Upon entering the new Tahoma High School, students will be greeted by the slogan, “Honor the Past – Live the Present – Create the Future.” Below that slogan hang six panels highlighting decades of history in the school community known as Tahoma. The district was created through the merger of three smaller ones: Taylor, Hobart, and Maple Valley.
This collage, showing snippets from the mining and logging industries which powered early development, was assembled by THS Associate Principal, “Boomer” Burnham from photos provided by local historical societies, private citizens, and companies.
The new high school is located just west of Four Corners on the site of the old Elk Run golf course, which previously operated on land leased from King County. The school district acquired portions of the larger site and started construction of the new high school in June 2015.
It will replace the aging facility on S.E. 240th Street in Covington built in 1973-74, which will be repurposed as a middle school. That 1974 high school in turn replaced the three-story brick building built in 1926 which is currently Tahoma Middle School.
The new high school was constructed with 9,400 cubic yards of concrete (940 loads); 1,951 tons of structural steel (enough to build 838 Tesla Model S cars); relocation on site of 150,340 cubic yards of dirt (12,528 dump truck loads); and with over 7 miles of plumbing pipe.
The building measures 321,325 interior square feet, which is the equivalent of 127 average-sized Maple Valley homes. The dedication of the new high school is scheduled for Tuesday, August 8 from 7-9 p.m. in the gymnasium.
The public is invited to attend. A second opportunity to explore the school will be held this Saturday, August 12, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., when visitors can take self-guided tours.
