Taholah School District and the Quinault Indian Nation will celebrate the groundbreaking of a new K–12 school on Friday, Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. at the new site located at the end of Pla Pla Road in Taholah.

The project creates a safe school for students in an earthquake and tsunami zone.

The district will lead a traditional blessing ceremony. Leaders will present blankets to honor the partnership between the Quinault Indian Nation and Taholah School District. State legislators, tribal leaders and school board members will attend.

“This project shows what’s possible when schools and communities work together,” said Taholah School District Superintendent Dr. Herman J. Lartigue, Jr. “The Quinault Indian Nation donated the land for this new school. We’re grateful for their partnership and for the state’s support. Our students will learn in a building that keeps them safe.”

The state has named Taholah a top priority under the School Seismic Safety Grant Program. The school sits in an earthquake zone and tsunami area, which makes building a safer school urgent.

The existing K-12 school is located in the Lower Village and is therefore prone to tsunami damage. A site in the new village was identified for the school a decade ago near the high point of the Relocation Area. The first portion of the road to the school was completed in 2015. The school will be centrally located within the new village and within a short walk of most of the residential areas.

As part of the school road project an education specification was completed. The education specification estimated the cost of the new school to be approximately $50 million.