North Kitsap School District facing critical juncture with upcoming bond vote

The last time North Kitsap School District put a bond on the ballot, voters in 2001 approved a $60.9 measure that paid for the building of Kingston High School and funded renovations at North Kitsap High School, Poulsbo Middle School, three elementary schools (Pearson, Poulsbo and Suquamish) and the North Kitsap Community Pool.

Not surprisingly, 23 years later, the price tag for facility construction is significantly higher. So is the district's current bond ask: $242,138,000 over 20 years. That's the investment under consideration as the Feb. 13 special election approaches and speaks to the substantial list of targeted projects within the district, including rebuilds for Pearson Elementary School in Poulsbo and Wolfle Elementary School in Kingston.

The 60% super-majority required for school bond approval is no easy task. In November, South Kitsap School District saw a bond of similar size and scope — $271 million over 21 years — fail with only 50.7% of voters approving.

NKSD Superintendent Laurynn Evans said voters hold the key to choosing the path her district takes in 2024 and beyond.

“My personal belief is we are at a juncture, we are at a crossroads in this school district of, ‘We can start building the future for our kids and really start to secure quality learning for children, or we are going to be in triage for quite a while,'" Evans told the Kitsap Sun during an interview this week. "We are going to have to find a way to get the support around this to move the work forward.”

The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe and the Suquamish Tribe issued endorsements of North Kitsap's bond earlier this month. The North Kitsap Education Association, which issued a vote of no confidence in Evans and the school board during the summer of 2023 while bargaining for a new contract, "does not have a position of endorsement right now," NKEA president Ted Jez said. But other voters have voiced opinions opposing the measure, calling some proposals excessive and criticizing the lack of any improvements at one school, Suquamish Elementary.

Bond measure delayed due to COVID-19

It's not a stretch to say North Kitsap's current bond measure has been a long time coming. Evans learned of the district's lengthy list of building concerns and maintenance needs during her first day on the job after replacing the retiring Patty Page as superintendent in July of 2017.

“My (Chief Financial Officer) at that time, Jason Rhoads, knocked on the door at about 8:05 in the morning and said, ‘Hi. … we have some issues,'" Evans said.

What the district didn't have, Evans discovered, was any sort of long-term plan for its 10 school buildings. That was about to change.

“We started talking about a bond in the summer of 2017. That’s where the conversation began," Evans said. "That year, it became very clear that we had very pressing facilities issues across the school district.”

After NKSD formed a community facilities advisory committee in the summer of 2017, some of the district's most pressing needs began to be addressed when voters in 2018 approved a four-year capital levy to fund upgrades and repairs to aging HVAC systems, roofs, security, fire alarm systems, technology infrastructure, turf fields, parking lots and the pool.

That same year, NKSD had a facilities condition assessment report generated, which help guide conversations about future, larger-scale facility projects.

"Our intent was to run a bond in 2022," Evans said.

Bond conversations were interrupted when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. Long-term facility objectives took a back seat to more immediate needs. Remote education and student/staff health became top priorities.

Once pandemic concerns began to subside, planning for facility work resumed. North Kitsap voters passed another four-year capital levy in 2022 to help fund numerous smaller projects, including the addition of permanent classroom space at Poulsbo Middle School and the creation of separate gym and cafeteria spaces at Wolfle Elementary and Suquamish Elementary.

Two years later, the district is ready to move ahead with larger projects if the 2024 bond is approved.

In terms of taxes for North Kitsap property owners, the total tax rate in 2024 is projected to be $2.39 per $1,000 of assessed value. Should the bond pass, the district estimates that the projected total tax rate in 2025 would be $2.49 per $1,000 of assessed value. The rate breakdown would be as follows: estimated EPO levy rate ($1.31); estimated capital levy rate ($0.34); and estimated bond rate ($0.84).

“We made a commitment to tax-payers to (keep) a stable rate," Evans said. "I started talking about that when I came here and we have been very true to that over time. We are trying to be respectful of the overall rate. Our rate overall has declined since I’ve come here.”

List of projects targeted in the bond

Here's a synopsis of the projects included in the upcoming bond. More details on each project can be found on the district website:

PEARSON ELEMENTARY: Build a new 70,000-square foot, 450-student capacity school at a new location off Finn Hill Road in Poulsbo. The estimated cost is $82.7 million with a projected construction start date of June 2025. The current Pearson Elementary, built in 1951 and located off Central Valley Road, would continue to be used during the new school build, which is estimated to take two years. The old school would be demolished after, but the land would remain district property.

WOLFLE ELEMENTARY: Build a new 70,000-square foot, 450-student capacity school on the same campus where the current school is located off Highland Road in Kingston. The estimated cost is $75.3 million with a projected start date of June 2026. The current school, which was modernized in 1990, would continue to be used during the new school build, which is estimated to take two years. The old school would be demolished after.

GORDON ELEMENTARY: Add a final wing to the existing school located off Barber Cut Off Road in Kingston. Adds six classrooms and two restrooms while removing all portables. The estimated cost is $9.1 million with a projected start date of June 2027.

POULSBO ELEMENTARY: Add a modular classroom to replace five individual portable classrooms to the school located off Noll Road. Building would house six-eight classrooms and two restrooms. The estimated cost is $8.4 million with a projected start date of June 2028.

KINGSTON HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC FIELDS: Install turf baseball/softball fields with lighting for both fields. Add covered metal grandstands to the football/soccer field with an announcers booth. Add a modular building that will house restrooms, concessions and a ticketing booth. The estimated cost is $11.4 million with a projected start date of June 2025.

NORTH KITSAP HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC FIELDS: Install turf baseball/softball fields with lighting for both fields and upgraded parking access. Improve ADA accessibility to the football/soccer stadium, baseball and softball fields. The estimated cost is $11.4 million with a projected start date of June 2025.

VINLAND ELEMENTARY: Upgrade parking/access and fire alarm systems at the school located off Rhododendron Lane in Poulsbo. The estimated cost is $3.4 million with a projected start date of June 2027.

POULSBO MIDDLE SCHOOL: Enclose/update the art, science and CTE classrooms at the school located off Hostmark Street. Remodel/expand the main gymnasium, auxiliary gymnasium and locker rooms. Create a dedicated commons area for school/community use and a new central kitchen. The estimated cost is $26.2 million with a projected start date of June 2028.

KINGSTON MIDDLE SCHOOL: Project work at the school located off NE West Kingston Road includes upgrades to fire alarms, roofing, technology room, interior/exterior painting and finish work, carpeting, boiler replacement and asphalt overlay. The estimated cost is $5.5 million with a projected start date of June 2025.

The bond measure also allocates $10 million in critical/required repairs, which include district-wide playground improvements, parking lot and sidewalk improvements, perimeter fencing improvements, fire alarm replacements, as well as interior lighting upgrades at multiple schools and auditorium improvements at Poulsbo Middle School.

District acknowledges some needs go unmet

In a perfect scenario, Evans said that NKSD would be able to pass a bond every 12-15 years. There would be a cycle of rebuilds and major projects, ensuring no school campus grows too old, no building becomes a maintenance nightmare.

That all starts with February's bond measure. Is it fairly comprehensive? Evans believes it is. Does it cover all of the district's needs? Evans acknowledged it doesn't.

“One of the things that I’ve said clearly over and over again: there is no perfect bond measure. It does not exist," she said. "I fully acknowledge and accept that. We have to start somewhere, we have to do something."

Cheryl Harris, who helped prepare the "for" argument in the local voters' pamphlet and is part of a citizen committee (yes4nksdkids.org) in favor of the bond, believes the district has been transparent in its pursuit to rectify facilities issues. There are been numerous meetings, forums, and opportunities for people to become education and get involved.

"All the district's cards are on the table," Harris said.

Not everyone likes the cards they're seeing. Former school board member Scott Henden, who helped craft the "against" committee argument in local voters' pamphlet and is part of a citizen committee (nksdbond.com) opposed to the bond, described the measure as inequitable, wasteful and lacking broad community input.

"We want a revised equitable long-term plan, made with stakeholders' input," Henden wrote in an email to the Kitsap Sun.

Henden and his committee question the need for a rebuild of Pearson at a new location several miles away from the current school. There's also the topic of Wolfle, which was modernized in 1990 and received a major HVAC upgrade in recent years.

"A remodel and addition are appropriate for Wolfle," Henden said. "A new school is excessive."

Evans said that with Pearson, a new school will allow for what she called "right-sizing" of nearby Vinland Elementary, which is overcrowded and could see students enroll at Pearson. The current Pearson school is built on a narrow property along a busy road and ongoing maintenance is problematic.

“We are staring down a really difficult road with Pearson Elementary," Evans said. "If we don’t have a rebuild of that building, we are going to be in this cycle of throwing money at this very old building just to keep it operational.”

Constructing new Pearson and Wolfle buildings on new sites, Evans said, will not only improve safety by reducing school entry points, it will also allow the district to continue using the existing buildings for uninterrupted education. Modernization projects would be problematic on that front.

"Where do we put those kids for two years?" Evans said.

Perhaps the most common gripe among critics is the lack of project-specific funding for Suquamish Elementary, which was built in 1961 and modernized in 2005. It's dealt with HVAC issues and currently utilizes an aged portable without a bathroom. One of the district's priorities in the bond is trying to eliminate reliance on elementary school portables.

"All but one school was specifically addressed in this bond," Henden said.

Evans said the district continues to explore ways to move Suquamish's portable-taught students inside the main building. As far as HVAC issues, Evans said those will be fixed when a new control panel is installed as part of gymnasium upgrade project that is being funded by the 2022 capital levy.

New facilities condition assessment report coming

Asked if Suquamish might be prioritized in future bond/levy measures, Evans said the district will have a new facilities condition assessment report generated later this year.

"That will become the genesis point for the discussion of where we go from here," she said.

Evans disagreed with the notion that the district didn't do its due diligence when it came to seeking input from stakeholders during the bond-crafting process.

"This is the best thinking of informed folks who have been part of the discussion for a long time. It’s community members, it’s staff, the board has had discussion about this. ... At some point, we have to lean on some decision-making entity to move forward. We have to do the work.”

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: North Kitsap School District facing critical juncture with bond vote