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Growing student enrollment overwhelming Cheney Public Schools facilities

The Cheney School District said it's operating at near or over 100% student capacity in its K-12 schools.

AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. — The Cheney School District (CSD) serves more than 5,000 students in Airway Heights, Cheney and the West Plains. 

“Those three distinct communities are experiencing a lot of growth, and have been pretty steadily for quite a while,” CSD parent Sonny Weathers said.

Weathers serves as co-chair on CSD's Long Range Facilities Planning Committee. The committee formed in December 2022 to bring solutions to the local school board on how to accommodate future growth in the area.

The district anticipates it'll serve hundreds of additional students in the next five years.

“We've started to look at things like enrollment data, population density,” CSD parent John Boerger said. “We also looked at enrollment projections to go back to say, are we going to continue to grow as a district?”

Boerger is the planning committee's other co-chair.

Weathers and Boerger both spoke to how desirable the West Plains has become in recent years.

“The demand for housing out here just has not waned," Weathers explained. "And with those houses come new families come more students, and then the need for more schools.” 

"People move here in large part because of the great environment we have not only for jobs, but because of the schools," Boerger added.

In an effort to keep classroom sizes small, some classrooms have moved outside the school.

The district has at least 12 portable, mini-classrooms that are built outside the main school building.

"We're using portables to fill in the gaps," Boerger said. "But, we need permanent places as we continue to grow.” 

"It's an opportunity to kind of stretch the needs and allow for that without feeling cramped," Weathers continued on the portables. "It's a less than ideal long term situation, but it makes the immediate needs subside a little bit so the student doesn't feel too out.”

Fellow parent Kristin Kellogg agreed a new school in the district is long overdue.

It's been a conversation piece for the last, I don't even know how many years," Kellogg said. "At least the past 10, trying to get another school built out here because they are literally ripping out the seams here.” 

Kellogg, a parent of three students in Cheney public schools, said she knows firsthand the district has outgrown its resources. 

She said it’s something she’s noticed when she attended Sunset Elementary in Airway Heights. 

“Back when I came here, we had fifth graders that were in the portable, so they were so packed in into the school, that they had to move them outside of the school for learning," Kellogg said. "The need for another school out here, especially an elementary school and a high school is huge, especially with as big as Airway Heights has gotten over the past 13, 14, 15 years.

Earlier this month, the board unanimously approved three propositions to support district expansion and improvement for consideration in February’s special election.

Proposition two speaks to the construction of a new elementary school in Airway Heights.

Boerger said there's specific growth in Airway Heights where a new school would be most beneficial for the community and students.

"There are a large number of students who live north of I-90 in our district who are actually being transported to schools, south of I-90," Boerger said. "And they're spending a significant amount of time on a bus and what we really want to save them that time, but also create that community hub that is a local school that everyone can identify with."

Kellogg said she's already working through those long-travel pains with her middle schooler.

"She'll catch the bus at 7am to ride the bus out to Geiger for middle school," Kellogg said. "They're building them out in those areas, but the need is here.” 

Some in the area want the district to shift its focus to a new high school.

The planning committee said there's an identified need for a new secondary school, but the district said elementary schools operating at a 113% capacity and the bond could address an immediate need.

Cheney middle and high schools are reported to be at a more than 80% capacity.

The bond needs a 60% majority to pass from local voters February 13, 2024. 

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