By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch The Bethel School Board hopes voters will do next month what they didn't do last month GÇô pass the school district's $236.7 million bond measure. Board members decided last week to put the proposition for upgrading schools and facilities back on the ballot for an April 26 special election, and in the same form that voters rejected in the Feb. 9 election. Among the proposals is an aquatics center that some district residents singled out for criticism before last month's election. They said it's unnecessary compared to other requests and should be eliminated to bring down the overall cost of the bond. But the School Board is sticking to the original plan. "We feel we made the right decisions on the bond proposal the first time and that the aquatics center is an important part of it,GÇ¥ said board president Warren Smith. The board formally decided at its Feb. 23 meeting to give the bond a second chance. A 60 percent supermajority of voters is needed for the bond to pass. The measure received a 57 percent yes-vote in February. Twenty-nine percent of the 58,939 registered voters in the district cast ballots. Property owners in the district face a tax bill of 74 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation if the bond passes. For example, that would add up to $148 a year ($12.23 per month) on a $200,000 home. The bond would stretch over a 20-year period of annual property tax collections. It would generate $236-million plus as the local share of the cost for all the projects, which school district officials estimated at $318.6 million. The difference between bond revenue and the total cost would be made up by $81.9 million the district would receive in matching funds from the state. The district is pushing for a bond approval now in order to take advantage of currently favorable financing and construction costs to replace, renovate and repair older schools. In addition to building the aquatics center for use by schools (the district doesn't have a pool), a new facility that bond supporters stress would be a community asset for recreation, the Bethel district wants to build new schools and improve old ones to help keep up with growing student enrollment. New construction or remodeling of 15 schools would provide more classroom space and an overall upgrade of facilities, according to district officials and bond supporters. 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, the alternative high school that currently is a collection of 14 portable buildings, with a new structure on the former site of Spanaway Elementary School; remodeling Cedarcrest Middle School and building a new elementary school next door; updating Evergreen and Naches Trail elementary schools; and replacing grass fields for sports and physical education at Graham-Kapowsin and Spanaway Lake High School with synthetic surfaces that would be better for year-round use. Bethel Citizens' Committee for School Support, the public group working for the bond's approval, notes the district is expected to gain 3,000 more students in the next 10 years. With about 18,000 students this year, Bethel is the 16th-largest public school district in Washington. Along with making more room for students, bond-funded improvements would bring buildings up to safety and health standards by updating roofs, fire protection and security systems, technology and earthquake safety, officials said.
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