School bonds get 2nd wind

Board wants residents to vote again on new facility projects

January 6, 2006

JOEL DAVIDSON\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - Three months after Valley voters rejected two bond packages for three new elementary schools, the Mat-Su School Board voted Wednesday to put forth a similar bond package to voters again this spring.

The school board voted, 6-1, to ask the borough assembly to put a $40 million bond package onto a special election ballot. The bond includes $17 million each for a Settlers Bay-area elementary school and a Palmer-area elementary school. It also includes $3.5 million to remodel portions of Wasilla High School and $2.2 million to enhance Wasilla Middle School's cafeteria, gym floor and entryway lighting.

Board members cited several reasons for placing a school bond before voters just months after the last election.

For starters, time is of the essence. Last year, the state Legislature agreed to reimburse the borough up to 70 percent of the cost for all the school projects except the Palmer-area school, which they agreed to reimburse at 60 percent. The district, though, is asking the state to reconsider its offer and include the Palmer school at the 70 percent reimbursement level.

Any reimbursement deal with the state, however, is contingent on the borough accepting the bonds before Oct. 31.

Several board members and district officials expressed concern that voters initially rejected school bonds due to the sheer number of proposals they were asked to approve in the October election, which included bonds for libraries and an animal shelter.

School board member Pat Purcell said she thinks the public might pass the proposed bond measure this time if they are fully informed on why the district needs the projects.

&#8220If we had a special election focused on just schools and there was a push to let people understand why, I think it would pass,” she said Thursday. &#8220It's all about how people pay attention to the reasoning for bonds.”

In a memo to school board members at the Wednesday school board meeting, Chief School Administrator Bob Doyle explained that rapid growth in the Valley, including 600 new students projected for next year, has made new school constructions an urgent matter.

&#8220As you know, voters turned down school bonds in the fall 2005 election,” Doyle wrote. &#8220However, there has been significant response from our community in favor of a spring/early summer ballot proposition for the most crucial projects.”

So far, Doyle said, several local PTAs have coordinated campaigns to secure signatures in support of a bond proposition.

While supporting the school bonds, several board members expressed concern about a public backlash for bringing them forward again. Board member Cheryl Turner said she supports bonds for two elementary schools but worries that the upgrades and renovation items for Wasilla High and Wasilla Middle schools will turn voters off.

&#8220When you ask the public to come to the polls for a special election, it should be for an emergency situation,” she said Thursday. &#8220Renovations are not an emergency situation.”

Turner was the lone member who voted against the bond proposition because it included items beyond the new schools.

Board member Rob Wells recommended adding the Wasilla school upgrades because he said the district should use the full $40 million that the state agreed to reimburse at 60 to 70 percent.

If approved by the assembly, the special election is expected to cost $85,000, according to Patty Sullivan, public affairs manager for the borough. That cost might be less if the borough uses a special mail-in ballot system.

The borough assembly will next address the bond issue during a work session Jan. 10. The assembly's next official meeting is set for Jan. 17, when members are expected to take up the bond issue as a formal body.

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266 or joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.