State denies money for 2 Tri-City schools. Richland, Pasco are left scrambling

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published online on Jan. 22,2020. Due to a computer error it was reposted without changes online on March 24, 2022.

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A ruling by the state has Pasco scrapping plans to replace an aging elementary school and Richland not sure how it will pay for a new school.

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction has told those districts they can’t fund more space for their elementary and middle schools for a few years.

But Tri-City school officials contend the state’s old formula doesn’t take into account more all-day kindergarten classes, reduced class sizes for K-3 children and more space for special education.

The decision holds back millions of dollars the two districts expected for the new school projects.

That included plans to tear down and rebuild Edwin Markham Elementary in Pasco and the money Richland was going to use to replace Badger Mountain Elementary.

The projections are part of the annual School Construction Assistance Program, more commonly known as state matching money.

Each year, state officials predict how many new students will enroll and compare it to how much classroom space a district already has.

The program provides a significant amount for new buildings and major renovations. For example, about $15 million of the $27.3 million price tag for the recently finished Three Rivers Elementary School in Pasco was state money.

Now, state officials say they won’t revisit the issue until next year.

Richland officials have been talking with legislators about the need to update the state funding formula, said Rick Jansons, president of the Richland School Board. The state assumes each elementary student needs 90 square feet of space.

State officials include gyms, cafeterias and administration offices in their calculations.

But Richland Superintendent Rick Schulte said that number hasn’t been updated for a long time. In the meantime, the state saddled districts with needing more space.

“The district has built more classrooms to allow for full-day kindergarten and for reduced class sizes in grades K-3,” Schulte explained to his board. “We have built more classrooms for special education. ... We have built schools that have both a gym and a cafeteria, rather than expecting one room to serve both purposes.”

While some legislators have tried to increase the formula to 120 square feet per student, it hasn’t made it into law.

As a result, the district built larger schools than what the state anticipated when they came up with the formula, Schulte said.

The move left both Richland and Pasco switching plans as they look at construction projects.

Badger Elementary

The effect is the most immediate for Richland, which planned to build a new Badger Mountain Elementary School next year.

The replacement is the next project on the list for the $99 million bond that voters agreed to in 2017. The measure promised to replace Badger and Tapteal elementary schools along with building two new schools.

So far, the district wrapped up work on a West Richland elementary school near Belmont Boulevard and started work to replace Tapteal.

District officials were expecting the state’s announcement, Schulte said. He told board members last spring that after a year of stagnant enrollment, the state would likely get the matching money.

When the district put together the bond proposal, it was adding about 300 to 400 new students a year. Now it is only growing by 100 students a year.

District officials used state projections for how many students would be enrolled in the fall. At the time, the state expected 7,079 elementary school students by 2020. They fell about 900 students shy of that projection when 6,200 elementary students arrived this fall.

“Unfortunately, enrollment growth slowed more than expected. It now appears that it may be much longer before the district will qualify for state construction match,” Schulte said.

At their current rate of growth the district isn’t likely to see state matching funds for “an indefinite period of time,” he said.

Still, the board decided last week to move forward with plans to replace Badger Mountain Elementary next year.

The district needs the space, said Jansons. They still expect the district will grow and will need more room to meet K-3 requirements and full-day kindergarten.

The building is also one of the oldest in the district, and with new housing developments coming in West Richland and south Richland, they don’t expect any empty classrooms.

While the board decided to start building Badger, they haven’t figured out how they will make up the difference.

It can either transfer money from another part of the budget, borrow money from Benton County or use the money they were going to spend on the other new school.

Pasco middle schools

Pasco officials were surprised when the state released their updated figures in December.

After talking with the state, they learned the decision is not going to change for at least a year, Superintendent Michelle Whitney recently told the Pasco School Board.

Right now, the state predicts the district won’t need a new elementary or middle school until 2025.

The state’s numbers fly in the face of district projections, which say the middle schools will remain overcrowded even after Ray Reynolds Middle School opens in the fall.

The district’s long-range facilities plan predicts elementary students will have enough space when Columbia River Elementary School opens and sixth graders move back to the middle school.

The district’s predictions aren’t out of line with their current enrollment. According to fall reports, actual enrollment for the year only lagged behind the projections by 80 students, putting them 100 students ahead of last year.

The state’s decision came as district leaders are deciding what will be on a bond measure in November.

While a third high school appears to be a shoo-in on the list, school district leaders also hoped to replace the aging Edwin Markham Elementary north of Pasco.

But with the new decision from the state, district officials decided to put rebuilding Markham on hold.

“It’s important to note that these projections are calculated annually,” Whitney said. “Next year, they’ll calculate the projections again, and I can be back in front of you telling you that 2025 year has changed again.”

Instead, school leaders are looking at replacing the proposed school with one of two alternatives. One would mean upgrading the career and technical education programs at Pasco and Chiawana high schools.

The other would create a home school program similar to Richland’s HomeLink, create a new parent education center in east Pasco, as well as start preparing for a second innovative high school.

It hasn’t been determined if the innovative high school would be science-focused or career and technical education focused.

This story was originally published January 21, 2020 at 5:00 AM.