After months of discussions, community forums, a survey and school tours, Sequim School District’s leaders are putting forward two resolutions — a construction bond and an educational programs and operations (EP&O) levy renewal — to Sequim area voters this February in a special election with hopes to improve facilities and continue program funding.
School board directors voted 4-0 on Dec. 2, with Patrice Johnston excused, for the measures to go before Sequim School District voters on Feb. 11.
“Everybody from parents to staff to teachers and even folks without kids will appreciate (the proposals),” said board president Eric Pickens. “I think it’s time.”
Bond proposal
The approximate $145,950,000 bond is multi-faceted and proposes improvements at each district school.
According to the district’s resolution, the bond would:
• Construct a new elementary school to replace Helen Haller Elementary School
• Renovate Sequim High School with new instructional wings and connect to remaining buildings
• Improve safety and security at all schools, including Sequim Middle School and Olympic Peninsula Academy, for example by updating entrances and improving bus loops and pickup and drop-off areas
• Upgrade Greywolf Elementary School to add a cafeteria, improve the bus loop and parking lot, and upgrade heating, ventilation and air condition (HVAC), plumbing and other systems
• Upgrade athletic facilities for students and the community, such as renovating or replacing existing fields, modifying track for eligibility to host regional competitions, and improving seating and access at athletic fields and facilities
• Create a new bus loop through the school district’s main campus
• Fix the transportation facility by improving and/or replacing the existing transportation center
The bond needs a “super-majority” of 60%-plus-one vote to pass.
Levy renewal
The four-year, approximate $36.2 million EP&O levy renewal would help fund teacher and staffing levels, extracurricular activities and athletics, library, music, social emotional learning, counseling, nursing, transportation and more.
School Superintendent Regan Nickels said on Dec. 2 that the district receives about 74% of its funding from the state, 9% from federal sources, and 17% from local funding, such as the EP&O levy.
With about 2,638 students (including 29 preschool and 50 full-time Running Start students), and 347 staffers, she said, they’re “trying to bridge a gap” to generate revenue for the district to fund programs and services that the state does not fund or fully fund as part of “basic education.”
She called the levy a “critical funding stream” and historically the “Sequim community has been consistently supportive, which builds a lot of confidence.”
Levies require a simple majority to pass (50% plus one).
Sequim Gazette file photo by Michel Dashiell A part of the Sequim School District’s bond proposal includes building new science classrooms that currently date back more than 50 years.
Cost estimates
Combined, the 20-year bond ($0.91) and four-year levy rate ($0.94) would be proposed to voters at $1.85 per $1,000 assessed value per year of a property for residents from R Corner to the west, to Gardiner in the east, and Olympic National Park to the south.
The total proposed bond amount comes to $151,150,000, but due to the age of Helen Haller Elementary, the school district will receive $5.2 million from the State Construction Assistance Program (SCAP) to reduce the total to $145,950,000.
Nickels said renovation of Helen Haller was considered but it’d cost about 1.6% times more than new construction.
The bond proposal was formed by the district’s 13-member Long Range Facilities Planning Group (LRFPG) consisting of community members, staff and board members who assessed the condition of Sequim schools by collaborating with experts to evaluate structural integrity, safety and functionality, and prioritized necessary repairs or upgrades.
Pickens, who sat in with the committee, said they kept in mind the needs of the community while being mindful of the tax rate.
When Sequim’s existing $29.7 million four-year EP&O levy and an $18 million capital projects levy (that both expire in 2025) were approved by voters in 2021, the assessed property tax value then was $1.87 per $1,000, district officials said.
The capital projects levy has paid for numerous items, such as roof replacement, HVAC system replacements, fire alarm and sprinkler system replacements, refurbishing the district stadium’s track and high school’s gym floor, and upgrades to the district’s technology infrastructure.
Board director Larry Jeffryes said at the Nov. 18 board meeting that the bond is needed because some of the district’s facilities are so antiquated they cannot be fixed with a capital levy.
Pickens said that the proposed levy and bond rates do not account for new construction, with hundreds of homes planned in the Sequim area in the near future that will reduce the financial impact from the bond on residents.
He added that the proposed levy and bond would also be less than Port Angeles School District who passed a construction bond and levy renewal measures in November with a rate of about $2.70 per $1,000 assessed property value.
District staff report that Sequim pays less in taxes for schools than about 80% of other districts in the state, ranked 236 out of 295.
Board director Maren Halvorsen said on Dec. 2 that there was a lot of consideration from the committee to take care of taxpayers in their proposal.
“We’re one-fourth into the 21st century and it would be wonderful to have facilities that reflect where we are,” she said.
Jeffryes said, “the prime driver is safety and security” for the proposals.
“A lot of our facilities are becoming less secure as time goes on,” he said. “The district has done a good job of keeping things up and running (and) I think the community is ready to invest in the schools.”
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ One of the many proposed elements of the Sequim School District’s bond includes a new bus loop that goes through the main campus by a new Helen Haller Elementary school and wings at Sequim High School.
History
Sequim’s EP&O levies have passed in the last five attempts.
Voters last approved a construction bond in Feb. 1996 for $25 million to build Sequim Middle School (opened in 1998) and with new classrooms (H-building) and a playfield at Sequim High School.
The school district unsuccessfully tried to pass four bonds to build a combination of the currently proposed projects in April 2014 with a $154.3 million proposal, in Feb. 2015 for a $49.3 million proposal, Nov. 2015 for $49.3 million, and Feb. 2016 for $54 million.
District officials report a majority of Helen Haller Elementary dates back to the 1970s to host about 350 children in kindergarten-fifth grade, but today it hosts about 530 students in grades 3-5. Most of the building’s portables date back to 1988, according to district documents.
Sequim High School’s five, four-room pods A-E were built more than 50 years ago, and house various classes, including science, with staff saying the equipment and space have become outdated.
Both Helen Haller and the high school have open California designs that district officials said are unsafe, and the bond would help better enclose and fund safety improvements for all campuses.
Greywolf Elementary opened in 1991 without a cafeteria, and students must eat in their classrooms.
The bond would add a cafeteria and a new bus loop at Greywolf. A new bus loop would be added to the main campus to move buses off nearby streets, staff report. Currently, buses on the main campus congregate in the stadium parking lot for pick-up and drop-off.
If approved, the bond would also rebuild the district’s athletic stadium off West Fir Street and install a turf field. The improvements would allow the district to host playoff games and events for high school sports. District officials said this could be an economic driver for the city.
Lastly, the bond includes a new transportation center for the district’s fleet of buses as well as significant upgrades and additions as its failing building dates back nearly 60 years, district officials report.
Feedback
District staff held two forums in October, sent out a community survey and met with various community groups and agencies about potential bond proposals.
The third bond option, recommended by the Facilities Committee and chosen by the board directors for voters, included all of the construction options, whereas the first and second options included only certain projects.
According to a Nov. 18 presentation from Nickels, the community survey saw 680 respondents with 451 identifying as a parent or grandparent of a current Sequim student.
She said it was one of the most substantially returned surveys they’ve done.
In the survey, about 31% listed “aging facilities and infrastructure” as the No. 1 challenge for the district, and “funding challenges” as the No. 2 challenge at about 22%.
Nickels said about 66% had the current bond proposal as either their first or second option (47.22% for No. 1, and 19.4% for No. 2). It also received the most votes of the options for number one.
Nickels provided the caveat that while 505 people gave their preference, 175 skipped the question.
At the Dec. 2 school board meeting, student liaisons Lincoln Forrest and Ariana Bajo Salas were asked about the bond proposal.
“I think the student body would be very for this,” Forrest said.
“I’m in complete agreement,” Bajo Salas said. “It’s very needed. Everybody will be happy about that.”
Note: Interim editor Matthew Nash has family employed and enrolled in Sequim School District.
Graphic courtesy of Sequim School District/ Following a proposal by its Long Range Facilities Planning Group, Sequim Schools board of directors voted to send a bond proposal to voters that asks for a new elementary school, high school classrooms, bus loop, stadium, bus loop, safety and security additions at all schools, a new transit center, and facility upgrades at Greywolf Elementary.
