Bond talk at Othello meeting

Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald Othello School Board chair Rob Simmons (left) answers a question about the district’s school construction bond proposal during a community meeting Monday. Board members, including Simmons and Mike Garza (right) answered questions from district patrons about the bond proposal.

by CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Staff Writer | January 10, 2018 2:00 AM

OTHELLO — School overcrowding, school construction funding and what happens if Othello keeps growing were among the subjects discussed at a community forum sponsored by the Othello School Board Monday night.

District voters will decide the fate of a $61,415,236 bond proposal in a special election Feb. 13. If the bond is approved, the money will pay for a new elementary school, a new middle school and remodeling at Othello High School.

Board members and district officials sponsored a series of community meetings to help determine whether or not to offer a bond and, if so, what projects should be included. “When we started this building committee, as a board member I fully expected a high school was where we were going,” said board member Tony Ashton.

But, Ashton said, that wasn’t where the process led. Board member Mike Garza said the response from the community meetings was that the district needed more elementary and middle school space.

District officials bought property at the intersection of 14th Street and Lee Road in 2017. The plan is to build the new middle school and elementary school on the Lee Road property.

Funding was the focus of a lot of discussion, with district patrons asking about the money the district could receive in state construction funds.

The district is projected to receive about $15 million in school construction funds, but board member Rob Simmons said that amount isn’t guaranteed.

Board members were asked if they thought district property owners could pay for the bond, if it passed. (If approved, property owners would pay 96 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.) “That’s a hard one to answer,” Ashton said. “As a homeowner, I believe I could pay it. It’s more difficult when you start talking about businesses.” That’s especially true in an agriculture community, he added.

Board members also fielded questions about the district’s bonding capacity and future bonds. If the bond is approved, bonding capacity would have an effect on the project timeline.

A district patron said voters approved a construction bond a few years ago – he estimated about three years – and asked if district officials would come back in a few years for another bond, if this one was approved.

Ashton said the last construction bond actually was approved in 2007. If the current bond proposal passes, it would address the current overcrowding, but if Othello keeps growing it will be necessary to come back to the voters sometime, he said.

Brian Bodah, the district’s executive director of business services, said that at current projections, the new construction and remodeling would be adequate through 2028.

In answer to a question, board member Jenn Stephenson said none of the buildings have been designed yet. The only decisions made so far are to build the new middle school and grade school on the 14th Street property, and to eliminate a sports complex from the bond, she said.

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