Seeking a solution to what they see as a long list of needed facility and technology upgrades, Sequim School District’s board of directors agreed Monday night to ask voters to approve a capital project levy alongside a replacement Educational Programs and Operations (EP&O) levy in February 2021.

The board unanimously voted to seek from taxpayers a four-year, $15 million levy that would among other things pay for roof replacements at Greywolf Elementary and Sequim Middle School, updated science rooms and heating/cooling systems at Sequim High School, a kitchen remodel at Helen Haller Elementary, water and sewer connections for Olympic Peninsula Academy buildings and a number of other of facility improvements at each of the district’s five school buildings and district office.

“Some of the things were on that list seven years ago when I got involved with the schools; I think it’s time to clean up that list,” board director Larry Jeffryes said.

The projects were culled from committee work from staff and school advocates in recent years. John McAndie, the school district’s maintenance supervisor, provided board directors with detail on the capital projects list the Nov. 17 workshop (view a recording of that meeting at www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgXdVorWeyg), noting, “When I put this list together, my thought was just to zero out to district … to bring everything we have back to a functioning level.”

The list also addresses technology needs across the district, with the cost of a base district-wide network system estimated at about $1.8 million.

“Some folks would consider (these items) wants,” director Jim Stoffer said. “They’re actually needs.”

Board president Brandino Gibson said the capital projects levy is key for students’ overall safety and security, and provides a much-needed boost to the district’s technology needs.

“I hope that that can be a selling point, too; this (levy) brings us up to where we should be,” he said.

The board considered a similar list of projects at $13 million and $14 million and at three-year intervals, but in the end opted for four years at the larger dollar figure.

Gibson said the four-year resolution proved to be the way to go for two reasons: it’s able to fund all of the projects the district is seeking to complete, and if approved offers a lower tax rate than both the other proposals and the current local levy rate.

Local taxpayers pay $1.29 per $1,000 of assessed value for the current EP&O levy and $0.67 per $1,000 for a capital projects levy — one that funded construction of the district’s central kitchen — in 2020. That capital project is paid off at the end of 2020 and locals will see their local school levy tax drop to about $1.22 per $1,000 in 2021.

If passed, the newest capital project levy would bump that rate to about $1.86 per $1,000 starting in 2022, Gibson said.

“The (local school levy) rate is actually less than what we’re paying now,” Jeffryes said. “I think that’s very important, especially in these times.”

Board director Eric Pickens said he was hesitant on voting for a four-year levy in that it could delay a bond proposal.

“We are desperately in need of some new buildings,” Pickens said. “It’s still kind of just kicking that can down the road further.”

In the end, Pickens joined the board in unanimously approving the resolution that will go to Clallam County election officials for ballot approval.

With county approval, voters in the Sequim School District boundaries would see the two levy proposals in a special Feb. 9 election, receiving ballots in the mail on or around Jan. 22.

Alongside the capital projects levy will be the four-year, $29.7 million EP&O levy that replaces Sequim’s current levy and pays for core learning functions not supported in state’s basic education formula. EP&O levies generate funds typically spent on support staff, special education, transportation, some technology costs, food service and extra curricular programs such as art, sports, drama, music and choir. They also pay for librarians, school nurses and counselors, as well as partial funding for a school resource officer.

The levy proposals come in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and students learning remotely. Additionally, the school district has three administrators on leave, including superintendent Rob Clark and high school principal Shawn Langston.

“I think it’s going to be a tough sell, (with) other issues going on in the district; people are going to question that,” Gibson said.

“(But) we’ve got to take all of that off the table. We’ve got to … do what’s right for the students.”

Chamber backs levy proposals

Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors in November voted to endorse the Sequim School District’s plans for two levies in February 2021.

“Historically we have avoided weighing in on ballot measures, but with the critical pressure of the pandemic on our local economy, and the state of our education system we decided to get involved directly with the school district to learn about the impact of these levies on commerce in Sequim,” chamber executive director Anji Scalf said in an email.

”The economic health of a community is directly related to the skills of its workforce. And the skills of the workforce are heavily dependent on a communities schools — both in regards to the recruitment of skilled workers, professionals and businesses, and the development and retention of these students for our workforce,” Scalf wrote.

”There is a direct correlation between funding these efforts, and uplifting commerce, and therefore the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce wholeheartedly supports the measures and will encourage our community to do the same.”

Scalf noted that board president Jim Stoffer, also a Sequim School Board director, abstained from the vote.