SNOHOMISH — A nearly $244 million bond proposal could appear on the ballot in 2008 to finish rebuilding Snohomish High School and replace and renovate three other Snohomish schools.
A Snohomish School District advisory committee will ask for feedback on the proposal this week. Five public forums are scheduled over a six-day period beginning Monday.
For now, the 20-year bond package is expected to cost taxpayers $243.8 million, but public testimony could bring changes. For instance, the district has already heard from parents hoping the bond also will include money to improve classroom technology.
The bonds would pay to finish Snohomish High School for $47 million; replace Machias and Riverview elementary schools, for $39 million each; renovate and expand Valley View Middle School for $101 million; and replace Hall Moe pool for $15.8 million, as well as other improvements.
School district leaders are eager to see Snohomish High completed. A $141 million bond measure passed in 2004 provided money for several projects, including Glacier Peak High School, which is scheduled to open next fall, and Little Cedars Elementary School, which opened in September. However, there wasn’t enough money to finish Snohomish High.
Skyrocketing material and construction costs, both locally and nationally, hit the district hard. Bond interest money that could have been used at Snohomish High was used to finish the other two schools, which also faced cutbacks during construction.
“We had one of the hottest commercial markets in recent history. We hear about a buyers’ market and a sellers’ market,” said Superintendent Bill Mester. “This was a contractors’ market.”
Mester went out to face the public when decisions to scale back were made. What he heard loud and clear is that local residents want historic Snohomish High School completed, he said.
“The community has said strongly that’s the most important thing, first and foremost,” he said.
Cost to the taxpayer is estimated at 10 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, but could fluctuate a few cents, school district officials said.
That means the owner of a $300,000 home would pay $30 a year.
However, by the time tax money would be collected, a Snohomish School District bus levy that costs 22 cents per $1,000 of assessed value would expire.
Scott Ohsman, a father of two students at Totem Falls Elementary School, was on the 28-member advisory committee and said the panel had broad geographical representation.
“We all came to a pretty general consensus that this makes sense,” he said. “A tremendous amount of time and a tremendous amount of energy was put into this.”
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or e-mail stevick@heraldnet.com.
@2. Breakout Header:Talk about bonds
A Snohomish School District advisory committee has scheduled a series of public forums to explain and get feedback on a possible $244 million school construction bond measure next year.
The sessions are set for:
6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Machias Elementary School, 231 147th Ave. SE.
6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Riverview Elementary School, 7322 64th St. SE.
6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Valley View Middle School, 14308 Broadway Ave. SE.
6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Totem Falls Elementary School, 14211 Snohomish Cascade Drive.
9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the Snohomish Public Library, 311 Maple Ave.
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