New space for CBE

West Valley School District’s Contract Based Education will soon have some room to grow.

The district has signed a contract with the owners of the old Rite Aid store at Sprague Avenue and University Road to renovate and lease part of the building. Remodeling is expected to be complete by Jan. 1 and the school will move following remodeling.

CBE, an alternative high school, is currently crammed into a 13,000-square-foot STA building at 123 S. Bowdish Road. The new site will have 19,000 square feet.

The old science room, which had to be used as a math room this year, has no sinks or running water. The art teacher uses an outside spigot to rinse paintbrushes. Tables are jammed together in any open space, even next to the front entrance.

“They say, ‘Cleve, this is like teaching in the middle of the freeway,’ ” said Principal Cleve Penberthy.

The school is a co-operative school, with West Valley partnering with the Central Valley, East Valley and Freeman school districts, though students also come from districts across Eastern Washington.

Students who attend CBE are considered nonresident students, which allows West Valley to get the basic education money paid by the state for each student. About 400 students were expected this year.

CBE isn’t the usual alternative high school. There are no classrooms with desks lined up in neat rows. There are four periods per day Monday through Thursday. The classes are more along the lines of small-group gatherings and students usually take two or three classes during each eight-week block. Students set their own schedule and how many times a week they attend class. “Some kids are here four days a week,” Penberthy said. “Some are here once a week.”

The reasons kids arrive at CBE vary. It could be family issues, drug abuse or being expelled from another district. Penberthy interviews each perspective student to find out what their issues are and how the school can help. “Last year I had 100 homeless kids,” he said. “What we have here are significant compelling stories.”

When the school started in 1988, it was a “packet” school. Students came once a week to pick up homework packets and worked one-on-one with one teacher at a time. The change in organization contributed greatly to the space crunch currently being dealt with. “The problem is we’re living in a WASL world,” he said. “It’s a changed paradigm.”

The school’s new space at Sprague and University will be on the east side of the building. There still won’t be traditional classrooms, but there will be a science lab with running water. Students will have a say in how the space is organized and what features there are, Penberthy said. “Their voice will be heard as we continue to evolve the space,” he said.

The district signed a five-year lease with University City Inc. in April. It calls for monthly payments of $6,875 per month, up from the $3,400 a month paid to STA for the current building. The district has the option to renew the lease for an additional five years at the end of the term, with the rent going up 2 percent per year. The costs to remodel the building, which have not been finalized, will be shared by the district and the building’s owner.

The estimated cost of the renovations is $400,000, said district spokeswoman Sue Shields. The district will take out a five-year loan to pay for the project.