Potential Richland bond likely to pay for 5 schools, but what else?

The Richland School Board hasn’t settled on a list for a proposed bond in February 2017, but at least five projects are likely to make the cut.

During a special meeting last week, board members seemed to agree that the next bond needs to pay for at least a fifth middle school and two new elementaries, and to rebuild two current elementary schools. Estimates show that would require a bond of about $77 million.

Also under consideration for the top of the list are some improvements at Richland and Hanford high schools.

But some board members raised concerns about how those upgrades fit into the grand scheme of the district’s needs and how taxpayers might respond to the price tag.

“One hundred million (for a bond) doesn’t affect me, but the tax increase is pretty large,” said board member Gordon Comfort.

The district still has two projects from its 2013 bond for $98 million bond still under construction. A third project to replace part of Jefferson Elementary School has been postponed to allow the whole school to be rebuilt.

Larger-than-anticipated increases in enrollments have again left the district scrambling for elementary school space. And the new middle school under construction in West Richland is already expected to be full when it opens in fall 2017.

The two new proposed elementary schools would be built to address that growth, Superintendent Rick Schulte told the board. One would be built near Keene Road and Belmont Boulevard in West Richland and the other at a site yet to be determined.

The fifth middle school also does not have a site at this time. And Badger and Tapteal elementary schools would be rebuilt, possibly bigger than they currently are, under the initial discussions.

Possible high school improvements include a $10 million modification of Richland High’s auditorium; $15 million in improvements to Fran Rish Stadium’s field, home side bleachers and locker rooms; and the addition of a $6 million field and bleachers for 1,500 at Hanford High.

The superintendent said those estimated costs are very preliminary and not based on formal plans or designs.

Board member Rick Donahoe said he would like to see the district do more than build five schools with the next bond.

But board Vice President Heather Cleary wondered if Fran Rish should be prioritized when the district is already wondering if a third high school will be needed sooner rather than later and if each school needs its own stadium.

Board member Brett Amidan said the Fran Rish improvements may be more cost-effective in the long run, because the current wear and tear on the stadium’s field requires frequent maintenance.

It also limits its use. The district’s football teams can’t play postseason games on the field and neither the soccer teams nor marching band can use the field because of the wear they cause.

“There’s a lot of needs that a good field could be used for,” Amidan said.

The board plans to continue discussing the potential projects and the bond in the comings weeks.

This story was originally published May 30, 2016 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Potential Richland bond likely to pay for 5 schools, but what else?."