LA PUSH — The Quileute Tribal School is preparing to compete with nine other tribal schools for millions of dollars in funding to move students permanently to higher ground, away from ocean storms and tsunamis.
The small kindergarten-through-12th-grade school with an enrollment of 70 to 80 students is one of 10 tribal schools selected nationwide to compete for a complete replacement.
The existing school site is adjacent to First Beach in La Push and, like much of the community, including the Quileute Tribal Center, the Quileute Senior Center and many homes, is directly in the path of possible tsunamis or flooding from the Quillayute River.
Of the 78 schools that were eligible for the replacement due to age and condition, 53 submitted an application for replacement in 2015, according to the Office of Indian Affairs.
On Jan. 13, the Quileute Tribal Council was notified that the school is one of the top 10 applicants for five school replacements budgeted by Congress.
7 Navajo schools
Seven of the 10 finalists are Navajo schools, including one in the southwest, one in the west and the Quileute Tribal School, according to the Office of Indian Affairs.
The school and tribe were invited to a three-day public meeting, Feb. 2-4, at the National Indian Program Training Center in Albuquerque, N.M.
Schools selected from the 10 finalists for the construction priority list will split $8 million in funding for planning and design.
The final selected schools will have building replacements funded in order of which is most “shovel-ready” beginning in 2017 until all priority schools are replaced, according to an Indian Affairs fact sheet.
“Shovel-ready” means planning is complete, permits are secured and construction work can begin as soon as funding is in place.
The Quileute Tribal School is scheduled to present its case for being one of the five selected schools at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 3.
“We are preparing diligently for our presentation. We are optimistic that we can adequately convey the importance of moving our tribal school out of a tsunami zone to higher ground in order to ensure the safety and protection of our children for generations to come,” the Quileute Tribal Council said in an official joint statement.
“The entire future of the Quileute people is in the school facility located in harm’s way,” the council said.
“Buildings crumbling into the Pacific Ocean can and should be prevented, and we are hopeful that we will make the list of the final five selected.
“The relocation of the tribal school remains a high priority for the Quileute Tribal Council and the Quileute Tribal School Board.”
In 1855, the Quinault Treaty assigned the tribe 1,003 acres of land for a reservation, located mostly on the floodplains of the Quillayute River.
In 2012, the tribe and Olympic National Park came to an agreement to establish a new location for the community, and in 2015, the U.S. Congress received final approval to transfer 785 acres of adjacent park land to the tribal reservation to be used for relocating the town’s population and services at a safer and higher elevation.
The newly completed town master plan developed by the tribe over the past year shows the school will be located a half-mile from the A-Ka-Lat Center, near state Highway 110.
Cost not yet known
The cost for the new school will not be known until architectural plans for the school are complete.
The master plan also lays out a central tribal campus with cultural, public safety, retail shops, a tribal government office, housing areas, three parks and 84 acres of planned residential lots, located between the school site and the A-Ka-Lat Center.
“There is a lot of time and devotion dedicated to this effort,” the council said.
“We are grateful for the decades of hard work by our former leaders, elders and ancestors that has given us the opportunity to be in the position to apply for this funding. We are also grateful for the efforts of our Move to Higher Ground team,” the statement said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.