Board advances planning for 2026 bond and levies; staff presents scenarios and enrollment update

Deputy Superintendent Bergey told the Northshore School District board the district and its financial advisers (ESD 112) modeled multiple bond scenarios for a potential 2026 ballot measure, enrollment projections and a staffing update.

Bergey said the district will sell the final $75,000,000 tranche of voter-authorized bonds from the 2022 authorization this spring. Staff modeled four 2026 authorization scenarios ranging from $375,000,000 to $700,000,000 and assumed a four-year technology levy at $30,000,000 per year for planning purposes. Bergey said assessed-value growth was modeled conservatively (about 4.54% per year), interest-rate assumptions used current-market rates plus 0.75 percentage points, and debt repayment was modeled over 21 years.

“We are selling the last $75,000,000 of the bonds that were authorized by the voters in 2022,” Bergey said. Staff showed projected combined tax-rate impacts per $1,000 of assessed value for each scenario and explained how the district tries to structure issuances so future bonds can fit within a predictable rate.

Director Hayes reminded the board “it is our decision to make whether to run these or not” and urged transparency for new board members and the public. Board members discussed the district’s historical practice of running bond, EP&O (enrichment program and operations) and tech levies together every four years and the pros and cons of that approach. Bergey warned that if the EP&O levy is not renewed before its expiration at the end of 2026, levy revenue from that measure will stop.

Staff outlined the decision process and engagement timeline: the Capital Bond Planning Task Force and the Technology Advisory Committee will produce prioritized project lists and cost estimates, staff will produce detailed project buckets and draft ballot language with bond counsel, and the board will adopt a final package and file with the county ahead of ballot deadlines. Staff said they were doing community surveying and outreach, including work with Strategies 360.

Board members asked staff to prioritize transparency about the rationale for package sizes and tax-rate impacts and to model household-level examples (tax impact for a typical house) for outreach. Several board members said experience favors asking for the amount the district needs rather than under-asking and having to return later. One board member suggested starting at the previous $425,000,000 bond level and adjusting upward based on project needs and inflation.

On enrollment and staffing, staff reported budgeted district enrollment for 2024–25 at about 21,662 students and a current enrolled headcount near 21,615 (FTE reporting excluded running-start students). Staff said the budget-to-budget staffing adjustment reduced district teacher FTE by about 41 FTE overall, with most of the tightness concentrated in secondary endorsement-area assignments; elementary-level staffing needs are expected to be covered largely through typical attrition and transfers. Staff said any required reductions would likely be limited and concentrated in specialized high-school endorsements where course offerings and master schedules change.

Board members asked for detailed project lists and for staff to flag places where choices could be made among competing priorities. Bergey and staff said the Capital Bond Planning Task Force will return with detailed buckets and prioritized lists in June and that the process will include additional community engagement before the board votes on any measure to place on a ballot.

At the study session’s close, no board member objected to continuing development of a package that would include a bond, an EP&O levy and a tech levy for a February 2026 ballot; staff and board members said that direction will guide further planning and community work before the board takes a formal vote on whether to place measures before voters.