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The Ridgefield (Wash.) School District’s plan for multiple infrastructure projects is on track, Superintendent Art Edgerly said.

鈥淭he reason why we’re over budget right now is the typical process of having schematic design,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are very confident that we will be on budget and also on time for this project.鈥�

Preliminary designs were released this week for the three major construction efforts: a new multipurpose facility at Ridgefield High School, and additions at South Ridge Elementary School and the Union Ridge Elementary/View Ridge Middle School campus.

The district is figuring out ways to use less expensive building materials without sacrificing quality.

鈥淭here’s nothing cheap in the sense of lacking quality,鈥� said Casey Wyckoff, a principal of Vancouver, Wash.-based , which is handling project design. 鈥淔rom a design process perspective, we are working to maximize the benefit of the budget.鈥�

Money for the work is coming from a $47 million construction bond passed in February. District voters previously hadn’t approved a school construction bond since 1991.

The main objective is to improve facilities 鈥� both in quality and in function, Edgerly said. He referred primarily to new classrooms: the high school will gain eight, while the elementary school and the Union Ridge/View Ridge campus each will gain 10 to 12.

These classrooms will be designed to inspire collaboration, Wyckoff said, with glass walls and common areas. The days of box-shaped classrooms and single, wooden desks are over, he said.

鈥淭hese classrooms are being designed to recognize that the future success of students is not necessarily going to look like what a classroom looks like today,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ach of the classrooms provides opportunities where students can do more hands-on activities with each other.鈥�

Many students in the district work in portable pods that are in disrepair, Edgerly said.

鈥淭hose classrooms are being built because we need to move out students into a better learning environment,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e really (looked at) what our educational programs are and what we would like to offer our students.鈥�

Each project will include a new kitchen facility so that more meals can be offered. Additionally, the multipurpose facility at Ridgefield High School will include a gym. Eventually, the district plans to convert the high school into a middle school and build a new high school on the property across the street; this project will not be funded by the bond.

Designs are based on school surroundings 鈥� the addition to the Union Ridge/View Ridge campus, for example, is more traditional and intended to blend with the area’s historic buildings, Wyckoff said.

The district and LSW presently are determining which materials should be used. When the district announced that it was slightly over budget, rumors spread that cheap building materials would be used to compensate for the financial gap. These rumors are far from the truth, Edgerly said.

鈥淲e’re not going to do anything that compromises the quality of the 鈥� buildings,鈥� he said. 鈥�(The materials are) less expensive, but they’re not cheaper.鈥�

Likely materials are school standards, Wyckoff said: brick, concrete and metal.

鈥淚t really comes down to what is going to provide the district low, long-term maintenance and operational costs and what’s going to be durable in terms of use by the kids and community,鈥� Wyckoff said.

Outside of the three main projects, the plan also calls for adjusting traffic flow and improving Ridgefield High School’s stadium by expanding its football field and replacing its track.

Construction of the stadium project will start first, possibly as soon as May. Other projects are expected to begin next summer and finish by fall 2014. Woodburn-based Triplett Wellman will be the general contractor.

Triplett Wellman was awarded the contract based on a competitive bid process, which involved rating firms on a 1,000-point scale. Triplett won because it had the most efficient and cost-effective proposal, according to district officials.

鈥�(These projects) will give (the schools) life and provide an opportunity for the district to 鈥� bring people to the Ridgefield community,鈥� Edgerly said.