Pasco asking voters to approve $69.5 million school bond

Pasco school officials and bond opponents disagree on how much of a $69.5 million bond will benefit students.

School board President Scott Lehrman said nearly all of the money is for building new schools and upgrading existing facilities.

The opponents, Pasco Citizens for Effective Schools, led by Roger Lenk, argue the only new items on the bond are two elementary schools and the rest of the items are unnecessary and wasteful.

Ballots in Franklin County were mailed to voters on Tuesday and are due back by Feb. 14.

The bond would pay for a new Stevens Middle School, two new elementary schools, four new classrooms at Marie Curie Elementary School along with improvements throughout the district.

If approved, it would add an estimated 39 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to people’s property taxes, meaning a person with a $200,000 home would pay an additional $78 a year.

Between the levy to operate the school and previous bonds, Pasco property owners paid $6.71 per $1,000 of assessed value last year.

Lenk said the district’s tax rate is the highest in the state and children still aren’t getting a quality education for their money.

The high amount is driven by the low value of the property in the district, Lehrman said. The district ranked 275 out of 295 districts for property value per student in 2016. As property values rise the rate decreases.

Instead of raising taxes, Lenk said the district should use the $64 million it stored in its “rainy day” fund.

“That’s a lot of cash for a district that has a $249 million budget,” he said.

The district’s budget contains $64 million, but it’s split across five sections with restrictions on spending, Lehrman said.

“The capital fund has to be spent on capital fund projects. We can’t go spending our capital fund on curriculum,” he said. “The Associated Student Body fund is another one. Those are moneys that school ASBs have earned.”

The only section without stipulations is a $8.7 million reserve, Lehrman said, which is about 5 percent of the $200 million in revenue the district receives.

After passing $220 million in bonds during the past nine years, Lenk said the new bond is going to increase the district’s debt by 50 percent.

Lehrman agreed the amount of money the district owed would rise by 47 percent, but that doesn’t mean people are going to pay 50 percent more.

Moody’s Investors Service, a credit rating agency, gave the district an Aa3 rating, putting the district’s bonds in the top tier of investments, said officials.

And the sides disagree on how much of the bond is directly benefiting students.

Lenk and other opponents called replacing the 1961 Stevens Middle School a waste of money.

At an estimated $42 million, the planned 92,000-square-foot school is the most expensive item on the bond. State matching funds will cover about 45 percent of the cost.

Lenk claims the building was “extensively remodeled” with $3.2 million from the 2013 bond.

“Replacing a middle school does nothing for anyone,” he said. “What is needed is an additional school. Not tearing one down and putting up a new one.”

Lehrman said the opponents are incorrect about the cost and scope of the improvements. Only $2.6 million of the 2013 bond went to improvements at the middle school. Most of it went to pay for a parking lot and for connecting two pieces of property. The remaining $1.3 million is for improvements at the play fields, including adding a track and baseball and softball fields.

Another member of the Pasco Citizens for Effective Schools, Jim Follansbee, said rebuilding the school does little to ease space issues.

Lehrman said the middle schools aren’t overcrowded. The thee schools average 20 students per classroom.

Opponents disagreed with a series of other improvements, claiming $20 million is going to new mechanic bays, maintenance office upgrades, buying property, staff offices, energy controls and administrative facilities.

Lehrman said that isn’t the case. Roughly $55 million is going to build schools and classrooms, and most of the remaining $14 million is going to be spent making improvements at schools, such as adding security foyers at 11 elementary schools, additional cameras at 12 schools, a safer drop-off area at Captain Gray and new heating and air conditioning systems at Livingston and Captain Gray.

One of the items drawing the most concern is the bus facilities. The $2.8 million package pays for two additional mechanic bays and replacing the transportation office with an insulated metal building.

The district presently uses three bays to serve 141 buses, making the ratio one bay for every 47 buses, which doubles the time needed for maintenance, Lehrman said. Kennewick has a ratio of 25 buses per bay.

Lenk said the district is dealing with its overcrowding issues the wrong way. Instead of spending more money on new schools, the district should keep students in school for the entire year. Along with adding a third to the district’s capacity, the move benefits students by keeping them learning across the year.

“I know the teacher unions are against that, but the kids are the most important thing,” Lenk said. “This is what is best for the taxpayers. They’re going to come back in three years and ask for another bond. It’s a vicious cycle. They need to try something different.”

The district previously studied adding year-round elementary schools but many parents expressed concerns.

Lehrman said parents dislike it because it separates siblings who may end up in school at different times, causing a burden for families.

This story was originally published January 28, 2017 at 7:26 PM with the headline "Pasco asking voters to approve $69.5 million school bond."