The South Whidbey School Board has decided to move ahead with a second attempt to pass a nearly $80 million bond for facility maintenance and improvements.
The original proposition, which was on the April special election ballot, failed to receive the required 60% supermajority of “yes” votes, falling short at 58%. A bond for the district was last approved in the 1990s.
During a meeting in June, the school board agreed to place the bond on the November general election ballot. At a combined workshop and special business meeting this week, the board considered splitting the request into two different bonds on the same ballot.
The larger request, at $59,995,610, would cover more pressing needs, such as the replacement of siding and the roof of the middle school and high school building. The smaller request, at $19.8 million, would fund other necessary but less urgent upgrades, such as a new stadium field. The passing of the smaller bond would be contingent on the passing of the larger bond, so it could not pass without the other.
Although the board initially leaned towards the option of having two bonds, the members decided against it because it had the potential to confound voters. Superintendent Jo Moccia also advised against splitting the bond request in two.
“It’s just one of those things where the cleaner and more straightforward we are, I think the better off we’re going to be,” she said.
Board members Ann Johnson and Marnie Jackson pointed out that for kids who play sports, the athletic stadium upgrades and a sense of pride of place are considered just as vital needs as a stable building to learn in.
“As a person who didn’t play school sports, I look at the price tag for the stadium and can’t connect it to my lived experience of value, and yet I hear again and again from our students, an expression of a feeling of shame when they welcome other teams to facilities that feel rundown and frankly, embarrassing,” Jackson said.
Having two separate bonds rather than one, Johnson said, may not be as inclusive when considering the list of projects.
Jackson was hopeful that historically high voter turnout in the last few elections could bode well for the school bond in the upcoming election.
“I just think there’s a really high likelihood that many more people will have this on their radar this time around,” she said.
A third option of putting the first request on the November ballot and the second request on a later ballot was briefly discussed, but was not popular among board members.
In the end the board unanimously decided to reject the two different bond proposals and focus on passing just one, which amounts to $79.8 million. The proposed rate is 72 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, and for a homeowner with a house valued at $500,000, this would amount to a monthly increase in property taxes of $30.17.
