Do Toledo voters want to cast ballots on a $7 million bond that, combined with grants from the state, would enable construction of a new high school costing up to $25 million?
That’s the question school officials will address tonight at 7 p.m. in the Toledo High School Commons. If Toledo voters approve a $7 million bond before June 2019, the state will provide $18 million in grants and matching funds.
The largesse comes after bond proposals failed four times to attain a 60 percent majority, even though the requested amount was lowered from $23.5 million in 2014 to $12.2 million this February.
The smaller bond discussed now would cost property owners only 99 cents to $1.27 per $1,000 of assessed property value, depending on whether it’s run for 20 years or 15. The cost would be $200 or $254 a year for owners of a $200,000 home.
When the school district built the existing school for $1.6 million in 1974, voters agreed to tax themselves at a rate of $5 per $1,000 of assessed property value to pay for it.
What’s changed? Property values have increased, but so have incomes. Inflation means that $5 then would be equivalent to nearly $27 today.
Like many of us, the 44-year-old building is showing its age. Windows leak. Paper-thin walls hinder teaching. Doors don’t shut tight. Water seeps over the floors. The failed cooling system forces teachers to open doors in the spring and fall. A leaky 1950s-era refrigerator/stove/sink combination in the teacher’s lounge requires frequent repairs. Locker rooms have inadequate ventilation. During an earthquake, the walls could easily collapse.
Superintendent Chris Rust said he initially asked Chehalis Rep. Richard DeBolt for $2.5 million from the state to seal the exterior, upgrade the cooling system and ventilate the locker rooms. While that was possible, the state lawmaker asked why he wanted to fix up an old school that should be torn down.
Rust noted that the community couldn’t afford to pay for a new school. So lawmakers finagled the $10 million from the capital budget and $8 million from the state School Construction Assistance Program, but the money is offered only through June 2019 and it’s contingent on the district’s voters approving a small bond of $7 million.
It’s a bargain.
Rust said the gymnasium and shop would be remodeled using some of the money, and the rest of the school would be built new at an estimated cost of $23.8 million.
I know voters who didn’t cast ballots in February believing the McCleary court ruling on school funding could increase their taxes. The ruling is designed to shift the burden of school funding from local taxpayers to the state. But a chart provided by Rust shows that this year, with the McCleary decision factored in, property owners are paying $4.80 per $1,000 of assessed property value, up thirty cents from 2017. If voters approved the bond, the cost next year would be only pennies higher at $4.82 per $1,000.
Using money from the operating budget, which includes grants and M&O levy money, Rust pointed out improvements made in the district since his arrival in July 2015 include:
Elementary School: interior/exterior lighting, new sink drain, water filling station, blender, repairs to the boiler and dishwasher, and re-keying of exterior doors;
Middle School: interior/exterior lighting, information technology upgrades, attic insulation, painting, buying a blender, repairs to a sewer pipe and the roof and improving the life skills kitchen;
High School: replacing exterior lights, the dishwater, and blender; repairing kitchen hood fans; upgrading the water supply system; replacing main valves; re-keying the gym; replacing the washing machine; installing lighted backboards, a locker room clock, and gym security cameras; and upgrading network switches, the scoreboard, shot clock, gym sound system, pressure tank, network server, computer lab’s power;
In addition, the district created a master plan for the softball fields, upgraded bleachers, and repaired dugout roofs; installed a ticket fence at the stadium; and paved a parking lot.
The district recently spent about $7,000 installing handrails on the bleachers in the high school gym. Those handrails could be moved to the middle school if the gym is remodeled.
“I’m encouraging everybody to just forget about the track and restrooms at this point,” Rust said. “We need a new school. I’ve been talking to folks to see what we can do about the track later on.”
Some people have suggested consolidating with Winlock, which might lower taxes in the short term.
“But the problem is they don’t have the capacity to serve our kids, so we’d still have to build something, which raises all of our taxes again,” Rust said.
“If the community chooses to vote yes, great,” Rust said of the bond proposal. “If it chooses to vote no, that’s okay too. We will continue to provide the best education that we can with the facilities that we have.”
Anyone with questions about the proposed bond, McCleary decision, or state funding is encouraged to contact Rust at 360-864-6325 or 509-770-0067 or by email at crust@toledoschools.us.
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.
