Seeking Silverdale and Central Kitsap

The Central Kitsap School District board of directors met Wednesday. They had a study session where they discussed the renovation/repair costs facing the district, then went into their regular meeting.

Here’s some highlights:

Study session:

The district has roughly $8.6 million in repairs that need to be done in the next two years, and another $16 million worth of repairs that will need to be addressed over the next six years, according to Richard Best, director of construction, facilities, and maintenance for the district.

In total the district is looking at $113 million in what it’s calling “backlog” repairs that have piled up faster than they can be paid for from 2000 to the present. In that same period the district was able to spend $55 million on repairs. That amount includes district money, and state matching money.

The crux of the presentation to the board about the repairs is, the district will need to go out for a capital facilities levy, likely in 2010 to help cover some of the repair costs. The board was given four options to consider for how the repair/renovation needs will be met. It eliminated one option (the option where no money is dedicated to the repairs).

The other options included:

Option 1: a full-funding plan, which would be based on a four-year recurring levy from 2011-2014. This plan is calling for $5 million to refresh technology; $60.8 million to renovate four or five facilities (this includes all backlog repairs at these facilities); and $16.4 million for backlog repairs at other buildings. All renovations include maximum state matching funds. This option would increase the current bond payment by 100 percent, from $1.30 per $1,000 of assessed value to $2.62 per $1,000 of assessed value. All buildings would be renovated in 24 years.

Option 2: a constrained funding plan, which would be based on a four-year recurring levy for the same time frame. This plan calls for $4 million to refresh technology; $50.3 million to renovate three to four facilities (this includes all backlog repairs at these facilities); and $18.3 million for backlog repairs at other buildings. All renovations would include maximum state matching dollars. This option would increase the current bond payment by 50 percent, to $1.97 per $1,000 of assessed value. All buildings would be renovated in 36 years. A bond measure must be considered after six cycles, due to negative cash flow.

Option 3: a partial funding plan, which would use the four-year recurring levy for 2011-2014. This plan calls for $3 million to refresh technology; $28.7 million to renovate one to two facilities (this includes all backlog repairs at these facilities); and $19.1 million for backlog repairs at other buildings. This would include fewer renovations to maximize state matching funds, which would result in more local money for increased repair needs in subsequent cycles. This option would maintain the current average taxes from the bond payment and all buildings would be renovated in 48 years. A bond measure will have to be considered after three cycles because of negative cash flow.

Most of the discussion around the presentation of the options focused more on the need for the district to have a clear way to present this information to the public/taxpayers, than on the options themselves. Board members Eric Greene and Christy Cathcart requested administrators come forward with “a plan” that clearly explains where taxpayer money will be used, and which schools need it the most. The plan should also show what will happen if the levy isn’t passed.

The board’s regular meeting, following the study session, reviewed summer WASL scores (quick rundown: 60 students took the reading portion of the WASL, 72 percent passed; 28 students took the writing portion, 86 percent passed; and 174 students took the math portion, only 21 percent passed). The board also looked at where I-728 funds are being used, and the effectiveness of that funding, and a quick look into the reading abilities of the district’s kindergarten through third grade students (roughly 30 percent of the district’s third graders aren’t meeting reading standards). The district hopes to find out where the discrepancies are, and address them so all students are reading at level in third grade (if not before).

The district is also considering changing its secondary school boundary lines, to make enrollment numbers in its junior highs and high school more equal. It has received numerous calls from developers interested in purchasing the property it owns near Waaga Way, where a new transportation facility was scheduled to be built. The district may sell the property, which has been re-zoned commercial, and build the new facility elsewhere. There’s a chance they could get enough money from the sale to cover the cost of building the facility, a win-win for everyone.

The next board meeting will be Monday, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. to hear from the public about their thoughts on what the district should do with the Seabeck Elementary School property.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 at 6:33 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.