By Christopher Brewer
cbrewer@chronline.com
Voters in Adna, Centralia and Chehalis will vote on a number of facility enhancements and upgrades — and one building replacement — from now until the mail-in election deadline of April 26.
As the number of buildings across local districts continue to age, voters will be given the choice to accept their school districts’ proposals on what to fix and how those upgrades are made.
Today, The Chronicle examines each of the three districts and the issues they are placing before their voters.
Chehalis School District
The largest issue from a monetary standpoint is the one facing Chehalis voters, where residents there are being asked to commit to a $27 million, 20-year capital facilities bond that would effectively replace Cascade Elementary School, modernize and upgrade portions of R.E. Bennett and Olympic elementary schools to present-day standards, and convert a portion of Bennett to future district office space while preserving the gymnasium and auditorium.
According to information from the Chehalis School District, roughly $44 million in total — the bond money plus a $17 million state match — would pay for a full replacement of Cascade Elementary School with traffic and field improvements; modernization of the ground floor and heating/cooling system, as well as traffic improvements, at R.E. Bennett Elementary School; modernization and traffic improvements to Cascade Elementary School; and weatherization upgrades, safety and security upgrades and weatherization improvements at W.F. West High School.
The comprehensive bond would also cover the purchase of synthetic turf for the W.F. West High School football field, expansions to the school’s weight room and improvements to maintenance facilities.
The bond would cost $1.13 per $1,000 in assessed value, according to the district.
Although the facilities remain serviceable for the short-term, Chehalis school officials have performed assessments of the efficiency and cost of each school’s central systems and infrastructure. The district then conducted community surveys, in which 67 percent of 250 random voters in the district responded favorably to a bond issue.
“We’re pretty concerned about the long-term viability of these buildings as the years keep going forward,” Chehalis superintendent Ed Rothlin told The Chronicle last week. “A lot of the dialogue of our school leaders, community groups and parents felt the options presented would be the best thing to do now because there’s no guarantee what’s there will improve.”
Safety is an issue at stake as well: the location and traffic configuration of Cascade and Bennett in an already-crowded neighborhood brought a wide range of concerns about parking and traffic safety along Market Boulevard, Southeast Second Street and Southeast Third Street from survey respondents, Rothlin said.
Despite the district’s efforts to get the word out, the biggest hurdle, according to Rothlin, is the state supermajority requirement when it comes to a bond issue. Rather than simple majority, 60 percent of the vote will need to approve the bond before it goes through.
“I’ve been getting out, doing tours to community groups and a lot of our civic organizations around town to really get the importance of this message out there,” Rothlin said. “We’re pretty optimistic this will pass, because our district and town are full of optimistic people who support our kids.”
Centralia School District
Bringing buildings up to date is also an issue in Centralia, where voters will be asked to finance a four-year capital projects levy to the tune of $5 million. Centralia school officials hope to replace roofing at Centralia High School as well as Edison and Fords Prairie elementary schools.
Fire alarm and annunciation systems would be replaced at each of the district’s seven free-standing schools, according to the district.
Five elementary schools across the district would receive seismic inspections to determine their buildings’ ability to withstand earthquakes, and crews would seismically retrofit the play areas and buildings at each elementary school.
According to the district, $25,000 in levy money would go toward cooling systems, security and racking for computer servers that run the school’s Internet connections and network.
The Centralia capital projects levy is projected to cost voters 50 cents per $1,000, with the levy paid off in four years. The levy amount per year comes out to roughly $1.2 million, with the amount incrementally increasing to $1,285,000 in 2015, the levy’s final year.
Centralia superintendent Steve Bodnar was unavailable for comment Thursday, but in past interviews with The Chronicle said the levy was “the most attractive” option to a district due to the efficiency of the money being spent. Bodnar cited the low cost and shorter term of a levy over a bond, which would require 60 percent and generally takes longer to pay off.
Adna School District
First-year Adna superintendent Jim Forrest is in charge of a levy measure to upgrade infrastructure at the district’s two local schools.
A three-year, $600,000 capital projects levy will go toward roof repairs at Adna Middle/High School and upgrade Adna Elementary School’s fire alarm system, Forrest said.
The levy would also prompt minor roof repairs at the elementary and allow for upgrades to technology and communications services across the district — replacing some computer systems which have aged considerably.
“It’s come to a point where all these projects are pretty essential,” Forrest said. “It’s really coming down to student safety issues we can’t wait for any longer.”
Much like Centralia, Forrest said a levy would allow for a quicker solution to the schools’ infrastructure problems, fixing the district’s worst problems in short order.
District voters have been split on facility issues in the past, however: in both 2006 and 2007, a $7.2 million bond that would have funded construction of additional classrooms at Adna Elementary School and a science laboratory in the middle school wing of Adna Middle-High School was turned down by voters.
Those bonds also would have built a second gymnasium and performing arts center, as well as a new football stadium and track and field complex, at the middle-high school.
Another subsequent bond which essentially split the academic and athletic facilities was also voted down.
The football stadium was eventually funded using approximately $300,000 in capital funds and a matching $300,000 grant from TransAlta.
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Christopher Brewer: (360) 807-8235
