The Kent School District is planning to postpone and reschedule several construction projects from the 2006 bond due to the dip in the economy.
Two of the projects that could be delayed are the Kent-Meridian High School gymnasium remodel and construction of a multi-purpose room at East Hill Elementary School, though roof repairs and repairs to heating and air conditioning systems at other schools are also among the projects that could be put on hold.
A final list of projects has not yet been compiled. According to School Board President Debbie Straus, a workshop session will be scheduled for some time Feb. 24 to discuss the matter. The meeting will be open to the public, though the board does not generally accept public comment during work sessions. Stay tuned with the Kent Reporter for additional meeting information.
Following that meeting, the board will provide direction to the district for the projects to complete this year and projects to be delayed, although that doesn’t necessarily mean putting the matter to an official vote.
According to Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Fred High, the decision to postpone and re-prioritize projects comes on the heels of the most recent valuation of the district, which saw its overall value drop 12 percent. Some residents saw assessed valuations drop more than 20 percent from the previous year.
The lower the assessed valuation, the higher the taxes on the sale of a bond. At current market rates, High said the taxes would be higher than the estimates the district gave voters in 2006.
“The problem is if we were to sell all of our bonds … taxes have to go up dramatically,” he said. “The tax base you’d assessed them on is getting smaller.
“Increasing taxes beyond the current level is what we’re trying to avoid,” he added.
High said the district would fulfill the promises it made to the public during the bond campaign, but some projects would have to be delayed.
“We’re not backing away from our commitment to the projects, it’s just a timing issue,” he said, adding that the K-M gym and East Hill multi-purpose room projects have been sent for engineering and architecture so they will be ready to go when the district can sell the bonds.
High said the district has a “large number of needs all across the district” to address and the school board would conduct a meeting to prioritize the remaining issues so that when bonds can be sold, projects get completed.
“There’s a whole series of issues we need to address,” he said. “We’ll keep up the best we can.”
Kent-Meridian High School PTSA Co-President Linda Novak sent a letter about the decision to the Kent School Board, which was received at the board’s Jan. 13 meeting.
In the letter, Novak stated she hoped the K-M gym would remain a top priority.
“We understand the current budget and market conditions that have delayed the project however we want to make sure that as conditions improve, our project will not be skipped over,” she wrote, adding, “Our facility has truly reached the sunset years of its useful life.”
Novak also wrote the facility is in even worse shape than expected due to maintenance and repairs not performed last summer because the facility was expected to be closed.
High reiterated the project would go forward eventually and said a new auxiliary gymnasium was completed at Kent-Meridian this past summer.
Straus stressed the district will live up to its commitment to taxpayers and said no final decision had been made on which projects to delay.
“We’re committed to completing what we said we would do,” Straus said. “The gym is not gone by any means. We’re trying to find the means to get it done.
“I wish our economy was better so we weren’t in this position,” she added.
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