work

Over the past 18 months, during 17 different meetings, the committee reviewed the following information:

  • Current and predicted future enrollment at all school sites in comparison to building student housing capacity at each building. 
  • Condition of the buildings and grounds, including long-term needs and inequities
  • Vacant district-owned land, including all unused acreage at existing school/district sites
  • Estimated construction costs and timelines for a range of options for building and remodeling
  • Perceived student needs now and in the future
  • Tours of school sites with the school principal

Key Committee Learnings

  • Enrollment at the elementary level is predicted to significantly decline over the next several years. It has been declining for the past 2 years. The declining enrollment will eventually reach our secondary schools. This issue is impacting schools all around the nation right now.
  • Tahoma-owned vacant land is outside the urban growth corridor which creates additional barriers to using that land for new buildings, and no guarantee of being able to use it
  • Available vacant land not owned by Tahoma is likely too expensive to be approved by voters and uncertainty about the condition of the land (i.e. current/previous use and slope) raises questions about the feasibility for school construction
  • If we were to pursue construction of a new high school right now, by the time construction of a high school would be complete (7 or more years), enrollment at Tahoma High School is predicted to begin declining. 

Priority Areas identified by the committee for the next 25 years

  • Address current overcrowding at Tahoma High School, which is predicted to begin declining in 8 years, when this year’s 4th graders enter 12th grade
  • Affordability for the community (tax burden)
  • High priority repairs/upgrades and physical safety at all buildings
  • ADA accessibility 
  • Address predicted enrollment trends (declining at elementary, growing then declining at secondary), while maintaining flexibility for any variance from projected enrollment
  • Retrofitting Tahoma Elementary School for earthquake safety
  • Replacement of MVMS; significant remodel or replacement of an elementary school

After extensive discussions of multiple options to address the above priorities, the committee recommended the two options below related to THS overcrowding/declining elementary enrollment to bring to the community and staff for input. The difference between the two options relates to the configuration of our grade bands.

  1. Remain status quo and add a double portable to THS, and begin the process of pursuing building on vacant land owned by Tahoma next to Summit Trail, and reboundary the elementary schools. The portable would accommodate 60 more students at THS. At the enrollment predicted peak, THS will serve roughly 150-200 more than it does now. 

OR

  1. Reconfigure the grades K-6, 7-9, 10-12, the process of pursuing building on vacant land owned by Tahoma next to Summit Trail, and potential reboundary of elementary schools. A suggested timeline to implement grade band reconfiguration/reboundary is in 2028-29, providing us with two planning years. This addresses overcrowded conditions at THS and projected decreasing enrollment over multiple years at the elementary level.

Community Engagement Meetings

I know this generates numerous questions, thoughts, and ideas. We’ll be hosting 5 Community Engagement meetings and surveying Tahoma families. Below is a list of the dates, times and locations of the community meetings:

  • Tuesday, March 24th | 8:30-10am at CSC Board Room
  • Saturday, March 28th | 10am-1pm at CSC Board Room (translation available)
  • Monday, March 30th | 3:30-5pm via Teams
  • Wednesday, April 15th | 5:30-7pm at THS Commons (translation available)
  • Thursday, April 16th | 9-10:30am via Teams

 

The Capital Facilities committee will then take the feedback received from families and staff and make a decision about what to include in their recommendation to the board in June 2026 for a 25-year capital facilities plan.

I recognize the road ahead is complex but I am confident that our staff, families, community and the committee members will work together to come up with the solution that is best for our students. Thank you in advance for your support, your hearts and your minds as we develop a plan to meet the needs of our students and community over the next 25 years.

 

Thank you for your partnership,

Ginger