Marysville schools scale back bond proposal

MARYSVILLE — Voters in the Marysville School District again will be asked to pass a bond for school construction.

The Marysville School Board this week approved a $32 million proposal for the April 27 ballot.

The amount is less than half a $78 million bond measure voters rejected in February. That package received a 53 percent “yes” vote, but it needed 60 percent.

By state law, school districts are given two chances a year to pass bond measures, which typically pay for school construction. Levies, by contrast, pay for schools’ daily operations.

“I just think to go out and rerun the exact same package would not be a good thing,” board president Sherri Crenshaw told her colleagues Monday.

The new proposal would replace aging Cascade Elementary School with an $18 million two-story school on the south side of the campus. It also would include $6 million in health and safety improvements, another $6 million in technology upgrades and $2 million for improvements to the swimming pool at Marysville-Pilchuck High School as well as planning for future projects.

Board member Chris Nation, who has served on district facilities committees for many years, reluctantly agreed to the stripped-down bond package that dropped Liberty Elementary School and Marysville Middle School replacement projects.

“In my heart … they are all priorities,” Nation said.

A smaller bond could appeal to taxpayers concerned about the economy, and the district could get low bids because of current low interest rates and stiff competition among contractors, officials said.

The $32 million proposal was one of several options the school board considered. Superintendent Larry Nyland said Tuesday an estimated bond rate for homeowners will be calculated over the next few days.

Even if the smaller bond measure passes, taxpayers would end up paying less than they do now because a 20-year bond voters approved in 1990 will be paid off. That measure paid for Allen Creek and Quil Ceda elementary schools, Cedarcrest Middle School and room to add facilities for ninth-grade classes at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.

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