Discussion of new Everett School District offices postponed

EVERETT — A second look at a new $23.3 million administration building for the Everett School District is expected to happen in two weeks.

The on-again, off-again project was tentatively scheduled to be discussed at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Now it’s to be taken up at the school board’s next regular meeting June 28. The school board meetings begin at 4:30 p.m. They are held in the school district’s Educational Services Center at 4730 Colby Ave.

The two-story, 62,000-square-foot building would be constructed on property the school district already owns at the south end of Everett Memorial Stadium on Broadway Avenue near 41st Street.

The project is nearly identical to the building proposed two years ago, which was put on hold due to the recession. The estimated cost of the project then was $28 million.

School officials say the building can now be built more cheaply because it is a buyer’s market.

New administration buildings for government agencies tend to ignite fierce debate from taxpayers.

And word that plans for a new building were once again being discussed has been criticized by some members of the public. They note that the district, like districts across the state, are facing big cutbacks in the upcoming school year due to slashes in state funding.

School administrators, however, say that about half of the costs of the new building would be paid for with state school construction money — money which can’t be used to help fill the budget holes in the upcoming school year’s budget.

The remainder of the money, about $11.6 million, would come from money the school district has saved from renting out its facilities and other miscellaneous funds, Mary Waggoner, a school district spokeswoman, said Monday.

“The district has continued to save money for this project … and it now has the money in hand for the cost of construction,” she said.

No bond money would be used to pay for the building, Waggoner said.

Administrative officers now are scattered among three sites. One of the buildings, the Longfellow Building at 3715 Oakes Ave., was built in 1911 as an elementary school.

School officials say a strong case can be made for a new building — it would save money by replacing existing buildings that are some of the school district’s biggest energy hogs, it would be safer in case of a fire or an earthquake and, by building in a buyers’ market, money ultimately would be saved.

In 2009, the district estimated that upgrading all three buildings would cost $22 million.

School board member Jessica Olson has questioned the project, asking if it’s a want or a need.

However, the other four board members, including board president Ed Petersen, have indicated their support for the project, saying that it can be built far cheaper now due to the struggling economy.

State construction funds are now being used for another school district project, a $3.6 million expanded cafeteria at Jackson High School, Waggoner said. It will open in the fall.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.

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