Rising metal costs force pivot on Washougal High roof replacement

Rising costs have forced the Washougal School District to pivot to Plan B for its Washougal High School roof-replacement project.

During its May 13 meeting, the Washougal school board approved a $2.1 million contract with Portland-based Carlson Roofing to install a composite shingle roof on the Washougal High building this summer after district leaders determined that their preferred material — metal — would be too costly.

“We’ve talked about what’s unknown with the cost of materials and supplies and the labor, and I think we’re seeing an impact on metal and actually the entire project,” Washougal School District Superintendent Aaron Hansen said during the meeting. “We’re excited to be moving forward with this particular item, not only because it’s needed, but because we are concerned about prices going up.”

District leaders launched the project in 2024 after a consultant warned that the current roof is in dire need of replacement.

Constructed in the late 1990s, the high school’s current roof has “major leaks” that have caused water damage inside the building, according to a school district report.

District officials have said they would prefer to replace the aging roof with a sturdier metal material that could withstand strong winds and help prevent leaks.

A metal roof, however, proved to be too expensive. According to a district report, “cost escalation due to inflation and tariffs made metal roofing unaffordable.”

“Which is unfortunate,” school board member Ida Royer said, “but, I think, expected.”

The district sought price estimates for shingle and metal roofs when it solicited construction bids earlier this year, according to Les Brown, the district’s director of communications, technology and operations.

“Based on the competitive bids received, the cost of replacing the roof with an all-metal roof is beyond the budget for this project and would require the district to come up with several million (dollars) more in funding,” according to a district report presented to the school board this month. “The options to use metal on only selected portions of the roof were also much higher than projected.”

The district will now replace the high school roof with one made from composite shingles.

Brown said bids for a partial roof replacement using metal ranged from $2.1 million to $4.3 million.

The district will pay for the project with funds from its capital levy, approved by voters in 2023. The levy also funded several other capital projects the district plans to complete by the end of 2025, including security door upgrades, entrances that meet federal guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act, HVAC system upgrades and new flooring.

“The $4.3 million was doing roughly half of the roof, so our ballpark number probably would have been north of $6 million to do the entire roof in metal, which was almost more than all of the projects put together,” Brown said. “It was well beyond the capacity that the community gave us when they voted on this back in 2023.”

The district’s report said Carlson Roofing will begin construction work on the high school roof this summer, with “substantial completion” expected by September.