BURLINGTON — In a meeting that drew what district officials said was record attendance, more than 30 people sat in child-sized chairs at West View Elementary School’s library to discuss a proposed Burlington-Edison School District construction bond.

Much of the audience consisted of parents from the West View Parent-Teacher Association, whose meeting had just adjourned before the forum.

Many in the crowd had watched the past two failed bond attempts and asked the differences between the previous proposals and the newest iteration.

The $39.5 million bond, tentatively slated for the ballot in early spring, would pay for renovations to West View, add classrooms at the elementary school and the high school. It would also reconfigure the pick-up and drop-off areas of West View and Bay View elementaries. It would also pay for property purchased by the district in mid-2004 and late-2007.

The dynamics of elections have changed, too, since the days when bonds used to pass without much difficulty, said board member Mike Dynes. School supporters and their children used to flood street corners waving signs on Election Day. But with the advent of mail-in ballots, that tactic is no longer effective, he said. Dynes said bond supporters will have to change their strategy to try to pass the coming bond.

“The no vote is hand delivered like never before,” Dynes said. “The supermajority is a mountain. It’s a tough one to conquer.”

Construction bond proposals must receive 60 percent — or a “supermajority” — of the vote to pass in Washington state.

Dynes encouraged parents to get involved in the district’s citizen committee, and to talk to neighbors about the projects.

“I sense a little bit of energy in this room that we didn’t have before,” Dynes said. “I fully expected two people to be here tonight. This is a good start.”

One parent, Amy Jones, suggested that students buddy up and walk door-to-door to tout the proposal. Students are already used to going door-to-door to sell items to raise money for their schools, she said.

“My students come home on fire with these magazine sales,” she said. “They are future informed voters. I know for a fact my children would go door-to-door. They know the neighbors.”

While officials have in the past said that there is never a good time to propose a bond issue, Bay View resident Keith Eitner disagreed, with a condition.

“Anytime is the right time as long as the people believe that we are going to be providing money that is going to be put to use appropriately,” he said. “In today’s fiscal situation none of us want to think that any of our money is being wasted.”

Board President Liza Bott asked the crowd when in the next year the district should propose the bond to the voters due to the economic climate.

Jones said, the sooner the better.

“It makes sense to get it passed as fast as we can,” she said, because of rising construction costs.

If the School Board votes to put a bond proposal on the ballot for the spring, it would be the district’s third try in four years to pass a bond issue. Two previous bond requests, for $74 million in 2006 and $59.7 million in 2007, failed with less than 60 percent of the vote required by state law.

Taxes on the proposed issue would cost property owners 55 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation, or $165 on a $300,000 home.

The district has one more community forum to discuss the bond issue and the proposals within it. The next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Burlington-Edison High School library, 301 N. Burlington Blvd.

Kate Martin can be reached at 360-416-2145 or at kmartin@skagitvalley herald.com.