Lake Stevens School District buys itself some room to grow
Published 9:00 pm Sunday, August 26, 2001
By Eric Stevick
Herald Writer
LAKE STEVENS — Five months after reaching a tentative agreement, the Lake Stevens School District has closed a deal to buy land for a secondary campus, possibly another high school.
There is no timeline to build on the 38-acre parcel, located about a third of a mile southeast of the Hewitt Avenue and Cavaleros Road intersection.
The land, known as the Duskin property, was purchased for about $1.2 million. It was paid for from a $9 million bond package voters approved in 1999. Acquiring land for a future secondary school was specifically delineated in the bond proposal.
The school district was anxious to invest in land now because the price is expected to rise and the availability of large enough areas expected to become more scare in the years ahead, said Arlene Hulten, a school district spokeswoman.
While the district reached a tentative sale in April, much of the past five months has been spent surveying the property to determine boundary lines and reaching the final dollar figure, Hulten said.
Before the 1999 bond measure, the district held community forums and polled residents to determine what direction it should go with its high school program. The community "didn’t want huge schools," preferring two smaller high schools to one large one, Hulten said.
Just when a new school would be built is unknown. For now, the district does not qualify for state matching funds and "we couldn’t even think of building a high school" without state money, Hulten said.
This summer, the district moved five portables onto the Lake Stevens High School campus. Last year’s senior class of 325 is being replaced by an incoming freshman class of more than 500.
"It’s that population bubble," Hulten said. "We will be feeling it now and for the foreseeable future."
With the Duskin property purchase, the Lake Stevens district now has slightly more than 100 acres set aside in four locations for two elementaries, a middle school or junior high and a high school.
"I think it’s sort of a gold star for us to have it set aside," Hulten said. "It feels good."
You can call Herald Writer Eric Stevick at 425-339-3446
or send e-mail to stevick@heraldnet.com.
