HIGH SCHOOL BONDS HEADED FOR FEBRUARY VOTE

By Chris Cook - Forks Forum editor

The Quillayute Valley School District (QVSD) board voted unanimously Tuesday night, Dec. 9, to place the $11.5 million Fork High School “Replacement Addition” construction bond issue before voters in the district on Feb. 3.

Ballots are to be mailed out by the Clallam County Elections Office on Jan. 14. No other resolutions are expected to be on the ballot.

Also on the February ballot will a vote on a two-year continuation of the QVSD’s  existing four-year maintenance and operation levy.

“We are confident that putting both the M&O Levy and school bond on the special election ballot in February is the right thing to do,” Quillayute Valley School District Superintendent Diana Reaume said Monday. “First of all, it is very costly to run the ballot at $30,000. Second of all, we are putting everything out on the table for the taxpayers. We are not increasing the M&O Levy. Finishing the high school project with the passing of the school bond proposition will help us reduce costs in many ways.”

The construction bonds failed to win approval in the November general election, missing by about 5 percent of the vote. Approval requires a super majority of 60 percent or more approval. The two-year levy requires a simple majority of 50 percent plus one vote.

Reaume said proponents of approving the school bonds are going to work immediately to help gain “yes” votes.
“Our Bond Campaign Committee will mobilize this week. We are seeking precinct volunteers who will get the word out by a ‘face-to-face’ method. Of course, we are expanding our committee to include a larger representation of the community. We have studied the voter information from the general election and have a succinct plan.”

The board decided to forego offering voters the option of tagging on some $4 million in construction costs for replacing the Spartan Stadium grandstand and related facilities plus placing an artificial surface on the adjoining football field.
A proposition for funding a combination of the high school construction and the sports facility only received 40 percent approval by voters in the general election.

Voter turnout is also an issue, with at least 1700 yes votes needed to validate the bond.

The $11.5 million in school bonds have a maximum maturity of 23 years.

The two-year levy would raise $570,000 in 2010 and 2011. The levy is vital to maintaining buildings, funding extracurricular activities, providing classroom learning tools and aids and funding for several teaching positions. The cost to property tax payers for the levy will remain the same as an existing four-year maintenance and operations levy if approved. Due to the higher valuation of properties in Clallam County, the per $1,000 of valuation cost to tax payers would drop to $1.16 from the $1.43 being paid currently.

Reaume compared the $30,000 cost of running the special election was substantially steeper than the $8,000 cost for a similar election held in 2005. She said Clallam County now uses sophisticated mail-out ballots that require a specialized press only available in the Seattle area. However, by running the two high school construction bond vote with what’s known as the M&O levy will result in a substantial savings for the school district. If the school bonds are approved, the cost of the bond election would be absorbed by the bond funding.

Reaume said a temporary budget freeze on discretionary spending is also in place. The freeze will be reevaluated after the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction based in Olympia announces 2009 levels of cut backs in state funding for the district.

Reaume said the QVSD cash reserves should more than offset state cutbacks if emergency funding is needed.

Biomass
The school design firm BLRB Architects of Tacoma has been chosen to provide the design for the $1 million Legislature-funded biomass pilot project that would heat the Forks Middle School and produce electricity, Reaume told the board.
The project aims at creating a model for schools across the state located in regions where wood mill waste is available as a fuel. Burning the wood waste would financially benefit both the mill and the school district.
She said three firms submitted bids for designing the biomass project.

The firm is also working on the design for the proposed second-phase expansion of Forks High School. She said BLRB will work with Stantec of Vancouver, British Columbia, a firm that has installed several biomass heating projects for schools. A study on the availability of a year-round supply of scrap wood in the Forks area to fuel the biomass heater would be the firm’s first assignment.

Approval of the contract will be voted on at the next QVSD board meeting, with plans to begin the study in early January. The biomass project has a deadline for completion and operation by Dec. 2009.
Voter registration closes on Jan. 3 for the Feb. 3 election.