For the first time in 30 years, the South Whidbey School District is planning to ask voters to pass a bond to fund facility improvements.
During a South Whidbey School Board meeting Wednesday night, Superintendent Jo Moccia and Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Dan Poolman presented to the board the concept of an $80 million bond to be collected over a 20-year period. The proposed bond, planned for the ballot in the new year, would go towards updating K-12 educational facilities within the district.
These updates could include structural improvements such as new siding and roofing for the middle school and high school campuses, which are combined within the same building. They could also extend to new recreational opportunities, such as more accessible and inclusive playground equipment, a new stadium field and the addition of an outdoor, covered structure for students to shoot hoops. As Poolman pointed out, the wider community might also benefit from using the latter item outside of school hours.
The 2024 bond rate is 70 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. For someone with a home valued at $500,000, this amounts to a monthly property tax increase of $29.08.
The fate of the bond will ultimately be decided in 2023, during an April 25 election.
Board Member Andrea Downs wondered if the $80 million bond proposal is sufficient enough to cover the needed improvements.
Board Member Joe Greenheron asked how the board’s recent decision to reconfigure school campuses affects the bond. In September, the board voted to move fifth- and sixth-graders off the Elementary School South Campus starting in the 2023-2024 school year.
In response, Moccia said the district is only focused on the buildings that they anticipate having students in, which does not extend to the south campus. She added that an initially proposed bond closer to $100 million felt like “too big an ask.”
The school board will continue discussing the bond at its next workshop, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 11. Public input is welcomed.
