School district OK’s contract

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Sequim School District has achieved the first major milestone for its planned Bond/CTE construction projects, according to Mike Santos, the district’s facilities director.

School Board directors unanimously voted 4-0 to approve on Sept. 2 a contract for up to $5.3 million with The Wenaha Group to serve as the construction management firm for the February voter-approved $146 million, 20-year construction bond projects, and the Career Technical Education (CTE) Ramponi Center for Technical Excellence building. The contract goes through Dec. 31, 2031.

Board Director Patrice Johnston said the contract is “very thorough” and “a fair contract on both sides.”

Wenaha was previously chosen to oversee voter-approved 2021 Capital Projects Levy projects, and now they’ll help the district complete the following projects in the coming years:

• Build a 10,000-square-foot CTE building

• Replace Sequim High School’s A-E wings

• Replace Helen Haller Elementary School

• Add a bus loop between Fir Street and Sequim Middle School

• Upgrade the multi-sport athletic field

• Replace the transportation center

• Add a Greywolf Elementary School cafeteria

• Build a new Greywolf bus loop and parking lot

• Improve Greywolf’s HVAC system

• Upgrade safety and security systems at the middle school, Greywolf, and Olympic Peninsula Academy

Santos replied via email that the contract is up to 3.5% of both the bond projects and CTE project worth a total of about $151,150,000.

He told board members that the 3.5% construction management ceiling is traditionally at 5%.

Incidental expenses will also be billed at cost with no administrative fee or escalation, he said. Consultants’ hourly rates will be capped at 2% increases per year rather than 3% as in the previous levy contract, too.

Santos said after negotiations, Wenaha representatives told him they were proud to work for the district.

Timeline TBD

In the next 30 days, Santos said they’ll work with The Wenaha Group to prioritize the sequence of activities and program timelines for the board of directors.

He and Superintendent Regan Nickels said construction on projects such as the new elementary school and high school could take upwards of two-and-a-half years before construction begins. However, less expensive and intensive projects could be started sooner, depending on variables, such as design decisions, and contractor decisions.

Wenaha was one of four respondents to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) chosen and recommended by the district’s Source Selection Committee to Nickels and in turn the school board for their approval.

Wenaha will help the district present projects to the state’s Project Review Committee (PRC), staff said in previous interviews, and that could take months as the commission only meets at certain times and it reviews a set amount of applications per meeting.

Santos said they’ll consider bringing only certain projects to the PRC at a time due to their varying timelines.

A different architectural and design team could be chosen for every single project because they will be competed separately, he said. The district put out and shortly thereafter withdrew an RFQ last winter for the approximate $5 million CTE building to include with the bond projects for construction.

According to Wenaha Group’s contract, some of its Scope of Service tasks would include: acting as the district’s representative during the phases of the projects; assisting the district in establishing project oversight and design guidance committees and task forces as appropriate; managing specialty consultants; providing periodic presentations/tours of job sites; developing an overall management plan for the projects; assisting the district in the selection of architects and other professional services required for the projects; assist the district in the selection of contractor(s) using competitive bidding and/or alternative delivery methods; monitoring the design process by reviewing design documents; and reviewing cost estimates for each project in each phase of the design process.

Updates on the bond construction process will continue to be posted at sequimschools.org/bond_program.

Facility fees update

Nickels said her staff has concluded meetings with groups again impacted by proposed facility and field rental rate increases.

District staff paused proposed rate increases for 60 days in late August after hearing concerns from community groups about the increases. Some groups have moved events elsewhere while some have taken a wait-and-see approach.

Nickels said conversations were productive, and that the impacted parties will see revised drafts before a new fee schedule is tentatively presented to school board directors at their next meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15.

Cell phone policy

District staff will also propose potential options for cell phones at the next board meeting after discussions last school year about updating provisions for younger and older students at Sequim campuses.