Wenatchee School District Making Big Improvements At Tech Center

The Wenatchee School District is making some big changes at its Wenatchee Valley Technical Skills Center in Olds Station.

The complex, located at 331 Penny Road, is made up of four buildings where Superintendent Kory Kalahar says students are given hands-on learning experiences about a variety of subjects.

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"The Tech Center has four different buildings where they offer a host of different programs, including our culinary arts program, cinematography, cosmetology, automotive repair, collision repair, construction management, criminal justice, fire science, and computer science."

The Tech Center is funded solely through money from the state legislature and is not reliant on the passage of local bonds or levies for maintenance or improvements.

Last year, the District received $14.5 million in funding from the state to make improvements at the Tech Center.

Kalahar says the project to renovate the Tech Center will be done in four phases and includes numerous upgrades and additions.

"They're preparing a second story in Building B where we need to do some stairs and an elevator so we're ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant. The Tech Center also really wants to be a hub for students and conferences in the area, so they're going to make some conference space there as well."

The project will also see the construction of spaces for student certifications, new classrooms for the District's fire science programs, a new garage, a conference center, and a student lounge area, as well as spaces for additional programs and updated lightning.

Kalahar says nearly 400 students are currently using the Tech Center for instruction.

The District has operated the Tech Center for the last 12 years and hopes to have the renovations completed by the end of 2026.