With Levy Looking Like it Will Pass, Eastlake High Could Stand to get $20 Million for More Classrooms

Lake Washington School District officials expressed confidence Wednesday that the $65.4 million levy vote from Tuesday will pass. As of Wednesday afternoon, the measure had nearly 60 percent of voter approval.

If the measure is approved, that will clear the way for about $20 million in classroom and construction work at Eastlake High School, district spokeswoman Kathryn Reith said.

Ballot counting will continue this week and the final tally will be released Feb. 23. But Reith on Wednesday was willing to discuss the next steps, which include more classrooms at Redmond High School and the construction of a secondary school.

“The vast majority of votes have come in already. We’re pretty confident that this will pass,” she said.

In a statement, Superintendent Chip Kimball thanked the community for its "strong" support of district schools and students.

“Despite a very tough economy, our community is willing to pay for the needed expansion of space to accommodate our growing student population," he said. "Our community’s support for education is critical to our ability to prepare students for the future.”

The goal is for the construction and renovations to be finished by August 2012. “It will be a sprint,” Reith said.

At Eastlake, which district officials say is crowded, a new wing of classrooms and at least the expansion of the cafeteria are on the drawing board.

The classrooms will need to hold an estimated 250 students.

But district officials will need to get the proper permits and put bids out for construction work, Reith said.

The Eastlake construction work is expected to be in the range of $20 million. It is possible, Reith added, that the new wing of classrooms will be built behind the school library.

District staff will inform students, teachers, families and the community of construction timelines and what type of disruptions to expect. The news will most likely be communicated through newsletters, emails and the district website, she said.

Under the levy proposal, Redmond High School is slated to get more classroom space to hold an additional 250 students.

For the new 675-student campus, the district is considering property it owns near Louisa May Alcott Elementary School in Redmond, Reith said.

“It’s just down the hill from the Plateau,” she said. “We still have permitting work to do with King County.”

The campus would focus on science, technology, engineering and math courses, officials have said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, nearly 60 percent of the counted votes favored the levy.

King County Elections reported that 30,878 ballots had been cast and counted as of about 3 pm. While 18,434 voters supported the measure at that point, 12,426 people - or about 40 percent - opposed it.

The $65.4 million would be raised over six years. The owner of a $500,000 home in the district would pay $13 per month over six years, an average of about $0.28 per thousand dollars of assessed value, according to a district analysis.

The amount of money per thousand dollars of assessed value slides from $0.31 in 2012 to $0.26 in 2017.

Editor's note: To see levy election coverage in Sammamish Patch, click here.