Q-and-A with CVSD
Central Valley School District is asking voters to approve a $75.75 million construction bond on the Nov. 7 ballot. The following questions were asked by The Spokesman-Review and its readers, and answered by the District.
Q: How much will my taxes go up if the bond passes?
A: The cost to taxpayers if voters approve the construction bond on Nov. 7 would be an estimated annual increase of 80 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. In 2006, the Central Valley School District tax rate is $5.32. If the bond is approved, this rate would rise to approximately $6.12 in 2007. The increase would translate to about $80 per $100,000 assessed valuation.
Q: Why did the bond go up $20 million from March to November and does the bond pay for the same things it would have paid for in March 2006?
A: When estimating construction costs, Central Valley relies on experienced local architects and contractors. These experts tell us that construction costs have risen sharply, far beyond the traditional 3 percent annual inflation local school districts experienced in the past.
The $75.75 million bond covers anticipated costs to bid dates for each project and includes an inflation rate of roughly 10 percent per year.
With this approach, Central Valley School District expects to avoid construction budget deficits that are currently plaguing school districts in the Spokane area and across the state.
Essentially, the bond will pay for the same projects as the March 2006 ballot measure, with a slightly different financing plan. The current bond measure calls for most large projects to be directly funded through bond proceeds, with the remaining projects to be paid for with state reimbursement funds. Completion of all projects is contingent on voter approval on Nov. 7.
Q: Why didn’t the district plan ahead for overcrowding?
A: Central Valley School District, with help from its patrons, has a long history of planning to meet facilities needs. The district’s current Capital Facilities Plan identifies both immediate and future facilities needs. The plan also identifies several parcels of land purchased many years ago as future school sites, including the site of the proposed middle school. This plan includes enrollment projections that tell us when crowding is coming.
Although the district continues to plan for growth, funding for school construction must come from our local community. Voters rejected bond proposals in February 2003 and March 2006. Both bonds included funds for construction of new schools to relieve crowding. Although both bonds were approved by a majority of voters, school finance issues require 60 percent approval to pass.
Q: Why not charge developers an impact fee on each newly built house?
A: Central Valley School District cannot assess or collect impact fees. Instead, the district must ask the cities of Liberty Lake and Spokane Valley, and Spokane County to assess impact fees on our behalf. The district has made this request and provided the appropriate documentation to each jurisdiction.
To date, the city of Liberty Lake has adopted a resolution in support of impact fees for schools and is working on an implementing ordinance. The city of Spokane Valley is considering school impact fees as part of a broader discussion scheduled to begin later this year. Spokane County has not expressed interest in assessing school impact fees.
Central Valley has asked the local jurisdictions to assess an impact fee of $1,410 per new single family home, based on a state-recognized formula, which would be used to expand school capacity. Although these funds would not be enough to build a new school, the funds would help pay for portable classrooms or constructing additional classrooms to house growing student enrollment.
Q: Can’t the district get money from the state to build the new schools?
A: Central Valley School District is not currently eligible for state financial help to build new elementary and middle schools in response to growing enrollment.
When evaluating capacity, the state uses a specific “square foot per student” ratio. Central Valley’s educational programs and the unique needs of our students necessitate a higher “square foot per student” ratio than the state’s ratio. Therefore, in the eyes of the state, Central Valley still has excess capacity within the district for students in grades K-8.
Q: Why not bus kids from the east side of the district to the vacant classrooms on the west side?
A: Central Valley routinely buses students between schools when the child’s neighborhood school is full. We have found that growth is occurring throughout the district. Homes in established neighborhoods in the central and western part of our district are being purchased by young families with new students entering our schools.
Our growing enrollment means there are few vacant classrooms on the west side to hold students. Among the district’s 12 elementary schools, there are only seven classrooms which remain available to house more students. This is enough space for about 175 more elementary students across the district.
Enrollment has been growing at about 3 percent, or roughly 300 new students, each year.
Q: With so many houses being built in the district, won’t that give the district more money?
A: No. Voters approve a fixed dollar amount for school bonds and levies. This amount is shared by all the taxpayers in the district. When more homes are built, there are more taxpayers to share the same fixed amount. This means the school tax rate for each taxpayer decreases because the total tax base in the district is larger. The amount of money received by the district is unchanged.
Q: Liberty Lake is a separate city, why can’t it build its own schools?
A: School district boundaries in Washington state are not necessarily aligned with city boundaries. In fact, until about five years ago, the 80-square-mile Central Valley School District served only residents in unincorporated Spokane County.
Although district boundaries have not changed, we now serve residents in the city of Spokane Valley and city of Liberty Lake as well as county residents.
Over the years, citizens living in all areas of the district, including Liberty Lake, have supported bond measures to build schools. Currently, all but five of Central Valley’s 25 schools and learning centers are located west of Sullivan Road.
Q: Why don’t they use the old University High School for classes or just set up more portables for a few years?
A: When Central Valley School District built the new high schools, the district received funds from the state to help build the new University High school. In exchange, we had to agree not to use the old University High School to house regular K-12 students. However, we have been allowed to temporarily house students in the old University High who have been displaced by the remodeling of their own school.
We have also been able to use the building to house many of our early education, pre-school and adult education programs, freeing up space in our other schools for regular K-12 classrooms.
We are currently using two complete wings of the old University High School. We also have nearly half of our transportation department housed in this building as a cost-saving measure.
Q: How does Central Valley’s tax rate compare to other school districts?
A: Currently, Central Valley’s tax rate is about mid-range as compared with other school districts in Spokane County. Our 2006 rate is $5.32 per $1,000 which includes the current levy ($3.44) and existing bonds ($1.88).
Q: Why doesn’t the district just build a new elementary school in the Liberty Lake and Greenacres area to address overcrowding in that area?
A: The November 2006 bond measure includes a new elementary school in the Greenacres attendance area to help serve the eastern portion of the district. However, we are also experiencing severe crowding in Greenacres Middle School which serves the entire eastern portion of the district. As enrollment continues to rise and the district plans for growth, we need two new schools to house students – an elementary and a middle school.
In the more established areas of our district, schools are aging and in need of modernization. The bond measure will update these aging facilities, provide technology and improve safety to support and enhance student learning.
Q: What will the district do if the bond fails and enrollment growth continues?
A: During the 2006-07 school year, Central Valley School District has maximized all learning and teaching space in the district. We have 16 available elementary and middle school classrooms remaining. We expect enrollment growth to continue.
If the bond does not pass, the school board will consider options – additional portable classrooms, double shifting in our schools, year-round schools – and will likely seek out other options, as well.
Q: In the last couple of weeks, news stories have talked about plans for thousands more homes in the Liberty Lake area. Given that expected growth, isn’t this just the tip of the iceberg? How many schools are needed out there long-term and how long until you come back asking for another bond issue to build even more schools there?
A: The Capital Facilities Plan includes intermediate and long-range projections for the school facilities needed to meet future enrollment. The plan includes one more large high school, at least one more middle school and at least four more elementary schools.
The two new schools proposed in the current bond measure will help meet this need. If growth continues at the current pace, Central Valley is likely to present another bond proposal for additional school construction in the next three to five years.
Q: Why didn’t the district build bigger high schools? They were full the day they opened.
A: Central Valley High School and University High School were built to house up to 1,800 students. This was a purposeful decision, made by the school board based on the community’s desire to avoid extremely large high schools.
Both high schools opened with about 1,700 students and have grown to about 1,800 over the past four years. Two portable classrooms were installed at University High in September 2005 to address immediate needs.
Q: Why are the new high schools so extravagant?
A: Central Valley High School and University High School opened in 2002. The schools are built to last for at least 50 years of student and community use. The theaters are used by many performing arts groups, in addition to providing an important educational foundation for students.
The stained glass windows in parts of each school were funded entirely by the State Arts Commission. The Arts Commission, not Central Valley School District, owns these windows. Should the stained glass ever be removed, it will be returned to the Arts Commission. Over the coming years, thousands of students, school staff and community members will use the buildings, which are an investment in our community.