Forks voters to decide on bond
Reported byPeninsula Daily News
AI-assisted summary
Voters in the Quillayute Valley School District will decide on Nov. 3 whether to approve $34 million in bonds to replace Forks Middle School, which is nearly 75 years old, with parts dating to 1952. The measure needs a 60 percent supermajority and at least 40 percent turnout to pass. The district says the current school falls short on heating, power, windows and leaks, and a new two-story building would bring fifth- through eighth-graders together instead of spreading them across three buildings.
Superintendent Diana Reaume says a community survey of about 200 responses pointed to safety as the top priority. The district says voting now, rather than in 2028 as first planned, qualifies it for about $21 million in state construction assistance, or $5 million more than waiting. Together the bond and state money would fund a project estimated at $55 million. The district also says passage would keep timber revenue local, with about $15.5 million at stake over 25 years. Reaume estimates the owner of a $350,000 home would pay about $19 more per month. The bond would be issued in two rounds and repaid over up to 25 years.
If the measure fails, Reaume says the board would try again in February, but the extra state funding would be lost. If it passes, construction would begin in summer 2028 and the school would open in fall 2029, with students temporarily housed in other district buildings for one school year.
Why it matters
The vote affects local property taxes and the condition of a school building serving upper-grade students. The district says timing determines how much state money it receives, so the outcome could shape both costs for taxpayers and what the district can fund.
- Bond measure
- New construction
- Property taxes
- State aid
- Building repairs
Written with AI from the publisher's article and may contain errors. The original reporting is the authoritative source.
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- How should voters weigh the estimated monthly tax increase against the district's description of the building's problems?
- What information would help residents judge whether replacing the school is a better choice than renovating it?
- How should the district plan for students and families during the year they would be moved to other buildings?
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