DEER PARK, Wash. — A local school district is asking voters to approve a levy that would fund safety improvements and address overcrowding concerns across multiple campuses.
The Deer Park School District’s proposed levy would raise property taxes by 42 cents per thousand dollars of assessed property value, generating nearly $15 million for several infrastructure projects. The average homeowner in Deer Park would pay over $18 more per year if the measure passes.
The largest portion of funding would replace the district’s 90-year-old transportation hub, which faces significant structural challenges.
“It is actually positioned in between wetlands, so we don’t have the opportunity to expand. It’s literally on sinking ground so although we continue to pour gravel and grading into it, it just continues to sink,” said Dr. Alexa Allman, superintendent of Deer Park School District.
The aging transportation facility lacks covered parking for all buses, creating operational difficulties during winter weather. Transportation staff must scrape windshields and prepare vehicles in harsh conditions without adequate shelter.
“It’s about when they’re walking out and it’s 20 degrees below zero, and they can walk into a walkway and walk into a bus instead of trying to scrape their windshields and get it ready for the road,” said Kerri Leliefeld, transportation supervisor for Deer Park School District.
The levy would also address critical maintenance needs at Arcadia Elementary School, including replacing a leaking roof and an aging HVAC system. Safety improvements would include building fencing around portable classrooms that currently can be accessed without going through the front office.
District officials plan to use a portion of the funds to purchase land for a new elementary school to address overcrowding at existing schools. However, the land purchase would only be the first step in a longer process that would require additional funding.
School board member Gerry Ashby supports the projects but believes the district should be more transparent about future funding needs for the elementary school construction.
“They have to know there’s another bond coming at them four years after. You can’t sell the levy for $14 million and then have them come back and say, ‘I passed it, now why are you asking me for more money?'” Ashby said.
Voters will decide on the future of the proposed levy on November 4.
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