SPRING VALLEY – The Spring Valley Elementary school building located in downtown Spring Valley (S200 Sabin Ave.) officially closed to the public after a furniture sale on July 10. The original portion of the building was built in 1929 and was first the home to grades one through 12.

This summer the district hosted tours and other opportunities to visit the building before closing it permanently. The furniture sale this last weekend was the last opportunity to see the school and purchase any desks, chairs and other school supplies that will not be needed at the new elementary school, which is almost complete. It shares a campus with the middle/high school building on County Road CC.

The community decided that demolishing the building was the best option. In April 2019 the district proposed and held a referendum which

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resulted in the decision to build a new school. The original building was inspected to decide if it was worth remodeling, but because of the age of the building it was not cost effective to go that route. Additions were put on the original building in 1950, 1968 and 1973.

According to the Pierce County Historical Association, the building stands on or near the site of four previous school buildings, built in 1868, 1880, 1893 and 1904.

The old elementary school building is scheduled to be demolished beginning Aug. 2. The gym attached to the school will be kept and repurposed. The Emmaus church in Spring Valley purchased the gym and will be using that space going forward.

Spring Valley has been in the process of building their new elementary school. The new school will be open in the fall and ready for students. John Groh, superintendent of Spring Valley School District said that the building is about 98 percent finished and the Cardinal Kids Care will be utilizing the space starting this month.

The new school has many modern updates that would not have been easily added to the old building.

“There is a STEM lab, heating and air conditioning and a great and safe playground,” Groh said. “It’s very modern and up to date.”

The new elementary school will also contain a small piece of the original school. The bell from the current building will have a place near the entrance of the new building.

The location of the new school will create efficiency for the school district.

“The high school and middle school students will be able to work directly with elementary students and the location just made sense,” said Groh.

After three years of surveys, votes and planning, the new building is reaching the final stages of construction. Market and Johnson, the company used for construction on the new building, has been posting monthly updates of the progress on YouTube.

Jordan Lieffring, project manager, said in the most recent video, “We’re working on closing out the final project, wrapping things up, there’s been a lot of progress.” The videos are available to watch on the Spring Valley School District’s Facebook page.

Photo by Melissa Thorud

Photo by Melissa Thorud

The hallways of Spring Valley Elementary School stood empty on Thursday, July 8 during the SVE moving sale. This fall, elementary students will attend the new school on County Road CC.

You can almost hear the echoes of lessons and children laughing in this empty classroom at Spring Valley Elementary School, which is set for demolition on Aug. 2.