MLSD starts process of developing bond package for 2017

MOSES LAKE — With a prospective bond election date of Feb. 7, 2017, the Moses Lake School District (MLSD) is on the clock for building a bond package to present to district voters.

First, the district has to figure out what that bond issue will look like, which means determining what kinds of facilities need to be built to address current and future space needs in Moses Lake’s schools, as well as what is likely to be approved by the supermajority of the community. The task is easier said than done.

The MLSD School Board convened Monday for four hours of public deliberation to discuss the district’s overcrowding issue, school facility ideas, and the timeline in which the bond process needs to be completed. At a previous study session in January, School Board President Kevin Donovan asked his fellow board members to draft ideas regarding how the district should move forward, whether that means building a new high school, expanding the existing one, or something else entirely. Monday, the board tossed around three ideas and discussed their viability for the Moses Lake community.

“This is our opportunity to look at it from ground zero and see what we want to do,” Donovan said at the outset of Monday’s deliberations.

The ideas discussed Monday were merely the first step in what will be a long, involved process for the district. The board deliberated at great length how it would continue forth in the process of developing the right bond package. Their prospects included using focus groups, committees, and other methods of gathering community input before a bond package is solidified and presented to the public.

The first facility proposal was laid out by director Eric Stones, who proposed that the MLSD put together a bond issue that would fund the construction of a new junior high school. As part of Stones’ proposal, the district would reconfigure the grade levels serviced by the different schools. The new building would be a 1,600-student campus for grades 8 and 9, while Moses Lake High School would then serve grades 10 through 12. The existing middle schools (Chief Moses and Frontier) would house grades 6 and 7, and Endeavor Middle School would be converted to an elementary school to address immediate space needs at the elementary level.

“As I’ve gone through the numbers, this appears to be a viable option (to relieve overcrowding),” Stones said.

“I think we would really be doing a disservice if we overbuilt and if the perception is that we overbuilt.”

Director Susan Freeman said she largely agreed with Stones’ proposal of reconfiguring the MLSD’s grade levels and building a new junior high school campus.

“I don’t see us being the community that needs to have the second-largest high school in the state,” Freeman said, regarding the possibility of expanding MLHS instead of building a new school. “So I think a second school … would probably be more doable, especially considering the age and condition of what we have already.”

The second idea came from School Board Director Vicki Groff. Groff said by her estimation, the best thing for the Moses Lake community is building another high school of like size to MLHS, in addition to constructing at least one new elementary school.

“I think it’s in the best interest of our community to have another high school,” she said. “I’m thinking it’s going to probably need to be in the more northern part (of town) so that we are not stepping all over each other.”

School Board Vice President Oscar Ochoa spoke in favor of Groff’s proposal, as well. He said the prospect of adding onto to MLHS, rather than building a separate high school, concerned him with regard to students and the relationships they can access at school.

“My worry is with some of these students and really the relationships that they are not getting from coaches or teachers, and it’s not the teachers’ fault by any means,” Ochoa said. “It’s just that there are so many kids that keep falling in and out.

“I would say let’s find a way to make that (new) high school. I don’t know that changing our configuration is something that I would care for because we have heard it over and over and over that this (current configuration) is the configuration we like.”

Donovan presented the final proposal that was discussed at Monday’s meeting, which involved expanding Moses Lake High School. His preliminary idea included building an 800-student addition to the high school, along with other modifications to improve infrastructure. This course of action, he said, could accommodate district needs at the secondary level for more a long time, especially if the 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule is utilized going forward. Donovan’s plan also included the construction of an elementary school.

Donovan added that he loved the idea of building a new high school and one or two new elementary schools, but he didn't believe that kind of package would be approved by 60 percent of the community because of its presumably high cost compared to other proposals.

The School Board members and MLSD administrators discussed each idea in detail Monday, talking about pros and cons for each. At the forefront of the conversation for each proposal was its viability, both in terms of whether it would address crowding needs and whether the community would approve of each.

A common ground shared by all administrators and board members was this: no matter what shape the bond package takes, it has to include means for addressing elementary needs. Donovan said constructing one elementary school would address the district’s needs right now, not including anticipated enrollment growth in the coming years.

No action was taken at Monday’s study session. The district leaders spent a chunk of time deliberating over what process they would like to use for developing the bond package. The School Board decided to put the matter on the agenda for its regular board meeting Thursday for potential action on what process will be used. Most of the conversation involved the use of one or more committees to vet facility proposals and present findings to the board.

Superintendent Michelle Price and Assistant Superintendent Josh Meek also presented to the School Board a tentative bond planning timeline Monday. The draft timeline slates the district to have completed community, staff and student input sessions by June, with recommendations to the board to be presented in July. That would leave the district about six months to present the bond package to the community and inform voters about its details.

The timeline also anticipates that special election ballots would be mailed in January 2017, with the bond election ending Feb. 7.