Where We’ve Been
The Toledo School District has been faced with the issues of aging buildings and a need for a remodel or rebuild at the high school. The high school was built in 1974 and structurally does not meet current safety standards, but also does not allow us to provide a competitive classroom environment due to outdated technologies and the lack of electrical outlets. The windows leak and the HVAC doesn’t regulate the building heat as needed. We have placed four separate bond proposals in front of voters; all have been unsuccessful. We are now faced with the question of what to do next to address these issues.
Where We Are Now
Although the district is always researching grants and has been able to offset some major project costs with grant funding, the need at the high school is not going away. After the last unsuccessful bond, the reality of needing to do something drastic hit the district and the school board. In a last ditch effort, Superintendent Chris Rust and I approached Reps. Ed Orcutt and Richard DeBolt to see what, if anything, the Legislature could do to help our community and our district. Both understood that the previous bond proposals would have had a significant financial impact on our community, and any bond that size would be difficult for the Toledo community to support.
Orcutt agreed to sponsor a request for funds from the House Capital Budget Committee. This led to a brief phone meeting with DeBolt where we asked for $2.5 million for new windows and HVAC at the high school. While he couldn’t make any commitments at that time, DeBolt agreed to a face-to-face meeting to discuss our needs at a later date. During that meeting, he recognized the need for $2.5 million, but indicated that the Legislature was hesitant to put any money into a school that was so aged and really needed to be replaced and not repaired.
The Legislature proposed, in the budget, a once in a lifetime opportunity — a grant for the Toledo School District for $10 million to be applied toward a new high school IF we could get the community to pass a $7 million bond. Sen. John Braun, and others, provided additional support to keep this line item in the budget, which passed in the final hours of the legislative session. Additionally, we would receive approximately $8 million in state School Construction Assistance Program funding for a total of $25 million to build a new high school. The intent of the Legislature is that we would use these funds to build a new school and retain the gym and shop.
Where We’re Going
The Toledo School District Board of Directors is asking for your help, and values your opinion!
The question is simple; should we put a $7 million bond on a ballot? If this bond is run, and approved, we could build a new high school for less local money than we would spend to repair the existing structure.
We will be sending home a questionnaire in our March district newsletter and hosting a community meeting to get as much information as possible from our community members. We will also be asking Dianne Dorey, Lewis County assessor, to come to Toledo to discuss how the overall changes in taxes impact our community.
If you have specific questions please feel free to call Chris Rust at 360-864-6325 or me at 360-864-4634.
