EVERETT — Leaders of Everett public schools will hold a special meeting Tuesday to craft a game plan for passing a $317.4 million bond next year.
The board of directors of the Everett School District will discuss how best to communicate what the bond would pay for and why it is needed. And they’ll learn the extent of the role they can play in the campaign without breaking any state election laws.
The meeting, which is open to the public, will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Port Gardner Room B of the Community Resource Center, 3900 Broadway in Everett. No action is planned in this session.
On Oct. 8, the board voted unanimously to put the measure on the ballot for the April 28 election.
Three aging elementary schools would be torn down and replaced and 36 new elementary classrooms would be constructed, under the proposal. There is also money penciled in for renovations at each of the district’s three high schools, new playground equipment at eight elementaries and replacement of the synthetic turf and track at Memorial Stadium.
One task for directors will be to make clear how this bond differs from the $330 million bond that failed to pass in February 2018. The main difference is the latest proposal does not contain money to build a new high school. It didn’t make the cut of projects recommended by the 25-person Capital Bond Planning Committee.
In Tuesday’s meeting, directors will consider elements of a strategy pieced together by district administrators.
It suggests adopting a slogan, “Building the Future,” to convey a message that the projects funded by the bond are needed to prepare students for a changing future.
The plan calls for creating a website, developing digital videos and designing materials such as a one-page fact sheet and an information mailer to be sent to residents in the district.
Under a suggested timeline, directors, in their capacity as private citizens, would be called upon to make presentations to community groups starting this fall and continuing such efforts right up to the election.
Citizens for Everett Public Schools, an ongoing political committee, will conduct a campaign in support of the measure. It had $61,753 in its coffers as of Sept. 30, according to reports filed with the Public Disclosure Commission.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@herald net.com. Twitter: @dospueblos.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
