The 24-day countdown begins for Adams Elementary staff and students to vacate the school for the final time

It’s been a long time coming.

With the passage of Spokane Public Schools’ $200 million bond, Adams Elementary School staff are packing up classrooms at the 116-year-old school. Students are readying to vacate so the district can get started on the first of dozens of projects to be funded through the bond.

Students will start winter break on Dec. 19. They will return from break in January to the old Jefferson Elementary School at 37th Avenue and Grand Boulevard while demolition begins at Adams.

The school building has been on the district’s replacement list for years, said Superintendent Adam Swinyard. A replacement would have been funded through the failed 2024 bond, and previous tax collections have paid for incremental work on the old school.

“When we first started, the thought was back in 2009, so we are now quite a few years from that,” said Adams Principal Beth Nye. “Dr. Swinyard and I were both sad when that previous bond did not go through. It was very devastating for this community, but bigger and better things will have massive results.”

The Adams project is “shovel-ready.” The 2015 bond paid for plans for the new space.

The project is expected to finish in time for the 2027-28 school year.

In the 24 days staff have to prepare to move, Adams staff are packing materials and maintenance staff are ensuring Jefferson is ready to house Adams pupils. This process includes installing a wall to divide a room so there are enough classrooms.

Driving past the old Jefferson, seeing the lights on for the first time in years, Nye is excited.

“Now that it’s go-time, of course, the stress level has gone up slightly, and it’s the detail questions, which is, when are we getting our boxes? What do I do with the material?” Nye said.

The school will host a parent information night in December, Nye said, which includes adjusting kids and families to riding the school bus. All Adams kids either walk or are dropped off for school. Some will now ride a bus to the new Jefferson.

The site of the old Jefferson Elementary has long been used as a “camp” to house kids while their neighborhood school undergoes major renovations.

The last time it was filled was in 2021 after a vandal set fire to St. Charles Catholic School, causing around $5 million in damage. The school district rented out the space while the private school underwent construction.

The district plans to sell the property when the Adams students vacate. Adams is the last of the South Hill elementaries slated for major renovations that would require the school to be empty.

The new Adams will be built in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Spokane County, which is chipping in $1 million to the estimated $30 million endeavor, according to early estimates from district spokesperson Ryan Lancaster. The final total is still subject to bidding processes, Lancaster said, and he’s estimating another $10 million in matching funds from the state.

“We want to be everywhere and anywhere we might be needed,” said Wendy Drum, CEO of Boys and Girls Club of Spokane County.

Though excited to finally see a new school, Nye said she’ll miss the charm unique to her old school, first built while horses and buggies were traversing dirt roads in Spokane. Her favorite feature is the “best floors in Spokane,” the schoolhouse’s original floors in the central section of the school.

“My ask has been, can we capture some of these pieces to bring it into the new building, in the sense of, those hardwood floors would be beautiful wainscoting, or perhaps framing,” Nye said.