NEW — 4:22 p.m. Dec. 3, 2015
The group charged with helping the Renton School District name its new middle school is coming to Newcastle in December.
Come fall 2016, a new Renton School District middle school will sit within Newcastle city limits. Work is already well underway on the school, located next to Hazelwood Elementary.
The district appointed a committee that will bring a recommended name before the Renton School Board. The committee will sift through public suggestions over three meetings, before presenting the final results.
The committee first met in Renton Nov. 19, but the members will come to Newcastle Dec. 15, where they will continue nomination reviews and establish a preliminary list of name finalists. This meeting will be held 6:45-9 p.m. at Hazelwood Elementary, 7100 116th Ave. S.E.
Public comment time is built into each committee meeting so community members can directly offer suggestions.
The committee’s third meeting will finalize its list of names and adopt a recommendation. That meeting is Jan. 19 at the district office, 300 S.W Seventh St., Renton.
The district collected public input through an online survey until mid-November. District officials outlined the following criteria when choosing a name:
- A nominated name will be widely known to, and significant to, the community.
- The names submitted will not conflict nor cause confusion with the names of other facilities in the district or surrounding districts.
- The use of names of living persons will be avoided unless the circumstances warrant an exception.
- The names of key supporting organizations may be used.
The two-story school designed by NAC Architecture was made possible thanks to voter support of an April 2012 bond measure. The $97 million bond measure will fund the school, improvements to the Lindbergh High School pool and other construction costs.