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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, May 11, 2008 Snohomish schools give bond measure another try The issue failed in March, but a survey found voter support for putting it back on the ballot By Eric Stevick Herald Writer SNOHOMISH -- A $262 million bond measure, which would not increase the overall school tax rate in the Snoho­mish School District, is on the May 20 ballot. Voters in the district already have been sent their ballots in the all-mail election. In March, the same measure received a 57.2 percent "yes" vote, falling shy of the state's 60 percent supermajority requirement. A district telephone survey of 400 voters who cast March ballots found 70 percent favored placing the measure back on the May ballot. It also found voter confusion about what would happen with the tax rate as a result of the bond measure. Cost to the taxpayer of the bond is estimated at 19 cents per $1,000 of assessed value and will likely decrease with new development, school officials said. That means the owner of a $400,000 home would pay $76 a year. However, by the time tax money would be collected, a bus levy that costs 22 cents per $1,000 of assessed value would expire. That means the overall school tax rate when combining school levies and bonds would remain the same at $4.45 per $1,000 in 2009, according to school district estimates. The idea that the overall school tax rate wouldn't go up with more than a quarter-­billion dollars worth of construction is one some people find hard to grasp. "They ask, 'How can you get so much and not have a tax rate increase?' " acting Superintendent Betty Robertson said. The 20-year bond proposal would provide funding for work to renovate Snohomish High School, renovate and expand Valley View Middle School, expand Centennial Middle School, replace Machias and Riverview elementary schools, build a new aquatics center for school and community use and improve technology. It also would provide money for smaller building projects. The aquatics center would replace Hal Moe Pool, which was closed last year because of extensive safety and structural problems with the old building. School district leaders are eager to see Snohomish High completed. A $141 million bond measure approved in 2004 provided money for several projects, including Glacier Peak High School, which is scheduled to open next fall, and Little Cedars Elementary School, which opened in September. However, there wasn't enough money to finish Snohomish High School work. The 2004 bond included $63.8 million to modernize Snoho­mish High. The current estimated total project cost is $110.8 million. Construction crews continue to work on the Snohomish High School campus with money from the first bond. Among other projects, they are constructing a new three-story, 28-classroom building scheduled to open this fall. The next phase would include building a new library media center and performing arts center, demolishing an old building, renovating another building and completing a new bus loop and visitor parking. Soaring material and construction costs, both locally and nationally, hit Snohomish and other school districts across the state hard. Bond interest and state matching money that could have been used at Snohomish High School was used to finish the other two schools, which also faced steep inflation during construction. "It's going to take $47 million to finish it and we don't have $47 million," said school board member Jay Hagen. "There is a misconception out there we can just write the big check." There has been no organized opposition to the bond proposal. Joan Robinett-Wilson, an architect who graduated from and now has children of her own in Snohomish schools, served on a facilities advisory committee for the district that recommended the ballot proposal. She sees the need for the bond from an equity and structural perspective. In the case of Riverview and Machias elementary schools, it would simply be cheaper to build anew, she said. "Visitors may look at the schools and think they look great, but it is what lies beneath the surface that makes them obsolete and unsafe," she said. "Having worked on school modernizations and rebuilds, I realize that it is more cost-effective to rebuild schools than modernize." Robinett-Wilson, whose mother graduated from Snohomish High in 1946, wants to see the historic campus brought up to par with the new Glacier Peak. "Unfortunately, a rich history of pride and tradition cannot make up for a lack of facilities," Robinett-Wilson said. "There has to be equity in the high school facilities and continuing with renovations at Snohomish High School is necessary to make that happen." While voters statewide in November decided to scrap the supermajority requirement on school levies in favor of a simple majority, school bonds including this one still must receive 60 percent of the vote. In general, levies are for school programs and bonds are for buildings and land purchases. Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.

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