MARYSVILLE — Marysville-Getchell High School is on schedule to open one year early and under budget, according to Marysville School District officials during a recent tour of the construction site.
Local media were escorted through the three-story Building D, which will house the International School of Communications, to show off the features of the three duplicate structures that will house the other Small Learning Communities currently located at Marysville-Pilchuck High School — the Academy of Construction and Engineering, the Bio-Med Academy and the School for the Entrepreneur. Building D is estimated to be 80 percent complete, while the rest of the campus, including a two-story fifth building that will house a gymnasium and cafeteria, is close to 60 percent complete.
Each floor of Building D features a central “flexible use” project area surrounded by laboratory classrooms. Among the features unique to the ISC building are its acoustic tiles and sound-muffling materials for its TV studio and choir areas. While each of the four SLC buildings includes “subtle differences” specific to their subjects, the replicated layout helps save money and “allows teachers and students similar experiences regardless of the building,” according to Tracy Suchan Toothaker, principal of Marysville-Pilchuck and planning principal for Marysville-Getchell.
The start of construction on each of the SLC buildings was spaced 45 days apart. MSD Capital Projects Director John Bingham expects that carpeting for Building D will be installed in December, before its anticipated completion in January. The ISC building sports internal and external stairs for each floor, and a glass-walled area to “create a connection” to its outside commons.
The 193,000-square-foot campus of Marysville-Getchell should accommodate 1,600 students. The gym in its commons building has seating for 700 in its bleachers and 200 in its balcony. Its campus will also include a track and fields for football, softball and soccer, as well as eight tennis courts.
Bingham attributed more than $2 million in construction savings to the current economic downturn fostering more competitive bids, and noted that the accelerated construction schedule has also saved the district money. Of the $92.6 million estimated project cost for Marysville-Getchell, $19.4 million come from state matching funds.
