Riverside school district seeking $73 million bond and $10.8 million levy

Voters in northern Spokane County will face two tax proposals from Riverside School District on February ballots: a $10.8 million levy and a $73 million bond.

The levy pays for staffing beyond what the state funds and the entirety of extracurriculars: sports, art, clubs – everything that falls beyond the state’s definition of basic education. The bond funds major construction projects.

Under the levy proposal, Riverside is asking voters to approve the collection of $10.8 million in taxes spread out over three years. The levy would renew at an estimated rate of $1.50 per thousand of assessed property value. Levy funding constitutes around 12% of the district’s total operating budget, the majority toward staffing.

Passage of the bond would add $1.42 per thousand to property owners’ tax bills.

The near-$73 million bond would pay for renovations on all four of the district’s schools, independent scholar’s program and preschool center. All schools would see modernization and renovations, including to the heating and cooling systems, securing entrances and updating classrooms. The 1,600-student district is outgrowing its facilities, expecting an enrollment increase of 30% over the next decade, Riverside superintendent Ken Russell said.

The bond

The rural district seeks a bond every 25 years. As such, many of its systems are in dire need of an update, Russell said, with some wings last renovated in the 1980s.

In addition to modernization, the bond would fund spaces to be used by the community outside school hours: a second gym, a performing arts venue and weight room.

Chattaroy Elementary School is slated for six new classrooms under the bond, to make room for the anticipated population growth and integrate fifth-graders at the school that has only served kindergarten to fourth grade for decades.

Chattaroy fourth-graders move to Riverside Elementary for fifth grade and then enroll at Riverside Middle School. The back-to-back changes are difficult for kids, stakeholders said.

Julie Snyder’s daughter is a Chattaroy fourth-grader, feeling apprehensive to move to a new school two times in two years. She’s been there since kindergarten and has built a bond with her teachers, other pupils and the community at the smaller school.

“Chattaroy is a great school,” Snyder said. “We love having her there and would love the stability of that.”

Chattaroy fourth-grade teacher Mindy Shaw said her students are often nervous to move to the unfamiliar territory at Riverside.

“Each school has its own personality. When you go kindergarten to fourth grade at one school, you get really used to that school: the staff, the programs and then general community feeling,” Shaw said.

At the district for 26 years, Shaw said while they’ve taken good care of the supplies they have, they could use a refresh. In her classroom are the same desks she’s had since she started teaching.

“We can only patch things together,” Shaw said. “Now things are breaking, and we need help with a bond.”

Recently, a boiler at Riverside Elementary stopped working. Russell said they no longer make the parts to repair the aging machine, but were able to retro-fit it with newer parts to keep the school open.

The levy

The levy pays for programs including vocational and trade offerings like classes in construction, welding, agriculture science and small engine repair. These programs align with the values of the community the district serves, Russell said.

“We want to have prestige for kids in those fields as much as kids get prestige for going to a four-year university,” Russell said. “So it’s really important that we have options based on kids’ passions and their skills and their interests.”

Riverside senior Blake Koesel is president of the Future Farmers of America club at the school and has taken a number of career and technical classes at Riverside. His participation in the club and in classes opened his eyes to a potential future career as a veterinarian.

Koesel and his cousin placed fifth in a national FFA competition for a project on embryonic transfer in cows. The club, coupled with animal science classes in school, sparked his interest in veterinary medicine.

“It’s helped me decide what I wanted to do with my life, basically,” Koesel said, now planning to pursue a career as a veterinarian.

In welding and mechanical classes, Koesel has built projects he can use at home on his family’s farm; he’s planning to weld a bale spear for his tractor.

“Welding and power mechanics is really cool,” Koesel said. “Now I know how to tear apart an engine and weld something.”