Tahoma schools, cemetery work together to get center

High-school musicals and veterans funerals could one day share a space in the Tahoma School District.

After voters twice defeated bond measures to fund school-district plans for a performing-arts center, the determined district has come up with a plan to attract federal funding by partnering with the neighboring Tahoma National Cemetery near Covington.

Schools would use the facility — to be located on what is now a Tahoma High School baseball field — for drama productions and other events. The national cemetery, the only one in the state, would have an indoor space for services and family gatherings.

Neither the district nor the cemetery seems too bothered by the unusual combination.

"It's the same as a Grange or a meeting hall — one day you might have a square dance, a wake or a wedding," said Tahoma National Cemetery Director Jim Trimbo.

District officials are working with state representatives to explore up to $10 million in federal funding for the center, estimated to cost $15 million to $17 million. They also likely will ask voters next year to support a $5 million bond measure, said district spokesman Kevin Patterson.

The district has tried for years to fund an arts center. In 2001, a $10.4 million bond measure to build an auditorium at the high school and improve athletic fields failed. The district lost again in 2004, when voters defeated a $4.9 million bond measure to build a separate arts center.

District officials are hopeful this time will be different: They have what they believe is a multiuse facility, and they're not asking voters to shoulder the entire cost, School Board member Mary Jane Glaser said.

Early design ideas include two lecture bays, a kitchen and a ceremonial room set aside for the cemetery's use.

The cemetery, which hosts 1,500 memorial services each year, could use an indoor facility, Trimbo said.

There's nowhere for family and friends to gather after the ceremony, and when it rains, it's nice to have the option of an indoor service, he said.

The building would be respectful to the veterans and give the school district the space it needs, Glaser said.

Tahoma High School's arts programs are currently confined to a stage in the school's multipurpose room. The roof leaks and equipment breaks all the time, said Sydney Hobson, a Tahoma High School student who's in the drama club.

"The sound is horrible," said Hobson, 15.

Before plans move forward, the district would need to find a replacement for the baseball field, Patterson said.

For the cemetery, there's only one hang-up with the partnership: the traditional rifle salute. The honor is performed at all veterans services and, because of the shared space, the armed officers could be carrying out their duties on school grounds. Trimbo is concerned about what students will think.

"They hear [gunfire] anyways, but it's distant," he said. "How would you feel in the parking lot if somebody's out there shooting rifles?"

The cemetery and the district would work out event scheduling so they're not using the building at the same time, Patterson said.

Lauren Vane: 206-464-2926 or lvane@seattletimes.com