LYNNWOOD – A Feb. 7 bond measure in the Edmonds School District is largely about equity, Superintendent Nick Brossoit said.
Three of the district’s four comprehensive high schools are modern, structurally sound campuses.
Lynnwood High School, built to house rapid growth in 1969, is not, he said.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
“It was built very inexpensively,” Brossoit said. “It’s just plain worn out. I’m not talking paint and carpet worn out. I’m talking structure worn out.”
A new Mountlake Terrace High School opened in 1991. A rebuilt Edmonds-Woodway High School and a renovated and expanded Meadowdale High School both opened in 1998.
Lynnwood High appeared on the ballot in 2002 and 2003. It received more than a 50 percent “yes” vote, but fell short of a 60 percent supermajority required by law.
“Those kids deserve a high school that’s on par with the other schools,” Brossoit said.
A new Lynnwood High School at a site east of I-5 is the cornerstone of the $140 million bond measure that could lead to $280 million worth of new construction, renovations and other improvements.
The district also is seeking a four-year maintenance and operation levy to replace an expiring one.
| Where your tax dollars would go
Projects that would be funded if an Edmonds School District construction bond passes Feb. 7: Lynnwood High School, $86 million Meadowdale Middle School, $38 million Other projects, $16 million Projects that would be funded from ground lease revenues and proceeds from sale of surplus property if the bond passes: Alderwood Middle School, $40 million Madrona K-8 School, $30 million Relocating maintenance, transportation, warehouse and district headquarters, $26 million Lynndale Elementary School, $21 million Alternative programs, such as Scriber Lake High School, $12 million Future design work, $2 million Other projects, $9 million |
The bond measure sales would allow the district to push forward with another $140 million worth of projects that would be paid by leasing property it owns and selling surplus property.
The key piece of property is the land beneath the existing Lynnwood High School campus across from Alderwood mall. It would be leased to commercial interests.
An $86 million replacement would be built on a 40-acre site off North Road about a mile east of the current LHS campus.
LHS Principal David Golden said the school relies on three pumps year-round to keep water out of classrooms because of a high water table.
“The water beneath the school wants to be 10 feet higher than it is,” he said. “Most of the problems we have are more hidden, behind the walls and underneath the floors, particularly underneath the first floor.”
Other aspects of the bond measure are a new $38 million Meadowdale Middle School and $16 million in capital projects at other schools.
The $140 million from leases and sale of surplus property would pay for rebuilding Alderwood Middle School, Madrona K-8 School and Lynndale Elementary School, along with finding homes for the district’s alternative education programs, and other projects districtwide.
Cost of the 20-year bond measure would vary each year based on when the district sells them.
In 2007, for instance, the estimated rate is 13 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or about $26 on a $200,000 home. By 2009, it would reach an estimated 77 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or $144 on a $200,000 home, and drop to 33 cents per $1,000 by 2011, or $66 on a $200,000 home.
There has been no organized opposition to the measures.
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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