SEQUIM — A recommendation for a bond or capital projects levy is expected to come to Sequim School Board directors in early October, school district officials said.
The long-range facility planning group, a committee of various staff and community members, is meeting twice a week as they prepare plans for a ballot measure that could go to voters in a special election as early as December, Sequim schools superintendent Regan Nickels said.
After touring school campuses to view conditions of the district’s buildings, they’ll present their findings to the five-member district board in a special meeting at 5 p.m. Oct. 1 at the district boardroom, 533 N. Sequim Ave.
“This is all in a trajectory that, in November, if we’re going to make the decision that the board wants to support a bond or a capital levy — that it needs to be well-prepared for a proposition as early as December,” Nickels said at a Sept. 3 school board meeting.
The district will have a “public feedback month” for the remainder of October, Nickels said.
“We’ll be making some visits to schools to inform staff about the long-range facilities recommendations and what that means,” she said. “We’ll be going out to different groups such as Rotary, (Sequim-Dungeness Valley) Chamber (of Commerce), talking to our veterans (and) making sure we’re talking to city council, so that we have information about what recommendation is on the table.”
Nickels said the district also will put out a survey to the community to get their feedback on what aspects they like and what could be approached differently.
The 13-member long-range facility planning group is charged with assisting with creating a district-wide long-range facilities plan which includes assessing the current condition of schools, collaborating with experts to evaluate structural integrity, safety and functionality, and prioritizing necessary repairs or upgrades, district officials said.
They also are charged with considering enrollment projections, educational program needs and community growth, and identifying facility requirements based on anticipated change, district officials said.
Group members include: James Beebe (alumni, parent, pioneer family); Eric Danielson (teacher, Helen Haller Elementary School); Hunter Gilliam (alumni, parent); Robin Henrickson (parent, former school district board member); Erin Hiner (alumni, parent, school district staffer); Doug Ihmels (community member); Tom Kelly (school district bus driver); Heather Nelson (parent); Eric Pickens (school district board president, parent); Michael Rocha (parent, school district board director); Chris White (parent, Greywolf Watch D.O.G.S. program member); Dale White (grandparent, community member) and Troy Zdzieblwoski (parent).
Learn more about the long-range facilities planning group at tinyurl.com/SEQlongrange.
Sequim’s four bond attempts (2014-2016) failed to meet the 60 percent supermajority required to pass, including an April 2014 proposal for $154.3 million, and proposals in February 2015 ($49.3 million), November 2015 ($49.3 million) and February 2016 ($54 million).
Voters typically support Educational Programs & Operations levies — measures that support school programs with additional teaching staff, materials and more — with its last five attempts exceeding 60 percent — despite now needing only a 50 percent-plus-1 majority to pass.
Enrollment update
Sequim’s enrollment following the first few days of school are close to what the district budgeted, Nickels told board directors on Sept. 3.
Administrators budgeted for 2,454 full-time-equivalent (FTE) students to start the year and 2,500 students were in classes in the first days of school (both numbers don’t include Running Start students).
The largest discrepancy was at Helen Haller Elementary, where 490 students were budgeted for and 516 were in classes at the grade 3-5 school.
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Michael Dashiell is the editor of the Sequim Gazette of the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which also is composed of other Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News and Forks Forum. Reach him at michael.dashiell@sequimgazette.com.
