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Issaquah School District trims bond to $231.6M; district seeks city endorsement for February special election
Summary
Issaquah School District on Jan. 7 announced a reduced $231.6 million bond for the Feb. 11 special election focused on safety upgrades and high‑school capacity. District staff and local volunteers asked the City Council to consider a formal endorsement; the council agreed to add consideration of an endorsement to the Jan. 21 agenda.
Issaquah School District officials told the City Council on Jan. 7 that the district will place a revised $231.6 million bond measure on the Feb. 11 special election ballot after the November bond failed to reach Washington’s required 60% approval threshold.
Matt Coyne, Issaquah School Board director, said the new measure represents a roughly 63% reduction from the November proposal and preserves the current combined tax rate of $3.09 per $1,000 of assessed value (down from $3.13 in 2024). Coyne said the district structured the bond to replace expiring bonds and levies so property owners would not face a tax rate increase under the measure.
Coyne said the measure focuses on two priorities: safety and security (about $39.9 million) and high‑school capacity (about $191.7 million). School officials said the high‑school work includes starting construction on a “shovel‑ready” new comprehensive high school (property and permits secured) and an expansion and remodel of Liberty High School to support career programming.
Volunteers for Issaquah Schools, the nonprofit that campaigns for bond passage, urged council support for the February measure. Wright Noel, speaking for the volunteers, asked the council to consider a formal endorsement by the city and said the volunteers would supply factual materials to council members.
Council Member Martz moved to add a council bill to the Jan. 21 meeting to consider endorsing the bond; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote. The council did not take a formal endorsement that night; it added the item to the Jan. 21 agenda for full council consideration.
The district also plans a capital project oversight committee to provide public accountability for bond spending; Coyne said the committee will include community members, parents/guardians, staff and construction and finance experts.
Why it matters: If approved by voters, the bond would fund campus safety upgrades and a new high school sized to address projected capacity needs. The measure’s financing plan—structured to avoid a tax‑rate increase—was a central point of the district’s outreach.
