Ephrata School District seeks community feedback before considering future bond

EPHRATA — The Ephrata School District is inviting residents to help shape the future of its school facilities through a series of community meetings as officials consider whether to place a bond measure before voters next year. 

District leaders stress that no bond proposal has been approved and no final decisions have been made. Instead, the meetings are intended to gather feedback from community members about facility needs, priorities and concerns following the failure of a previous bond proposal. 

"We are going to look over some of the feedback that we received in the spring, look at the projects that were on the table, how much they cost, and just really try to listen and get some feedback about the different reasons why the bond failed," said Ephrata School District Communications Director Sarah Vasquez. 

The district has scheduled community facility study meetings from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23, Oct. 7 and Oct. 21 at Grant Elementary School. Similar sessions are also being held for district staff. 

According to Vasquez, district officials hope to better understand residents' perspectives on issues such as project scope, costs, timing and specific elements of previous proposals. 

"Whether it was the cost or the amount of projects, or the timing, or maybe certain parts of the project that people didn't like, such as possibly where Grant was going to be located, or different things, this is really a listening session," Vasquez said. 

One topic expected to be discussed is the possibility of pursuing a bond for just Grant Elementary.  

"From what we believe, the feedback in the spring was that people just really want to prioritize Grant Elementary," she said. "We want to hear from the community and see if they think that project or more would be feasible for the community." 

District officials said information gathered during the meetings will help determine future recommendations. If community feedback supports moving forward, administrators could eventually present a bond proposal and resolution to the Ephrata School Board for consideration. 

"Based on all the listening sessions and the community recommendation, then at that point we would move forward with a bond proposal to the school board and a resolution for that," Vasquez said. "But right now we're just listening." 

Vasquez said hosting the meetings at Grant Elementary will also give residents an opportunity to see the facility firsthand. 

"It's a good opportunity for people to see kind of the disparity between our two elementary schools and some of the needs that are at Grant," she said. 

Residents unable to attend can learn more about the facility study process at ephrataschools.org/facility-study-group-2026. 

The district is encouraging community members to attend, ask questions and share their opinions before any decisions are made about a possible future bond measure. 

Bond Community Facility Study meetings 

Sept. 23, Oct. 7 and Oct. 21 

6-7:30 p.m.  

Grant Elementary School 

451 3rd Ave. NW, Ephrata