Washington is growing, and with it is the high school’s student population.

Student enrollment at the end of the 2007-08 school year was slightly beyond building capacity, said superintendent Dr. Jim Dunnan.

With this in mind, Washington Community High School board members hired BLDD Architects to conduct an assessment to see what needs to be done to improve the school.

BLDD personnel spent a good part of the summer evaluating the aging school, and presented a comprehensive 74-page report, as well as a complete line-item report of needed repairs, to board members at a special meeting Aug. 4.

The assessment showed the building exterior is sound; however, improvements need to be done to the infrastructure.

The current total price tag for the project is about $4.4 million.

Of that, $453,036 is urgent, $2.6 million is necessary and the remaining $1.2 million is recommended, said assistant superintendent Steve Zimmerman.

About 75 percent of the work falls under state health, life and safety requirements, he added.

The last time renovations were made to WCHS was 10 years ago when the roof and Torry Gym underwent repairs, Zimmerman said, adding the price tag for that work was $3 million.

Those renovations were financed through bonds and are currently almost paid off.

Assuming the school is able to keep the current remodeling cost in the same range, Zimmerman said school officials should be able to get about $3.5 to $4 million in new bonds that would not require a referendum because it would be “under health, life and safety.”

Although school officials are currently considering remodeling and renovations, the master plan could change to include an addition to the high school.

If the board decides to add on to the school, the price tag could rise to as much as $20 million, Dunnan said, which would require a bond referendum in April.

At its Aug. 18 meeting, board members approved contracting BLDD to move on to the next phase of the project.

According to the report, the largest project component is in the 1955 addition because it is the largest in terms of square footage and contains the largest area of glass.

The windows and interior glass are in need of replacement, according to the report.

In addition, the 1955 addition houses most of the maintenance equipment, such as the furnace.

“Replacing the mechanical aspects is a big undertaking,” Sam Johnson with BLDD said.

Although the next step is to decide where to go, Johnson said, the best thing is to set up a series of meetings begin outlining the steps and developing program requirements that will ultimately lead to an agreeable design.

Johnson stressed the importance of involving the community by forming a committee made up of various members of the community.

“Nothing affects a community more than schools,” Johnson said.

Having community meetings can be a messy process, Johnson said, because everyone has opinions.

He added that it is the most democratic, and, in the end, only the strongest ideas will survive to be considered.

In addition to knowing what needs to be done renovate the school, board members wanted to know what, if any, work could be handled by school employees in an effort to keep costs down.

The WCHS facilities committee will meet with BLDD at 4:30 p.m. Thursday to map out the planning process and determine future meeting dates.