BOTHELL — Students at Northshore Middle School walked across their fresh track and turf field early Wednesday morning as they trickled into class.
The new track is one of the many projects funded by a $425 million bond voters approved in 2022 for capital improvements at nearly every school in the Northshore School District.
Over the past 18 years, Northshore voters have approved five bonds totalling more than $1 billion.
Many of the district’s 34 schools are 45 to 50 years old, said William Tribble, director of capital projects at the district. Bond money is a necessary part of keeping them up to date, he added.
The district is completely remodeling two schools: Inglemoor High School and Leota Middle School. The bond only funds phase one of both projects, which includes new gyms and cafeterias and updated bathrooms, HVAC systems and entry areas. The projects are set to break ground next year.
Gym and cafeteria updates are underway at district elementary schools. The district completed kitchen modernization, electrical upgrades, fencing and other updates last summer and two new accessible playgrounds this year.
Before voters approved the bond in February 2022, a task force found community members wanted updated spaces for the public to access after school hours, such as the track and field.
The task force also recommended converting portable classrooms at eight schools into permanent structures. Portable classrooms — constructed to accommodate growing enrollment — are only built to last about 20 years, according to the district’s capital facilities plan. Some don’t have air conditioning or bathrooms.
“Right now, a lot of these schools are a sea of portables, and that doesn’t make an equitable learning environment,” Tribble said.
From 2015 to 2023, enrollment grew from about 20,000 to 22,000, according to state data.
The bond includes safety and security improvements, such as visitor management systems and background checks for volunteers. All schools will have security cameras by next winter, and the district has installed video intercoms at two-thirds of schools. Half of the schools’ internet routers have also been upgraded.
The Capital Bond Planning Task Force is putting together a new bond proposal for 2026, partially to fund the next phases of the Inglemoor and Leota remodels. Reaching the 60% approval threshold might get more difficult, Tribble said. The 2022 bond passed with 61.2% of the vote.
“The good thing about this bond is we’re doing what we intended to do,” Tribble said. “It’s coming out of voters’ property taxes, so we’re delivering the promises that people voted for.”
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated for which year the Capital Bond Planning Task Force is planning a new bond proposal.
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
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