Ephrata School District considering spring 2026 bond

EPHRATA — After more than a year and a half of work, the Ephrata School District’s District Facility Study Group has decided to recommend putting a $75 million bond package on the February 2026 ballot. The goal of the workgroup, said Ephrata School District Superintendent Ken Murray, was to ensure all of Ephrata’s students had quality learning spaces.

“Primarily, people had an opportunity to see what we were able to accomplish with our 2019 bond and the facilities that are in place at one of our elementaries, and then, obviously, at Ephrata Middle School,” Murray said. “And one of the real goals, initially, was they saw how safe those facilities are. They saw how (those facilities incorporate) current trends in terms of the types of spaces that you could create for students.”

Murray said the bond package, if approved, would have a tax bill impact but allow the district to remodel and expand Ephrata High School, replace Grant Elementary and Parkway Intermediate schools and provide a better Performing Arts Center for students.  Some of the work had initially been approved by voters in 2019 along with funding, but inflation caused by the pandemic and other factors caused their cancelation and the funding was zeroed out through a process called defeasement.

The total tax rate would increase by about $1.07 per $1,000; increasing from a total rate of $3.59 per $1,000 in 2026 to $4.66 per $1,000 in 2027. The total tax rate would then decrease to $4.65 per $1,000 in 2038 and then $4.18 per $1,000 in 2039. The numbers are projected and not finalized. 

Murray said he was grateful for the community members who participated in the workgroups and their dedication to students.

However, the recommendation has not gone before the Ephrata School Board yet, and that has to happen before anything ends up on a ballot, Murray said. The process is long, and began in December 2023 with the formation of the Facility Reimagining Team – a precursor to the Facility Study Group – which includes district staff, city officials, residents, parents and others. Through March 2024, the group examined what they should consider in developing a facilities plan. From October 2024 through this month, the study group examined the district’s campuses and developed a plan to submit to the board.

The plan calls for Grant Elementary to be replaced and relocated on property already owned by the district south of Columbia Ridge Elementary; replacing Parkway Intermediate School with a new campus between the current Grant location and Johnson-O’Brien Stadium; and a new auditorium for Ephrata High with six new classrooms and a new office for the high school campus.

Murray said full replacement of the high school facility in one bond measure just wasn’t practicable, given challenges with school funding in Washington.

Combined, everything is anticipated to cost about $102 million, with $75 coming from property owners in the district and $27 million coming from the state’s School Construction Assistance Program, also known as SCAP.

Next steps to determine whether the measure will hit the ballot, Murray said, is for the school board to hear the proposal at the October 27 school board meeting. From there, public hearings will be held and the board will decide in November whether or not to move forward with the bond election as recommended, with adjustments or not at all.

“In October, this group will present to the board,” Murray said. “The board will then direct me on whether or not they would like me to put together a resolution based on that presentation. And then, in November, we would have public hearings; we would go through the process of considering that resolution.”

Clarification: The tax rate for 2026 would increase in 2026 by about $1.07 per $1,000 in assessed valuation to a combined rate of $3.59 per $1,000 for that tax year. This information has been incorporated above.

    If voters approve a possible bond in February 2026, Grant Elementary would be replaced with a new campus with features similar to those at Ephrata Middle School.