PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles School District Board of Directors unanimously approved resolutions to place both a $35 million educational programs and operation levy and a $140 million bond measure on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.
Board President Sarah Methner, who participated remotely, vice president Sandy Long and directors Mary Hebert and Kirsten Williams voted for the two resolutions. Director Stan Williams had an excused absence.
The proposed EP&O levy rate of $1.40 per $1,000 of assessed property value would raise $35 million over four years to pay for programs and positions state funding does not fully cover, such as sports, music and field trips as well as salaries for paraeducators, nurses and counselors.
The proposed bond rate of $1.41 per $1,000 would pay for construction to replace Franklin Elementary School and fund renovation of Port Angeles High School.
“These are two of the highest-need buildings in our district,” Superintendent Marty Brewer said.
The total combined tax of $2.81 per $1,000 for the proposed EP&O levy and the bond is 34 percent less than the combined EP&O and capital levy rate of $4.25 per $1,000 property owners currently pay.
Both the EP&O levy and the bond would commence in 2025 and start collecting funds in 2026.
The proposed EP&O levy is not a new tax. It would replace the current EP&O levy, whose rate of $1.50 per $1,000 was approved by voters in February 2020. It would collect a set dollar amount every year: $8,555,041 in 2026; $8,640,591 in 2027; $8,726,997 in 2028; and $8,814,267 in 2029.
Levies require a simple majority to pass.
The proposed bond would replace the five-year, $52.6 million capital levy passed by voters in November 2020 for the construction of Stevens Middle School, safety vestibules at schools and Monroe Playfield.
That capital levy has a rate of $2.75 per $1,000.
Bonds require a 60 percent majority to pass and voter turnout must equal 40 percent of voters who cast ballots in the previous general election.
Unlike a capital levy, such as the one for Stevens Middle School, a bond would provide funds almost immediately for projects like Franklin Elementary and the high school.
Passing a bond also would enable the district to be eligible for $36.5 million in state School Construction Assistance Program grants, said Nolan Duce, the school district’s director of maintenance and facilities.
Built in 1950, Franklin is the oldest school in the district. The plan is for it to be demolished and an entirely new building constructed on or near its present location at 2505 S. Washington St.
The high school’s classrooms, library, music room and cafeteria would be demolished and replaced with a single building with secure access. The gym, vocational shops and classrooms would remain as is; tackling their needs would be addressed in the future, Brewer said. The auditorium also would be renovated.
“We will retain the acoustics but bring the building up to 21st century standards,” Brewer said. “It will be a centerpiece of Port Angeles High School.”
The district’s general fund took its annual June dip — a reflection of fluctuating monthly state apportionment payments that drop in the spring. But this year’s balance was particularly worrying, Brewer said.
“$147,000 in the bank is unacceptable and it has to be addressed,” he said. “We made $5 million in cuts last year, and we’re pushing $2 million in reductions this year and we’ve reached the point where there are no more cuts to make.”
The district would rebound, he said, but it would not meet its commitment to a reserve that is 7 percent of expenditures.
Among the impacts on the budget, Brewer said, was the district losing out on $1.9 million in timber dollars when the city of Port Angeles asked for the transfer of state Department of Natural Resources land.
“We have to keep working on this, but a lot of this is not our doing,” he said. “We need to work with the city council, we need to work with the county commissioners, we need to work with our legislators. There’s some things that need to be addressed before it’s too late for this school district.”
Information about the bond measure that includes diagrams of the proposed Franklin Elementary and high school projects can be found at tinyurl.com/bdfxxcxd.
Information about the district’s capital facilities plan can be found at tinyurl.com/bddnwwzy.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
