Deer Park School District asks for $55.1 million bond to fix overcrowding issues at elementary school

SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — The Deer Park School District is asking the community to consider approving a 27-year, $55.1 million bond in the upcoming election.

The bond will cost voters an estimated $126 for every $100,000 of assessed property value. This means if you own a home valued at $400,000, you would pay about $504 a year for this bond.

This bond would replace the current bond that is set to expire at the end of the year. With outstanding bonds expiring, the District anticipates the bond tax rate to slightly decrease.

The district said this bond is needed because of overcrowding at Arcadia Elementary school, which serves grades 3-5.

Due to limited space at the school, students are eating gym in the cafeteria.

“We have to squeeze all the kids into half of the gym, but then we have to double up on PE classes on the other side of the gym with the retractable wall, and that poses congestion, safety concerns, overcrowding in the gym,” said Dr. Alex Allman, superintendent of Deer Park School District.

The district said there are currently about 450 students at Arcadia Elementary, a school that was only built for a maximum of about 350 students.

Overcrowding also means some classrooms are out in portables.

“Our youngest and smallest kids have to travel back and forth to get to the office, to get to the gym, to get to the library, any of their basic needs have to be accomplished in the main building, so the kids are walking outside,” Allman said. “We believe the safest place for students to learn is under one one roof and in one building.”

If the bond passes, most of the money would pay for a new elementary school building that can accommodate the district’s growth. It would also be used for a new transportation facility for the district.

In the February election, the district put a similar bond on the ballots but it didn’t pass. After listening to community feedback, the district said they decreased the amount of projects they hope to fund, which in turn dropped the price.

While the bond didn’t pass in the February elections, the community did pass the district’s levy. If this bond passes, the community would be paying a combined total of $276 per $100,000 of assessed property value between the levy and the bond.