School officials could face tough decisions soon
February 26, 2009
By Laura Geggel
This is the third in a three-part series describing the items on Resolution 727, a Snoqualmie Valley school bond set to be voted on March 10.
As registered Snoqualmie Valley voters fill out their ballots for a March 10 bond measure, school district staff are simultaneously working on a No Fund Plan — a plan B road map they may have to follow if the bond fails to garner 60 percent of the vote.
If approved, the $27.5 million bond would fund $22.1 million for repairs across the school district, including leaking roofs and broken heating and ventilation systems, finance a $3.6 million ninth-grade academy of portables at Mount Si and spend $1.8 million relocating the high school’s six tennis courts across Meadowbrook Way.
If voters decline the bond, the district will turn to its No Fund Plan.
School officials like Superintendent Joel Aune, left, and board member Caroline Loudenback, right, could have to make difficult decisions in the near future.
“Given the past three bond attempts that fell short of the 60 percent approval requirement for passage, we felt it was necessary to consider all options if no additional capital funding becomes available for school facilities,” said Carolyn Malcolm, public information coordinator for the school district.
Some of the idea considered as part of the No Fund Plan, including double-shifting, alternate schedules, satellite campuses, utilizing non-traditional spaces for classroom instruction, redrawing boundaries across the district and year-round school.
In addition to the No Fund Plan, the district also has a long-term Facilities Task Force that examines new enrollment data and trends, before making a recommendation to the board this spring. While the bond addresses immediate problems, the task force will develop a plan that could service the district for the next 10 years.
Because enrollment growth has slowed to about 2 percent – previously the district was growing at a rate of 6 to 7 percent per year – the task force has the luxury of more time to craft a new long-term plan.
Mount Si High School, which has an ideal capacity of 1,270 students, is already at a 1,442 head count.
Parents and community members have previously criticized the district for not investing more time and publicity in its No Fund Plan. At a school board meeting following the defeat of the March 2008 bond, voters, many unaware of the No Fund Plan, angrily asked the school district what it planned to do next.
As a result, the current task force plans to involve the community more in the planning process by holding more public meetings and information sessions.
When the first $209.2 million bond failed in February 2007 by 2.2 percent, the school board decided to run it again that May. Yet, that bond failed as well, prompting the district to wait until March 2008 to run the next bond, which it modified to a $189.6 million price tag. If the March 2009 bond joins its predecessors in the failing-bond category, it is unclear whether the school board would choose to run it again.
“The decision about potential next steps would depend in large part on the outcome of the election,” Malcolm said.
If the bond loses by a thin margin, the board would likely run it sooner rather than later, and with fewer modifications.
In the meantime, the school district’s general fund will continue to support the district’s aging infrastructure.
“Our maintenance budget will continue to draw funds from the general fund to make emergency repairs as needed,” Malcolm said. “And measures that could be implemented as “No Fund” plan options to support facilities may also need to draw from the general fund, further depleting classroom support.”
Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.
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