School board members (from left) Dan Popp, Carol Loudenback and Marci Busby listen to school bond detractor David Spring suggest that the school bond re-vote be postponed. The board disagreed with Spring, voting 5-0 to put the bond back on the ballot in late April. By Sebastian Moraga

The Snoqualmie Valley School Board voted in favor of bouncing back this spring from its closest defeat in recent memory.

The $56 million school bond to build a new middle school will appear in an April 26 ballot, thanks to a unanimous 5-0 board vote. The Feb. 8 vote on the bond fell two one-thousandths of a percent shy of the 60 percent needed.

“It’s two one-thousandths of a percent: A supermajority of our Valley said yes. I stand with the majority, with the people who believe this is the right thing to do,” said Board President Dan Popp.

The bond proposal will remain the same with the exception of a 2-cent increase, from 47 to 49 cents, in the amount per $1,000 of property value the bond will cost.

Higher interest rates are the culprit for the increase, Snoqualmie Valley Schools Superintendent Joel Aune said.

Valley residents from both sides of the issue urged board members to see things their way.

Activist David Spring urged the board to delay returning the bond to a ballot until a clearer financial picture emerged from Olympia.

“We can’t afford another bond failure,” former Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation director Carolyn Simpson said to board members. “What’s the rush? Making a hasty decision would be inappropriate at this time.”

Stephen Kangas, who also opposed the bond, said decisions more important than building a new school loomed.

“What’s more important: Teachers or classrooms?” he asked board members. “Where’s student safety among your priorities? You have the time. Take the time to think this through.”

Supporters of the bond said waiting would be counterproductive.

“In the time we have waited, we have seen the interest rate go up by two cents,” Valley parent Scott Vermeulen said. “If we wait more, everything will cost more.”

Fellow dad Brent Lutz agreed with Vermeulen, saying district administrators should not wait to act until a problem had become an emergency.

Mount Si High School coach Sean Sundwall said the board had a moral obligation to put the bond back on the ballot.

“Regardless of what Olympia does,” he said, “We still have to house our kids. Give voters the same bond in April and we will deliver our children a third middle school.”

Unanimous vote aside, board member Scott Hodgins said he worried about the cost of maintaining the new building, which might range between $600,000 and $1 million.

Nevertheless, he voted yes. He said he promised when first elected to never vote against a bond.

“I don’t care what we decide to build, this is the time to do it,” Hodgins said. “Even if we don’t need it, is this a good time to build it? Absolutely. We don’t know today what our funding is going to be and what the population projections are going to be in 2013. I don’t have a crystal ball.”

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.

Welcome to an election recount, the latest of which became essential to solve a close vote on the Snoqualmie Valley school bond.

Gathered around a skimpy table, stern people make a printed piece of paper feel more important than it probably had felt in months.

One holds it, overlooks it, slides it over to the teammate, who re-reviews it and then sets it aside like a flat centerpiece.

“As long as they agree, they keep moving to the next ballot,” said David Spring, who observed the recount of the school bond vote and who opposed the bond.

While the counters count, people standing behind the table keep an eye on things. These observers, like Spring, can do that and not much else.

“They should ask questions to the appropriate person about their observations but may not disrupt the process,” stated the webpage “Recounts in Washington State” on the Secretary of State’s website.

If they write notes, observers and those watching the observers may not use either dark ink or dark pencils, to avoid compromising ballots with stray marks.

The observers and their observers end up looking like judges in a jigsaw puzzle contest — perplexed, yet interested.

“It was a fantastic experience,” Spring said. “I was very impressed that King County allows anybody to observe directly what goes on with the ballots. We were not allowed to touch the table, but we could be within two or three feet. We could see the ballots as well as the counters did.”

Recounts are perplexing affairs, with different rules for elections and ballot measures in this state. Different rates also apply for electronic and hand recounts, said a King County Elections spokeswoman Kim van Ekstrom.

Van Ekstrom, communications manager for that office, said a hand recount costs 25 cents per ballot and a machine recount costs 15 cents per ballot.

“The 25-cent-per-ballot recount fee is used statewide and is the deposit for the cost of the recount,” King County Elections communications specialist Katie Gilliam wrote in an e-mail. “The requesting party is liable for the full cost of the recount and the deposit is a down payment toward the full cost.”

Elections may undergo a mandatory recount, which kicks in if the difference between the two candidates is less than 2,000 and less than one-half of 1 percent of the total votes cast for both candidates.

Candidates or officers of a political party for whom votes were cast may request an election recount.

Ballot measures have no mandatory recount, and a ballot measure recount must be requested by a group of five or more registered voters.

If a requested recount results in a reversed outcome, the county reimburses the person or persons who requested the recount.

The Secretary of State orders recounts in statewide offices and ballot measures and any legislative, congressional or judicial office that crosses county lines.

County canvassing boards order recounts in all other races, including school bonds.

The rules differ yet again in a primary election.

No matter how close the finish between the two top vote-getters in a primary, there’s no recount, since both will have qualified for the general election.

A recount may be requested or may be automatic for the votes between the second- and third-place candidates.

At a rate of one ballot per couple of seconds, recounts tend to be fast-paced affairs, Spring said. No hanging chads here.

“This is not like Florida,” he added. “A lot of people have criticized King County Elections in the past several years, but I was very impressed how willing they were to let practically anybody stand there and look at the ballot. It gave me faith in the process.”

The $56 million school bond to build a new middle school will appear in an April 26 ballot, thanks to a unanimous 5-0 board vote. The Feb. 8 vote on the bond fell two one-thousandths of a percent shy of the 60 percent needed.

“It’s two one-thousandths of a percent: A supermajority of our Valley said yes. I stand with the majority, with the people who believe this is the right thing to do,” said Board President Dan Popp.

The bond proposal will remain the same with the exception of a 2-cent increase, from 47 to 49 cents, in the amount per $1,000 of property value the bond will cost.

Higher interest rates are the culprit for the increase, Snoqualmie Valley Schools Superintendent Joel Aune said.

Valley residents from both sides of the issue urged board members to see things their way.

Activist David Spring urged the board to delay returning the bond to a ballot until a clearer financial picture emerged from Olympia.

“We can’t afford another bond failure,” former Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation director Carolyn Simpson said to board members. “What’s the rush? Making a hasty decision would be inappropriate at this time.”

Stephen Kangas, who also opposed the bond, said decisions more important than building a new school loomed.

“What’s more important: Teachers or classrooms?” he asked board members. “Where’s student safety among your priorities? You have the time. Take the time to think this through.”

Supporters of the bond said waiting would be counterproductive.

“In the time we have waited, we have seen the interest rate go up by two cents,” Valley parent Scott Vermeulen said. “If we wait more, everything will cost more.”

Fellow dad Brent Lutz agreed with Vermeulen, saying district administrators should not wait to act until a problem had become an emergency.

Mount Si High School coach Sean Sundwall said the board had a moral obligation to put the bond back on the ballot.

“Regardless of what Olympia does,” he said, “We still have to house our kids. Give voters the same bond in April and we will deliver our children a third middle school.”

Unanimous vote aside, board member Scott Hodgins said he worried about the cost of maintaining the new building, which might range between $600,000 and $1 million.

Nevertheless, he voted yes. He said he promised when first elected to never vote against a bond.

“I don’t care what we decide to build, this is the time to do it,” Hodgins said. “Even if we don’t need it, is this a good time to build it? Absolutely. We don’t know today what our funding is going to be and what the population projections are going to be in 2013. I don’t have a crystal ball.”

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com.

The King County Elections Canvass Board upheld the result of the Feb. 8 bond vote, certifying a slim defeat for a proposed new middle school on Snoqualmie Ridge.

King County Elections employees review a ballot in the hand recount for the Snoqualmie Valley School District bond proposal from the Feb. 8 election. (By Katie Gilliam)

The bond supporters gathered 59.99 percent of the vote, short of the 60 percent needed said Katie Gilliam, communications specialist for King County Elections.

“We’re disappointed,” said Jim Reitz, of the pro-bond group Valley Voters for Education. “It couldn’t possibly be closer. I am sure there are hundreds of people kicking themselves for not getting their ballots in on time and I’m sure that next time they will be very anxious to correct that.”

Reitz said the decision now belongs to the school board regarding whether there will be a next time.

The board will likely discuss a second bond vote for 2011 at its March 10 meeting, Reitz said, adding that he did not know if pro-bond supporters would push for a second recount instead.

Disappointment aside, Reitz praised the way the recount and canvassing occurred.

“I am extremely impressed by how professional and transparent they were,” he said of King County Elections. “It’s a shame it did not go our way, but I have nothing but high praise for how King County Elections operates.”

In a statement, the school district echoed Reitz.

“Our heartfelt thanks go to all who volunteered their time and energy during this very close election,” the statement read. “We appreciate the strong majority of citizens in our community who supported their children and schools in the Feb. 8 election.”

The statement praised the King County Elections’ efforts and said the school board would meet this week to decide what to do.

The bond proposal is the fourth consecutive bond meant to build a school that Valley voters have defeated. It is the closest  such a bond has come to passing in Snoqualmie Valley since voters in May 2003 approved a $22.7 million bond to build Twin Falls Middle School.

After the initial recount, pro-bond supporters requested that elections staff look at three ballots that had questionable marks.

Gilliam said the department found two of the disputed ballots and upheld the county’s decision.

One ballot had the oval next to “reject” filled in and then crossed with an X. The second ballot had the oval next to “reject” filled in and then “a stray mark” next to “approve,” Gilliam said.

The third ballot, known as “exhibit B,” could not be located. According to a drawing of the exhibit B ballot, it allegedly showed marks on both the “approve” and “reject” ovals.

Staffers searched for the ballot for hours March 8, with opponents and supporters of the bond acting as observers.

“The recount has been certified, and exhibit B has not been found,” Gilliam said in a phone interview less than an hour after the vote was certified.

Earlier in the day, anti-bond activists attacked the request as a whim.

Stephen Kangas, a North Bend parent, said it was obvious to the community that any further action besides immediate certification or another full recount would amount to a fishing expedition.

“You’re starting to look like the second-guessing board” instead of the canvass board, Kangas said. He later said the “fishing expedition” was spearheaded by the school district and pro-bond activists Valley Voters for Education, to which Reitz belongs.

After the certification, Reitz defended the request.

“The election was as close as can be and both sides took all the legal means to make sure it was a transparent process,” he said.

Before the certification, suggestions of a second recount upset bond supporters and opponents alike.

Sean Sundwall, a Valley parent and Mount Si High School coach who supported the bond, said a second recount was unnecessary. David Spring, a parent who opposed the bond, said what the community of the Valley needed most was closure.

“We are not opposed if they want to continue searching through a couple of boxes,” Spring said. “But our community needs some resolution. We cannot continue this.”

Grace Yuan, legal co-counsel for the Snoqualmie Valley School District, said the district would support a “focused search” for the ballot or a recount.

“Either one, as long as we can reach closure,” she said.

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com

But supporters of the bond questioned voters’ intent for three ballots, which could turn the election’s outcome, according to a King County Elections spokeswoman.

The canvassing board decided to review the three ballots at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. The board makes the final decision on questioned ballots following state guidelines.

The bond measure lost by a single vote in the Feb. 8 election.

Earlier Friday, the board added two ballots which initially had not been counted because of issues with the signatures. It is unknown how those votes were cast but even adding two ‘yes’ votes would not have changed the election’s outcome.

A question about a voter’s intent on another ballot had been raised Thursday. The board decided Friday that the voter had voted against the bond.

King County Elections employees review a ballot in the hand recount for the Snoqualmie Valley School District bond proposal from the Feb. 8 election. (By Katie Gilliam)

It took less than two hours for eight 2-person teams of King County Elections employees to finish a hand recount of more than 9,200 ballots cast in the Feb. 8 election by Snoqualmie Valley School District voters. At issue is the district’s $56 million bond to build a new middle school.

The department’s Canvassing Board will meet at 2 p.m. Friday to decide on three contested ballots. The voter’s intent is not clear on one ballot. The other two ballots could be counted if the board verifies the voters’ signatures on them. To conceal how those voters filled out their ballots, they will be mixed in with about 600 ballots that have not been examined in the recount. 

The recounts final results will then be posted online.

The bond measure lost by a single vote. Within hours of the results being certified, supporters of the bond had raised the $2,650 needed to pay for a hand recount. 

Employees pulled and sorted by precinct the 9,980 ballots cast in the election. Ballots were stored in sealed cardboard boxes on shelves in an open room in the basement of the Elections’ building. Each precinct had its own box.

A runner would then deliver a box to a team. The counters would then break the seal and start sorting the ballots — approved, rejected or no vote. Both team members had to confer on each ballot.

“Number one, we’re just checking the accuracy of our results,” checking the automated process, said Katie Gilliam, a spokeswoman for King County Elections.

If the recount finds the extra vote needed to approve the bond, it will save the district thousands of dollars from having to put the bond on a future ballot.

If the recount confirms a failed bond, we hope these same citizens will encourage the school board to try again with another vote.

Snoqualmie Valley School District’s bond measure in the Feb. 8 election puts the importance of every vote in neon lights. The $56 million proposal hangs on a single vote. At stake is a new middle school for the Snoqualmie Valley. If one of the 9,955 valid votes switches from no to yes, the bond passes.

So yes, every vote counts.

Sadly, only 46.6 percent of registered voters in the district voted on an issue that will affect the community for decades.

If the bond measure fails in the hand recount, school performance could suffer from overcrowding and long commutes to the Valley’s two remaining middle schools. The third middle school, Snoqualmie Middle School, is being converted into a ninth-grade annex for the high school in 2013.

If the bond passes in the recount, the community will be paying off the bond for years to come.

Some bond supporters have said the 60 percent threshold required for a bond to pass is unfair. It has stymied the school district three times in recent years, but we believe the 60 percent majority is reasonable. Bonds commit future taxpayers to bear the cost of decisions made today. Unlike taxes and levies, bonds cannot be lowered. Their debt will come due, and tomorrow’s taxpayers have to pay the cost.

Because bonds allow today’s voters to spend the money of tomorrow’s taxpayers, there must be this higher threshold for their approval. Today’s voters can’t raid the wallets of tomorrow’s taxpayers without 60 percent of the vote — and not one vote less.

The campaign went online. A Facebook page, SVSD School Bond Recount, to raise money to pay for a recount went up Wednesday, and by evening, the group had the $2,650 needed for a recount.

Sean Sundwall, who set up the Facebook page, said he plans to deliver the money and request to King County Elections on Thursday afternoon.

“With the election hanging on literally one vote, it was time to do something,” he said. “If the margin had been 50 votes, 100 votes, it would be a different story.”

Plenty of Valley voters agreed. Most of the contributions that came in were in small amounts — $10 or $20 — but they quickly added up. More than 125 people donated, Sundwall said. “It just blew up in a matter of hours.”

Like other supporters, Sundwall is worried that not passing the bond will have long-term negative consequences for Snoqualmie Valley schools, specifically its middle schools.

The Snoqualmie Valley School Board has already committed to turning Snoqualmie Middle School into a dedicated freshman satellite campus for Mount Si High School. “That leaves us with two middle schools that could not be more displaced from the centers of population” in the Valley, the Snoqualmie Ridge resident said.

“Certainly having my kids on a bus for an hour each way affects how much they like school,” Sundwall said.

His four children are in the third, fifth, seventh and eighth grades.

Given the small number of ballots, a recount could be completed by next week, according to Kim van Ekstrom, a spokeswoman for King County Elections.

Voters in Snoqualmie Valley School District sent in 9,980 ballots, with 5,972 — or 59.99 percent — supporting the bond. Opposing the bond were 3,983 — or 40.01 percent. Twenty-five ballots were rejected.

If the Canvas Board approves a recount, all ballots will be split up and scrutinized by two-person teams made up of election department staff. The process is open to the public.

A vote could change if it is determined that the ballot was filled in improperly or damaged but the voter’s intention is clear, according to van Ekstrom.

Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com.

The bond measure had 59.94 percent of the vote, just shy of the 60 percent needed to pass.

The other item on the Feb. 8 ballot — a bond measure for a new fire station in North Bend — was passing.

Katie Gilliam, with the King County Elections office, said she expected a 38 percent countywide voter turnout, but offered no “hard-and-fast” figures for voter turnout in the Valley.

So far, elections officials have counted votes from nearly 50 percent of all registered voters in the Snoqualmie Valley School District.

School bond

Joel Aune, superintendent of Snoqualmie Valley schools, said Feb. 14 he was moderately optimistic the bond would break the 60-percent mark.

“Later ballots tend to trend upward,” he said.

Aune said he was grateful for the work of pro-bond volunteers, and for the strong voter turnout, nearing 10,000 votes as of Valentine’s Day.

With the economy struggling, a vote this close is no surprise, he said.

“We had a feeling it was going to be close and sure enough,” he said, “it’s going to go right down to the wire.”

On Election Night, Jim Reitz, of the pro-bond group Valley Voters for Education, said bond votes are usually close in the Valley.

“In 2003, our last successful election that built a school, we were at almost the exact same point on election night,” he said. “We came back to win by 34 votes. If it wasn’t for those votes we might not have Twin Falls Middle School today.”

Since then, three school bond measures for new school construction have failed.

Reitz said he was optimistic the ballots still in the mail would push the election past the 60-percent threshold.

David Spring, a two-time Legislature candidate who opposes the bond, said the results are still too close to call.

Nevertheless, he said the support for the bond is substantially less than that for the 2009 bond proposal.

“It appears that close to 1,000 voters may have switched from a yes vote in 2009 to a no vote in 2011,” he said.

According to the King County website, the March 10, 2009, vote on a $27 million bond proposal triumphed 67 percent to 32.9 percent, with more than 6,000 people voting yes and 3,046 people voting no.

Spring said an announcement at the school board meeting of Feb. 3 stating the high school enrollment at the district had dropped by 50 students in the last year had sent shockwaves through the district voters.

“If the bond goes down to defeat, that announcement will have played a crucial role,” Spring said.

Four school bonds were on ballots in King County. All stood close to 60 percent of the vote, but only the Highline School District bond had crossed the threshold.

“On Election Day, four of 18 bonds were passing,” Aune said. “Not a good day for schools statewide.”

With the number of votes dwindling, Aune said the district had not given up.

“We’re in a tight spot,” he said. “But we will have to see.”

Fire Station bond

For the $5 million fire station bond to pass, North Bend voters and Fire District 38 votes must each approve a separate bond measure. If the bond measures pass, the two entities will jointly build, own and operate the new station. They jointly operate the existing fire station.

As of Feb. 15, more than 73 percent of North Bend voters and about 61.9 percent of District 38 voters had backed the fire station bond.

The bond is the product of nearly seven years of negotiations between the city and fire district. The two sides reached an agreement in July.

Major issues that were stumbling blocks were splitting the cost of construction and the location.

The new station will be on Maloney Grove Avenue Southeast south of East North Bend Way. It is a central location for serving the two jurisdictions, according to North Bend and Fire District 38 officials.

Ownership of the station will be split evenly, while the fire district will pay for 57 percent of construction-related costs. The city owns the land to be used as the new station’s site and will be reimbursed by the district.

The current station is more than 60 years old and lacks a fire sprinkler system.

The King County Elections office received more votes than expected. Six districts in the county had issues on the Feb. 8 ballot, and the county received more than 55,000 votes.

Election results are scheduled to be certified Feb. 23.

Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com. Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com.

The bond proposal to build a middle school on Snoqualmie Ridge stood on the verge of a comeback win when new results were released Tuesday afternoon by King County Elections. The bond measure had 59.78 percent of the vote, just shy of the 60 percent needed to pass.

The other item on the Feb. 8 ballot — a bond measure for a new fire station in North Bend — was passing.

Katie Gilliam, with the King County Elections office said that the amount of ballots coming in would plummet after Feb. 9.

Gilliam said she expected a 38 percent countywide voter turnout but offered no “hard-and-fast” figures for voter turnout in the Valley.

So far, elections officials have counted votes from nearly 40 percent of all registered voters in Snoqualmie Valley School District.

School bond

Jim Reitz, of the pro-bond group Valley Voters for Education, said bond votes are usually close in the Valley.

“In 2003, our last successful election that built a school, we were at almost the exact same point on election night,” he said. “We came back to win by 34 votes. If it wasn’t for those votes we might not have Twin Falls Middle School today.”

Since then, three school bond measures for new school construction have failed.

Reitz said he was optimistic the ballots still in the mail would push the election past the 60-percent threshold.

David Spring, a two-time Legislature candidate who opposes the bond, said the results are still too close to call.

Nevertheless, he said the support for the bond is substantially less than that for the 2009 bond proposal.

“It appears that close to 1,000 voters may have switched from a yes vote in 2009 to a no vote in 2011,” he said.

According to the King County website, the March 10, 2009, vote on a $27 million bond proposal triumphed 67 percent to 32.9 percent, with more than 6,000 people voting yes and 3,046 people voting no.

Spring said an announcement at the school board meeting of Feb. 3 stating the high school enrollment at the district had dropped by 50 students in the last year had sent shockwaves through the district voters.

“If the bond goes down to defeat, that announcement will have played a crucial role,” Spring said.

Four school bonds were on ballots in King County. All have close to 60 percent of the vote, but only the Highline School District bond had crossed the threshold.

Fire Station bond

For the $5 million fire station bond to pass, North Bend voters and Fire District 38 votes must each approve a separate bond measure. If the bond measures pass, the two entities will jointly build, own and operate the new station. They jointly operate the existing fire station.

In early returns, 72 percent of North Bend voters and nearly 62 percent of District 38 voters had backed the fire station bond.

The King County Elections office received more votes than expected. Six districts in the county had issues on the Feb. 8 ballot, and the county received more than 55,000 votes.

Voters can track their ballot on the King County Elections website.

Election results are scheduled to be certified Feb. 23.

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com. Dan Catchpole contributed to this report.

David Spring, pictured with his daughter, says Snoqualmie Valley School District is using “scare tactics” to garner support for the bond measure on ballots for the Feb. 8 election. (Contributed)

Activist David Spring said the Snoqualmie Valley School District wants to scare people into voting for the bond by promising to create a ninth-grade annex at a middle school.

The annex, Spring said, belongs to a larger plan to turn Mount Si High School into a “megaschool.”

District authorities have said Snoqualmie Middle School will become a ninth-grade branch of Mount Si High regardless of the result of the Feb. 8 bond proposal to build a new middle school.

Spring, a former candidate for the state Legislature, said the district won’t create a ninth-graders’ annex.

“I don’t think that will happen,” he said. “If they did that, it could leave 20-plus classrooms empty at Mount Si High School and the public won’t stand for that.”

Snoqualmie Valley Schools Superintendent Joel Aune issued a statement through public information coordinator Carolyn Malcolm refuting Spring’s accusations, defending the district’s data and insisting the district is committed to annexing Snoqualmie Middle School.

Mount Si High, according to the statement, will be overcrowded by 2013 and the bond offers a cost-effective solution that would alleviate overcrowding in secondary schools for many years to come.

“The district stands behind our data and the concepts that have been presented,” the statement read, later adding, “For those who have specific questions about the bond, I’d encourage them to call or stop by the district office.”

Spring said state budget cuts and the firing of teachers will leave empty classrooms, which will allow building a second story on the 300 wing of Mount Si High.

Ryan Stokes the district’s head of finance, refuted Springs’ charges starting with a denial of any megaschool plans.

Spring said he opposes the Feb. 8 bond proposal and what he says are the district’s plans. He favors building a separate high school outside the Snoqualmie River flood plain.

Asked why his website, www.organizingforcommunityschools.org, states the school district has warned there will be 1,900 middle-schoolers by 2013 — when Schools Superintendent Joel Aune said less than a month ago that the projection is about 1,400 — Spring said the district had revised its projections from its 2010 Capital Improvements Plan to fool people.

“I believe this was done deliberately,” he said. “The bond was based on this plan.”

The district, Stokes said, bases its bond proposal on an October 2010 study, not the plan Springs cited.

In a SnoValley Star article dated Feb. 18, 2010, the district staff projected high school enrollment would surpass 2,300 students in 2013.

Last month, in a district-issued chart obtained by the Star, projections topped 1,700 in 2013.

Stokes said the former numbers used projections from 2008 by Calm River Demographics in Gig Harbor, Stokes said. By the time this bond rolled around the projections were far outdated.

The latter numbers are the accurate ones, he said.

District authorities said they scrapped plans to remodel the high school because it was too expensive, almost $100 million.

Spring said they haven’t scrapped it, just hidden it from the public because otherwise the bond won’t pass.

“That’s why I say that this bond will cost not $50 million but $150 million,” Spring said.

Jim Reitz, with the pro-bond group Valley Voters for Education, said that is not true adding that the $100-million remodeling was discussed and dismissed.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinions,” Reitz said. “Just not their own facts.”

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com.

Snoqualmie Valley taxpayers will pay less each year on school bond repayments until 2020.

The Valley’s school board and Jon Gores, the school district’s financial advisor, made the announcement at the Aug. 19 school board meeting.

Gores said the district refinanced $30 million out of a $53.5 million bond issue from 2003 at a 2.43 percent interest rate, down from an original 5 percent.

“We are looking at interest rates at historic lows,” Gores said.

Board members had said in February and again in July that they wanted to refinance the bonds, and take advantage of the feeble economy’s low interest rates.

“A sluggish economy benefits interest rates, because there’s little fear of inflation and there’s ‘flight to quality,’” Gores said. “People want to buy secure investments, like U.S. Treasury securities.”

He called such securities “riskless.”

Gores said in July the district would OK the refinance if it achieved a 4 percent minimum dollar savings of the face amount of the bonds, in this case $30 million.

Four percent of $30 million is about $1.2 million and the district is looking at a savings of $2.3 million.

“Achieved savings are significantly above their target,” Gores said Aug. 30.

A second condition was that the refinancing could not affect in any way the district’s bond rating of Aa2, the third-best rating on a 10-item scale.

“The district had its bond rating reaffirmed, so it didn’t have any impact,” Gores said Aug. 30.

The only beneficiaries are the taxpayers, he said. No money goes to the district’s general fund.

The savings mean the district will levy less each year until 2020 to pay debt service —principal and interest — on the new bonds.

The amount taxpayers will save depends on what they pay in property taxes, Gores said.

The refinancing cost the district $188,602, he said. The district had expected a $240,000 cost.

The lowered rates go into effect Jan. 1, 2011, according to a district press release.

The 2003 bond’s original date is 2013, which is when the old bondholders will be paid, Gores said. The district will pay the new bondholders at the reduced rate.

The 2003 bond issue helped pay for Twin Falls Middle School, said Ryan Stokes, district director of finance services.

The bond also paid for the expansion of the gym at Chief Kanim Middle School and a fiber optic system for the entire district.

Sebastian Moraga: 392-6434, ext. 221, or smoraga@snovalleystar.com.

Now that voters have approved a $27.5 million school bond by 67 percent, the Snoqualmie Valley School District is beginning the behind-the-scenes work of selling its bonds. 

At a March 12 school board meeting, Jon Gores of D.A. Davidson & Co. described the bond-selling process. 

“The next time you see my smiling face, the bonds will have been committed to by investors,” Gores said. 

The bond will tax SVSD residents $0.39 per $1,000 of assessed property value for the next 20 years. Ideally, the bonds will provide the maximum amount of revenue needed by the district for its capital facilities projects. 

If all of the bonds sell, then the district will have the cash flow to pay for its projects on a timely basis. 

“I want to get you as much money as we can for these projects,” Gores said.

Initially, the district had planned to sell some bonds this year and the rest the following year. Because interest rates have fallen, the district will now sell all of them this spring. 

Compared to interest rates in past years, the district should be able to sell its bonds without a hitch. In the late 1980s, interest rates hovered between 7 and 11 percent. Now, rates are about 4.75 percent, vastly lower than the 5.5 percent rates the pre-election campaign had predicted would be in place.

“That’s what is allowing us to sell all of the bonds now, as opposed to having to wait to sell them in a year,” Gores said.

Both the school district’s and state’s credit rating will improve the bonds’ chances of selling. In 1999, the state legislature approved the School Bond Guarantee Program. Because the program required a constitutional amendment, the proposed law was put before voters, who approved it by 60 percent.

The program allows districts to use the state’s credit rating when issuing bonds. If, for some reason the district cannot repay the bond, the state will step in and pay it for the district.

“That piece of mind is very important to the bond brokers,” Gores said.

The state’s current rating is AA1, only one slot below the highest rating of AAA. The district’s rating is A1.

“Your A1 rating puts you in pretty rarified air. Out of the 120 school districts in the state that are rated, only 18 percent of those are A1,” Gores said.

Before the district sells its bonds, it must first publish a preliminary official statement, a document containing information about the district’s finances, enrollment, tax collections, major taxpayers and the like.

Superintendent Joel Aune, Business Director Ron Ellis and Gores will present the statement and more in-depth information to the rating agency Moody’s Investors Service in late April. 

Moody’s will then have an analyst review the presentation and rate the bond. A committee at Moody’s will either approve or modify the analyst’s rating in early May.

On the pivotal day, either May 13 or 14, the bonds will receive their interest rates and be sold to investors in denominations of $5,000.

“The reason there are two days there is we want that flexibility to have to change dates if we want to,” Gore said, explaining that if May 13 is a bad day for the economy, the district can push the sale to the next day.

Gores explained what would happen next.

“Early in the morning at about 6:30 a.m. Seattle time, the interest rates are set and that information is electronically disseminated across the country to prospective bond buyers,” Gores said. “We give them two hours to decide whether or not they want to buy your bond.”

The entire process will be over at the start of June. 

“What we want to have is just as many bonds as buyers,” Gores said.

Once the money from the bonds rolls in, the district will be able to finance $27.5 million in capital facilities projects. Of that sum, $22.1 will service maintenance repairs across the district, $3.6 will fund 12 new portables for Mount Si High School and $1.8 million will finance the rebuilding of six Mount Si tennis courts across Meadowbrook Way.

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

With a majority of 67 percent, Snoqualmie Valley voters appear to have approved a $27.5 million school bond. 

A total of 6,170 voters approved the bond, while 3,036 had voted against it. The ballot was all-mail, with March 10 set as the final day for ballots to be postmarked. Results for the all mail-in ballot will not be final until March 25. 

A crowd of district employees, Valley Voters for Education volunteers, school board members and community voters convened at the Woodman Lodge Restaurant in Snoqualmie on the eve of the voting deadline, anxious to see the results. The vote count had already passed the threshold of 7,254, the number of ballots needed to validate the election. 

This sign outside the North Bend Theater reminded people in the Valley to vote on a March 10 school bond proposition, which appears to have passed.

After three failed bonds since 2007, all of which lost by less than three percent, the group was anxious to see the results. They loaded the King County elections Web site and waited for the posting.

“It was pretty exciting,” VVFE volunteer Jim Reitz said. “We were hitting refresh once a second until they posted the numbers.”

VVFE President Geoffrey Doy and his wife also went to the lodge.

“We had a baby sitter that night who is at the high school,” Doy said. “Before we left, she said, ‘It’s got to pass, it’s going to make such a big difference to us at the high school.’”

The bond not only passed, it turned out 1,518 more voters than the March 2008 election.

The bond will fund $22.1 million in repairs to school property across the district.

In addition to receiving maintenance repairs, Mount Si will receive $3.6 million for 12 new portables, which may be turned into a ninth-grade academy. The academy will have men’s and women’s restrooms, a covered walkway from the main building and will be elevated to avoid flooding.

Because the portables will be placed where the tennis courts are stationed, the bond will provide $1.8 million to move the six courts across Meadowbrook Way.

With money for a new heating and ventilation system, Mount Si will also be able to complete its idea for a second commons, allowing students more places to eat and another hallway to travel through to class. If the bond did not pass, the school would not have been able to create the second commons because the current heating system would not support it.

The portables should be ready at the beginning of the 2009-10 school year, while the second commons is slated for completion in January 2010, said Clint Marsh, construction program manager for the school district. The repairs to the other schools will happen over the summer and coming school year.

“Parents who have kids in the high school or who will be going into the high school next year should be very optimistic,” said superintendent Joel Aune, who credited several factors for the bond’s success.

After the third bond failed in March 2008, the school board decided to scale down the bond to the bare essentials. While the previous bonds had numbered $209.2 million and later $189.6 million, this bond cost much less at $27.5 million.

“Scaling it down to a much smaller number appears to be well-received by the community,” Aune said. 

In addition, an older school bond that expired in 2008 allowed for a $0.58 decrease in 2009 school tax rates. Even with the new bond, the tax rate will be $0.19 less than the previous year. With a faltering economy, the smaller bond and tax rate may have appealed to taxpayers. 

VVFE also made 4,400 calls to voters, sent students home with stickers to remind their parents to vote and mailed 16,000 information sheets to Valley residents.

“The VVFE team did a good job, but we couldn’t have done it without massive support,” Doy said.

While many district staff and community members are ecstatic about the passing of the bond, it is only the first step of many to address overcrowding at the elementary and high school level.

“I think many people recognize that this is a transitional plan for looking at how to address the enrollment at MSHS in the short-term,” Mount Si Principal Randy Taylor said. “The long-term still remains to be decided.”

Taylor and Mount Si administrators will visit other high schools with ninth-grade programs, before deciding how to implement the academy at Mount Si. 

Still, Aune congratulated the district on passing the bond at all.

“When you look at bond propositions, typically those are tough. It’s a challenge to get a bond to 60 percent passing,” Superintendent Joel Aune said.

Snoqualmie Valley was the only district in Western Washington that passed a bond. Seven districts ran bonds in February, but only one passed. In March, half of the 14 bonds passed, with Snoqualmie Valley being the only district west of the Cascade Mountains with more than 60 percent approval ratings. 

“I’m really excited about the bond passing especially in a climate where so many other school bonds went down,” Taylor said. “It a good comment on the campaign and also the commitment of the community to keep our schools in good functioning order.”

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434, ext. 221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

The Snoqualmie Valley School District’s $27.5 million bond is on its way to a passing grade.

As of March 11, the bond not only had enough votes for validation, it had received approval by a 65.82 percent mark. Only 60 percent approval is needed for it to pass.

A total of 5,328 voters had approved the bond, while 2,767 had voted against it. The ballot was all-mail, with March 10 set as the final day for ballots to be postmarked.

If passed, the money would allow the district to acquire portables at Mount Si High School to temporarily relieve crowding. The money would also pay for other repairs and capital improvements.

Results will not be final until March 25. 

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.

This is the second in a three-part series describing the items on Resolution 727, a Snoqualmie Valley school bond set to be voted on March 10.

By Laura Geggel

Mount Si High School could have a ninth-grade academy and a new commons area if Snoqualmie Valley School District residents approve an upcoming $27.5 million bond. 

For $5.4 million, the high school is slated to place 12 portables on top of the current tennis courts and move the six tennis courts across Meadowbrook Way. The portables would have men’s and women’s restrooms, a covered walkway from the main building and would be elevated to circumvent flooding.

By housing 360 more students, the portables would alleviate crowding in the short term.

Mount Si High School students navigate through the main hallway after lunch. The crowded scene is a common one at the high school.

Although a far cry from the proposed second high school on the last three bonds, all of which failed by about 2 percent, this bond proposition buys time until the school board can decide how to address long-term crowding issues at Mount Si.

“This bond is really a stepping-stone to that process,” Mount Si Principal Randy Taylor said. “Are we going to continue focusing on a second high school, or are we going to continue to let Mount Si grow?”

Mount Si administrators are making the most with what the bond would bring. To reduce travel time between the new portables and ease the school’s crowded hallways, school staff are seriously considering transforming the portables into a ninth-grade academy. Ninth-graders would take the bulk of their classes in the portables and take their electives and higher-level classes in the main building.

Taylor said the academy would not be a “purely segregated model,” but a way to relieve the crowd on the main campus.

Mount Si High School Principal Randy Taylor shows a courtyard that could potentially be transformed into a second commons.

“Taking 200 ninth-graders out of the mainstream of the high school is going to reduce the pressure in the hallways,” Taylor said. “It will give me an opportunity to take that ninth-grade program and to work strictly with high school transition issues with ninth-graders, (including) academic issues and social networking issues.”

Taylor said teachers would change classrooms between the portables and main building as necessary. In addition to the bathrooms, Taylor said the academy may also have lockers.

“There are lots of options I think we’re going to consider in the development of our academy,” Taylor said.

The ninth-grade academy may resolve the crowded-hallway conundrum, but it doesn’t help students who need more common areas. The commons is at capacity at for all of its three lunches. Although students always eat in the hallways, Mount Si’s administrators recently wrote a rule allowing them to legally do so. Taylor said he worried about going to four lunches, which would cause each lunch to have a 10-minute overlap. Coinciding lunches would not only cause the commons to be overwhelmed during those 10 minutes, Taylor said, but also would make it easier for students to stay longer than one lunch and skip class.

Taylor also warned against opening the campus during lunch, saying that students driving off campus could result in higher rates of tardiness, skipping and substance use.

But if the bond passes, the common-space problem could be improved. During the January flooding, school officials noticed how students changed their traffic patterns to avoid taped-off areas with flood damage. 

Then it hit them. What if they put a roof over the Mount Si High School courtyard, an outdoors area sandwiched within the science wing? If the courtyard were floored, heated, furnished with tables, and connected to the rest of the school with two hallways, it could serve as a second commons.

“Now, that would be an answer to the overcrowding of the commons,” Taylor said. “It would be another access for kids to negotiate through the school. It would be open to classes. It would be open at lunchtime. We’re looking at relocating the DECA store into that area.”

Because of the school’s ailing heating system, Mount Si is set to receive a new heating and ventilation system if the bond passes. 

“We’ve got about three heat pumps that are not working and those rooms are chilled every day,” Taylor said. “We have to leave doors open so residual heat can come into these classrooms.”

The new heating and ventilation system could be hooked up to the new commons. If the bond does not pass, the school will not be able to create the second commons because the current heating system would not support it.

After meeting with teachers and staff, Taylor said much of the reaction to the second-commons plan was positive. Most concerns related to funding, he said.

Snoqualmie Valley Business Director Ron Ellis confirmed the district had enough money in the capital facilities budget to fund the construction of the second commons. Much of the money in the capital facilities budget is left over from state-matching funds from previous bonds. Ellis said the district would also apply for grants and state-matching funds for construction.

If the second commons were built, it would be completed in 12 to 18 months, about in time for the 2010-11 school year. 

Snoqualmie Valley Superintendent Joel Aune said the bond and idea for a second commons showed much promise. Taylor, who is serving on the district’s long-term facilities task force, agreed it was a good intermediate step.

“Even if a new high school bond passed today, we’re still four years away from a new high school,” Taylor said.

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

This is the first in a three-part series describing the items on Resolution 727, a Snoqualmie Valley school bond set to be voted on March 10.

Last year, Lori George volunteered in Sharon Miller’s classroom, helping the fourth-grade Opstad Elementary teacher check homework and exams. 

“I just happened to be there in the hallway on a very rainy day, correcting tests,” George said. “I was just watching the rain drip down through the ceiling tiles down onto the floor in the hallway.”

Snoqualmie Valley School Operations Supervisor Carl Larson shows where the insulation is falling apart at the district’s warehouse freezer.

Somebody got a bucket to collect the water.

“I witnessed first-hand the pressing needs facing Opstad,” George said.

Opstad’s roof is one of 47 repairs that would be funded by a new $27.5 million Snoqualmie Valley School bond. Repairs include everything from electrical work to painting and playground safety to fire protection. 

The bond would also fund 12 modular classrooms at Mount Si High School to alleviate crowding and pay for the relocation of six tennis courts, also at Mount Si.

Ballots will be mailed to all registered voters Feb. 20. All ballots must be postmarked by March 10.

What the bond would fix

When something school-related is broken, Snoqualmie Valley School Operations Supervisor Carl Larson hears about it. 

For instance, when he learned Chief Kanim Middle School’s roof was leaking over the boiler room, he came to assess the damage.

“This can’t wait until the bond passes,” Larson said. “This has to be done now.”

Every time Larson and his staff fix a leaky roof or order a new part for a broken electrical system, he sends the bill to the district’s general fund. 

This school year, the general fund — which supplies money for areas like employee salaries, utilities, school supplies and gas for buses —planned to spend $1 million more than it brought in, said Ron Ellis, the district’s business director. 

Already stretched, the general fund cannot fund all of the repairs listed on the bond.

The bond would fund $22.1 million of needed repairs and excuse the general fund from having to continually finance “band-aid” repairs for larger problems.

For instance, Larson’s operations staff will replace the leaky area of the Chief Kanim roof for a short-term solution. But the bond cannot reimburse any repairs that have already been completed. It can only fund areas that have yet to be fixed or replaced.

“The whole roof has to be replaced,” Snoqualmie Valley Public Information Coordinator Carolyn Malcolm said. “This is just part of it.”

The bond would fund the replacement of three roofs. Some, like the one at Snoqualmie Middle School, are nearly 40 years old. Although the middle school received a remodel in 2000, it still has its original 1972 roof. 

To make matters worse, the Snoqualmie Middle School roof slopes the wrong way above the school’s courtyard. 

“It’s supposed to drain down, but it doesn’t,” Larson said. “It actually tilts back in places.”

These discrepancies allow snow to leak into the school’s vents and melt above the ceiling tiles, which is why Snoqualmie Middle School is one of nine buildings slated to receive a new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system. 

Larson said some heating and ventilation systems are so old, the district can no longer find replacement parts. Recently, staff has searched craigslist and eBay to find pieces factories no longer manufacture. 

“It will be a great savings to our operating budget if we get these changes,” Larson said.

The bond would also fund electrical repairs at six schools, replacing inefficient lighting, which would save money and energy in the long run. For instance, Opstad Elementary, built in 1988, does not have enough capacity to run all of its computers and printers. The bond would help modernize it.

The emergency power generator, located at Mount Si High School, would also be replaced. The current emergency power system is insufficiently equipped to handle all of the district’s fire panels, phones, computers, emergency lighting, Web sites and e-mail. 

“We don’t have enough power to run all of these systems,” Larson said.

The bond would fund several upgrades as well, including painting and flooring. Larson gave the example of the tiles near many classroom sinks. The tiles continually pop out, causing Larson’s staff to continually re-glue them to the floor. The bond would provide money for sturdier rubber tiles, which only have to be glued one time.

Chief Kanim would see a new rug. It’s current rug, which hasn’t been replaced since 1990, is currently patched together in places with duct tape. 

All five elementary schools will say goodbye to their woodchips if the bond passes. The district has to replace the playground woodchips several times a year, which amounts to about $40,000 per year. Larson hopes to replace the chips with all-weather padding, instead. 

Video surveillance would also increase.

Portables and

tennis courts

With $3.6 million from the bond, Mount Si High School would receive 12 new portable classrooms, complete with a covered walkway from the school and men’s and women’s restrooms. The new classrooms would provide space for 360 more students. They would be placed where the tennis courts are and elevated to avoid flooding issues.

“There’s no room to put a portable anywhere else on the property,” Larson said.

The bond would provide $1.8 million to move the six tennis courts across Meadowbrook Way to the practice fields. 

The new bond

The last three bonds, all of which failed by about 2 percent, included the top 10 repairs. Now, some of the repairs that did not make it on these last bonds have risen in urgency, like Chief Kanim’s roof.

If voters approve the $27.5 million bond, Snoqualmie Valley residents will pay $0.35 per $1,000 of assessed property through 2029. Due to an old school bond expiring in 2008, there will be a $0.58 decrease in 2009 school taxes. If the new bond is passed, taxpayers will pay $0.19 less than they did the previous year. 

Overall, the bond will help pay for repairs and help with crowding at Mount Si.

“The main reason for all of this is to save the operating budget,” Larson said.

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

Immediately after the SnoValley Star began publishing in March, the Snoqualmie Valley provided many interesting stories to report on.

Just in the first month, there was another run made at a second high school, a debate over a soccer field, an agreement signed that ended a long-awaited moratorium and a heated public discussion over a hospital.

From a state playoff run by the Mount Si football team to a bizarre robbery at a local fast-food chain, the year continued to provide intriguing story lines. Five, however, stood out among the rest. Here is a run-down of the top five stories of 2008.

While the Rev. Ken Hutcherson and others came to Mount Si High School to protest the Day of Silence April 25, others were on hand to support it.

March – School bond

fails again

For the third straight time, a bond put forth to voters that would have provided a second high school in the Valley failed. And, once again, it was close — less than 2 percent shy of the 60 percent super majority needed to pass.

The district was asking for $189.6 million to fund land and construction costs for a new high school. The total also would have funded a sixth elementary school, roofs and heating systems for several existing schools and a new school bus parking facility.

In the end, 58.6 percent (4,510 voters) voted for the bond, while 41.3 percent (3,178 voters) rejected it.

In 2009, the district will attempt a much smaller bond. The $27.5 million they’ll ask for this time around will not include plans for a new high school.

March 13 – North Bend ends building moratorium

After almost a decade-long ban on building, the city of North Bend worked out its water problems and ended a self-imposed moratorium.

The problem began in 1999 when North Bend learned municipal pumps were drawing down the nearby Snoqualmie River. As a result, the city imposed upon itself a moratorium on new construction.

Eight years later, North Bend reached a deal with Seattle that would allow the city to access 1.1 million gallons of water a day, paving the way for the ban to be lifted. But an appeal to the agreement was filed by local rancher and tree grower Ewing Stringfellow, who was concerned the new operation would lower the water levels on his property. To avoid a months-long court case with Stringfellow, the city decided to pay him $40,000 to end his appeal.

In November, North Bend officially lifted a portion of the moratorium and began accepting plans for development.

April 25 – Day of Silence

gets noisy

The Rev. Ken Hutcherson and about 100 members of the Antioch Bible Church converged at Mount Si High School to protest the school’s annual Day of Silence.

The Day of Silence, held at 255 middle schools and high schools across Washington on an annual basis, is an event meant to draw attention to the harassment gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people face. Participants remain mute throughout the day.

About 40 parents and 30 counter-protestors arrived opposite Hutcherson’s group to show their support for the event. Many of them held signs either in support of the event or in opposition to Hutcherson’s group.

Five Snoqualmie police officers were on hand to watch over the groups, but no incidents were reported. More than 600 students, however, were absent from class.

Earlier in the school year, Hutcherson arrived at Mount Si to speak during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day assembly. He was booed by one teacher and questioned publicly by another for his opposition to gay rights. Hutcherson later requested both teachers be fired.

May 15 – John McCain

visits the Valley

Republican nominee John McCain made a campaign stop in North Bend to talk about environmental issues at the Cedar River Watershed Education Center.

McCain was joined by a panel of environmentalists and business leaders. He pushed the need for clean energy, specifically nuclear energy, and criticized his Democratic rivals for their “never having written” pro-environmental legislation.

Republican nominee John McCain traveled to the Cedar River Watershed in North Bend on May 15 to discuss global warming.

McCain talked about environmental issues for more than an hour.

“I’m not new to this issue,” he said, “but I’m always learning.”

In November, McCain lost his bid for president to Barack Obama.

Nov. 6 – Snoqualmie Casino’s grand opening

After much planning, construction and the spending of $375 million, Snoqulamie Casino finally opened its doors.

Included in the casino are 170,000 square feet of space, 1,700 slot machines, a cigar lounge, a ball room, a night club, a fine dining restaurant and much more. The casino, owned by the Snoqualmie Tribe, also employs 1,300.

Jessica Simpson performed for a small crowd on opening night and then again for a larger crowd the following night. Lots of other entertainment, including boxing matches, have been planned at the casino, located right off I-90 at exit 27.