A Closer Look at the Hockinson School Bond: February 11, 2025
Hockinson School District has called a special election for an $87.75 million bond measure to fund a long list of objectives: a second elementary school, safety improvements at existing schools, a career and technical education building at HHS, a covered outdoor area at HMS, improved traffic flow at the current elementary school, a new high school track, and artificial turf on the high school football/soccer field.
Many of us simply can’t afford all of this. Property owners currently pay $2.98/thousand of assessed value for outstanding bonds and levies. This would raise that to $3.69/thousand. We also pay approximately $2.43/thousand to the state for education. With this bond our total tax rate would be $6.12/thousand, and the average homeowner–with an assessed value of approximately $825K–would be paying just over $5,110/year for schools.
The United States is experiencing the worst inflation in 40 years. In the last five years, grocery prices have risen 28%, fuel prices 50%, and property insurance over 50%. Fire District 3 has a massive tax increase hitting this year, and the County is projected to increase property and other taxes. Hockinson property taxes averaged almost $7,000 in 2024–an increase of 35% over the past 10 years–and we know they’ll be higher this year, even without the bond.
And the elderly and disabled property tax exemption helps very few people. The maximum qualifying income is $62K/household: a couple collecting Social Security and a small pension is easily over that. HSD is running single parents and lifelong residents out of their homes.
The biggest part of the bond request–$57.7 million–is for a new elementary school. The district’s own site analysis found that, because the property is in a wetland, “wet weather construction will likely be risky and costly and not recommended.”
The second biggest part of the bond request–$23.3 million–is for demolition, rebuilding, and remodeling at the existing elementary school to create a single entrance for safety purposes, and to improve traffic flow. Citizens for Responsible HSD Spending requested information from HSD on December 12th. The week ballots arrive we’re still waiting to receive most of it. The lack of the district’s report assessing construction options hampers our evaluation, but it appears that instead of heavily remodeling the existing elementary school and building a new one–at top dollar in a wetland–HSD could more economically bring in sewer and enlarge the existing elementary (currently on septic) to two stories.
A new CTE building would be just the start of additional costs. A stand-alone CTE program would require more teachers with more certifications–and higher salaries. Cascadia Technical Academy already provides training programs in 18 high-demand career fields, only two of which would be offered in a new CTE building. The construction program offered in the proposed CTE building would duplicate one being offered at one of two new Cascadia Tech satellites.
The 20+-year-old track needs replacement–but artificial turf is both expensive and unsafe. It costs three times as much as a properly designed and installed natural grass field. And we’d buy it with a 21-year bond–but have to replace it in 10 years. It also contains known carcinogens, neurotoxins, and PFAS (“forever chemicals”): a threat both to the wells of HHS neighbors and to student-athletes. The Mt. Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center opposes artificial turf because “children are uniquely vulnerable to harmful exposures from artificial turf surfaces.”
Safety improvements to all three schools are clearly important. Resurfacing the track is a necessary expense. And we all want to provide for the students over capacity at the elementary school. But HSD’s bond proposal is an expensive mixture of wants, needs, and toxic turf. A healthy community takes care of all its members–economically fragile adults and families as well as children. In a difficult economy, we’ve had to tighten our belts, find creative alternatives, and prioritize. HSD needs to as well. Let’s take care of all our community.
For more information:
Hockinson Citizens for Responsible HSD Spending
Hockinson Real Grass for Real Athletes
Email: HSDResponsibleSpending@gmail.com
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.