More updates on the upcoming April 22nd Bond vote for Lake Washington School District

Five Facts about Funding New Schools (from the LWSD website)

1. Bonds are the primary source of funds for new schools in Washington. 
2. Impact fees do not generate enough money to pay for new schools. 
3. State construction assistance amounts are limited.
4. The Eligible Square Feet used in the state funding formula does not reflect how districts really build and use schools.
5. The tax rate for new bonds is connected to when debt from past bonds is paid off.

Points I took from this:

The bottom line is that the district (in 2014) receives: 

$6,302 in impact fees for a new single family house
$207 for each unit in a multi-family building.

Most of the money the district has received from impact fees has been used for portables. Space is needed before new schools can be constructed and portable classrooms can provide that space in the meantime.


Read that last part again...MOST OF THE MONEY collected from impact fees has been used for PORTABLES!!!  At this time there are 151 portables on site in LWSD with more scheduled -- four to Horace Mann Elementary (to cover the overages at Rockwell) and two at Redmond Elementary.  I'm sure there are more, but those are at the two schools local to my area.


Susan Wilkins wrote an excellent piece for the Redmond Neighborhood Blog that details the challenges the District has created for itself by under-building new schools.

A Comparison of Old vs. New:

Horace Mann Elementary (rebuilt in 2003)
Cost to rebuild: $10,000,000
Old: 18 classrooms, 7 portables, 35,000 sq.ft.
New: 18 classrooms, no portables, 51,000 sq.ft.

Frost Elementary (rebuilt in 2009)
Cost to rebuild: $25,600,000
Old: 20 classrooms, 4 portables, 40,000 sq.ft.
New: 20 classrooms, no portables, 59,260 sq.ft.

Currently, the district depends on 91 portables at elementary schools, 45 portables at middle schools and 15 portables at high schools to house over 3000 students.  The proposed bond would build enough classroom space for only 3150 students - just barely enough to get the students who are in portables back into regular classrooms.  It will not add enough space for future students.

(Susan corrected her math to 3650 for classroom space in the proposed schools)

The district wants $33,000,000 to build each of the 3 new elementary schools ($100 million total).  They want $135,000,000 to tear down and rebuild Juanita High School.  They want us to approve $80,000,000 for a new middle school but after a year of planning, they still won't tell us where it will be.  


One of the problems as I see it is that the District has not planned well enough to take care of the projected 4000 students coming in the next 8 years (their numbers, not mine).  Dr. Pierce states in her message :

The following projects are part of the April 22 measure:

3 new elementary schools (two in Redmond and one in Kirkland);
1 new middle school in Redmond;
The re-build and expansion of Juanita High School in Kirkland;
The STEM focused high school on the Juanita High School campus in Kirkland; and,
An addition at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland.


As we haven't seen plans or have any idea how many classrooms the new schools will hold; based on past experience, we can only assume that they will build them at current level of need; not for future growth.

As we've seen from the existing STEM school, the number of students attending STEM did NOT decrease the need for classrooms at Redmond High School.  In fact, between the adjustment from 3 to 4 year high schools AND the addition of STEM, the population at RHS increased from approximately 1400 students  to over 1900 students.

As I mentioned here in my blog "Redmond High School was originally built in 1964; demolished and rebuilt during the LWSD modernization process (Phase 2) in 2003.   The modernization updated the 1964 school from student capacity of 1,375 to the 2003 capacity of between 1431 and 1500 (specialized classes and ELL have different class and population capacities)."

Between 2011 and 2014 four portables were added to house the overflow of students from the 3 to 4 year high school change.  That change brought an additional 400-500 students to the building.

The current STEM school has approximately 300 students enrolled with a capacity of roughly 650.  Another STEM school built with the new bond funds would likely have a similar capacity of 600 students.  Not nearly enough to reduce the need for portables with the District's projected 4000 students (district-wide) in the next 8 years.

However, we have NO IDEA how many classrooms the new schools will hold; nor how many students will be able to attend each of these schools because there are no plans or even construction bids for the proposed schools.  We are expected to trust the District with tax money with absolutely no idea where the money will be spent.

WHERE will the new elementary school be built?
How will the boundary lines be affected for Rockwell, Horace Mann and Einstein Elementary schools?
How long will it be before these new schools will need portables?

I also don’t believe that the District didn’t foresee the change to four year high schools.  I know the District made the change public in 2010, but it should have been in the planning stages for many years instead of band-aided with portables.  That should have been incorporated into existing plans to account for student growth potential and grade adjustments.  After all, the District tells us these schools are supposed to last for 30 to 40 years.

I'm not saying that we should never expect portables to be used;  I understand that projection is susceptible to error.  In my catering business, I know to automatically add 5-10% increase to any numbers of attendees at an event.  Most taxpayers that I’ve spoken with would be more than happy to pay a bit more in taxes if they felt the schools were being built to last and if we felt that at every turn, we weren’t being asked for more money to cover the District’s errors.

Is the answer to NEVER ask for funds for modernization and growth?  No!  But when the District asks the taxpayer for more money every two years and the NEW buildings we have are ALREADY over-capacity; we have to ask ourselves where that money is going and if they are truly using OUR money in the most effective way and with our children in mind.

Update to Letter to Lake Washington School District Board

In response to my letter of March 10th, 2014 regarding why I voted "NO" on the February 2014 Bond measure for Lake Washington School District, I received an email from Jackie Pendergrass, President of the LWSD Board of Directors.

Email dated March 25, 2014:

Dear Ms. Norman,

Thank you for your letter regarding the recent February 2014 Bond measure. We appreciate hearing your perspectives, especially as a long-term resident of Redmond. I apologize for the delay in my response but I wanted to be sure I had my facts correct before responding.

As you know, following multiple hours of discussion regarding options, at both the February 24 work session and the March 3 Board meeting, the Board voted to place a $404 million bond measure on the April 22 ballot. This measure will allow the district to address its critical and urgent need to build new schools and classrooms needed to accommodate growing enrollment and avoid overcrowding. The following projects are part of the April 22 measure:

  *   3 new elementary schools (two in Redmond and one in Kirkland);

  *   1 new middle school in Redmond;

  *   The re-build and expansion of Juanita High School in Kirkland;

  *   The STEM focused high school on the Juanita High School campus in Kirkland; and,

  *   An addition at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland.

The needs of the district have not changed since the February 2014 bond. Our enrollment continues to grow and we need additional classroom space to avoid overcrowding. Our October 2012 enrollment was 25,395. Our October 2013 enrollment was 26,220. That is a one year increase of 825 students. 4,000 more students expected by 2021-22 school year, and we need to plan for classroom space to accommodate all day kindergarten when fully funded by the state in 2018. The April 2014 bond measure will allow the district to move forward with the most critical projects needed to meet the urgent needs to accommodate growth and avoid overcrowding in the next four years.

In 1997, the district began a program to modernize aging schools, and we are now halfway through this four-phase approach to modernization. While the April 22 measure focuses on the projects we need for growth, we also plan to continue to plan to address our aging schools. We plan to engage in community dialogue with respect to our approach to modernization.

I wanted to provide you with some additional information with respect to the examples you cite in your letter:

·         The portables are being added at Mann Elementary so Mann can accommodate overflow students from Rockwell and Einstein Elementary Schools. Those schools are being affected by all the new development along 116th street. In 2010, the district ran a bond measure that did not pass. Had that bond measure passed, today we would have two additional elementary schools in the district to accommodate our students. Since the bond did not pass, we have overcrowding occurring in the Redmond area. The February bond 2014 included three elementary schools – the two that were part of the 2010 bond that did not pass, and another that is needed in Kirkland. The April measure will include all three elementary schools.

·         Redmond Middle School is being affected by the same new development in Redmond. In planning for school sites, we include space for four portables to provide flexibility for future situations. It would not make sound fiscal sense to do spend the money to build a new school that would only have four classrooms occupied. However, we do expect more middle school students coming to Redmond Middle and Evergreen Middle, so a new middle school is on the ballot. Additional middle school space was also on the 2010 bond measure that did not pass.

·         With regard to Redmond High School, the district in the past has tried to honor all variance requests for high school students who wanted to attend a different school than their neighborhood school.  However, we no longer have room at Redmond High School, and as a result, we are now limiting the number of variance requests approved for students who live outside its attendance area. This change will enable Redmond High to accommodate the students living within its attendance area.

·         Lake Washington High School was funded through the 2006 bond measure. The planning for the new facility began immediately following the passage of the 2006 bond, and construction began in the summer of 2008. All of this planning and construction occurred prior any discussion of the district shift to four-year high schools. The school was built in 2011, and the district shifted to four year high schools in 2012.  In other words, LWHS was planned and built as a three grades versus four. Had we not shifted to four year high schools, we would now need seven new elementary schools instead of three. Therefore, the change to four-year high schools saved the district from having to build between three and four new elementary schools. The design of LWHS included plans for a later addition, which we now need.

Again, thank you for your input and I hope this information is helpful to you.

Jackie Pendergrass

President

LWSD Board of Directors

I recommend that we all send letters to the board with your suggestions and comments about the upcoming bond measure vote.  Do you agree with their position?  Disagree?

Lake Washington School District
School Board
PO Box 97039

Redmond, WA  98073-9739

Email:  board@lwsd.org

Additional information regarding portables and classroom building is available here  and here.

LWSD Bond Failure

Lake Washington School District       March 10, 2014
School Board
PO Box 97039
Redmond, WA 98073-9739

Re:  February 2014 Bond measure

Dr. Pierce and School Board Members:

Recently the LWSD put up for a vote two Levy and one Bond measures requesting more money for the District.  The Levy measures passed, however the Bond measure failed.  Per your email and information on the District webpage, a survey was conducted of 400 residents in the District to ascertain why the Bond measure failed.  As I was not one of the residents contacted, I thought I would explain my particular reasons for voting “NO” on the Bond measure.

I have lived in Redmond for over 30 years and 3 of my 4 children have graduated from Redmond High School; my fourth child is a freshman this year at Redmond.  My husband is also a graduate of Redmond High School.  Over the past 10-plus years I have watched as the District has repeatedly asked for more and more money to fund building projects to “modernize” aging buildings and build new schools.  My belief is that the District has used these funds in less than effectual ways and with dreadful results. 

• Horace Mann Elementary was demolished and rebuilt in 2003 with two fewer classrooms than the original building.  This fall it will house 4 portables.

• Redmond Junior High (now Middle School) was demolished and rebuilt in 2002 with the same number of classrooms as the original building.  It now houses 3 portables.

• Redmond High School has been rebuilt several times; in 1985 and in 2003.  A gym and additional classroom building was added in 2012 along with two portables.  An additional two portables were added in the summer of 2013.

• Lake Washington High School was modernized in 2011.  The failed Bond measure requested funds to add more classroom space for projected student population of 2000 students by 2021. 

The above are just four examples of how the District has failed to project the need for classrooms and plan for student growth within a 10 year span; let alone the 30 to 40 years that school buildings are expected to last. 

Lake Washington School District receives many awards for their academic proficiency, it stands to reason that many families will want to move within the district to take advantage of these programs.  In addition, Redmond and other areas within the district are still experiencing tremendous housing growth, including multi- and single family houses in most areas.  Older residents are moving out and their residences filled with families – many with more than one child. 

I voted “NO” on the Bond measure because I believe the District has used previous funds in a negligent and wasteful manner.  I will vote “NO” again in April because I do not believe the district’s plans for the new bond funds are any different.

Sincerely,
Paige A. Norman
16714 NE 97th Street
Redmond, Washington
paigenor@outlook.com