Capital Projects Bonds

The District has completed an initial evaluation of facility needs through its 10-Year Facilities Master Plan. The Bond Planning Task Force then reviewed those needs and developed recommendations to help prioritize future facility investments. The next phase focuses on gathering broader community input through surveys, events, and other engagement opportunities. Feedback collected during this process will help inform future planning and School Board discussions regarding potential facility investments.

The Bond Planning Task Force is a volunteer group of Vashon community members formed to help the District evaluate future facility needs and priorities. The group reviewed facility assessments, enrollment information, financial considerations, educational goals, and long-term maintenance needs. Throughout the process, members discussed potential approaches to addressing facility needs, considered tradeoffs among competing priorities, and explored how future investments could support students and the broader community.

The Task Force's role was advisory in nature. Its recommendations are intended to help inform future planning and School Board discussions but do not represent final decisions. The School Board will continue to evaluate information, gather community input, and consider future options before determining whether to advance a potential bond measure.

No. The District is currently evaluating facility needs, project priorities, cost estimates, community feedback, and potential funding strategies. No decision has been made regarding a future bond measure, and no bond amount has been determined. Any future recommendations would be considered through a public process and discussed by the School Board before any decisions are made. For more information on the current timeline, click here.

Yes. The survey is only one part of the community engagement process. Over the coming months, the District expects to host facility tours, community meetings, open houses, and presentations while also participating in local events and meeting with community organizations. These activities are intended to help the District hear from a wide range of community members before future facility investment recommendations are developed. Upcoming opportunities will be posted on this website and shared through District communications. Look for us at your next local event.

The District has a responsibility to maintain school facilities, plan for future needs, and regularly evaluate the condition and performance of its buildings. As part of this responsibility, Washington State and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) require school districts to engage in long-range facilities planning and periodically assess school facilities.

As buildings and building systems age, the District evaluates facility conditions, maintenance needs, educational adequacy, accessibility, energy performance, operational requirements, and community use. The planning process helps the District understand how facilities are performing today, identify potential future needs, and explore options for addressing those needs over time.

This work supports the District's responsibility to be a thoughtful steward of public assets while providing facilities that support educational programs, accessibility, inclusion, and the long-term needs of the Vashon community.

Enrollment is one factor in facility planning, but it is not the only factor. School facilities continue to age and require ongoing maintenance, repair, replacement, and periodic upgrades regardless of enrollment trends.

Facility planning also considers how well existing buildings support current educational programs, accessibility, inclusion, safety, energy performance, operational needs, and community use. As educational practices, technology, program requirements, and community expectations evolve over time, the District periodically evaluates whether existing facilities continue to align with the educational goals and priorities identified in the District's Strategic Plan. The planning process helps the District assess facility conditions, understand future needs, and evaluate potential options for maintaining and improving school facilities over the long term.

No. The purpose of this planning effort is to evaluate how District facilities can best support the students who live in and are served by Vashon Island School District. The focus of this work is stewardship of community assets and supporting the educational programs and experiences identified in the District's Strategic Plan. This planning effort is focused on Vashon students, their educational experience, and the community's longstanding commitment to its public schools.

In Washington State, public school funding is built on a partnership between state funding and local voter-approved funding measures. The state provides funding for basic education, but school districts often rely on local levies and bonds to support programs, services, technology, facility maintenance, and capital improvements that are not fully funded through state resources.

The District is evaluating a wide range of facility needs, including building systems, educational spaces, accessibility, safety, energy performance, and community use. Examples may include:

• Roofing, building envelope, and structural repairs
• Heating, ventilation, electrical, and plumbing systems
• Safety and security improvements
• Accessibility and inclusion improvements
• Classroom modernization
• Science, art, and Career and Technical Education (CTE or “vocational”) spaces
• Athletic and activity facilities
• Kitchens, commons, and gathering spaces
• Energy efficiency and sustainability improvements
• Site improvements and outdoor learning environments

The District is also evaluating how facilities support educational programs and student experiences. Learning takes place in classrooms as well as science labs, art spaces, career and technical education programs, libraries, commons areas, athletic facilities, and outdoor learning environments. Facilities planning considers how these spaces support the District's educational goals, student well-being, accessibility, inclusion, operational needs, and community use.

Facility priorities are informed by detailed facility assessments, maintenance records, educational needs, operational considerations, long-term planning, and community input.

A school bond is a voter-approved funding tool used to pay for major capital projects such as building improvements, major renovations, replacements, and other long-term facility investments. Bond funds may only be used for capital purposes and cannot be used for day-to-day operating expenses such as salaries, utilities, transportation, or classroom supplies.

In Washington State, school bonds require approval from at least 60% of voters, along with a minimum voter turnout requirement established by state law. If approved by voters, bond funding is repaid over time through property taxes.

Yes. In February 2024, Vashon voters approved a four-year Capital Technology (Cap/Tech) Levy that provides funding for technology, safety and security improvements, maintenance, and other capital improvement projects throughout the District.

Capital levies and bonds are different funding tools and are often used together as part of a long-range facilities strategy. Capital levies typically fund smaller-scale capital projects, technology, maintenance, equipment, and facility improvements over a shorter period of time. Bonds are generally used for larger capital projects such as major renovations, building replacements, significant accessibility improvements, and major infrastructure upgrades.

Capital levies are an important funding source for ongoing facility improvements, maintenance, technology, and safety projects. However, the amount of funding that can be generated through a levy is limited by state law in relation to the size of the District's tax base.

For larger capital projects, generating sufficient funding through a levy alone may require a substantially higher tax rate because the funds must be collected over a shorter period of time. Bonds and levies are different funding tools designed for different purposes, and school districts often evaluate both when considering long-term facility needs.

Potentially. Washington State provides school construction assistance through the School Construction Assistance Program (SCAP). SCAP funding operates as a matching program. School districts must first provide a local funding source before becoming eligible to receive state assistance. The amount of state funding varies based on eligibility criteria established by the State of Washington and the specific characteristics of a project.

Project timing is one of many factors considered during long-range planning. Construction costs are influenced by labor availability, material costs, market conditions, and other economic factors that can change over time.

Like many school districts throughout Washington, Vashon Island School District experienced significant construction cost increases following the COVID-19 pandemic. During that period, inflation, supply chain disruptions, and workforce shortages affected the cost of construction projects across the region.

One way to understand the impact of construction cost escalation is to look at projects that have already been completed. Vashon High School was constructed in 2017 at a cost of approximately $33.4 million, or about $411 per square foot. Based on current construction costs, a similar facility could cost approximately $67.3 million, or about $829 per square foot.

While future construction costs cannot be predicted with certainty, project timing remains an important consideration when evaluating long-term facility needs and potential funding strategies. When projects are phased over many years, the District must consider not only the cost of the improvements themselves, but also the potential impact of future construction cost escalation, additional design and mobilization costs, and the continued maintenance of facilities awaiting improvement.

For this reason, the District evaluates both individual projects and groups of projects to better understand the long-term cost, timing, and taxpayer implications of different approaches. One objective of the planning process is to determine whether addressing multiple facility needs together may be more cost-effective than completing the same work over an extended period of time.

Sustainability and energy performance are important considerations in the District's facilities planning process. As facility needs are evaluated, the District reviews opportunities to improve the efficiency and performance of building systems, reduce energy consumption, and support responsible stewardship of community resources.

Energy use affects both environmental impact and operating costs. Utility costs, maintenance expenses, and replacement cycles are ongoing obligations that continue throughout the life of a facility. Because these expenses are paid from the District's General Fund, facility planning considers not only the initial cost of a project, but also how buildings perform, operate, and are maintained over time.

The District is evaluating facility options through multiple lenses, including educational needs, accessibility, sustainability, energy performance, lifecycle costs, operational costs, and community priorities. Community feedback will help the District better understand how these considerations should be weighed as future facility options are developed and evaluated.

Community input is an important part of the planning process and is being gathered before any final project package, funding amount, or recommendation has been determined. The District is seeking feedback to better understand community priorities, concerns, questions, and information needs. This input will help inform the evaluation of facility needs, potential project options, funding considerations, and future recommendations presented to the School Board.

Community feedback will also help the District understand how residents view tradeoffs associated with different approaches, including project scope, timing, cost, potential tax impacts, educational priorities, sustainability, and community use of facilities. Input is one of several factors considered during planning and decision-making. It will be reviewed alongside facility assessments, educational and operational needs, financial analysis, regulatory requirements, and School Board direction as future options are developed and evaluated.

Community members can complete the survey, attend public meetings, participate in community engagement opportunities, visit the project website, and sign up for District communications.

If you have any specific questions or concerns regarding the bond planning, please email bond@vashonsd.org.