State Superintendent Randy Dorn announced July 21 the release of nearly $317 million in capital construction money, including more than $7 million to the Snoqualmie Valley School District for its construction of a sixth elementary school, set to open this fall.

The money was made available by the state Legislature and approved by the Gov. Jay Inslee to school districts throughout the state.

“Maintaining and updating school buildings is a partnership between the state and school districts,” Dorn said. “The release of the capital construction money shows that the partnership works, and that students will learn in up-to-date, working school buildings. I thank the Legislature and Gov. Inslee for their work on this.”

Snoqualmie Valley has been awarded $7,180,082 for the Timber Ridge Elementary School. A total of 28 districts are ready to begin or continue work on 39 new buildings or school modernization projects.

Many factors determined whether a project received funding, including specific school district criteria regarding enrollments, assessed property values, and existing inventory. Details of the application process can be found in the School Facilities Manual.

The state’s school construction assistance program also includes approximately $1.1 million, which will fund public art allocations for new facilities.