Lake Washington School District (LWSD) superintendent Dr. Chip Kimball said Tuesday that the district does not plan to put another large bond measure on the November ballot.
LWSD residents said the bad economy and potential tax hikes contributed to less support for the recent failed bond measure, according to a survey by CFM Research.
“Given the cost of running a bond or levy election, it’s critical that we know what our community thinks,” said LWSD superintendent Dr. Chip Kimball. “What we heard from district residents is that now is not the time to ask for money for school construction, even though in general, residents are very positive about the district. As a result, we will not run the bond measure again this year but will look carefully at the most cost-effective alternatives for dealing with the student population that will be coming in the next few years.”
LWSD is currently working on coming up with short-term plans — including adding portables to school sites and consolidating current classroom space — to accommodate the district’s population growth without asking for more money from taxpayers, according to LWSD communications director Kathryn Reith.
Reith said within the next couple of months the district will share those preliminary plans with the public.
Reith said the district could put another bond measure on the ballot as early as next year, but it still too early to make that determination.
“It could be 2011, 2012, 2013 or even 2014,” Reith said about when the next bond measure could come up for vote. “I think we’ll know more within the next two months as we finish the work on figuring out where we are going to put students in the next two years.”
BAD TIMING FOR FEBRUARY MEASURE
In the February election, the LWSD $234 million bond measure reached a majority of yes votes but did not get the 60 percent supermajority needed to pass.
As a result, the LWSD commissioned CFM Research to conduct a survey of district residents to explore concerns around the bond measure and attitudes about the school district. Four hundred district residents over age 18 participated in the random phone survey. Those surveyed generally are impressed with the district, but residents cited concerns about the economy and taxes as the most likely causes for the bond not passing.
“Even those who support schools said this was a bad time,” said Reith, who admitted that the LWSD “underestimated the kind of impact the economy” would have on voter opinion.
A total of 67 percent of residents give the district an A or B grade on its overall performance, while 13 percent rate it a C, 3 percent a D or F and 18 percent don’t know. That compares to a statewide survey, in which 54 percent of state residents gave their local school districts an A or B. It is the fourth-highest grade the research company, which regularly works with school districts in Washington state, has ever seen.
Residents who have moved to the area during the past 10 years say the quality of local schools influenced their decision about where to live. More than half (55 percent) said that the school district was a major influence on deciding where to live and 15 percent said it was a minor influence, for a total of 70 percent. That compares to a statewide survey in 2009 in which 47 percent say quality schools influenced their home buying decision.
Most residents (84 percent) agree that a good school system is one of the most important ways a community can recruit new businesses, create jobs and maintain a stable economy.
Concerns about the economy (43 percent) and taxes (43 percent) were the primary reasons residents said that some people opposed the bond measure. The next two reasons were that schools are doing fine as is (9 percent) and a lack of trust or belief the management of schools is poor (9 percent). Reinforcing those concerns, more than half (53 percent) agreed with the statement that now is not the time for schools to be asking for funds to build new schools with the current economic conditions.
POSSIBLE FACTORS FOR BOND FAILURE
When asked specifically about the impact six possible factors had on opinions about the bond measure, residents said three negatively affected community opinions while three were neutral.
Those that hurt opinions were:
• No information in the voter pamphlet (75 percent said negative influence)
• Not enough information about the proposal (62 percent)
• Three school funding measures on the ballot (58 percent)
The factors that had a neutral impact were:
• Changing the grade configuration to a four-year high school system (65 percent no difference or positive influence)
• Expanding the Environmental and Adventure School (51 percent no difference or positive)
• Plans to remodel Juanita High School (59 percent no difference or positive)
GRADE RECONFIGURATION
When it comes to dealing with overcrowding, those surveyed had two choices: change the grade configuration, build two new elementary schools and increase the number of classrooms at the high school; or keep the current grade configuration and building four new elementary schools.
The majority (51 percent) preferred the option of changing the grade configuration while 27 percent preferred leaving it as is. Seven percent preferred neither and 15 percent are not sure.
