Would you trust someone with $642.3 million? On November 5th, the Issaquah School District (ISD) will ask the community to do just that by approving a brand new bond. If passed, property taxes in the ISD area will increase to fund building improvements and construct a fourth high school. However, many community members express hesitancies about such a significant investment.

Every couple years, the Issaquah School District proposes new bonds and levies for the community to vote on. 

“People usually categorize that bonds are for buildings and levies are for learning,” ISD’s Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Donna Hood said. “And a lot of folks think, well why do you have to pass those? The state of Washington still doesn’t fully fund education, so there are things that we just always have to ask the community for.”

The most recently passed bond was in 2016, which, most notably, funded the building of two new schools, Cedar Trails Elementary School and Cougar Mountain Middle School.

Focusing on efficient and sustainable operations, the newest bond, if passed, would bring many changes to school buildings. For Liberty, these changes would look like replacing old roofs, upgrading exterior walls and  windows, and improving the plumbing system. The bond would also replace lights and control systems to keep Liberty up to date with state sustainability requirements. Not complying with these requirements would result in expensive penalties for the district.

The bond would also put funds towards improving or replacing safety and security systems. This would mean updating old security cameras and monitoring systems, improving external perimeter security and replacing some fire safety systems.

Outside of building repairs, the bond is also intended to upgrade and expand facilities for educational and job-oriented programs at the high schools.

In addition to academic upgrades, the bond is intended to improve the quality of sports programs and overall student well-being. At Liberty, there are plans to replace the outdated turf and resurface the track, as well as add accessibility features for students with disabilities. 

That being said, the largest portion of the bond money will be allocated to a long-awaited ISD project: the fourth high school. Due to overcrowding at Issaquah and Skyline, Hood says this school is intended to bring these schools back to their intended capacities, reducing the teacher-student ratio in the process. 

However, not everyone is thrilled with Bond 2024 and the situations surrounding the fourth high school. 

“I’ve never in my life voted against a school bond or levy, but with this one, I’m trying to figure out why I would vote for it,” anonymous voter and ISD parent, “Logan Harding”, said. 

One of Harding’s many concerns revolves around the fact that $120 million of the 2016 bond was already allocated to building the new high school. With the district once again asking for funds, Harding feels like this bond has been passed twice.  

The request for more money comes after years of difficult situations surrounding construction. The land set aside for the new school had been deemed historically important, so the litigation process to overcome this hurdle took three and a half years. Two and a half more years were spent permitting. 

All of this plus the struggles of COVID meant that the project was significantly delayed. And, as school board policy states, the ISD cannot start any new construction projects without having the full amount of funding in hand.

“In hindsight, people would say the first bond that we ran for the fourth high school was not enough. Then when you have all these delays that happen in lawsuits, you’re put back, plus you’ve got X percent of increase in costs to deal with,” Hood said. “So the shortfall is very real, and we have to be honest about that and ask for the additional money to build the high school. ”

But why does the district need nearly $293 million to build the high school? 

“High schools are the most expensive structures in our entire system to build. You don’t have a professional kitchen like Zarah Matsuda’s in every single high school, and you don’t have anything like that in an elementary school!” Hood said. “High schools take longer and cost more, just by the very nature of what they are. And you don’t want to do it halfway.”

Despite his qualms with the new bond, Harding is sympathetic regarding the construction delays.

“I don’t blame my district for the situation with the lawsuit. It happens, and it is unfortunate that costs went up.” Harding said. “But I also know that there were other things in the 2016 bond that didn’t happen. For example, my children go to Maple Hills Elementary, and it said on Bond 2016 that they were going to extend and renovate that school, but it remains the most outdated building in the district today.”

While the $7 million allocated to Maple Hills in the 2016 bond was used for repainting, replacing HVAC systems, and creating more class and office space in the existing building, the addition of four to eight new classrooms, as advertised in the bond, never happened. 

Additionally, although the 2016 bond originally advertised the Maple Hills expansion and modernization as equal to that of five other elementary schools, Endeavour and Discovery Elementary were allocated more money and received significantly greater remodels, including 6 new classrooms each. 

On top of that concern, Harding is tired of a lack of transparency from the district, noting that in 2023, the community was informed that the district had misallocated funding from the 2012 and 2016 bonds. This comes from an Accountability Audit that showed the district used capital project bond money to fund older projects outside the scope of governing School Board resolutions. 

Although all the money was used on previously approved ISD projects, Harding has lost a lot of trust in the district. Recognizing this community frustration, Hood acknowledges the district’s mistake. 

“I don’t think we did exactly what we needed to to be as clear as we should have on the procedure side. There were some steps that were skipped there, so we are now trying to make that right and say, okay, the misallocation happened, but we still need a fourth high school – here’s what it costs today,” Hood said.

Currently Skyline and Issaquah are in the top 20 highest enrollment high schools in the state. Issaquah is 4th with over 2400 students, and Skyline is 12th with over 2200. As adding on to Skyline and Issaquah poses traffic concerns in the surrounding area, the fourth high school may be the only feasible way to create more space. 

“The overcrowding at IHS has seriously hindered many students’ abilities to take the classes they want, especially career-focused fields like computer science, biomed, and woodshop,” a junior at Issaquah High School, who wishes to stay anonymous, said. “I feel like, as a student, although there are a variety of classes available, I am still limited due to the amount of other students competing for the same classes.”

Hood knows that this junior’s experience isn’t unique. Overcrowding puts strain on schedules, limits classroom availability, and prevents personalized learning. 

“It’s super, super important that we get the fourth high school built. I do think it will improve the experience for every kid at the high school level, even those who stay in their home high school, because it will feel different,” Hood said. “You know the extra space you feel when the seniors are gone after graduation? That’s how it will feel every day once the fourth high school is open.” 

With permits expiring in April, the district plans to start construction right away. 

“If the bond doesn’t get passed, it could potentially delay the possibility of building again meaning costs would go up. It would definitely put the new high school in jeopardy,” Liberty Principal Andrew Brownson said.

Even with this urgency, Harding is unsure on if he will vote yes on the bond. Though $81 million of the bond is allocated to upgrading Liberty, the descriptions of the improvements are uncomfortably vague in Harding’s opinion. 

 “I heard something about the ISD adding engineering spaces to Liberty which sounds cool, but they don’t have a lot of information available about it specifically,” Harding said. “I feel like I don’t know enough about that to get super excited about it, but I think it would be a good thing if there’s additional programs.”

Brownson acknowledges Harding’s concerns are fair, but the money needs to be present before decisions are made. 

“At Liberty, they haven’t decided exactly what expansion would look like, but they are looking at investing into our STEM and CTE spaces and other job-oriented opportunities. This could be redesigning or expanding our existing shops, like the metals shop or creative spaces for robotics,” Brownson said. “There’s a general understanding where we want to invest in Liberty, and there’s a certain amount of dollars they’ve earmarked for that, but it’s preliminary plans – nothing is finite yet.” 

Hood adds that the district is currently analyzing data from the high schools – course sign ups, Xello, and other sources – to find out which career-prep programs are the most in demand.

“Right now, the data shows us health sciences, design, manufacturing and engineering are the main interests at all the high schools,” Hood said. “We’re also really looking at certification programs and how to tie kids to internships, adding a bit of the Gibson Ek flavor to the comprehensives.”

However, with the district’s past mistakes, Harding is still unsure on if he’ll support the bond. 

“I honestly feel torn about it because I don’t think the district’s current employees are trying to be malicious. But I also don’t think it’s fully transparent. Will the district actually live up to the promises that they’re making?” Harding said. 

Harding is not the only parent concerned with empty promises. While she sees the bond’s miniscule impact on her tax burden to be a pro, anonymous voter and Liberty parent, “Mackenzie Jackson”, is skeptical on how much of the bond will benefit the Renton community.

“I’m concerned that the money will be primarily prioritized towards a new high school that will benefit the Issaquah and Sammamish plateau areas but not necessarily the aging schools that are already existing in the district, such as Liberty,” Jackson said. “I think if there is a new high school that’s needed, it should be paid for by the people within those school boundaries that will be directly benefiting from it. Liberty families are not going to benefit.”

Similarly, School Board Student Representative Aditi Marehalli reflects that she won’t be personally benefiting.

“As a senior, I’m leaving the ISD very soon so it would be a burden to support it as I’d be paying money that has no benefit towards me,” Marehalli said. “However, I understand that it’s a huge benefit to the community around me. So as a student, I’m in support of the bond, but it may be different if I was the one actually paying the taxes.”

Hood agrees with Marehalli’s point about the bond’s benefit to the community. 

“Sometimes people think, ‘I don’t have kids in the district, so what do I care?’” Hood said. “Good schools really do stabilize property values for any property owner. They also usually draw a lot of great businesses and people to a community.” 

For instance, a study reported by The New York Times revealed that a 5% improvement in school test scores can lead to a 2.5% increase in home values. Similarly, the National Bureau of Economic Research found that every additional $1 spent on public schools results in a $20 increase in home values. This data underscores the financial benefits of investing in quality education, benefiting both schools and local homeowners.

“Even if I didn’t have kids of my own, I know full well that my neighbors do. Their kids are my community, and so wanting them to have access to great programming and to be able to contribute to the work world and to all of the next problems that we have to solve together is hugely important,” Hood said. “So we like to think that everybody will come out and vote regardless of whether or not they have kids in our schools.” 

Concurring with Hood and Marehalli, Liberty sophomore and ISD School Board Student Representative Parashar believes that – despite concerns raised by the community – passing the bond will be a big positive. 

“I’m personally for the bond, and many students here at Liberty that I got the opportunity to talk to share my stance,” Parashar said. “At the core of it, the bond aims to enhance the experience of students across the district.”

Though, none of these improvements can be made unless the bond is passed. With the November 5th election coming up, community members are encouraged to explore more information about the bond – including tax impacts, budget breakdowns, and frequently asked questions – on the ISD website to ensure their voices are heard.