Richland School District’s ninth and final project from the 2013 voter-approved bond will be finished in time to welcome students back to school on Aug. 28.

The new 65,000-square-foot Jefferson at 1550 George Washington Way can accommodate 537 students.

Voters five years ago approved a plan to replace Jefferson’s 1953 wing, but additional state funding meant the district could afford a new school, a $22.5 million project. The district approved this plan in 2015.

Nearly 66 percent of Richland School District voted in favor of the $98 million bond in 2013 that addressed the needs of nine specific facility improvement projects, including Jefferson. The district said each of the bond-approved projects have been completed on time and within budget. 

Bobbi Buttars is the school’s principal.

The general contractor for the Jefferson project was Fowler General Construction of Richland.

The architect was Design West of Kennewick.

Jefferson’s 1982 wing was repurposed into a   $1.4 million preschool center that’s 39,000 square feet in size, with 10 classrooms and eight special education classrooms. Voters approved this project in a February 2017 election.