Anacortes School District leaders are taking a breather after two failed bond requests and thinking of ways to address immediate building needs.
“We’re going to have to have some pretty long, hard discussions,” said Carol Pyke, Anacortes School Board president.
Pyke said the district is going to have to look at ways to address immediate needs, like safety in Mount Erie Elementary School’s drop-off area and the high school’s leaking roof.
“How are we going to find the money to address those and how will we do it in such a manner that we’re not going to have to undo it all?” Pyke said.
Superintendent Chris Borgen said staff and consultants are identifying issues that need to be addressed sooner rather than later.
He said a School Board study session will be planned for sometime this spring to discuss the district’s next steps.
The $62.9 million bond gained a little ground in the final days of ballot counting. It failed with a 49.4 percent yes vote, well below the 60 percent supermajority required for the bond to pass and well below the 57.9 percent yes vote on the first try in April 2007.
The election results were certified March 5.
According to the Skagit County Auditor’s Elections Department, 8,982 ballots were received for the election. That’s about 70 percent of registered voters in Anacortes. Of those, 4,441 voted yes.
The district’s April 2007 request had 7,281 voters send in ballots, about 58 percent of registered voters. Of those, 4,218 voted yes.
“The biggest disappointment was that we lost so many votes from 10 months ago to now,” Pyke said. “Timing is everything. We were so close 10 months ago.”
The district requested a 20-year $62.9 million school bond to renovate Anacortes High School and Mount Erie Elementary School and build a new maintenance facility in the Feb. 19 election.
Anacortes High School was in line for about $54.4 million in work. Proposed upgrades included a renovation and reconfiguration of the existing school, a new career and technology education wing and improvements to the athletic fields.
Mount Erie Elementary School was in line for about $7.1 million for construction of a new gymnasium and reconfiguration of the parking and student drop-off and pick-up area.
The final part of the proposal was a roughly $2.95 million maintenance and storage facility to replace the World War II-era building now in use.
The proposal was nearly identical to the $59.8 million bond that failed in April 2007. It received a 57.9 percent yes vote, just below the 60 percent supermajority required for a bond to pass.
The new, higher, price tag — up about 5 percent — proved difficult for voters to swallow.
Had the bond passed, it would have cost property owners 46 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation in 2009. The owner of a $300,000 home would pay about $138 more in property taxes.
Pyke said the current economic state, with hints of a possible recession, played a role in the failure. She said people are just not sure what will happen.
“I think that plays a big part in the failure of the bond,” she said.
Overall, she said voters told her the district needs to break the request into smaller chunks.
Pyke said the district will have to explore different angles and think creatively to address the building needs.
