Officials talking to neighbors about sharing space.

For months, planners have been warning people about the reduction in parking at Bainbridge High School following completion of the new 200 building in 2008.

Less prevalent has been discussion about the parking squeeze that will develop this spring when contractors set up shop on the west end of campus.

“It’s going to be disruptive,” said Principal Brent Peterson, of the loss of about 200 parking spaces come May. “We’re looking at a number of options, both in areas that we control and in areas adjacent to campus.”

The district is preparing to go to bid for a new, two-story, 70,000-square-foot “200 building” that will house administration, student services, classroom space, and the library and commons.

Staff and students won’t be completely out of the existing 200 building until early May, but preparations have already begun.

Some teachers will shift offices as early as this weekend, and other changes will begin their slow spread across the campus in the coming weeks.

The school district has reached agreements with several nearby churches to allow parking, and other entities like the fire department are chipping in as well.

The biggest chunk of interim parking – 75 spaces – will be at Woodward Middle School. About 60 spaces will be available at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, located next to Ordway Elementary.

Some students will be able to park at St. Cecilia and First Baptist churches. Other options will also be explored at locations farther away from campus, along with the possibility of a shuttle.

“This is a timely opportunity for us to look critically at how we’re all getting to and from the main campus,” Peterson said. “It will give us a chance to think more about public transportation and other means of transportation that we should all be thinking more about anyway.”

Peterson said the school will likely offer incentives – like prime parking spots – to encourage students to carpool, both during and after construction.

Parking permits will also be more scarce, with priority going to carpoolers and upperclassmen.

Officials are concerned about revenue from lunch service, which will be shifted during construction. The district counts on lunch programs breaking even, but the high school usually makes up for lagging revenue at other schools, Peterson said.

As it stands now, juniors and seniors are allowed to leave campus for lunch. But officials are unsure how the new lunch configuration might impact where those students choose to eat.

“Are kids going to keep eating at school?” he said, noting that the new lunch area will actually be more centrally located than it is now. “We think they will, but we won’t really know until everything happens.”

Service will move to Commodore during construction, and will be spread out among several areas, but the menu will remain the same.

Capital Projects Director Tamela VanWinkle said the district will buy some of the equipment for the new 200 building’s kitchen early, to assist with the scrambled service.

Peterson said access, particularly for students with disabilities, will be monitored throughout construction, with the district trying to anticipate problems before they happen.

“It’s a tremendous amount of work to be done over the next few months,” VanWinkle said. “Any time you empty a whole building, there’s going to be a lot of work to do.”

Peterson agreed, but is optimistic that staff and students will cope well with the inconveniences.

“We’re trying to look at this as a giant barn-raising,” he said. “We’re going to roll up our sleeves and try to make the best of it.”