Bond passage thrills district

After four attempts, voters have approved a bond to improve Deer Park High School.

The $24 million bond passed by just 15 or 20 votes, according to Mick Miller, superintendent of the Deer Park School District. A supermajority of 60 percent was needed in the May 15 election.

The results became official Wednesday afternoon.

“We’re absolutely thrilled,” Miller said.

The project will add 48,000 square feet of space to the school, including a second gymnasium, a performing arts auditorium, 12 classrooms, new lockers and a space for music classes.

The district hopes to open up the library, theater, gymnasiums and health and fitness center for public use in the evenings.

The total cost for the project is estimated at around $42 million. The district will receive $18 million in matching funds from Washington state.

The building has not been remodeled since it was built in 1979 to accommodate 500 students. This year, around 681 students were enrolled.

The Deer Park School District served 2,040 students when Miller began as superintendent in September 2004. This year there were 2,278 full-time students.

Miller hopes work on the project will begin sometime in summer 2008, but it could be as late as fall of that year. Construction could take anywhere from 18 months to two years.

Voters have turned down previous bond requests by narrow margins. In 2005, the bond fell four votes shy of approval. In February this year, it was short by 30 votes.

The school district held a rally April 24 and since then, citizens and staff have been out waving signs to remind people to vote.

It worked. Miller said this election saw more voters than any other election in Deer Park.

“Our school board stuck with the idea to push it,” he said. “They saw the need.”

The district covers parts of Spokane County, Stevens County and Pend Oreille County, and students from a separate Loon Lake school district attend high school there.

Now that the bond has passed, the two school districts will devise a plan for a financial contribution to the project by the Loon Lake district. It hasn’t been determined where those funds will come from.

Miller said that the district will meet with folks in Loon Lake and from Educational Service District 101 soon to discuss the details.

Under the bond passed this month, taxpayers in the Deer Park School District will pay an additional $1.39 per $1,000 of assessed property value, or $208 a year for a $150,000 home.

In other elections, the Nine Mile Falls School District won its school bond issue with a supermajority of 60 percent after two previous unsuccessful attempts.

The $12.3 million construction bond will pay for renovations of Lake Spokane and Nine Mile Falls elementary schools, including new classrooms and safety improvements.

Taxpayers in the Nine Mile district will pay an additional 70 cents per $1,000 in assessed property value, or $140 a year for a $200,000 home.