Building For the Next Generation: Hood Canal School District’s $23 Million Modernization Project Expands Learning Spaces
The Hood Canal School District is undertaking a multiyear modernization and expansion project that will add new learning spaces, update facilities, and provide additional room for programs serving students and families.
The project is supported by a six-year capital levy approved by district voters in February 2025. The levy will provide approximately $19.1 million between 2026 and 2031, including about $17 million for capital improvements and $2.1 million for technology needs. With additional state funding, including two grants totaling $350,000 and more than $6.5 million in state matching funds for the new transportation facility, the overall modernization and expansion project is expected to cost approximately $23 million. The new transportation facility will operate as a cooperative serving both Hood Canal and Southside school districts.
Plans include a new library, STEM lab, science lab, art room, early learning classrooms, expanded outdoor learning spaces, and improved transportation facilities. The project will also include a trail connecting Reservation Road to the school.
“This project is an investment in the next generation of Hood Canal students and in the community we have the privilege to serve. We’re creating spaces that will support hands-on learning, science, technology, the arts, early learning, and outdoor education for many years to come. What makes it especially meaningful is the partnership behind it—from our local voters to the Skokomish Tribe, to significant support from the state. Together, those partnerships have allowed us to take our community’s investment and turn it into something even bigger for kids.” Said Superintendent Lance Gibbon.
The project builds on the longstanding relationship between the Hood Canal School District and the Skokomish Tribe. Hood Canal School sits on land provided by Skokomish families more than 60 years ago, and the Tribe has continued to play an active role in the planning and design of the project.
That partnership extends to several elements of the project, including the school’s water system, the Reservation Road trail, the use of Skokomish timber, artwork, and other design elements. The district will connect to the Tribe’s expanded water system, which is expected to save more than $300,000 in infrastructure costs.
The Tribe is also partnering with the district on the trail connecting Reservation Road to the school, saving the district more than $75,000.
In July, the Skokomish Tribe led a traditional site blessing ceremony to mark the beginning of the modernization and expansion project. The ceremony recognized the significance of the land and the work ahead, while also highlighting the longstanding relationship between the Tribe and the school district.
The project is expected to continue over several years, with completion anticipated by fall 2028. When finished, the improvements will provide Hood Canal students with updated facilities and additional space for early learning, science, technology, arts, and outdoor learning.
For students and families in the Hood Canal community, the project will mean new and improved spaces at a school that has served the area for generations. It also continues a partnership between the school district and the Skokomish Tribe that has been part of the school’s history from the beginning.
Hood Canal School District held a groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 1, 2026, to celebrate the start of the expansion project. The ceremony brought together project partners, including District Superintendent Dr. Lance Gibbon, Hood Canal School Board President Edie Reclusado, Skokomish Indian Tribe Chairman and CEO Tom Strong, and 35th Legislative District State Representative Travis Couture.