RIDGEFIELD — With all four schools in the district over capacity, Ridgefield School District officials will turn to the public for help on Feb. 14, as residents vote on a $78 million bond.
“This bond, if it passes, adds 1,300 new seats, a 46 percent increase in capacity compared to our current enrolment,” Ridgefield Superintendent Nathan McCann said. “It enhances safety and security at every campus and put kids in modern classrooms and flexible learning environments.”
The bond money will be paired with $15.5 million in state matching funds and $5 million from the city for a total project cost of $98.5 million.
The biggest part of that project will be a new grades 5-8 campus across South Hillhurst Road from Ridgefield High School and the district offices. The district already owns the land, which will house two new schools — one for fifth- and sixth-graders and another for seventh- and eighth-graders — on a shared campus. The city will also build a sports complex on that land, which the district will use for athletic teams and physical education classes. No bond money will go to the sports complex.
The money will also go to an expansion at the high school, as well as security improvements throughout the district.
The district is projecting the bond would increase the tax rate by 77 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. The current rate is $1.41 per $1,000 of assessed value.
“I don’t have a crystal ball, so I can’t say what the tax rate will be,” McCann said. “We tried to be very conservative with our estimation of the tax rate increase.”
McCann said the district calculated the new bond tax rate projecting an 8 percent increase in property value. In 2016, fast-growing Ridgefield saw a 17 percent increase, and an 8 percent increase would be the lowest growth rate in the last four years, McCann said.
Outside of the tax implications, one of the biggest concerns of residents is why the district plans on moving students from View Ridge Middle School, especially with all the growth in Ridgefield.
“View Ridge Middle School received no improvements with the last bond (in 2012),” said Amy Draper, co-chair of the Capital Facilities Advisory Committee, which put together a plan for the bond money. “That building is in need of a lot of maintenance and repairs. There’s no room downtown to build onto that school.”
The state matching funds also play into the decision to move the students instead of try to modernize View Ridge, McCann said. According to Washington Administrative Code 392-347-042, if a district opts to replace a space in lieu of modernization and receives state money for it, the old space can’t be used for instructional purposes. If the district accepts state funds and then brings students back to View Ridge, the district would face a penalty of 10 years where it couldn’t receive state matching funds.
“This project doesn’t happen without the state matching funds,” McCann said.
Moving students out of View Ridge could also help alleviate some traffic issues in downtown Ridgefield, a complaint from many parents with students at View Ridge or Union Ridge Elementary School, as well as Ridgefield residents trying to get to work, Draper said.
The current View Ridge building wouldn’t sit unused, either. The district has started discussions with multiple agencies trying to find a partner to put new programs in the building. McCann said there’s a possibility of an early childhood development program in the building, and he’s talked to people with the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District about using the space. Some of the building would also house district administrative services, which are currently spread around to multiple locations.
McCann praised his staff and Ridgefield residents who worked on the bond plan. The committee, made up of residents from the district, worked for more than a year talking to parents, teachers, students and community members about needs in the district. They looked at what the bond could do to help the district through this upcoming bond vote, as well as until 2035. The district’s current enrollment is around 2,740, and it’s estimated to go up to 7,200 in 2035, although McCann said the district’s recent growth is eclipsing that rate.
“This plan was going to help all of our students throughout the district while getting the most out of our bond dollars,” Draper said.
Voter education
Another group, Citizens for Ridgefield Schools, has been out trying to educate the public about the upcoming vote and what the bond money will bring to the district. Kent Landerholm, co-chair of the organization, said a big part of the group’s efforts have gone into voter education. With so many new residents in Ridgefield, some residents didn’t know a vote was coming or about mail-in ballots, he said.
One reason voter turnout is especially important is because this is a bond, it requires a supermajority of 60 percent plus one vote in favor to pass. For the results to go through, the district also needs 40 percent of the turnout from the most recent election, which was the November 2016 presidential election.
Landerholm said the group is looking to get around 4,000 “yes” votes on the bond for it to pass.
For McCann, he wants as many people to vote as possible, regardless of how they vote. He is hoping the bond passes, of course, but he also wants to make sure people are informed about what the bond would bring to the district and that they vote based on the truth.
“I want people to vote the facts,” McCann said. “I feel this is a fiscally responsible plan. It’s a plan developed by the citizens of Ridgefield for the citizens of Ridgefield.”
