School officials ready next bond

Spokane Public Schools officials say the worsening national economy won’t derail plans to ask voters for $288 million next year for school construction and technology improvements.

But an old argument is likely to get new emphasis as supporters of that six-year replacement bond try to convince voters that it’s worth the investment: Spending hundreds of millions on construction projects will keep local people working.

“Though we are not in the economic stimulus business, we will stimulate the economy in Spokane,” Associate Superintendent Mark Anderson said.

That point was reiterated Wednesday night when the school board met for a briefing on the bond issue.

The district is “a major player” in the local economy, the board was told by Superintendent Nancy Stowell. Other officials noted that the $288 million from local taxpayers would grow to at least $322 million, because the state would provide matching money.

The money would be used for work at every school. Topping the list:

•$99 million to reconstruct Ferris High School.

•More than $100 million to replace two elementary schools and reconstruct two others.

•$14.5 million for a gym at Salk Middle School.

Based strictly on statewide numbers, the odds of passing a quarter-billion-dollar proposal in March don’t look good. The failure rate for bond issues placed on this year’s ballots by Washington schools was the highest this decade.

But Spokane voters have a nearly spotless history of approving big-ticket bond issues.

“As a percentage of our income, we tend to open up our pocketbooks wider than people in many other communities,” said Patrick Jones, director of Eastern Washington University’s Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis.

And Stowell notes that this is a proposal that would not increase the tax rate – the amount collected for every $1,000 in assessed property value – even though it would raise far more money than the 2003 bond issue. That’s because there are more $1,000 units to tax: The assessed value of property within the district’s boundaries has increased nearly 60 percent since 2003, a result of new construction and the mid-decade real-estate boom.

If the bond issue passes, Spokane would be bucking a trend.

Washington school districts this year placed 35 bond proposals on ballots, hoping to raise nearly $2.9 billion. Voters approved eight, agreeing to spend a total of about $1 billion.

That’s a success rate of 23 percent, compared to an average of 42 percent during the previous eight years.

Among this year’s proposals to fall short of the required 60 percent voter approval was a $19.5 million Medical Lake proposal to build a new elementary school. East Valley voters in March rejected a $33 million proposal to modernize several schools, then rejected it again in May.

Last week’s ballot was the worst of the year for schools. Western Washington districts presented five bond proposals to voters, and none passed.

But proponents of the Spokane proposal would rather look at the hometown record – one in which no bond issue has failed in recent memory, although voters did reject a 1994 technology levy to buy $30 million worth of computers.

Voters in 1992 agreed to spend $50 million to build three elementaries and a middle school. In 1998 a $74.5 million bond proposal won 76 percent approval, providing money to rebuild Lewis and Clark High School, among other projects.

With LC completed, the school board decided in 2002 that it was time for a systematic plan to upgrade or replace every school in the district. The 25-year plan called for placing a new bond on the ballot every six years, with the first one in 2003 and the last one in 2021.

The 2003 bond faced organized opposition: Spokane businessman Duane Alton financed billboards and advertisements for a group that called itself So Tired Of Paying, or STOP. It was the first such effort since 1979, when the organizer of a group opposing a 1979 levy reported being threatened. Another levy-opposition leader had his lawn dowsed with gasoline and set on fire in 1972.

Still, despite STOP’s efforts, 67 percent of Spokane voters approved the district’s $165.3 million bond proposal to replace three elementary schools and renovate Rogers and Shadle Park high schools, along with many smaller projects. It was the largest by far of any bond proposal in any district that year.

The 2009 bond would be the next installment in the 25-year plan.

School district officials say they’ve mostly heard support from those who have attended recent community meetings about the proposal. They acknowledge, though, that supporters are more likely than detractors to attend such meetings.

“The Spokane community has been very supportive of schools,” Anderson said. “At the same time, we’re not resting our laurels thinking this (economy) isn’t something we should be concerned about.”

If economic stimulus becomes a selling point, it wouldn’t be the first time.

Campaigners in 2003 noted that carpenters, electricians, plumbers and many others had been kept busy during the LC reconstruction. As many as 250 craftsmen were on the job at once, they noted, and the architects and engineers were local, as well.

Contractors and labor groups were among those who endorsed the 2003 bond issue.