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Highline Public Schools’ Proposition 1 would rebuild three schools and make improvements districtwide
Voters will consider the funding measure in the November 8 election
Anni Tadesse, who graduated from Highline High School (HHS) last year, saw firsthand how a modern school building helped students learn.
“It brings a whole new vibe that inspires a motivation to learn,” said Anni, who is now attending Harvard University and who experienced both the old and the newly rebuilt HHS. “I love how everything is more open and friendly, like the classroom windows and the spacious hallways. Evergreen and Tyee students deserve safe, modern high school buildings like Highline and Mount Rainier have.”
Of the district’s four comprehensive high schools, HHS is one of two that have been recently rebuilt; the other two are over 60 years old.
The state does not provide funds for building or major renovation for schools, so districts rely on voter-approved bond funding to finance school construction. Voters will be asked in the November 8, 2022 election to consider a bond to rebuild Tyee High School and Evergreen High School. The bond also provides funding to rebuild Pacific Middle School and make critical repairs to school buildings throughout the district.
If passed, the $518 million bond will not raise local tax rates. Because voters approve a dollar amount not a tax rate, tax rates decline in proportion to increases in property values. Due to expiring local school taxes, this bond Is not expected to significantly change the dollar amount paid by most homeowners.
Highline’s community-led Capital Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC) recommended Evergreen, Tyee and Pacific for replacement. Each of these school campuses consists of several buildings with multiple points of entry, making them difficult to secure in an emergency. They were not built to current fire or earthquake codes, require costly repairs, and can’t accommodate the same student learning technology that students in new schools have.
“A huge thank you to our CFAC members for helping us identify the schools most in need of rebuilding,” said Superintendent Dr. Ivan Duran. “All our students deserve safe and modern school buildings. We are committed to keeping our promise to provide equitable learning facilities across our district.”
Designs for the schools were funded by a previous bond, so they are shovel-ready. Construction on Tyee and Evergreen can begin as soon as a bond is passed. Starting immediately means students can move into new schools sooner, and it will save taxpayer dollars since building costs increase over time.
To read more about the projects in the November 8 election, as well as Highline’s 20-year track record of on-time, on-budget school construction, visit https://www.highlineschools.org/2022-bond.
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My kids have long since graduated from Highline schools, but I am thrilled with the prospect of replacing three more schools that have so needed attention. Pacific Middle School has always been a blob-like compound, and has been patched back together over the years, along with removal of terrible temporary trailers for classes. Being in the flight path, it was sealed to the degree that ventilation was downright suffocating – my son would come home with migraines every Monday and just go to his room. I can’t wait to see it replaced.
The district has always managed bond money successfully, coming in under cost and on-time, or repaying the bonds early. I have no doubt it will again in replacing these three schools.
Although I don’t really have any skin in the game, it is a point of pride with me that although HSD is one of the poorer districts in the state, our population has pulled together to pass the bonds to get almost all new schools over the past 20 years – I’m not sure any other district in the state has done that.
So, once again, let’s pull together to get this bond passed – parents, if we turn out our vote, we will likely get our new schools. This will be of enormous benefit to your kids, your property values and the community at-large. Information is cited at link above – for those that can pitch in to help, please visit http://www.yesforhighline.org.
These projects need to be done with APPROPRIATE oversight. The best way to do this is by utlizing a Community Workforce Agreement, ensuring that ALL contractors are LICENSED, BONDED, and legitimate Training Agents for Apprenticeships. When I allow the distric to tax me, I like to know that the monies are being utilized with a reputable partner, who will do the work correctly the FIRST time and not come back for more money via change orders galore !!! I would request that the BOARD and SUPERINTENDENT be responsible and enter in to discussions about how they can best benefit OUR COMMUNITY members with employment and training opportunities!!!