‘Our facilities are falling apart.’ Students and educators applaud potential school facility changes under ‘historic’ plan

SPOKANE, Wash. — A new plan from Spokane Public Schools and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department aims to provide more opportunities for children and families for generations to come.

This proposal, titled “Together Spokane“, would update facilities for all 58 public schools in the city, whether its a new building or a new sports field.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Spokane Schools, city parks department collaborate on ‘historic’ plan to define city’s future

Daphne Gilstrap, a student at Ferris High School and a member of the Theater Club, is most excited about upgrades to her school auditorium and the opportunities it can provide for future students.

“I see so much talk and you can see how many actually try to do this. So having people that are working and actually trying to implement these things is amazing,” Gilstrap said.

While the newly proposed ballot initiatives outline more than 200 projects, the first would be at one of the oldest facilities in the City of Spokane: Adams Elementary.

“Our facilities at our park, at Adams, are falling apart,” said Meredith McNally, a teacher and parent at Adams Elementary. “It puts our facilities at a disadvantage.”

The remodel for Adams Elementary was promised originally in 2015. Now, over a decade later, a priority for Together Spokane is to replace the aging school building and integrate it with a Boys and Girls Club.

For McNally, seeing the plans for the building upgrades feels great, but what feels even better is what it means for the kids.

“The way they are going to put everything together, just the opportunities for kids in general is amazing,” she said.

This sense of bringing communities together in multipurpose spaces is what the initiative is all about. The school and recreation center at Franklin Park project is another example of that.

This project plans to bring Madison Elementary and Franklin Park together to create a school with a community center built inside of it.

“I think the partnership is really important, it has been pretty well known that some of our buildings need to be rebuild and replaced” said Madison Elementary School principal Heather Holter.

For Holter, seeing kids with nothing to do after school is a regular occurrence. This is why bringing a field house and Boys and Girls Club inside the school could be a game changer.

“The kids want to be engaged in this and they’ll have that opportunity,” Holter said.

Those leading this proposal said resources in the city are spread thin as the region continues to grow. That is what this initiative hopes to address with projects they said will benefit every family for generations to come.

To those who have anticipated it the most, it feels like a dream come true.

“Finally seeing something that might come into fruition is amazing. Seeing the opportunities this could bring to kids in the city is amazing,” McNally said.

For a breakdown of how this initiative would impact your property taxes as well as more information on the ballot measures, click here.