Boys and Girls Club buying part of old LHS campus

The Lewiston School Board authorized the sale of more than half of its old high school campus to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Lewis Clark Valley at its Monday night meeting.

The club will purchase the east portion of the Normal Hill campus for $1.3 million as long as sale contingencies are met.

The land, located east of 12th Street and west of 13th Street, includes Booth Hall, the machine shop, the auto shop, the industrial arts building, and the science and math building, as well as the tennis courts and green spaces.

Jon Evans, the executive director of the club, said the new space will provide ample opportunities for the club, which has been looking for a location that includes a gym.

“Our original home was here on Normal Hill, so in a lot of ways, we are coming back home,” Evans said.

The new property will give the club additional capacity to serve its members. Evans said the long-term goal is to house a full-time club on the property.

“That’s what we are working toward over the next three to four years to make that possible,” Evans said.

The club has 60 days to clear the contingencies. If all goes well, the sale will then be finalized.

The district will keep the main building of the old high school, which will house some of its staff and its preschool program.

“I truly believe this is a win-win situation for both groups,” said Superintendent Bob Donaldson.

The money from the sale of the property will help fund the construction of athletic venues at the district’s new Lewiston High School, located in the Orchards.

Phase two of construction would include a baseball field, a softball complex, soccer fields, a practice field and a football stadium east of the new high school. Tennis courts will also be part of the athletic venue, although those have already been constructed.

In other news, the school board was briefed on changes to its masking policy as the start of the school year approaches. Students will now be required to wear face coverings when they enter school buildings and during transition times, while staff and other adults will have to wear face coverings at all times when in the buildings.

Masks will not be mandated for students while they are in classrooms, but the district will continue to “strongly encourage” kids to use face coverings in all settings when physical distancing is not possible.

School board members expressed their desire to have as many students as possible wearing masks throughout the day.

“We want a high percentage of kids to wear masks on a regular basis,” said school board member Brad Cuddy, who added he’d like to see a wear rate of above 80 percent among students.

The board will be briefed on how many students are wearing masks at a special meeting one week after school starts.

Principals said they are creating messages to encourage the use of face masks among students. They hope student leaders and athletes will lead by example to encourage others to follow suit.

During the meeting, the board received an overview of building-specific plans for all of its schools as well as the special education department as work continues to implement practices aimed to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Teachers have started to rearrange their classrooms to provide for as much social distance as possible between students. An educational campaign on the importance of washing hands or using hand sanitizer will also be a key focus in all of the schools.

The plans were approved by the school board and will be posted online by the end of the week.

Each school will meet with its teachers on Wednesday to go over the protocols and get feedback. On Thursday, teachers will work through educational plans so they are ready to move to the “yellow phase” of instruction, if that’s needed in the future. In that phase, students in kindergarten through fifth grade would attend half-day sessions to limit the building capacity to 50 percent. Secondary students would attend in-person classes every other day to hit a 50 percent capacity, with a focus on remote learning on the days they are not in a traditional school setting.

On Friday, teachers will work through how education will be delivered in the “red phase,” which would include a switch to remote learning.

The district currently plans to begin the school year in the “green phase.” Students will attend a normal school schedule Monday through Friday. Safety precautions will be implemented as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the local health district.

The first day of school will be Monday.

Tomtas may be contacted at jtomtas@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2294. Follow her on Twitter @jtomtas.