The Aberdeen School District is an active participant in the Washington State Seismic Safety Grant program. The Seismic Safe Schools Grant Program is a major effort of the Washington state Legislature to improve school safety in the event of an earthquake and to remove schools from the tsunami inundation zone.
In recent weeks, the School Board has received significant updates regarding architectural plans and funding. Renderings of a proposed new Harbor Learning Center were unveiled at a September board meeting, and grant funding and studies, surveys, and proposals were adopted or approved.
The Harbor Learning Center is entering Phase 3, the design stage of the process. Work on construction documents should begin in January. Pending state funding, the fourth and final phase, actual construction, could begin in 2027.
Following a presentation from consultant Manuel Saldivar-Aguirre of ESD 112’s Construction Services Group at the most recent Aberdeen School District Board meeting, the board:
Accepted a School Seismic Phase 3 design grant of up to $3.3 million for a new Harbor High Learning Center.
Accepted a School Seismic Phase 2 conceptual design planning grant of up to $4.5 million for a new Stevens Elementary School.
Accepted an additional $50,000 in School Seismic Safety Grant funding for Phase 1 planning for improvements at Central Park Elementary School.
Accepted an additional $50,000 in School Seismic Safety Grant funding for Phase 1 planning for improvements at Robert Gray Elementary School.
Accepted a School Seismic Safety Grant of $150,000 for Phase 1 planning at Aberdeen High School.
Approved a fee proposal from TCF Architecture in the amount of $142,000 to complete the educational specifications for Stevens Elementary School for Phase 2 of the Seismic Safety Grant process.
Approved a proposal from Haley & Aldrich, Inc. of Vancouver for design-level geotechnical engineering services for the Harbor Learning Center for Phase III under the School Seismic Safety Grant.
Adopted the 2025 study and survey prepared by TCF Architecture on the physical condition and environmental resilience of school facilities.
Adopted Resolution 2025-07 Declaring the 2025 Study and Survey as final and ready to submit to OSPI (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction).
Taholah, Hoquiam and North Beach area schools are also participating in the Seismic Safety Grant initiative. In January, Hoquiam was awarded $11.4 million for new school construction projects, and in June, North Beach authorized $6.4 million to purchase property for a new elementary school.
According to OSPI’s 2023–25 Capital Project Request, the program provides planning and construction grants to schools who have the option to relocate their schools located in the tsunami zones, make needed seismic retrofits, and build a vertical evacuation tower.
Grant funding provided will pay for at least two-thirds of the total project costs which include both direct and indirect costs, including land acquisitions. In addition, all projects must be eligible for School Construction Assistance Program (SCAP) funding.
