Clarification: According to Enumclaw School District Director of Communications Jessica McCartney, the feasability study “is a completely different process” than “… working with a consultant to determine project scope, campaign timelines/decisions, or any of those election/ballot-related decisions. This work is specific to determining whether or not the Ten Trails school can be built on-site for a specific amount of funds.”
The Enumclaw School District is continuing to explore whether constructing a new Black Diamond elementary is possible.
On Dec. 16, the ESD School Board directed staff to put together a feasibility study for a new school to address overcapacity at the current Black Diamond school and other pressing issues.
This is only the latest development regarding a years-long conversation about the proposed school facility; the discussion has revealed large rifts between the district and its constituents.
The timeline for this feasibility study and a possible school board decision is unclear, as the district has only just begun looking for consultants.
However, Director of Communications Jessica McCartney said that this study will be more comprehensive than previous ones.
“Prior to our bond measures in 2023, the district consulted with a design firm to produce a realistic cost estimate for the design and construction costs of facilities included in the bond,” she said in an email interview. “The current feasibility study would entail a similar process to verify construction costs but also include additional professional services to confirm those costs and review all previous geotechnical and wetland assessments/studies.”
SOME (RECENT) HISTORY
A Feb. 14, 2023 bond measure asked voters to approve a hefty $253 million bond measure that not only would have funded construction of the new elementary school, but also replace the seven-decade-old Byron Kibler Elementary in Enumclaw and the Birth to Five Center in the equally old J.J. Smith Elementary building; a new high school performing arts center, a new football stadium, and various HVAC and security upgrades at all its facilities.
The bond was torpedoed by the public, who rejected the measure with 75% of the vote — a record for the district.
Undeterred, the school board put another bond measure on the Nov. 7 general election, this time for $103 million to build only a new Byron Kibler/Birth to 5 facility and some other district-wide improvements. This time, 65% of voters turned the measure down.
Some of the complaints leveled at the district were based in a lack of trust.
Some point to how a $65.5 million 2015 bond measure, which passed the 60% supermajority bar by only four votes, failed to deliver a new high school performing arts center and gym. The district has said that they were misled by faulty data presented to the district, and that the true cost of construction was off by almost a third.
But suspicion of the district’s ability to financially plan properly remains, although the school board has explained that none of them were on the board when the 2015 bond was passed. ESD’s Superintendent Dr. Shaun Carey came onboard after the bond issue as well.
Others said that they could not afford any more property taxes due to the state of the economy and rising inflation.
The first bond would have resulted in a $2,760 annual property tax (or $230 a month) for homeowners with $600,000 in assessed property — and that’s on top of the other property taxes residents have to pay for their governments, fire departments, libraries, and more.
The second bond would have had the same individual be taxed $1,560 a year (or $130 a month) for just the school district.
In an attempt to be transparent about its decisions and regain the public’s trust, ESD assembled a panel of residents from all walks of life to study what the district’s needs will be in 20 years.
That panel completed its work last November and recommended numerous ways the district can begin to address its future needs. Those recommendations included focusing on immediate facility repairs and upgrades, sell old or unused buildings and land to help fund capital projects, and put a bond back to voters — but not before spring of 2026.
OAKPOINTE FUNDING?
While the district continues to evaluate the cost and funding of a new elementary, another option is also being considered — selling land to Oakpointe, the developer of the Ten Trails neighborhood in Black Diamond.
As part of the agreement between Oakpointe and ESD when development began, the developer set aside land for the district to use in the future for new elementary, middle, and high schools.
However, when that contract was signed, ESD estimated Ten Trails’ growth would necessitate a new high school as its student population grew; more recent projections show that Enumclaw High will be able to accommodate the number of students coming into the area.
Without the need for a new high school, ESD could sell that piece of land back to Oakpointe at market value, and that money would go to funding — partially or wholly — a new Black Diamond school.
How such an agreement could be combined with a bond is unclear, and discussions between ESD and Oakpointe continue.
