Eastmont School Bond Decision Expected At Next Meeting

The Eastmont School Board is expected to vote at its next meeting on placing a construction bond on the ballot in November.

Superintendent Spencer Taylor says the board has asked him to prepare two bond options: a $116 million request that would fund improvements to aging facilities at Kenroy, Lee, and Cascade elementaries

"Kenroy and Lee were built in the fifties, and they have had some additions, but all three schools are kind of patchwork with some newer parts that would not be touched. We are going to keep those newer parts from when we had an expansion, but it would be the older stuff that was somewhat old when I attended Kenroy in the seventies," Taylor said.

Taylor says Cascade dates back to the 1960s, and all three campuses are difficult to secure with outside hallway design, which poses a security threat.

A second bond proposal option adds about $8 million to pay for a series of district-wide upgrades, including paving a gravel parking lot at Sterling Intermediate School and projects to replace a roof and rebuild condemned tennis courts.

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Taylor says the board has been considering input from a 40-member facilities committee, community survey feedback, and public comments. Additional public comment is expected at the board meeting on June 8th before board members are likely to vote on whether to proceed with a bond proposal, according to Taylor.

The district has considered a construction bond that would provide the capital funding and $25 million in matching state funds to begin improvements. A capital levy option has been under consideration, but Taylor says the revenues generated from a levy would be received over several years and delay the timeline to complete planned upgrades.

School construction bonds require a 60% approval by voters, while a lower 50% plus one vote threshold is sufficient to pass a levy. Eastmont voters have rejected two recent bond proposals that fell just shy of the required supermajority needed to pass

The superintendent says the preliminary bond estimate is approximately 80 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value.

The Eastmont School Board meeting is June 8th at 5:30pm in the district office.