By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch In another day or so, voters in the Eatonville School District can start deciding the fate of a bond measure that asks for a combined $19.4 million to improve athletic facilities, make schools safer and better-equipped for technology-based studies, and convert a farm into a place of learning. Ballots for the special election will be mailed to voters beginning April 7 by the Pierce County auditor. The voters will have until april 26, the last day of the election, to return their ballots after voting yes or no on Proposition 1. Supporters of the measure hope to get the 60 percent yes-side "supermajorityGÇ¥ that's required for it to pass. It also needs at least 1,040 total ballots to be cast in order to validate the outcome. The largest portion GÇô $15 million GÇô of the bond revenue that would come from property taxes is earmarked for athletic fields and facilities. The wooden, deteriorating 80-year-old football field grandstand at Eatonville High School would be replaced with a modern masonry and metal structure. And the high school, Eatonvlle Middle School and Eatonville Elementary School would get new fields that district officials say would be better-suited for school sports and the community. The football grandstand is outdated and structurally unsafe, said district superintendent Krestin Bahr. She noted that a booth for announcers and game film crews can't be used any more since the floor collapsed last fall. In addition, Bahr said, the football field doesn't stand up to the demand of school and youth sports teams. It also is too sub-standard to be a venue for some events, requiring the Eatonville district to sometimes rent fields in other school districts for "homeGÇ¥ games. "We either need to invest quite a bit of money to redo the (grandstand's) roof and announcing area, which is a concern due to the age of the structure, or (build) a new, safe, handicapped-accessible facility,GÇ¥ Bahr said. The new stadium would open in late 2017, and other athletic improvements would start about the same time.
Technology
Upgrading technology for students' learning is a $2.4 million portion of the bond. It addresses "the need for connectivity,GÇ¥ Bahr said. Educators say the district's current systems don't meet the educational needs to prepare students for modern occupations. To change that, the bond would cover personal devices for every student, expanded and improved wireless access for each school, interactive displays for classrooms, and better network infrastructure. Bahr said the district has such inadequate technology "that only one class can be online at a time. This is unheard of in the educational world, yet a large issue for rural, unconnected and unserved districts.GÇ¥
Safety and security
The bond, if approved, would devote $1.2 million to make schools more secure. Key card and video access systems, additional security cameras and faster 9-1-1 communication are proposed. So are digital radios for communicating between school buses and facilities, and a new fire alarm system for the middle school.
STEM and the farm
The Burwash family farm in the Ohop Valley recently was donated to the school district. Plans call for using the site for agricultural studies and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs. That, plus upgraded science labs in the schools, carry a pricetag of $800,000 and would be in use by mid-2017.
The bottom line
For property owners in the school district, the bond would raise the tax rate by $1.20 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for a period of 25 years. As an example of the impact on taxpayers, the increase would amount to $240 per year for a home valued at $200,000. The current rate of $5.53 per thousand would increase to $6.73 if the bond passes. The rate would likely go down if the bond is refinanced at some point, according to Corrine Lucas, president of Eatonville Citizens for Education. Lucas, who calls the bond an "investment in our schools," has said that nearby school districts such as Bethel ($7.67) and Yelm ($6.77) have higher tax rates than Eatonville. Because Eatonville schools aren't overcrowded and the proposed facility upgrades would be "built to last," district residents can be confident there won't be any other bond requests in the near future, Lucas said. And, she added, Eatonville has a history of handling voter-approved bond proceeds efficiently. She noted that a bond that was approved in 2006 for school remodeling was refinanced four times, saving $6 million and lowering the tax rate.
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