Levying its needs

CHENEY – If it seems that the Cheney School District is always running a bond or levy these days, you wouldn’t be far from the truth.

Most of it could be chalked up to growth — something district officials see as occurring at an ever more alarming pace. The need to address that growth is the main reason behind the district’s latest request for money — a $4.274 million capital facilities levy appearing on the Nov. 5 ballot, which should have already hit voters’ mailboxes.

A yes vote would impose a 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value tax on top of the district’s current rate of $4.64/$1,000 of assessed property value for the next two years. It would mean the owner of a $200,000 home in the district would see their property tax bill go up an estimated $8.33 per month, $100 ($99.96 to be exact) a year through 2021.

It’s the fourth measure dealing with growth in the district in the last nine years. A $78 million bond to build two new middle schools and an elementary school passed in 2010 while a $42 million bond to renovate and modernize the high school failed in 2015.

The district went back to the drawing board and voters passed a $52 million bond in 2017 that modernized and expanded the high school and three elementary schools — all of which are nearing capacity. The capital facilities levy would pay for land purchases for more schools – something district officials forecast as being needed within the next 3-5 years at the least, and 10 years at the most.

“Most classes are above 400 (students) across the system,” Superintendent Rob Roettger said at a lightly-attended levy forum Oct. 3 at Sunset Elementary School in Airway Heights.

District enrollment as of March 2019 was 4,694 students. According to a study by Davis Demographics done for the district that could increase in three years to 6,172 and 7,221 in five years, March 2024.

By March 2019 – 10 years – Cheney School District could almost double to 9,076 students. Roettger said Davis based this projection on a list of project either underway or proposed for the area, along with population mobility and birth rates.

A glance at a planned residential development map for fall 2018 – 2028 shows 24 single and multifamily housing developments in and around Airway Heights alone, ranging from 18 units at Aspen Grove to a 588-unit apartment complex proposed by the Kalispel Tribe. Another 23 projects are planned around the Fairways/West Terrace, Marshall and Latah areas.

Cheney residential developments are not as robust with about seven projects, including the nearly-built-out Harvest Bluff 139-home subdivision, but still growing nonetheless.

“They’re (Davis) not just pulling these numbers out of thin air,” Roettger said. “They’re really looking at what is the projected growth in the district. It’s pretty significant in Airway Heights and the West Plains.”

That growth projection is sharply detailed when looking at Sunset Elementary School. March 2019’s enrollment showed 508 students, but looking down the road – a projection timeframe rate Roettger said Davis has a lot of confidence in – the Airway Heights school could double to 1,088 students by 2024.

Snowdon and Windsor elementaries aren’t far behind, with Westwood Middle School potentially growing to 1,633 students — from the current 557 — by 2029.

Currently, the district is finalizing a purchase agreement for 11.5 acres off Craig Road in northwest Airway Heights for a new elementary school. The district has almost $1.237 million in cash available to make this purchase right now, with $686,585 coming from the sale of the old Fisher Building, $250,000 from the 2017 bond and $300,000 in interest. After spending $626,175 on the Craig Road site, $20,000 in due diligence on the purchase and $350,000 to relocate eight portables from the high school to various sites around the district, Cheney is left with around $240,000 cash to make additional purchases.

“There’s probably not a lot available to purchase additional property at this point,” Roettger said.

Hence the call for the Nov. 5 capital facilities levy vote. The district would use $1.7 million of the $4.274 million generated for land purchases, including another elementary school site, and a transportation co-op site to replace the current “landlocked” location in Cheney on North 6th Street and Betz Road.

The district would also work with realtors to strike up option agreements for a middle school site where the agreement would allow for purchasing within a specific amount of time. The district would use the remaining $2.3 million for a technology upgrade, something Roettger said hasn’t been done since 2009-2010.

The district is proposing to purchase Chromebooks for students’ use — similar to what Medical Lake School District recently did — along with laptops for teachers, and upgrades to bells and intercom systems at schools where new technology is struggling to interface safely with older systems.

The district would also use $300,000 of the levy funds for maintenance and grounds vehicles such as vans and snowplows.

“All of this is if it (levy) passes,” Roettger said. “If it fails, none of this occurs.”

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.