North Kitsap voters to decide fate of 6-year facilities, technology school levy

North Kitsap voters already decided the fate of one school funding measure this year, handily rejecting a 20-year, $242 million bond in February.

Now, North Kitsap School District is asking tax-payers to consider an alternative during the Nov. 5 general election: a six-year facilities and technology capital projects levy aimed at collecting roughly $32 million worth of funding from 2025-2030. The measure would pay for "construction, modernization and remodeling of school facilities districtwide to improve health, safety and security and upgrade technology equipment and infrastructure."

Whereas February's bond measure needed 60% support for approval (it only received 36.4%), next month's levy measure requires 50% plus one vote in order to pass.

With another bond measure possible as early as 2026, North Kitsap interim superintendent Rachel Davenport said November's levy is a chance for North Kitsap voters to help put the students, staff and facilities are on par with other school districts around the region.

"I look at equity, not just here in North Kitsap building the building, but equity of facilities and opportunities from school district to school district," Davenport said, "And it is not right and it is not OK that just by default of where a family either chose to live or has to live, they have different opportunities for their kids.”

Advisory committee guided levy recommendations

Two criticisms of February's failed bond, which preceded the resignation of former NKSD superintendent Laurynn Evans, was lack of broad community input and inequity with regards to school needs.

Eric Quitslund, James Schlachter and Daria Ilgen, who crafted the "for" committee argument in the local voters' pamphlet and answered email questions submitted by the Kitsap Sun, believe the district addressed those concerns in recent months through the expansion of facility advisory committee (FAC), a 27-member group composed of community members, parents and district staff. Quitslund and Schachter are FAC members.

The FAC began gathering in April in an effort to understand why the bond failed and consult various stakeholders. Meetings were held at various schools to give members first-hand exposure to facility conditions and challenges. North Kitsap's school board unanimously approved the FAC-driven levy proposal in July, ensuring it would be on November's ballot.

"Importantly, district staff took a supportive role, ensuring the FAC had the autonomy to reflect community interests without undue influence," Quitslund's group wrote. "This more inclusive and community-driven approach has led to a proposal that better represents the needs and priorities of the North Kitsap community."

Should voters approve the levy, allocation estimates by school would be $1,904,000 for Wolfle Elementary, $6,145,500 for Pearson Elementary, $1,295,000 for Gordon Elementary, $606,000 for Poulsbo Elementary, $5,001,000 for Suquamish Elementary, $2,756,500 for Vinland Elementary, $2,843,500 for Kingston Middle School, $1,507,500 for Poulsbo Middle School, $1,102,500 for Kingston High School, and $1,778,500 for North Kitsap High School.

“It does touch all schools," Davenport said, "and it does so with the feedback and data we needed for it to touch all schools."

Voter Guide: Kitsap County races, how to vote and more ahead of Election Day 2024

Taxpayers willing to support three levies at once?

NKSD is currently collecting funds on a pair of four-year levies that voters approved in 2022: a $73 million operations levy and a $35.3 million capital levy. Both of those levies expire at the end of 2026.

The proposed November levy does set the stage for North Kitsap to have three concurrent levies on the books for 2025-2026, a fact that could give voters pause. After all, they turned down a third funding measure earlier this year.

Both Quitslund's group and Davenport said it's the combined tax rate of all three levies that's most important to consider. November's levy seeks to collect a majority of its funding in the first two years ($10 million in 2025 and $11.5 million in 2026). That funding would be directed toward the district's capital project needs. The collection amounts would drop to $2.5 million in 2027, $2,575,000 in 2028, $2,652,250 in 2029 and $2,732,000 in 2030, money that would be used for ongoing technology maintenance purposes.

Since the 2022 capital levy's rate decreases from $1.04 this year to $0.34 in 2025 and $0.27 in 2026, the district expects taxpayers' combined tax rate ($2.34 this year) to remain flat: $2.33 in 2025 and $2.34 in 2026.

"The proposed levy is carefully designed to fit within the existing tax plan to sustain essential funding as the 2022 levy winds down. This means that even with three concurrent levies, the total tax rate for 2025 and 2026 will remain steady," Quitslund's group wrote. "It allows us to continue supporting important needs like safety, maintenance, and technology without any surprises in the tax bill."

Another bond measure possible in 2026

One reason November's levy has a significantly lower tax rate ($0.17) in 2027-30 than it does in 2025 ($0.74) and 2026 ($0.82) is because the district likely isn't done asking voters for more funding.

Voters shouldn't be surprised if there's another capital measure — potentially a big one — coming down the pike in 2026.

"With the lower levy rates planned for 2027-2030, the FAC and the district would be in a stronger position to consider another bond or capital levy in the future, addressing additional facility needs as they arise," Quitslund's group wrote, noting that the last successful bond in North Kitsap was back in 2001. "This isn’t just about maintaining buildings; it’s about securing a bright future for our kids. As a community, it is our duty to ensure that they have the safe, supportive spaces they deserve for learning and growth."

Davenport said although February's bond failed, necessary projects identified in that measure remain on the district's to-do list and could be focal points again in two years. November's levy, meanwhile, is seen as a way to address some critical items in 2025 while gauging current voter support.

“We’ve got these hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of projects and we cannot do them all," Davenport said. "What we can do right now is enough to get us through to run a significant measure in 2026.”

Voters ready to trust district again?

Davenport admitted that North Kitsap School District is trying to earn back trust within the community after February's lopsided bond failure.

Scott Henden, Kim Gerlach and Stacie Schmechel, who crafted the "against" committee argument in the local voters' pamphlet and maintain the website KnowNKSDLevy, remain skeptical of the process that the district used to create November's measure, which they describe as a "stop-gap levy" designed to keep tax rates up.

"What the community deserves is a well thought-out plan, not some knee-jerk plan thrown together and foisted on the voters," Henden's group said in written statements provided to the Kitsap Sun.

Some of the group's lack of trust boils down to what it views as inconsistent information, such as the "for" committee inaccurately stating in the voters' pamphlet that the November levy would replace a tax that "expires this year" (the tax rate decreases starting next year, but the levy expires at the end of 2026).

Henden's group also believe the district is exhibiting inconsistent priorities in the wake of February's bond failure.

"The critical safety and security issues listed for this levy are almost entirely different from the critical needs from the bond," the group wrote. "Safe and secure entryways (vestibules) are one example. ... in February this wasn't a concern. This wasn't a critical issue in the 2018 or 2022 capital levies."

Pearson Elementary is another major concern linked to trust for Henden's group.

November's levy calls for a new gymnasium and vehicle/traffic improvements at the current Pearson location off Central Valley Road, with design plans to allow for the possible on-site school replacement.

Had February's bond passed, the district planned to build a new 70,000-square foot, 450-student capacity Pearson Elementary at a new location off Finn Hill Road in Poulsbo. The estimated cost was $82.7 million. At the time, it was believed Pearson couldn't be rebuilt at the Central Valley location without relocating students during construction (the district, after conferring with its architecture team, now believes students would be able to attend school at the current site during construction).

The impetus for changing plans for Pearson, Davenport said, came as a result of the FAC group and district personnel getting direct feedback from stakeholders at the school.

“We listened to the people," Davenport said. "It was overwhelming that the families around Pearson and the staff want to have Pearson there at its current site.”

Henden's group remains unconvinced: "What we aren't being told is why (Pearson's current location) is now the perfect place to build a new school, when in February we were told that building on this site was impossible. What has changed? ... We can agree that Pearson needs a new building, it is the "where" and the "what" that are the questions. Why approve a plan to spend a multitude of millions without seeing that they have a well-thought out, comprehensive long-term plan in place?"

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: North Kitsap voters considering facilities, technology school levy