2 school levies getting the nod

Whether it was renewed trust or just desperation, Snohomish School District voters Tuesday were narrowly passing a $141.6 million, 20-year construction bond measure that could finally bring the district a second high school.

Voters in Edmonds kept school officials on the edge of their seats as they awaited the results of absentee ballots on a $44 million capital improvements levy.

Coupeville voters, meanwhile, emphatically supported a $22.9 million school construction bond.

Snohomish

In the midst of financial troubles and public distrust, Snohomish voters seven years ago twice rejected a bond measure that would have built a second high school and an elementary school in the south end of the district.

Since then, enrollment has increased steadily and Snohomish High School, in particular, has become more and more crowded.

Tuesday’s election was a different story.

“I think it would be impossible to boil it down to just one factor,” district spokeswoman J.Marie Merrifield said. “I think the need has grown over time, and the community has certainly been invited and brought in much more than it has in the past. I think that builds trust.”

The bond would bring in $68 million for a new high school and $17 million for a new elementary school, both on the former Cathcart landfill site near Highway 9 and Cathcart Way.

It also would bring in $8 million for the land for the new schools. The district is in negotiations with Snohomish County, which owns the site.

Once the final piece of land has been decided on and bought, the district expects to move quickly in designing and building its new high school. The soonest the school could open would be for the 2008-09 school year.

Another $64 million would go toward modernizing Snohomish High School. The district expects about $21 million in matching funds from the state for the projects.

Edmonds

The Edmonds School District proposed a four-year, $44 million capital improvements levy to upgrade classroom technology and make science labs, school buildings, playgrounds and athletic fields safer.

The levy was failing by one-half of a percent after Tuesday’s ballots and absentees were counted. The school measures each needed a 60 percent yes vote to pass.

“We’ll be there at the courthouse when they count the final ballots on Friday,” Edmonds Superintendent Wayne Robertson said.

The levy would also pay for design work for new Lynnwood and Scriber Lake Alternative high schools. Those projects would be built if voters approve a bond measure in the future.

The levy rate would be 68 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for four years. On a $200,000 home, that would be $136 a year.

The overall local tax rate, when combining voter-approved bond measures and levies, would increase from $3.49 per $1,000 this year to $3.90 per $1,000 in 2005. It would be well below the $4.60 per $1,000 property assessment in 2003.

The lower total school tax rate is mainly the result of an increase in the district’s tax base due to residential and commercial construction, including the expansion of Alderwood Mall.

Coupeville

In Island County, Coupeville School District voters were giving the thumbs-up to a $22.9 million construction bond measure for a new high school, new roofs for the high school gym and elementary school, and a covered play area at the elementary school, among other improvements.

The bond would cost taxpayers an additional $1.35 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation. A home worth $200,000 will be assessed an additional $270.

Reporters Eric Stevick and Scott Morris contributed to this story.

Reporter Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@ heraldnet.com.

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