Oak Harbor School District Considers New School, Major Capital Improvements
An $81M elementary school at Fort Nugent Park could replace 48 district portables, but would cost Whidbey soccer clubs their fields.
A 10-acre parcel at Fort Nugent Park that Oak Harbor School District has owned since 1988 sits at the center of a capital planning debate that could soon land before voters: build an $81 million elementary school there, or direct tens of millions toward fixing what already exists.
The district's capacity committee weighed three distinct options. The costliest would construct a new 750-student elementary school on the Fort Nugent property. Assistant Superintendent Dwight Lundstrom, a capacity committee member, said the school could eliminate the need for many of the 48 portable classrooms currently spread throughout the district. The new school would also replace Oak Harbor Elementary, which could then be repurposed for community use.
Geography drives much of the case for building at Fort Nugent. Four of the district's five elementary schools are clustered in Oak Harbor's city center, leaving students in outlying areas on long bus rides. Southwest Oak Harbor, where the district is seeing growth, would gain direct elementary service under the proposal. A district map illustrates the coverage gap the new school would fill.
The tradeoff is significant for Whidbey's recreational community: building on the Fort Nugent property would eliminate some of the soccer fields currently used by multiple soccer clubs across the island.
The two other options carry lower price tags but narrower scope. Spending $30 million would add dedicated gyms and kitchens to three elementary schools. A $27 million option would replace the south building at Oak Harbor Elementary, where the flooring contains asbestos, windows are failing, and additional problems exist.
The committee did not recommend either of those options, though it acknowledged both as genuine areas of need. It went further on two specific facilities, stating that Oak Harbor Elementary's south building and the district's transportation center must be addressed, regardless of which broader direction the district pursues.
No timeline for a voter measure has been publicly established. The district's Capital Facilities Advisory Committee maintains a dedicated page on the Oak Harbor School District website, where planning documents and newsroom updates on new school construction are posted for public review.
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