EPHRATA – The Ephrata School Board unanimously approved to move forward on the $75 million bond proposition on the February 2026 ballot to replace Grant Elementary and Parkway Intermediate schools, along with partially renovating Ephrata High School. 

The proposition, with a tax increase of $1.07 per $1,000 of assessed value, requires 60% voter approval for it to pass.

District staff said the bond is necessary to renovate or rebuild three of the district's campuses that are in need of significant repair or outright replacement. Community members from throughout the district have participated in workgroups to analyze the facilities with an eye on safety, size needed to serve the student body and other factors. Replacements for Grant Elementary and Parkway Intermediate are in the proposal, along with various renovations and improvements to Ephrata High School. 

Why now? 

Superintendent Ken Murray explained that the district and the facility study group decided now would be a good time to run a bond measure because many students are located in portables, the buildings are aging and costs to repair them are increasing, along with safety concerns for students and staff.  

“Well for one, we have a large portion of our students that exist in portable or alternative spaces that traditionally are not used as classroom spaces,” Murray said. “Our community clearly indicated that portables are not where we want to educate our kids, including some of our smaller spaces that we are using at the high school to educate our kids. We want to try to create a better environment for our students.”  

Murray said this construction would allow the district to be in a better place regarding the safety and security of students. He also explained that only two of the five schools are modern.  

“This allows us to get more of our students in modern, up-to-date facilities,” Murray said.  

He explained that facilities have an impact on students’ learning and so the district wants to provide the best options to ensure success.  

“It affects attendance, school achievement, all of those things,” Murray said. “What you see when you have students in better facilities is an increase in student achievement and an increase in attendance.”  

Murray also explained that if the district doesn’t start working on the high school now, students who are currently in kindergarten wouldn’t see the benefits before they graduate.  

Cost  

The total project cost is around $102 million, with around $75 million coming from the local bond. The remaining $27.4 million required for construction will be funded by the state if the bond is passed.  

The current estimated rate per $1,000 of assessed property value is around $1.61 in 2027. Combined with the levy and 2019 bond, taxpayers would be paying around $4.66 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The rate remains pretty consistent throughout the years, running from $4.64 to $4.66. 

According to the district, the cost for a $300,000 home, assuming an assessed valuation increase of 4% in 2026 and 2027, would be around $32.67 monthly.  

Grant Elem.

The proposed bond would replace Grant Elementary with a total cost of about $45.8 millio,n with around $34 million coming from local funds. 

Murray explained it was decided to replace Grant because new construction would be more cost-effective and have less of an impact on students because it’s faster.  

New buildings would also eliminate portables, add a secure single vestibule for safety and make it so the school has a separate gym and cafeteria.  

A replacement Grant campus would be built across the street from Columbia Ridge.

Murray said the district chose this location because it has a more efficient traffic flow than the school’s current location. It would also allow all kindergarten through fourth grade students to be on the same campus. 

“If we wanted to, in the future we could put all the kindergarteners in one building and separate the two schools by different grade levels,” Murray said. “This isn’t something we have decided on, but it's an option for the community in the future.” 

Parkway 

Parkway Intermediate would also be replaced with a cost of nearly $35.2 million, with around $26.5 million coming from local funds.  

Murray gave the same reasons as Grant Elementary on why the district decided to replace the building instead of renovating.  

The new Parkway Intermediate would be built near Ephrata High School. Murray explained there is the potential for a shared bus zone, located off the street, to service both schools.  

The school will have a full-sized gym, which will add a fourth gym facility for the school district to use for events, located close to the other three, located at EHS.  

Ephrata High

Ephrata High School, if the bond is passed, would receive around $21.4 million dollars in renovations. Of that, around $14.5 million would come from local funds.

“We need to do phased renovation to prevent needing two future bonds later to work on Ephrata High School,” Murray said.

The planned renovations include adding a main office with a secure vestibule, adding several new classrooms and adding a new performing arts center to the school.

“This would begin the process for our students,” Murray said. “If we don’t start now, it is going to be decades down the road before we work on the high school.” 

If approved 

If the bond is approved by voters in February, design for Parkway and Grant would begin in March 2026. The schools have a potential move-in date of August 2028. The high school design would begin in April 2027 with a potential move-in date of August 2029. 

      

  

    A conceptual design of a replacement campus for Grant Elementary.
  

    A conceptual design of the renovations at Ephrata High School.