FRONT PAGE

School district sets $40 million vote

By Pat Grubb

Next year is shaping up to be the year of going to the polls or should we say the post office to drop off your mail-in ballot. There will be two Blaine school district funding measures for a special March election.
The first is a $40 million Capital Projects Bond. Much of the funding will pay for the remodeling and expansion of the high school. The school is over its design capacity with classes being relocated to the middle school.

Additional projects include enclosure of the covered play area at Blaine primary, expanded cafeteria space and a covered play space at Blaine elementary, improvements to the middle school gymnasium and special education area expansion and the purchase of property for expanded transportation and administration facilities. There will also be improvements to Pipeline field and the stadium.

The school board had originally planned for land acquisition and construction of a Birch Bay elementary school. Long-term enrollment figures having dropped recently, the board has decided to delay construction. However, $1.5 million of the bond proceeds is earmarked for the purchase of a yet-undetermined Birch Bay site.

The Capital Projects Bond is a 20-year bond and was developed after a two-year analysis of district needs by a long range facility planning committee comprised of staff and community members. The current 2007 bond rate is $0.83 per $1,000 assessed valuation. Addition of the 2008 bond would add $0.50 to the mill rate, or $1.33 per $1,000. Thus, the owner of a $200,000 house would pay $266 annually for the bond.
Also up for voter approval is the district’s regular Maintenance and Operations levy. The M&O levy supports an array of educational programs and day to day operations of the district.

This levy replaces an expiring levy and will bring in $4,650,000 in 2009 rising to $5,380,000 in 2012, a mill rate of $1.19/M and $1.30/M, respectively.