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KSD SCHOOL BOND - VIEW PDF INFORMATION PRESENTATION
The Kennewick School District Board of directors has passed a resolution again putting the KSD school bond before voters on the May 19 Ballot. The bond amount and projects included have not changed. The bond measure received 59.3% approval in the last election, just shy of the 60% required to pass. However, less than 50% of the registered voters who received ballots returned them. The district hopes to engage more voters in the process in the May election. Your vote counts.
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What will the bond pay for?
If approved by voters, the funds will be used to construct and equip a new elementary school on land the district owns in the Badger Canyon area; renovate and expand Canyon View, Southgate, Sunset View and Cascade elementary schools; improve network and wireless capacity; and make health, safety, educational and infrastructure improvements district-wide. State matching funds would go toward renovating Lincoln elementary if they are made available by the state.
The district estimates a tax rate increase of approximately $0.30 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2010 over the estimated 2009 bond tax rate of $1.49 per $1,000 of assessed value. (The 2008 tax rate was $1.63 per $1,000 of assessed value.) The exact amount of the annual tax will depend on interest rates at the time the bonds are sold. (See assessed property value chart below.
The district operates on a ten-year facilities plan cycle put together by its facilities planning committee. The committee is made up of community members and district personnel who project when we will need new schools and develop a timeline for renovating schools. They also project when to move forward with district wide improvements to things like roofs, HVAC systems, parking lots, and athletic facilities. The ten-year plan also addresses what we need to do to keep up with technology. Click here to read full article.
Questions?
Recent School Bond Question Received Via E-mail:
Q: Why does the district say that now is a good time to run a bond since there is a downturn in the economy?
Answer:
Given the current state of the economy, less construction work is available and so bidding on projects has become more competitive. Usually we see construction costs increase from four to 11 percent each year. Right now, bids are coming in lower than estimated. (click here for graph, OSPI Cost Trend) Also, because interest rates are at all-time lows, taxpayers get much more for their money on the bonds because more funds go to the project and less to paying interest. These two factors combined make this the best possible time for taxpayers to get the most from their money.
Q: I'm trying to research the school bond issue and I noticed one of the desired provisions was to build a new elementary school in Badger Canyon. This caused me to look at the school district boundary maps, to see why we (Kennewick citizens) need to provide schools for children that live outside of the city. After reviewing the boundary maps (both city and KSD), I can understand why Badger Canyon is included in the district (the Richland-Kennewick CCD area), but I don’t understand why such a large section of incorporated Richland attends Kennewick schools, and so I have the following questions: Can you tell me if these addresses pay the same taxation to the KSD that I pay? Will these Richland addresses have a right to vote for a bond increase without having the obligation to pay for the same increase? Is this a permanent school district boundary, or are we only temporarily helping the City of Richland?
Answer:
School District boundaries do not necessarily align with city boundaries. Such is the case between Kennewick and Richland. My understanding is that there have always been school district boundaries that covered every square inch of the state, but that city boundaries were much more confined originally and have expanded as the cities grew.
There are two areas in the Kennewick School District – one in the South Lesley Road area heading south towards Badger Canyon, and the other in the Richland Y area – Columbia Park Trail around Steptoe – where residents have Richland addresses but reside in the Kennewick School District. (There are also folks with Kennewick addresses who live in the Finley School District.) This scenario, where multiple cities overlap a school district or where a school district encompasses several cities or parts thereof, occurs throughout the state, but more commonly on the west side of the state where the population is more dense and cities are closer together. Where I grew up, I had a Vancouver address but lived in the Evergreen School District. Friends of mine had Vancouver addresses but lived in the Battle Ground School District.
Some of the residents of the Kennewick School District live in the City of Richland. Thus, they pay City of Richland taxes and Kennewick School District taxes, but NOT City of Kennewick taxes or Richland School District taxes. They only pay taxes to the jurisdictions in which they live. If they have a Richland address but live in the Kennewick School District, they pay Kennewick School District (KSD) taxes and get to vote in all KSD matters that come before the public, including bonds, levies, school board elections, etc. They do not get to vote on those matters for the Richland School District.Thus, if they vote for a bond to pass, they are obligating themselves to pay the increase if it does pass.
Everyone in the Kennewick School District pays the same tax rates (amount per thousand of assessed value) whether their address is a Richland address or a Kennewick address. School District boundaries are fairly permanent. I don’t know of any time in the twenty years that I have lived here in this area where boundaries between school districts have changed. City boundaries change fairly regularly as cities expand, but to my knowledge school district boundaries are constant.
Click here to read answers to other questions we have received.
Questions About How State and Federal Budget and Stimulus Legislation Affects Us? E-mail your questions to questions@ksd.org
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