What would Blaine’s $12 million school levy pay for?

By Oliver Lazenby

Voters in the Blaine school district will vote on a $12 million technology and capital projects property tax levy in the Tuesday, April 24 special election.

The levy would cost taxpayers 51 cents per $1,000 of home value annually and raise $2 million a year from 2019 to 2024.

The district would use that money for a variety of maintenance and replacement projects throughout the district, as well as for funding new technology for students and staff. The district characterizes much of the work as maintenance and replacement projects that are too expensive for the school’s general fund.

Here’s a closer look at what the district wants to fund with a levy, including estimated costs and completion dates:

Birch Bay school property ($1 million, 2019)

The school board has considered purchasing property for a school in Birch Bay for more than a decade. During that time, Birch Bay’s population has grown significantly; now more than half the district’s students live in Birch Bay, according to a comparison of census data and Blaine school district enrollment numbers.

The school board committed to purchasing property in Birch Bay at a 2014 board meeting but couldn’t afford it at that time. As Birch Bay continues to develop, district officials think purchasing property in Birch Bay will only become more difficult due to limited availability. Once the district purchases property, it will likely ask voters to pass a bond to fund an

elementary school

New grandstand (3.146 million, 2019)

The first year of levy collection also includes building a new grandstand at the football stadium. The district committed to building a new grandstand with money from a 2015 bond, but cut the project once bids for the high school came in

over budget.

The district’s current grandstand is too small and has accessibility and code issues, according to district documents. It also faces crowd management and safety problems, as football spectators can’t fit and spill over to the rest of the field.

A new grandstand would accommodate 1,800-1,900 people, which is 1,200 more than the current facility. It would include more restroom fixtures, more serving windows at the concessions stand, and wider aisles than the current grandstand.

Field turf installation ($1.33 million – 2020)

Once the grandstand is complete, the district would use levy money to install field turf inside the high school track. That would allow year-round access to the field for Blaine programs as well as for community athletic events. Physical education classes could also use the space; P.E. classes recently lost some field space to the new high school building.

Main high school gym complex ($704,000 – 2021)

The district wants to complete a variety of updates to the main gym complex, which it built in 1994. Levy money would fund a new roof, interior and exterior painting, a new floor surface in the foyer and upgrades to the heating system.

Performing Arts Center ($443,000 – 2021)

The performing arts center was also built in 1994 and gets more community use than other school buildings, according to district documents. Levy money would fund new exterior paint, roof work, stage flooring, lighting upgrades, curtains, sound improvements and restroom upgrades.

Blaine Middle School ($358,000 – 2021)

At the middle school, the district would use levy money to replace the cafeteria floor and gym floors, upgrade the heating system, and patch and paint the exterior of the old gym. Moisture from the ground has damaged some of the adhesive in the middle school floor, said Amber Porter, district director of finance and operations.

Blaine Primary School ($175,000 – 2022)

At the Blaine Primary School, levy money would replace rooftop heating units in the oldest section of the school building. Existing units are more than 25 years old and at the end of their life span, said Alan Pomeroy, district facilities manager. The district added a 10,000-square-foot addition to the primary school in 2016 with money from the 2015 bond.

Student Data Facility (351,000 – 2022)

The student data facility, a small house southwest of the district office, currently serves as office space for two district employees who collect a variety of data related to students. The building needs a new foundation, roof and a variety of other work, Pomeroy said.

The district would use levy money to raze the building and replace it, likely with a modular building.

Vocational Building ($500,000 – 2023)

At the vocational building, the district plans to upgrade restrooms, install new carpets and ceiling tile, and paint the building inside and out.

The district would also like to relocate its network specialists, who are currently in a small space in that building, and find a better place to store archival information – financial records, contracts, employee records and other information that the state requires school districts to keep.

Pipeline Fields ($500,000 – 2023)

Work slated for Pipeline fields, the district’s off-campus athletic facility at 4345 Pipeline Road, includes updating irrigation systems, renovating the fields, adding or improving dugouts and a batting cage, and adding a pole building for storing equipment.

Miscellaneous district-wide work (426,000 – 2022-2024)

The school district plans to allocate $426,000 of levy money for smaller maintenance and safety upgrades throughout the district. This work would be split into three $142,000 phases during 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Projects in this category include seal coating parking lots; drainage work around the Blaine campus, including removing tree roots from existing drains; upgrading outdoor lighting; upgrades to heating and fire suppression systems at Point Roberts Primary School; exterior paint at Point Roberts Primary School; sidewalk repairs and upgrades; more cameras and electronic door locks throughout the district, and cosmetic improvements to the existing track storage building and

transportation facility.

Tech and CTE ($1.5 million over the course of six years.)

To pay for ongoing technology and career and technical education (CTE) needs, the district proposes that $300,000 per year for five of six levy years go toward technology. That money would be used for computers and training, with a goal of getting one computer or tablet per student and upgrading the wireless internet and electrical infrastructure to support that use, the district said. It would also go toward replacing outdated lab computers and staff laptops, developing a plan to use technology at all grade levels, and adding interactive whiteboards to classrooms and update other classroom technology, according to district documents.

Several other local school districts, including Ferndale and Bellingham, currently have technology levies.

The total estimated cost of these projects is about $11 million. A $12 million levy gives the district some buffer in case some projects go over budget. If there’s money left over, the district could use it for other projects after holding a public

hearing.

The Whatcom County auditor’s office will mail primary ballots 20 days prior to the Tuesday, April 24 special election. The levy needs a simple majority to pass.

Find more information about the levy at the school district’s website, blaine.wednet.edu