ML School Board approves construction bond proposal including second high school
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 5 months AGO
Breaking News
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | August 11, 2016 8:41 PM
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake School District voters will be asked to approve or reject a construction bond for a new, second high school, a new elementary school and upgrades to the existing Moses Lake High School. The current cost estimate is $135.3 million, but Moses Lake School Board members Kevin Donovan and Eric Stones said they wanted the board and administration to look for ways to lower the cost.
The current bond proposal includes $111.4 million for the second high school, $19.5 million for a new elementary school and $13.8 million in upgrades to Moses Lake High School. The district is eligible for about $9.4 million from the state school construction fund. If the bond is approved, property owners would pay an estimated $1.44 per $1,000 of assessed property value. District superintendent Michelle Price said that’s just an estimate only. The actual assessment will depend district-wide property valuations.
The bond will go to voters Feb. 14.
Board members had their choice of two options, and chose the new high school in a vote at the regular meeting Thursday. Board members Susan Freeman, Oscar Ochoa and Vicki Groff voted in favor of building a new high school. Stones voted no, and had earlier expressed his support for the other option, remodeling Moses Lake High School to accommodate 2,500 students.
As board chair, Donovan called for the vote. After it passed, Groff asked Donovan if he wanted to go on record. Donovan said it passed so he didn’t need to go on record. “I will support whatever bond proposal we as a board decide on, and we as a board just decided on option No. 1.”
Donovan said he thought a second high school was “a great idea,” but that he was concerned voters would think the price tag was too high. Because the bond is a revenue measure, it requires approval from 60 percent of the voters to pass. The district offered a bond for a new high school in 2015; it received 54 percent of the vote.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Revised Washington law makes it easier for youth to get identification
OLYMPIA — It will be easier for young people 16-18 years of age to get a Washington identification card without a parent’s or guardian’s signature under revisions to ID laws that took effect Jan. 1.
Negligent driving law revisions add penalties in some cases
MOSES LAKE — Drivers will be subject to new penalties if they are charged with negligent driving in collisions that involve people who aren’t in a car or truck.
One infrastructure project complete, others planned for Royal City
ROYAL CITY — Cross one long, long project off the list. The last section of old water line in Royal City was replaced in 2024, wrapping up a project that Mayor Michael Christensen said took a while. “Over the years we’ve been trying to upgrade our water system, and now the entire city is upgraded,” Christensen said. “That was a long time coming and it was a bit of a task.”