SEQUIM — Sequim School District leaders will put forward two resolutions — a construction bond and an educational programs and operations (EP&O) levy renewal — to voters this February in a special election with hopes to improve facilities and continue program funding.
School board directors voted 4-0 on Dec. 2, with Patrice Johnston excused, for the measures to go before Sequim School District voters on Feb. 11.
“Everybody from parents to staff to teachers and even folks without kids will appreciate (the proposals),” board president Eric Pickens said. “I think it’s time.”
Bond proposal
The approximate $146 million bond is multi-faceted and proposes improvements at each district school. It would need a supermajority of 60 percent to pass.
According to the district’s resolution, the bond would:
• Construct a new elementary school to replace Helen Haller Elementary.
• Renovate Sequim High School with new instructional wings and connect to remaining buildings.
• Improve safety and security at all schools, including Sequim Middle School and Olympic Peninsula Academy, by updating entrances and improving bus loops and pickup and drop-off areas.
• Upgrade Greywolf Elementary School to add a cafeteria, improve the bus loop and parking lot, and upgrade heating, ventilation and air condition (HVAC), plumbing and other systems.
• Upgrade athletic facilities for students and the community, such as renovating or replacing existing fields, modifying the track for eligibility to host regional competitions, and improving seating and access at athletic fields and facilities.
• Create a new bus loop through the school district’s main campus.
• Fix the transportation facility by improving and/or replacing the existing transportation center.
Levy renewal
The four-year, $36.2 million EP&O levy renewal would help fund teacher and staffing levels, extracurricular activities and athletics, library, music, social emotional learning, counseling, nursing, transportation and more.
School Superintendent Regan Nickels said Dec. 2 that the district receives about 74 percent of its funding from the state, 9 percent from federal sources and 17 percent from local funding such as the EP&O levy.
With about 2,638 students, including 29 preschool and 50 full-time Running Start students plus 347 staff members, she said they’re “trying to bridge a gap” to generate revenue for the district to fund programs and services that the state does not fund or fully fund as part of basic education.
She called the levy a “critical funding stream” and historically the “Sequim community has been consistently supportive, which builds a lot of confidence.”
Levies require a simple majority to pass.
Cost estimates
Combined, the 20-year bond ($0.91) and four-year levy rate ($0.94) would be proposed to voters at $1.85 per $1,000 of assessed property value for residents from R Corner to the west, to Gardiner in the east and Olympic National Park to the south.
The total proposed bond amount comes to $151,150,000, but due to the age of Helen Haller Elementary, the school district would receive $5.2 million from the State Construction Assistance Program (SCAP) to reduce the total to $145,950,000.
Nickels said renovation of Helen Haller was considered, but it would cost about 1.6 percent times more than new construction.
The bond proposal was formed by the district’s 13-member Long Range Facilities Planning Group (LRFPG) consisting of community members, staff and board members who assessed the condition of Sequim schools by collaborating with experts to evaluate structural integrity, safety and functionality, and prioritized necessary repairs or upgrades.
Pickens, who sat in with the committee, said they kept in mind community needs while being mindful of the tax rate.
Sequim’s existing $29.7 million four-year EP&O levy and an $18 million capital projects levy both expire in 2025. When they were approved by voters in 2021, the assessed property tax value was at $1.87 per $1,000, district officials said.
The capital projects levy has paid for numerous items, such as roof replacement, HVAC system replacements, fire alarm and sprinkler system replacements, refurbishing the district stadium’s track and high school gym floor, and upgrades to the district’s technology infrastructure.
Board director Larry Jeffryes said at the Nov. 18 board meeting that the bond is needed because some of the district’s facilities are so antiquated that they cannot be fixed with a capital levy.
Pickens said the proposed levy and bond rates do not account for new construction, with hundreds of homes planned in the Sequim area in the near future that will reduce the financial impact from the bond on residents.
He added that the proposed levy and bond would also be less than Port Angeles School District, which passed a construction bond and levy renewal measures in November with a rate of about $2.70 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
District staff said Sequim pays less in taxes for schools than about 80 percent of other districts in the state, ranked 236 out of 295.
Board director Maren Halvorsen said Dec. 2 that there was a lot of consideration from the committee to take care of taxpayers in their proposal.
“We’re one-fourth into the 21st century and it would be wonderful to have facilities that reflect where we are,” she said.
Jeffryes said, “the prime driver is safety and security” for the proposals.
“A lot of our facilities are becoming less secure as time goes on,” he said. “The district has done a good job of keeping things up and running (and) I think the community is ready to invest in the schools.”
History
Sequim’s EP&O levies have passed the last five measures.
Voters last approved a construction bond in February 1996 for $25 million to build Sequim Middle School, which opened in 1998, and with new classrooms (H-building) and a playfield at Sequim High School.
The school district unsuccessfully tried to pass four bonds to build a combination of the currently proposed projects in April 2014 with a $154.3 million proposal, in February 2015 for a $49.3 million proposal, November 2015 for $49.3 million and February 2016 for $54 million.
District officials said a majority of Helen Haller Elementary dates back to the 1970s to host about 350 children in kindergarten through fifth grade, but today it hosts about 530 students in grades 3-5. Most of the building’s portables date back to 1988, according to district documents.
Sequim High School’s five, four-room pods A-E were built more than 50 years ago, and they house various classes, including science, with staff saying the equipment and space have become outdated.
Both Helen Haller and the high school have open California designs that district officials said are unsafe, and the bond would help better enclose and fund safety improvements for all campuses.
Greywolf Elementary opened in 1991 without a cafeteria; students must eat in their classrooms.
The bond would add a cafeteria and a new bus loop at Greywolf. A new bus loop would be added to the main campus to move buses off nearby streets, staff said. Currently, buses on the main campus congregate in the stadium parking lot for pickup and drop-off.
If approved, the bond also would rebuild the district’s athletic stadium off West Fir Street and install a turf field. The improvements would allow the district to host playoff games and events for high school sports. District officials said that could be an economic driver for the city.
Lastly, the bond includes a new transportation center for the district’s fleet of buses as well as significant upgrades and additions as its failing building dates back nearly 60 years, district officials said.
Feedback
District staff held two forums in October, sent out a community survey and met with various community groups and agencies about potential bond proposals.
The third bond option, recommended by the Facilities Committee and chosen by the board directors for voters, included all of the construction options, whereas the first and second options included only certain projects.
According to a presentation from Nickels on Nov. 18, the community survey saw 680 respondents with 451 identifying as a parent or grandparent of a current Sequim student. She said it was one of the most substantially returned surveys they’ve done.
In the survey, about 31 percent listed aging facilities and infrastructure as the No. 1 challenge for the district. Funding challenges was listed as the No. 2 challenge at about 22 percent.
Nickels said about 66 percent had the current bond proposal as either their first or second option (47.22 percent for No. 1 and 19.4 percent for No. 2). It also received the most votes of the options for No. 1.
Nickels provided the caveat that while 505 people gave their preference, 175 skipped the question.
At the Dec. 2 school board meeting, student liaisons Lincoln Forrest and Ariana Bajo Salas were asked about the bond proposal.
“I think the student body would be very for this,” Forrest said.
“I’m in complete agreement,” Bajo Salas said. “It’s very needed. Everybody will be happy about that.”
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
Nash has family members employed by and enrolled in the Sequim School District.
