The Redmond School District got a little bigger Thursday night. Parents and families attaended open houses to celebrate finished projects at Vern Patrick and Tom McCall elementary schools thanks to a bond passed in 2020.
“So in the long term, these make these elementary schools much more viable over time,” said Redmond Superintendent Charan Cline. “They last longer and they’ll serve our kids longer. They have a good modern design, even though they were built in ’94. And we should be able to make those last well into the future.”
Cline said Vern Patrick was built with three wings.
“We’ve been able to add another wing to that building, finishing the building and really preparing for growth in this area of the community,” Cline said.
New health and safety features at Vern Patrick include an upgraded HVAC system, new sidewalks and a freshly paved parking lot.
At Tom McCall Elementary, the district plans to use the new annex building to expand some important programs.
“We’re looking for opportunities to build our mentorship program that already exists and be able to do a lot of our activities within this particular site,” said Tom McCall principal Drew Frank.
Both schools were upgraded with new playground areas, fencing and security systems with cameras and digital entry control.
Construction for the new additions was funded by a $27.5 million bond measure that was passed by the Redmond community in 2020. The bond measure and additional revenue funded six new classrooms in each building and upgraded health and safety features across the district.
“Really, the features come with technology,” said the Program Manager for the RSD bond, Chad Franke. “So we got all the updated technology, updated LED lighting, all of those things that came with this building. But structurally with the classrooms, the offices, they’re the exact same as the other ones to really try and bring that equity into this, into this wing that the rest of the school already has.”
