Wenatchee’s school facilities are showing their age — in ways that directly affect students, staff, and daily operations.
This page documents real conditions inside existing buildings, particularly at Wenatchee High School, where space limitations, aging infrastructure, and outdated systems have been studied in detail by a community-led Facilities Planning Committee.
The images below reflect the documented challenges that prompted a 15-month planning process and a consensus recommendation for action.
The Reality Inside Existing Facilities
Aging & Failing Infrastructure
Many core building systems across the district — including plumbing, electrical, and HVAC — are decades old. At Wenatchee High School, several major systems are beyond their expected service life, resulting in:
- Increasingly frequent repairs
- Rising maintenance costs
- Limited ability to modernize or adapt spaces
These are not cosmetic issues. They are structural and operational constraints that affect comfort, air quality, reliability, and long-term safety.
Overcrowding at Wenatchee High School
Wenatchee High School is operating at approximately 104% of intended capacity. This has led to:
- Hallways and common areas not designed for current student volumes
- Classrooms that are undersized for today’s instructional needs
- Limited flexibility for scheduling, electives, and student support services
Several science labs, for example, were designed with fewer lab stations than modern standards require, limiting hands-on learning opportunities.
Outdated Learning Environments
Many instructional spaces were designed for a different era of education. Today’s teaching methods emphasize:
- Collaborative learning
- Technology integration
- Flexible classroom layouts
Older facilities make these approaches difficult or impossible without extensive retrofits — many of which are no longer cost-effective given the age and condition of the buildings.
Why This Matters Now
Delaying action does not pause these challenges — it compounds them.
- Aging systems continue to fail
- Emergency repairs divert funds from classrooms
- Construction costs continue to rise year over year
This is why the Long-Range Facilities Planning Committee concluded that incremental fixes alone are no longer sufficient for Wenatchee High School and key district systems.
From Documentation to Recommendation
After nine work sessions over 15 months, the community-led committee reviewed:
- Facility condition assessments
- Enrollment and utilization data
- Cost comparisons between renovation and replacement
- Long-term operational impacts
Their consensus recommendation reflects what these photos and data together show:
the need for a comprehensive, long-term solution rather than continued short-term patchwork repairs.
