Everett Public Schools pitches $396.8 million construction bond and levy renewal ahead of Feb. 10 vote
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Summary
Superintendent Ian Saltzman and district staff presented Proposition 1 (a $396.8 million construction bond) and Proposition 2 (a renewal education levy) to the Everett City Council, outlining projects, funding shares and an estimated homeowner impact of about $15 a month for a $600,000 home if both measures pass.
Everett Public Schools officials presented details of a two-measure package on Jan. 14 that will appear on the Feb. 10 ballot: a $396,800,000 construction bond (Proposition 1) to address overcrowding and aging facilities, and a renewal of the educational programs and operations levy (Proposition 2) to sustain staff and programs the state does not fully fund.
Superintendent Ian Saltzman and communications director Harmony Weinberg led the presentation; Chief Operating Officer Larry Fleckenstein described the bond package as a prioritized subset of roughly $1 billion in district facility needs that the district could not fund at once. Fleckenstein said the bond would fund new elementary school capacity to reduce portables and would replace aging buildings such as Lowell Elementary. He advised the council the district currently uses 103 elementary portables and 151 total portables across the system.
Chief Financial Officer Andy Tress provided a funding overview and homeowner impact estimate, saying the district's funding mix is about 76% state funding, 15% local levies (about $67 million this year), and roughly 9% federal funds. Tress estimated a tax rate around $3.95 per $1,000 of assessed value and said, "For a home valued of about $600,000 both measures together would mean about $15 more a month to, to homeowners." He also explained that bonds require a supermajority (60%) to pass; levies do not.
Cathy Woods reviewed Proposition 2 as a renewal that supports counselors, psychologists, social workers, classroom assistants, custodians, technology support and extracurricular programs; she said levy funding comprises about 15% of the district's operating budget. The district also described school-specific projects in the bond, including replacing Lowell Elementary, renovating Everett High School's vocational building, building STEM/CTE facilities at Cascade High School, replacing four playgrounds and upgrading athletic fields.
District staff invited the public to three outreach events (Cascade High School, Everett High School and Heatherwood Middle School) and urged residents to vote by Feb. 10. Councilmembers thanked district leaders for the presentation and asked clarifying questions about previously funded projects (staff confirmed Madison Elementary replacement was funded by the 2022 capital levy).
