Lake Washington School District (LWSD) Superintendent is proposing to put two levies and bond measure on the Feb. 9 ballot in order to improve and expand district facilities and upgrade technology.

Dr. Kimball presented his recommendations for funding measures at the Nov. 9 meeting of the Lake Washington School District Board of Directors.

His proposal includes a four-year Educational Programs and Operations Levy and a four-year Capital Projects Levy including both facilities and technology items.

In addition, his proposal features a new bond measure that would include adding more classrooms to Redmond High School (RHS) and Eastlake High School (EHS), modernizing Juanita High School (JHS) and building two new elementary schools in the Redmond area to prevent the associated overcrowding.

Dr. Kimball noted that his proposal reflects a public input process that gathered information on what to place on the ballot. Six public meetings were held and online Web input was sought, as well. The information from the total input process, combining Web and in-person input, was provided to a community advisory committee, which made a recommendation to Kimball.

The LWSD Board of Directors will vote on Kimball’s recommendations at their Nov. 23 meeting.

THE PROPOSED LEVIES

The Educational Programs and Operations (EP&O) Levy would renew the current levy, which provides more than 19 percent of the district’s general fund revenues and will expire at the end of 2010.

This measure approves a specific amount that the district can collect, which is capped by state law. The total amount under the proposal ranges from $46.5 million in 2011 to $56.5 million in 2014. That would translate to a tax rate of $1.30 per 1,000 of assessed value in 2011 to $1.41 per 1,000 of assessed value in 2014.

“The EP&O Levy is an integral part of our school district’s operations,” said Kimball. “It helps pay for everything from textbooks to teacher training to transportation, safety and security. It pays for many of the basics our schools need every day.”

The Capital Projects Levy has two components, including facilities items and technology items, and would replace the current capital projects levy that will expire at the end of 2010.

The facilities portion of the proposed renewal levy protects the taxpayer investment in the district’s schools by replacing major systems, like roofs, flooring or heating systems, at appropriate times through the life of each school building. It also pays for safety and accessibility improvements. Other items that can help the district continue to reduce utility costs through energy and water conservation are included.

The second component to the capital projects levy pays for upgrading interactive, educational technology for students, teachers and parents. In addition, it also pays for teacher and staff training so that the purchased technologies are put to their best uses.

The total cost of the capital projects levy renewal would range from $19.6 million in 2011 to $22 million in 2014. That amount is expected to generate a tax rate of $.55 per 1,000 of assessed value each year.

These levies would “really protect the investment in our schools,” said LWSD communications director Kathryn Reith.

PROPOSED BOND MEASURE

A new bond measure would:

• Provide equity in its high school facilities by moving up the modernization of JHS by four years;

• Prevent overcrowding and overuse of portables by providing space where growth is occurring on the eastern side of the district;

• Enable the district’s change to a four-year high school configuration.

Growth projections based on demographic information, development information and space needs for expanding programs like all-day kindergarten show that the district will need more space by 2014. The planned change to a four-year high school configuration means that two new elementary schools, additions at Redmond High School (RHS) and Eastlake High School (EHS) and expansion of the Environmental and Adventure School will provide the needed space for growth and for changing grade configuration at the same time.

The two new elementary schools would likely be built in the Redmond Ridge East neighborhood and north of Northeast 116th Street in Redmond because of population growth in those areas, according to Reith. The expansion of RHS would entail more classrooms to accommodate another grade level if the four-year high school configuration becomes a reality, she said.

In addition, the expansion of the Environmental and Adventure School would potentially involve moving the campus from Kirkland’s Finn Hill Junior High to to a property in Redmond, already owned by the district, Reith said.

When the last modernization bond was passed in 2006, it was a very close call on whether to modernize Lake Washington High School (LWHS) or JHS during this eight-year modernization phase. Both buildings were in comparably poor condition, though the determination was made that LWHS had greater need. Now that the new LWHS is being built, the district will soon have three modern high school buildings and one that is 38 years old. If the 2010 bond measure passes, JHS would be not be included in the planned 2014 modernization measure, the third phase of the district’s comprehensive modernization plan.

The cost of the new bond measure, which would raise $234 million, would cost $.33 per 1,000 in assessed value. The total of all three measures would increase the total tax paid on a home with the average assessed value in the district from $1,444 in 2010 to $1,606 in 2011.

KIMBALL’S CONCLUSION

“These proposals reflect the real needs of our school district at this time,” Dr. Kimball said. “We recognize the economic realities and in fact have made sure the capital projects levy, if passed, would pay for items that will reduce costs to our general fund over the long term. While the bond measure would be an additional cost, I feel obligated to lay before the voters the choice of paying that cost or having overcrowded elementary schools and inequity among our high school facilities.”