BREMERTON — West Hills STEM Academy will look much different this time next year.

The Bremerton School District board of directors voted to move forward with the expansion of West Hills STEM Academy Feb. 5.

Dave Rubie was the only board member to vote against expansion and Ken Watkins was absent.

Board member Scott Rahm was concerned that in the future the expansion project may prove inadequate.

“I don’t like the thought of spending more money for redesign,” Rahm said. “Would we look at this in five years and ask if we made a mistake?”

Superintendent Aaron Leavell noted that while times change, STEM’s core curriculum has long term relevance.

“Education is a pendulum at some times,” Leavell said. “I don’t see science, engineering and math going away.”

Board member Carolynn Perkins believes the addition is inherently flexible.

“Going forward it can be adapted to the students that are in the program at that time,” Perkins said.

West Hills STEM teacher Andrea Tee said the school needs space immediately. The gym is used as a cafeteria and PE classes are, at times, held outside in the cold, Tee said.

The expansion will add almost 10,000 square feet to STEM. It’s expected to be completed Dec. 2015.

The board also discussed reopening Olympic View Elementary School to combat the district’s capacity issues.

“The fact that we’re talking about reopening a school is very exciting to me,” Leavell said. “But unfortunately, you don’t just snap your fingers and reopen a school.”

Reopening Olympic View, now called Mountain View Middle School 6 (MVMS 6), would address some short-term problems. However, some board members don’t think it will be ready before the next school year.

“I think for next year that Mountain View Middle School 6 will be off the table,” said Dave Rubie. “It’s not feasible.”

“The idea of opening a stand-alone elementary is something to look at,” said Alyson Rotter.

Some are concerned reopening MVMS 6 would force reboundarying.

Armin Jahr Elementary School PTA President Misty Walker said many students at Armin Jahr are forced to transfer to Mountain View Elementary each year.

“When you’re thinking about temporary places, it’s every year for us,” Walker said. “Something that would be a little more permanent would be more wise.”

Walker urged the board to consider neighborhoods when reboundarying. She said it’s not unheard of for kids from the same neighborhood to go to different schools.

Ultimately, there are going to be some unavoidable inconveniences.

“It becomes a domino game of what spaces you fill up and which you create,” Leavell said. “Our short-term goal is to have the least amount of disruption to families and students.”

The next school board meeting is Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. in the District Administration Building, 134 Marion Ave. North.