Vote Yes! We Need More Classrooms to Meet Growing Enrollment.

Our communities are growing. The district has kept up with growth by building three new schools and two additions since 2006 and changing grade configurations to efficiently use space.  In the next eight years, we need 180 more classrooms because of enrollment growth. Our aging schools need replacing to meet educational needs. Through Phases I and II of the 1998 modernization plan, we upgraded 21 schools. Through this bond we will modernize six schools in Kirkland, Redmond and Sammamish, including Juanita High School; make space additions to Lake Washington and Eastlake High Schools; and build six new schools. For every school to get the classrooms it needs when it needs them, every bond must pass! LWSD has a long history of building on-time and on-budget. Now is the time to build while interest rates are at historic lows.

Endorsed by Kirkland, Redmond and Sammamish City Councils and Chambers of Commerce; Seattle-King County Association of REALTORS; Lake Washington Education Association; Lake Washington PTSA Council and more than 30 PTAs; and the Lake Washington Schools Foundation. To see elected officials and community leaders who endorsed this measure, visit www.vote4lwsdkids.org.

We support quality facilities equitably provided to all our students and teachers.  We oppose this bond measure because it buries us in debt, unfairly builds palaces for some, and leaves thousands in portables and substandard buildings.

The owner of a median-priced ($424,000) home already pays $560/year for bonds to modernize our schools.  All of our schools could have been remodeled with this money.

Using unaudited estimates contrived to show it was cheaper to rebuild than remodel schools, LWSD needlessly demolished 20 of them instead.  The district now wants another $755M.

Almost $400M is earmarked to needlessly rebuild 6 more schools newer than many of our homes.  12 substandard schools will still be left unmodernized for years.

Less than $300M is earmarked to build new schools and additions to partially handle growth.  Thousands will remain in portables for years.  Over $100M is reserved for sites and contingencies.  

This bond measure will add $750/year to a median-priced home's school taxes.  Overall property tax bills will go up almost 20%.  Little borrowing capacity remains for future needs.

This extravagant and inequitable proposition funds a deeply flawed facility plan!  It should be rejected!

This measure is Phase III of the district's modernization plan, following the on-time, on-budget implementation of Phases I and II. Expanding enrollment figures speak for themselves. Between now and 2021, the district needs 180 more classrooms that meet educational and technical standards. Community input supported a responsible, long-range investment in our students’ education. Go to lwsd.org for the facts on cost. Vote Yes to avoid drastic overcrowding and take advantage of historically low interest rates!

Statement submitted by: Susan D. Baird-Joshi, Kerri N. Nielsen, and Matt Loschen
www.vote4lwsdkids.org

No statement submitted.

Statement submitted by: Susan Wilkins and Paul Hall
ParentsForEducation@yahoo.com

Download the full text of the resolution

60% yes vote and a minimum turnout of 18,503 (Washington Constitution, article VII, section 2(b))