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Lake Stevens reports 215-student growth; superintendent flags bond to buy school, remodel middle school
Summary
Assistant Superintendent Teresa Main told the board the district enrolled 215 more students than projected and highlighted rising Kindergarten and 3rd-grade cohorts; Superintendent Mary Templeton said bond planning aims to buy an elementary school and remodel LSMS while addressing about 800 students in portable classrooms.
Assistant Superintendent Teresa Main told the Lake Stevens School District Board on Sept. 11 that Count Day results showed the district grew by 215 students more than the district had projected.
"The district actually grew by 215 students more than anticipated," Main said, noting growth concentrated at Hillcrest, Stevens Creek and Sunnycrest elementaries and increased enrollment at North Lake Middle School and Lake Stevens High School. She told the board kindergarten and 3rd-grade enrollments are higher than expected, a trend the district is watching because those cohorts feed future grades.
Main outlined projections showing that by the 2027–28 school year the district's two middle schools are expected to enroll more than 1,600 students combined, a figure district staff said will affect capacity planning and staffing. The district said it has intentionally projected Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) counts conservatively to avoid overstaffing should growth slow.
Superintendent Mary Templeton placed the enrollment update in the context of facility needs. Templeton said the district is actively communicating about an upcoming bond’s benefits and costs and described planned uses that include purchasing an additional elementary school and remodeling Lake Stevens Middle School (LSMS). She noted the district currently has about 800 students in portable classrooms and emphasized the bond is intended to reduce reliance on portables.
"Currently, the district has 800 students in portable classrooms," Templeton said.
Board members asked clarifying questions about whether additional staff hires would be required. Assistant Superintendent Main said hiring was planned with anticipated growth in mind and that while some class sizes might be slightly larger, they remain within acceptable limits under current staffing plans.
What happens next: the presentation was informational; no formal action on the bond was taken at the meeting. Templeton said she will present a one-year entry plan to the board in the near term and the district will continue monitoring enrollment and space needs as it communicates about the bond.
