SEQUIM — Voters will decide during the Nov. 3 general election whether to approve a $49.3 million bond to fund construction work throughout the Sequim School District.
On Monday evening, the School Board approved 4-0 a resolution placing the measure on the ballot instead of scheduling at a future meeting a special election for Feb. 9, 2016.
The four board members present voted yes on the resolution; John Bridge was out of town.
If the measure garners a 60 percent supermajority — the amount needed for passage — the bond money would go toward building a new elementary school, renovating and expanding four existing facilities, and demolishing a fifth one.
Two previous attempts to pass a construction bond failed.
Voters defeated a $154 million measure by a 56-44 percent margin in April 2014.
A $49.2 million bond last February received 6,691 yes votes to 5,026 no votes — 57.11 percent to 42.89 percent — but fell short of the required 60 percent supermajority.
The measure to appear on the November ballot will be similar to the defeated measure appearing last February.
However, because of changes in the real estate market, the bond would raise $35,000 more money than the previous measure would have produced, but at a tax rate 3 cents less per $1,000 of assessed fair-market value, school officials said.
“The tax implications — because of the timing of this proposal versus the February 2015 ballot — we have better information about assessed valuations for 2015 that resulted in a lower tax rate,” Brian Lewis, school district business manager, told the board before the vote.
In lieu of the adjustment, property owners would be taxed at a rate of 69 cents per $1,000 of assessed property evaluation in 2016, he said.
An audience of about 35 packed the boardroom during the meeting, some holding handmade signs printed with “Nov. 3” in support of placing the measure in the general election.
Before the resolution was adopted, about 11 people spoke in favor of selecting November as opposed to waiting until February.
None present spoke against placing the measure on the November ballot.
“I am well aware . . . of the condition that our facilities are in, and all our children matter,” said Colleen Robinson, Citizens for Sequim Schools member.
“We cannot wait any longer. We need to have this on the November ballot, and we will get this passed for the sake of all of our children.”
Brandino Gibson, a school district resident, also urged the board to approve the resolution for November.
His daughter has special needs with reading issues that are compounded by the current state of the schools, he said.
“She spent the last three years at Greywolf [Elementary] having to trudge every day out to a portable [classroom] to get . . . assistance and work within a very confined area to be able to get help,” he said.
“It would be nice for her to have a nice safe place to go daily to be able to get that need taken care of.”
If approved, the bond would renovate and expand Greywolf Elementary, build a new school to replace Hellen Haller Elementary, renovate Hellen Haller to house fifth-graders, renovate and expand Sequim High School, demolish the Sequim Community School building and upgrade the district kitchen and maintenance facility.
The bond would fund a new science wing of six laboratory classrooms at Sequim High and add band, orchestra and choir rooms to the performing arts wing.
Music students currently must cross the street to attend classes in the former Sequim Community School.
Starting this fall, Helen Haller will house all-day kindergarten classes in four portable classrooms.
The district kitchen will prepare meals for 1,800 students daily using 1970s-era equipment for which replacement parts are no longer available, district officials said.
Sequim High will serve 100 students above its designed capacity, and Greywolf will add a fourth portable unit to house its library and computer labs that once occupied space in its main building.
To have delayed the election until February would be detrimental to the cause, said Dede Bessey, president of the Greywolf Parent-Teacher Association.
“I think it is urgently important that we put it on the November ballot because if we don’t, I feel people will think it’s not that important” and will vote no,” Bessey said.
The four board members present took note of the wide-ranging support for placing the measure on the November ballot.
“The people who are going to run this campaign are telling us we should do this in November, and I think it would be sort of silly to ignore that input pretending we know more about it,” said Walter Johnson, who made a motion to approve the resolution.
“We heard a lot of good comments here,” said Michael Howe, who seconded Johnson’s motion.
Howe had argued for a February date in an earlier meeting.
Howe suggested the district consult with a campaign manager to run the election “instead of the path we have taken the last two bonds.”
Beverly Horan, board president, said she felt the ballot measure will be approved.
“Personally, my hope is that November is as positive as we all hope it is going to be,” she said.
“We are in the schools, and we know how bad it is. I support this for the November ballot.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
Report James Casey contributed to this report.
