Tacoma voters to decide on $650 million investment in public school upgrades next month
Editor’s note:The original version of this story incorrectly reported the cost per month to the average homeowner. That figure has been corrected.
Tacoma voters will be asked next month to invest $650 million more in Tacoma Public School upgrades and major renovations.
If the bond measure is approved by voters during the Feb. 13 election, the average Tacoma homeowner would expect to pay about $7.53 more in taxes per month, or around $90 a year. The cost for repaying the bond would be in addition to other taxes already assessed by Tacoma Public Schools.
Voters last approved a $535 million bond in 2020 to replace or renovate eight aging neighborhood schools in the Tacoma Public School District, as well as safety, playground, technology and building upgrades.
The school district is one of the largest in Washington, serving about 28,000 students in preschool through grade 12. According to the district’s website, the Tacoma Public School district is also one of the largest employers in Tacoma, with 36 elementary schools, 13 middle schools, 11 high schools and four early learning centers.
Proposition 1 seeks to replace five deteriorating neighborhood schools in Tacoma: DeLong Elementary, the Industrial Design Engineering and Art High School, Point Defiance Elementary, Stanley Elementary and Whitman Elementary.
The proposal also calls for major renovations at Franklin Elementary, Hilltop Heritage Middle School, Silas High School, West End swing site (former Skyline Elementary), the Central Administrative Building and Professional Development Center.
Funding also would be used to finish roof and mechanical upgrades across the district, expand learning and classroom opportunities, upgrade several athletic fields and support health, safety and security upgrades, according to a Proposition 1 fact sheet posted by Tacoma Public Schools online.
Tacoma Public School officials say the upgrades are necessary investments that will better prepare students for their futures and support a more positive learning environment.
An opponent to the ballot measure said on average the Tacoma School District spends thousands more per student than other states and raised questions about whether students are seeing a return on those investments.
One school’s vision for the future
Walking through the halls and classrooms of the Industrial Design Engineering and Art High School on Friday, teachers and the school’s co-director Brittany Skobel said improvements and upgrades are needed there.
Built in 1912, the IDEA High School building was designed as an elementary school. It now houses about 375 high school students who study industrial design, engineering and art. Students and staff said they feel the downsides of the old infrastructure and limited space, Skobel said.
In several classrooms, Skobel pointed out holes in the exterior windows where birds often nest inside during the spring. The windows aren’t insulated, which means in cold months temperatures can drop to 30 degrees inside and rise to about 90 degrees in the summer, she said.
IDEA High School co-director Kainoa Higgins said there are plumbing, electrical and air-quality issues in the building.
“We have an old boiler that sometimes doesn’t work,” Skobel said. “Trying to keep kids engaged in conditions like that … We’ve got lots of challenges that go along with an old building.”
Some classrooms at IDEA High School, including science labs, have carpeted floors and aren’t designed for high school level curricula, Skobel said. The building is also not accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is “a huge problem for us and our community” and makes it harder to provide opportunities for all students, she said.
In the future the school hopes to serve about 500 students, Skobel said. Several IDEA teachers told The News Tribune they would like more flexible and collaborative classroom spaces that could accommodate different projects and class sizes, which is a current logistical problem.
“[Young people] are our future, and making sure they’ve got spaces that reflect the future and the world they’re entering in, spaces that allow them to be creative problem solvers, that allow them to work in teams, to solve problems — I think it’s super important that we invest in our community and our young people,” Skobel said.
Under Proposition 1, IDEA High School would be one of five schools in Tacoma that would see replacement. Although details haven’t been finalized, Higgins said he imagined it would look like tearing down the current high school and building a new one in 2027.
Other district improvements in the ballot measure include:
- The creation of a central school district kitchen to provide better quality menu items with fresher, healthier, local ingredients and reduced food costs and waste.
- Funding for Phase 2 of a Maritime Skills Center, which would allow students more access to technical and vocational skills with industry workers and expanded career and technical education opportunities in the maritime industry.
- Access to an expanded career and technical education facility that focuses on agricultural sciences and wildlife studies.
- Upgraded field, turf and stadium improvements at two middle schools and five high schools.
- Small capital projects, including ADA improvements, security improvements and light upgrades
Higgins acknowledged that the average homeowner would be paying about $7.53 more a month if Proposition 1 passes, but he said the longer the district waits to address structural issues or deferred maintenance, the more costly it would be in the long run.
“We want all students in Tacoma to have access to high-quality learning experiences and learning spaces,” Higgins said. “I think the team at hand has really thought critically about what are the most significant needs and where we can save the most dollars in the long run by prioritizing these major upheavals now, so that we’re not just sinking more and more dollars to keep it afloat.”
One person worries culture war threatens progress
Jay Doherty, a committee member with the Government Budgetary and Accounting Oversight Committee who opposes the ballot measure, said Washington state already spends significantly more on education than elsewhere in the United States.
“But is that worth it?” he wrote in an email to The News Tribune Thursday. “Are we producing above average students? Are we getting a return on our investment and producing graduates that will enter into the workforce and will be net makers, not net takers? Are we preparing our kids to become citizens that we will want to have as our neighbors when they become adults?”
Doherty expressed worries that “a radical diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) philosophy … has the ultimate aim to tear down Western civilization and capitalism” and is resulting in “our children … being used to produce ideological soldiers for their Marxist cause.”
“We are all in favor for giving Tacoma schools the above average funding it needs to facilitate the students with everything they need, granted the school district fully rejects any and all educational philosophies that promote Marxism and the social division that springs from critical race theory and DEI initiatives,” he said in an email. “If the social poison is solved, then the city should budget so that the school district is funded to the point where the district does not have to issue bond measures.”
Where to vote
Learn more about what specific improvements are proposed for schools near you under Proposition 1 at https://www.tacomaschools.org/about/bond/bond-improvements-at-every-school.
If you’re wondering where to cast your vote or drop off your ballot Feb. 13, you can explore a map of Pierce County ballot boxes online. Ballots are mailed 18 days prior to the election.
This story was originally published January 24, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
