What’s fair in $75M bond vote for Ephrata school projects?

EPHRATA — Roughly half of Ephrata’s public school students in grades K-8 are housed in buildings that were thoroughly modernized over the past five years with new full-sized gyms, dedicated music classrooms, separate cafeterias, and enhanced security features.

Those students attend Columbia Ridge Elementary and the Ephrata Middle School.

The other half of Ephrata’s K-8 population – nearly 900 kids – attend Grant Elementary and Parkway Intermediate School.

Parkway was built in 1947, shortly after World War II. Grant Elementary is newer by a decade, constructed in 1957 during the second Eisenhower Administration. Both have been well-maintained amid multiple alterations over the past 60 years, say school officials, but they are overcrowded and neither can be considered modern or particularly secure.

At Grant, 40% of students are housed within five portables, each with two classrooms. At Parkway, over 60% of kids spend at least part of each school day in a portable – of the four, one serves as a music room. At both schools, the gymnasiums are one-third the size of those at the Ridge and Middle School. Each gym also functions as a cafeteria, meaning those spaces have to be cleared after every breakfast and lunch for P.E. classes.

Is it unfair to students, staff, and families – the haves, and the have-nots – to see such disparity in facilities?

Is it unfair to property owners in the Ephrata School District to raise their taxes over the next 25 years to pay for a proposed $75 million bond that will finance construction of two new schools? The bond money would also pay for a new performing arts center at Ephrata High School, revamp its main office for increased security, and add a trio of classrooms.

Voters will decide in a Feb. 10 special election. Ballots will be mailed out later this week by Grant County elections officials.

Currently, the school district’s total tax rate is about $3.59 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation. For the owner of a $300,000 home, that’s an annual bill around $1,100. Passage of the bond, with its estimated rate of $1.07 per $1,000, would increase that homeowner’s tax bill by about $30 a month, or $360 a year.

“That’s a big lift. We recognize this,” Ephrata schools superintendent Ken Murray said during an informational town hall session last Wednesday.

But he said the district’s rate projections are “very conservative” and likely will be less. Also, the rate of a voter-approved bond in 2019 is scheduled to decrease significantly in two years, further lowering the tax levy.

Income-eligible senior citizens and disabled persons may qualify for tax exemptions through the Grant County Assessor’s Office.

If local voters approve the new bond, Ephrata will also be eligible for an additional $27.4 million in non-levied money from the state’s School Construction Assistance Program. But if the measure fails, that money “stays in Olympia for someone else,” Murray explained.

The funds can only be used for new construction, not salaries or other purposes.

For passage, the bond proposition requires at least 60% approval plus turnout “validation” by at least 40% of voters within the district who cast ballots in the last general election.

Ephrata voters have traditionally been strong supporters of local school funding. But last year, a similar demographic of voters twice rejected a proposed construction bond for improvements at Columbia Basin Hospital. 

Still, supporters of the Feb. 10 proposition say students at Grant and Parkway deserve “equity” with their peers at the Ridge and Middle School.

In a statement, the superintendent said the bond will “secure the next 40 years of our community’s K-8 schools and set up Ephrata High School for the next phase of improvements. It would allow us to replace outdated buildings, strengthen safety and create learning environments that support students now and for decades to come.”

And if the proposition fails?

A reassessment would have to be considered, but the needs would still remain, he said.

School board members in November unanimously approved a resolution calling for the special election vote. The action followed a survey and in-depth facilities study conducted over two years by a group of community leaders, school personnel, and architectural and bond financing experts.

During the town hall meeting and a walking tour of facilities last Monday, Murray reiterated that “lessons were learned” from the 2019 bond measure.

While it paid for complete renovation of Columbia Ridge and the Middle School, funds ran short for comparable construction at Grant Elementary and work at the high school. Those hopes were stymied during the COVID-19 pandemic, when costs soared for labor and materials and an unanticipated $3 million asbestos abatement process was required at the Ridge.

New construction is now considered more cost-effective than remodeling, Murray said. To further save costs, both schools would be two-story structures based on already existing architectural designs.

And building new schools, rather than remodeling the existing ones, avoids the disruption of shuffling students into makeshift classrooms for months at a time while construction work continues under the same roof.

That was “hugely impactful on people” during the Columbia Ridge and Middle School projects, said Murray. “We don’t want to face phased construction again.”

As envisioned, the “new” Grant school would be located adjacent to Columbia Ridge Elementary, which has a dedicated bus loop and designated drop-off spot for parents.

A new Parkway would be moved from its now-confined location and sited on a portion of the playground/high school practice field just north of the existing Grant School. It could also share a bus loop with the nearby high school, reducing traffic congestion and ride time for students.

Design work could begin this spring. The projects would be bid in the spring of 2027, construction would begin that summer with occupancy by the start of the 2028-29 school year.

The “old” Grant building would then be “decommissioned” — that is, no longer used to house students, a factor in seeking state matching funds for new construction.

While most of the building could be razed, former district maintenance/facilities supervisor Rock Witte last week urged district officials to consider saving the Grant School gym. Witte said the facility -- which has restrooms, a kitchen, and heating/cooling infrastructure -- could be repurposed to meet other community needs.

Murray said the Parkway School property might also be repurposed, or possibly sold. Years ago, it was sold to Grant County PUD, then repurchased by the school district.

Under a proposed timeline, design work for the high school project would start in 2027, construction would begin in summer 2028, and wrap up in late summer 2029. While that project is more limited in scope, it would address the school’s immediate needs, officials said.

The school district has a dedicated website at TigersVote.org which provides comprehensive information about the proposals, including answers to frequently asked questions.

Murray has also scheduled a visit to The Bookery bookstore on Thursday, Jan. 22, from 8-11 a.m. He will be available to provide information and answer questions from citizens in an informal setting.

“Voters will decide this, and we respect that,” he said. “We just want them to be fully informed when they cast their ballots.”