What has only been discussed in meetings might very well become a reality if the public votes yes.
The Orcas School Board is planning to put a $20 or $25 million bond on the February 2010 ballot to pay for a new middle school, library, cafeteria, and career and technical education building, and improvements to the existing elementary and high school facilities.
In June, the board heard a report from architects Carlos Sierra and Dale Martin, who completed the design requirements for upgrades after brainstorming with the school’s bond committee and listening to the needs of students and teachers.
At its most recent board meeting last week, Trevor Carlson of Seattle-Northwest Securities outlined the financial options for a bond, which could either be spread over a 12-year, 15-year, or 20-year period. The interest rates and yearly cost to taxpayers vary with each scenario; for a $20 million bond, the increase would be between 24 cents and 46 cents, depending on how long of a period is chosen. Those numbers would change slightly if a 25 million bond is sought instead. The school’s current bond, which has a rate of 27 cents for 2009, is expiring this year.
Carlson told the board that now is a prime time to move forward with the project.
“Interests rates are great right now, the construction bidding climate seems good, and this would create local jobs,” he said. “For some school districts, this has been their stimulus package.”
Board member Charlie Glasser agreed with Carlson, and added, “I advocate a 20-year levy to make it more affordable and more likely to be passed.”
Whichever way the board decides to go, board member Tony Ghazel said the impact on the community will be minimal.
“We have one of the lowest school district tax rates in the state,” he said.
The school has received 18 applications from architectural firms who want to draw schematics for the project. The board will be picking the top applicants from that group, and has scheduled public interview sessions for Sept. 23 and 24 in the school library. The interviews will run from noon to 6 p.m. the first day, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the following day. The community is encouraged to attend.
The board hopes to have schematics drawn by the end of November, as the deadline to be on the February ballot is Dec. 23.
WASL results
Superintendent Barbara Kline reported to the board that the high school students did “reasonably well” in the latest round of WASL testing, with the exception of math.
“Our scores went down to a less than 50 percent pass rate,” she said. “Our AP European students missed the math WASL because they were traveling in Italy. This meant that a group of students who would most likely have passed the test were not present to help raise the overall score.”
Grants
Kline has applied for a $1.6 million grant in stimulus money to provide the school with renewable energy through the installation of solar panels and a demonstration wind project. If awarded, the funds would be matched through a state program. Representative Jeff Morris worked with the school on the grant application, and Kline commended executive assistant Cathy Ferran for her tireless work on the project.
In other grant news, the school received $17,000 from the Economics Council for woodshop equipment to use locally milled wood for new benches, and a $20,000 Navigation 101 grant for the high school to spend on guidance software and teacher training.
Kline also plans to submit an application for a $500,000 grant through the state for repairs and upgrades to buildings to improve energy efficiency.
