ML school construction bond questions discussed

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake School District patrons are getting a look this week at three options for a construction bond, which will be offered in some form in February 2017.

The first meeting to consider the options generated a lot of questions.

The first option would build a new, second 1,600-student high school, a new elementary school and include upgrades to Moses Lake High School. Total project cost would be $135.3 million. Property owners would pay a projected $1.46 per $1,000 of assessed property value

The second option would expand MLHS to 2,500 students, upgrade the existing building and build a new elementary school. Total project cost would be $106.4 million. Property owners would pay an estimated $1.10 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

The third option would build a separate campus for eighth graders and freshmen, convert Endeavor Middle School to an elementary school and enlarge Sage Point and Park Orchard elementary schools by 80 students each. Total project cost would be $108.6 million. Property owners would pay a projected $1.13 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Moses Lake School Board chair Kevin Donovan said the options took into account feedback district officials received in the wake of two previous bond votes in 2012 and 2015, both of which failed. The 2012 proposal included a second high school big enough for 900 students, and Donovan said the lesson the school board took from that was that the community didn’t want a smaller high school. If a new high school is built, district patrons wanted it to be the same size as MLHS, he said.

One audience member said a smaller second high school would be cheaper. Board member Vicki Groff said the purpose of the community meetings is to hear from district patrons on their preferences. Previous bond proposals didn’t include an option to enlarge MLHS. Board members were asked why they added the “mega-high school” option. “Honestly, I think it’s based on community feedback,” Donovan said. A lesson of the two previous votes was that a second high school was unpopular with some voters, he said.

The location of a second high school, or the eighth grade-freshman campus, has not been announced - in fact, it hasn’t been chosen. The district owns land along Wheeler Road, enough to build a high school, but that land does not meet state land use planning requirements. Board members and district officials have asked the legislature to change the rules, Groff said, but so far they haven’t had a response.

The school board is looking at two separate pieces of property that fit the land use rules. One is 55 acres, the other 60 acres. Because the board is in negotiations for the land, district superintendent Michelle Price said, board members couldn’t release details. The board was asked about converting Endeavor Middle School, given that there are two other elementary schools (Larson Heights and North) within a couple miles. And one of those is under capacity, the questioner said. She suggested a better location would be Nelson Road, where there is considerable residential construction.

Donovan said the conversion of Endeavor became a topic of discussion during the bond study sessions, and that one advantage of Endeavor is that the school district owns it already. A site for a new elementary school, if one is approved, hasn’t been chosen yet, he said. District officials would have to look at where growth is occurring, Groff said, because that would have an impact on site selection.

The district owns 10 acres in Cascade Valley, but that doesn’t have any utilities, Donovan said; the district also owns 11 acres behind MLHS. In answer to a question about security in an expanded MLHS, architect Steve McNutt said security is part of the design. Assistant superintendent Josh Meek, former MLHS principal, said MLHS teachers have been thinking about that too, and have recommendations for any expansion and remodeling project.

Board members were asked if the new high school, if that’s the option chosen, would be classified 4A. Groff said district officials don’t know, because schools are reclassified periodically. The best guess is Moses Lake would have two 4A schools, but that’s not guaranteed, she said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.