The Lake Washington School District Board of Directors is preparing a possible bond measure for next year that would be used to remodel or replace Juanita High School and Kirk Elementary School, with more bond measures to follow for the next ten years.

A 2016 bond measure would fund the most immediate needs, while other bond measures would possibly be put to a vote in 2018, 2022, and 2026 to fund the longer-term needs.

District officials have stated that the bond measures would not increase tax rates and would maintain the 2015 tax rate over this period of time. Spokesperson Kathryn Reith said this is because other bonds are getting paid off, such as the construction levy passed in 2011 and set to expire in 2017.

“So as those expire and past bonds are paid off, taxes would go down if no other measures are passed,” she said.

The 2016 bond measure, expected to be on the April ballot, would be used for construction projects in each of the district’s learning community, the area served by each of the four comprehensive high schools. In addition to projects in Kirkland, the bond measure would also replace or remodel Mead Elementary School in Sammamish, along with replacing Explorer Community School with new modular buildings. In Redmond, it would fund three new schools in the Redmond Learning Community – two elementary and one middle school, and refurbish the Old Redmond Schoolhouse for use as a preschool center. The future ballot measures would be used to build three additional elementary schools and two choice high schools. They would also fund the remodeling or replacing of Kamiakin Middle School, Alcott Elementary School, Evergreen Middle School and Smith Elementary School.

The district is inviting community members to provide feedback on the draft funding plan, and the district said it would seek community input before each of the three subsequent bond measures.

“The first one has the most detail,” Reith said. “We will of course go back out to the community in two years and say ‘This was the plan two years ago, is it still the right plan?’ There will be a community input process and a review of those potential measures at the time they would come up.”

During its Dec. 7 meeting, the board received an initial draft report on potential funding measures that would go toward building new schools and renovate aging facilities. Incumbents Siri Bliesner and Chris Carlson and newcomer Eric Laliberte were also sworn into office after winning their respective races in the November election.

The funding plan would implement the project recommendations of the Long-Term Facilities Task Force, a 63-member representative group that spent almost a year looking into the district’s facility needs. They presented their recommendations to the board in November, which the board ultimately approved. The recommendations addressed the issues of classroom capacity and old buildings, advising they build more schools to meet growing classroom needs, while either renovating or completely rebuilding schools depending on whether the facilities as is could include more classrooms. The Task Force recommendations also included a list of specific construction projects needed for the district from 2016-2030. They also recommended strategies for efficient and cost-effective facility designs. The draft funding plan implements the construction projects over time.

Each measure would have projects to increase classroom space and reduce the reliance on portable classrooms. Additional projects would leverage use of existing facilities and expand choice school / program options. Cost-effective design principles would be implemented.

The Educational Programs & Operations Levy as well as the Capital Projects Levy must be renewed every four years.

Last year’s failed bond measure would have raised $750 million. It garnered a majority voter approval, but failed to get the required 60 percent to pass. At the same time, the school district has been the fastest-growing district in King County during the past several years. Following the bond measure’s failure, the district has repurposed funds to make better use of existing facilities and redrawn district boundaries in order to accommodate the student population, the latter of which initially drew criticism from certain communities.