Construction projects

Construction Projects: 2006 bond

Sixty-eight percent of voters in February 2006 approved a $241,870,000 construction bond to ensure that the Issaquah School District will have safe, modern, and adequate building and classroom space for students and staff well into the future.

We are monitoring and budgeting the bond funds carefully so that all projects are on track for completion as outlined in the 2006 ballot measure-with one exception. In February 2007, the School Board took action to repurpose construction dollars originally slated to build a fifth middle school on the Sammamish Plateau. Because of changed enrollment and fiscal conditions as well as the unavailability of suitable land, the Board decided instead to convert Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus into the new middle school in fall 2010; as a result, the Issaquah High and Skyline High construction projects were expanded to include classroom and core facility space to accommodate their freshmen's return.

Bonds 101: Washington school districts receive money from the state and federal government according to a per-student formula to pay for daily operations: salaries, textbooks, utilities, student programs, and all classroom-associated expenses. Local taxpayers can expand on this basic allotment for operations by approving Maintenance and Operations (M&O) levies. School districts, however, may qualify to receive approximately 10-15% of the cost for new construction from the state and receive no federal money to build schools or facilities. To do so, districts rely on voter approval of construction bonds, and the bond money must be used only for construction purposes. Therefore, the Issaquah School District could never choose to offset any of the shortfalls in state education funding by shifting bond dollars to the operations budget. When voters pass construction bonds, they approve a total amount ($241.9 million in 2006), and not a bond rate. That means when property values increase, the District does NOT collect more money.

Look for more information here as our school community plans for a potential construction bond measure for the ballot in 2012.

Overall 2006 bond project timeline

Underway

• Briarwood Elementary: Complete replacement— started construction June 2011; completion fall 2012.
• Challenger Elementary: Relocate central office, improve heating and air controls, separate bus and car traffic: $2.5 million, started construction July 2011. January 2012: Painting, cabinetry, and finishes are being installed in new Administration and Staff Lounge areas. Parking lot reconfiguration associated with the project was complete and functioning before the start of school. Move-in date expected to be the week of January 23rd, 2012. February 2012: Admin area furnishings are 90% complete; light fixture delivery was delayed and just arrived on site for installation; miscellaneous small work remains to be completed prior to move-in. March 2012: Move into Phase 1, new Administration offices and Staff Lounge is complete. Phase ll; Library demolition underway. May 2012: Phase II, Library reconstruction underway; drywall, rough-in electrical, plumbing and mechanical are complete. Painting has begun.
• Issaquah High: Complete replacement— classroom wings and most core facilities completed to accept grades 9-12 in August 2010. Phase 2 construction underway for completion fall 2011. Temporary Occupancy Permit issued July 2011.
• Liberty High School: Partial modernization and expansion, Relocation of site utility and electrical services began June 2011. Performing Arts complex (Phase 1) construction started August 2011; most areas complete August 2012; final completion spring 2013.
• Maywood Middle School: Modernization and expansion—Phase 1 construction started spring 2011. Map site circulation, bus drop-off/pick-up and parent drop-off/pick-up to be ready for use September 2011. Most areas including new classrooms and science labs complete August 2012.

Planning stage

• Sewer extension to provide service to Maywood, Liberty, and Briarwood: Design phase underway. Construction starts late 2011–spring 2012. Final completion spring 2012.

Complete/nearly complete

• Creekside Elementary: New building opened August 2010.
• Skyline High: Modernization and expansion—opened August 2010 to accept grades 9-12.
• May Valley Service Center: Complete summer 2010.
• Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus conversion to District's fifth middle school: Minor alterations started summer 2010 and concluded fall 2010.
• Issaquah Middle School: Reconfiguration of traffic flow, cars and buses separated: $450,000, completed summer 2008.
• Acquire land for Briarwood Elementary rebuild: $294,000, completed December 2008.
• Acquire land for future south-end elementary and middle school as well as Creekside Elementary on the Sammamish Plateau: $7.33 million, completed June 2006. Creekside opened in fall 2010. The south-end elementary and middle school will not be built until enrollment warrants; a new bond measure would be required to fund the construction.

Ongoing critical repairs

(Multiple-component projects are completed in separate parts and often combined with similar work at other buildings for efficiency)

• Admin building—Add curriculum space, improve heating and ventilation, new roofing: $1 million, completed summer 2010.
• Apollo Elementary—New play equipment, improved heating and ventilation, better playfield drainage: $612,000, summer 2011 to summer 2012.
• Beaver Lake Middle School—New track surface, science lab ventilation, and new paint: $240,000, partially complete. Carpet and vinyl tile flooring replacement in corridors and commons completed August 2011.
• Clark—New play equipment, improved heating and ventilation, separation of bus and car traffic: $287,760, partially complete.
• Cougar Ridge—Improved heating and ventilation, upgraded fire alarm system partially complete; new roofing, complete: $852,380.
• Discovery Elementary—Security improvements, partially complete. Improved heating and ventilation, new siding, security improvements, complete: $400,030.
• Endeavour Elementary—Improved heating and ventilation, build a kindergarten play area: $303,565, summer 2010 and 2011. Boiler replacement and building commissioning completed August 2011.
• Issaquah Middle School—New track surface,improved heating and air ventilation, column to roof connections, replace irrigation controls, replace portable ramps, office reconfiguration: $581,495, partially complete.
• Issaquah Valley Elementary—Improved play equipment, complete. Improved heating and air ventilation, partially complete: $263,235
• Maple Hills Elementary—Improved heating and air ventilation, modernized lighting, septic field replacement, and improved field drainage: $534,100, complete.
• Pacific Cascade Middle—Conversion to middle school, complete.
• Pine Lake Middle School—Improved heating and air ventilation, shop improvements, fire alarms in portables: $891,620, partially complete.
• Sunny Hills—New main gym bleachers, summer 2012; new gym siding and insulation, play equipment, complete: $447,445.
• Sunset Elementary—Improved heating and ventilation: $569,525, complete.
• Tiger Mountain Community High School—Improved ventilation and air conditioning, reroofing, complete: $303,020. Culinary Arts kitchen completed 2011.
• Transportation center—Reroofing, complete: $272,500. January, 2012: Both the in-ground lifts and the one above ground lift are in place and functional. Minor work remains to be completed. March, 2012: Both the in-ground lifts and the one above ground lift are complete and functioning. Project complete