By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch Residents of the Bethel School District are voting a second time this month on a $236.7 million bond measure for upgrading some schools and building two new ones and a swimming pool. It's the same proposal that didn't get enough yes votes to pass in February. After it fell three points short of the 60 percent supermajority that's required to pass, the School Board decided to run the measure a second time in a second special election that ends April 26. That's the last day that voters can return ballots that the Pierce County auditor mailed to them on April 7. Board members and other supporters of the bond say all of the projects included in the proposal are important enough to keep trying. But one project in particular GÇô an aquatics center next to Bethel High School that would give high school swim teams a place to compete and practice, and also would be open to the community GÇô has been singled out by critics of the bond. Some, such as Graham resident George Wearn, say it's unnecessary compared to other requests. "Bethel's plans for luxurious facilities such as an Olympic-sized pool should be focused instead on improving the basic education of its students," Wearn wrote in a letter to The Dispatch. In addition to the aquatics center, which is about 8 percent of the bond's total cost, the school district is asking voters to approve new construction or remodeling of 15 schools in order to provide more classroom space and keep up with rising student enrollment districtwide. The district this year has about 18,000 students, and officials estimate another 3,000 will be added in the next 10 years. Property owners in the district face a tax bill of 65 cents (nine cents lower than in the first bond proposal) per $1,000 of assessed valuation if the bond passes. According to the school district, the financial impact on a home valued at $200,000 would be $148 a year ($12.23 per month). The bond would be for a 20-year period of annual property tax collections that would add up to the $236-million plus local share of the cost for all the projects, which school district officials estimate at $318.6 million. The difference between bond revenue and the total cost would be made up by the $81.9 million the district anticipates receiving in matching funds from the state. Bond projects include: " An expansion of classrooms, the cafeteria and the gymnasium at Graham-Kapowsin High School. " Modernization and partial replacement of Bethel High School, where some facilities date to the 1950s. " Replacing Challenger High School, now a collection of 14 portable buildings, with a new building on the former site of Spanaway Elementary School. " Remodeling Cedarcrest Middle School. " Building a new elementary school next to Cedarcrest. " Updating Evergreen and Naches Trail elementary schools. " Building a sports park behind Bethel Learning Center that would be available to the community. " Replacing grass fields at Graham-Kapowsin and Spanaway Lake High School with synthetic surfaces that would be better for year-round use. The majority of the bond proposals would help schools have smaller class sizes and make them safer, according to the Bethel Citizens Committee for School Support. Committee members also note that the pool and new fields would "provide recreational opportunities" for the public. Overcrowding is a particular issue at Bethel and Challenger high schools. At Bethel, for instance, a five-minute period for changing classes requires nearly 600 students GÇô roughly one-third of the total enrollment GÇô to navigate what's known as the "Bethel bottleneck." The convergence of two hallways and a set of stairs lead to the only doors to the school's 17 portable classrooms, some of which have been around since the Korean War. Elsewhere, ceilings and roofs need repairs. Challenger's all-portables campus sometimes has two classes at the same time in a single classroom, with only a curtain as a divider. The pro-bond citizens committee members GÇô Shannon Booth, Bob Benum and Ed Burmester GÇô say the bond "ensures every student's access to quality schools."
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