Paige's Prattle: Lake Washington School District 2014 Levy and Bond Issues (Pt. 3)

For Part 1 see here

For Part 2 see here

There are two Levy proposals and one Bond proposal on the ballot for February, 2014.

Neither state nor Federal money is available for the bulk of capital costs, like buying computers or renovating buildings. In the meantime, the district is responsible for raising its own money to provide 21st century learning tools and protect the taxpayer's investment in our school buildings through proper long-term maintenance and upkeep.¹

Levy #1 Educational Programs and Operations Levy

Levy #2 Capital Projects Levy Replaces an expiring levy to fund both facility and technology projects.

Bond Measure $755 million to build new schools needed to accommodate growth and to modernize existing schools. The new schools are needed based on the district's projections of enrollment grow of 4,200 students over the next four years.²

The Bond funds for modernization would replace three schools in Kirkland (Juanita HS, Kamiakin MS and Kirk Elementary), two in Redmond (Evergreen MS and Rockwell Elementary) and Mead Elementary in Sammamish.

Over the next eight years, the bond will enable the district to build NEW schools and space for students:

Three new elementary schools
One middle school
Additions to Lake Washington and Eastlake High Schools
A STEM-focused high school on the west side of the district
An international-focused high school on the east side of the district

Juanita Pool

The bond measure does not include funding to replace the Juanita High School pool; however the scope of the Juanita High School modernization project does include replacement of the current field house and theater. Money could be dedicated from leftover Phase 2 modernization program to partner with cities or other organizations to build a new community pool. It is estimated that $10 to $12 million will remain once all school projects are completed. If the bond does not pass all money left from the 2006 bond would be needed to provide solutions to overcrowded schools.

Q: How does the District plan for new facilities, capacity and student population growth?

The District maintains an annually updated 6-year Capital Facilities Plan that looks at demographics, enrollment projections and programming to help determine potential capacity needs. Capacity needs determine additional space needs at existing schools and, possibly new schools based on established capacity standards. Annual assessment of the condition of all school buildings is conducted as part of the District's Asset Preservation Program. In addition, the District is involved in continuous life cycle planning. This planning informs planned maintenance and levy measures in order to help ensure uninterrupted building operation. Criteria and standards for building and site systems have been developed to efficiently leverage resources while at the same time meeting the priorities and mission of the District.³

Q: What will happen if the measures do not pass?

The school board will make specific decisions based on what funding is available. When faced with cuts, the classroom is always the district's priority. However, without the EP&O Levy (Levy #1), the district's budget would be $49 million smaller. That reduction would have a significant impact on district programs and services. If the Capital Projects Levy (#2) does not pass, the district would not be able to replace technology equipment that breaks or wears out. It would not be able to renew licenses to research databases that students use. It would not be able to replace outdated equipment. It would only make major building repairs in emergencies and that funding would have to come from the general operating fund.

If the bond measure does not pass, schools will become overcrowded, the use of portables will increase and school boundaries will likely be changed. No schools will be modernized.

http://www.lwsd.org/News/2014-Levy-and-Bond/Pages/Swimming-Pool-FAQs.aspx

http://www.lwsd.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/News/Levy-Bond-2014/2014-Levy-and-Bond-Options-Presentation.pdf

Student Population projections

Projections reflect what the populations will be from the neighborhoods within current school boundaries. In some cases, the projections are viewed from a regional perspective since the boundaries will change with the additions of new schools, for whom the boundaries will have to be set.¹

The District carefully tracks development, births, and other factors that affect enrollment projections; including planned developments, how many students come out of which type of development and in what area of the district. King County births are also tracked and how many children will likely end up in LWSD schools in kindergarten in 5 years' time.

There is also tracking of current student population and likely retention rates through each grade. In September 2012, the District counted 25,309 students. In September 2013, just one year later the District there were 26,089 students in our schools. That's an increase of 780 students in just one year.

The District's enrollment projections have been historically very accurate. Since 2000, all projections have been within 3% of actual enrollment, with most projections accurate to + or - 2%.³

Q: How do Impact fees for Single family and Multi-family residences figure into the bond/levy totals?

Impact fees have paid for land for the school buildings to be built on. They also pay to help house students until the buildings are built – paying for portables, for example, that we need since the students in new developments arrive when houses are sold whether we have new school space for them or not. You may be interested in the page posted on funding for new schools on the district website - http://www.lwsd.org/News/2014-Levy-and-Bond/Pages/Funding-for-New-Schools.aspx.

Q: How does the District calculate residency for multi-family units? I have read that there is a calculation method that averages how many children reside in a SF or MF residence. I’m curious because there are a preponderance of multi-children households that reside in apartments and other MF units around the crowded Redmond Elementary school; but the majority of housing around Rockwell is single-family housing.

A: On the funding for new schools web page there is also a link to the district’s Six-Year Capital Facilities Plan. Here’s a paragraph from that plan:

Developments that are near completion, or have been completed, over the last five years are used to forecast (see Appendix D) the number of students who will attend our schools from future developments. District wide statistics show that new single-family homes currently generate 0.3810 elementary student, 0.1170 middle school student, and 0.0950 senior high student, for a total of 0.593 school-age child per single family home (see Appendix B). New multi-family housing units currently generate an average of 0.0490 elementary student, 0.0140 middle school student, and 0.0160 senior high student for a total of 0.0790 school age child per multi-family home (see Appendix C). Historically, the district has seen student growth accelerate in developments after five years. The student generation factors (see Appendix D) were used to forecast the number of students expected from these developments.

Remember that these factors are used for estimating how many students will come out of new development. Students who are already in our schools are included in the “cohort survival” calculations, i.e., how many students we expect in a class as it moves through the grades from kindergarten on. Kindergarten calculations are based on an expected share of King County births. The student generation numbers referenced above are used in determining how many students to expect from new development. While there may be quite a few students living in existing apartments around Redmond Elementary, many of the new downtown apartments in Redmond are generating very few students.

Student Achievement Data

Post-High School 79% of our students enroll in college or other post-secondary education immediately following high school
High School 94% of our students graduate on-time earning 22 credits and meeting or exceeding the state standards in reading and writing
Middle School 88% of our 7^th graders meet or exceed state standards in reading and writing; 81% meet or exceed state standards in math
Elementary School 85% of our 4^th graders meet or exceed state standards in reading; 80% meet or exceed state standards in writing and math