Highline School Board Directors Joe Van, Angelica Alvarez, Azeb Hagos and Aaron Garcia show off the designs for Evergreen, Tyee and Pacific. Photo courtesy Highline Public Schools.

The Highline School Board this week voted unanimously to place the next school bond on Nov. 8, 2022 election ballots as recommended by the volunteer-led Capital Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC).

The construction bond would pay to rebuild two high schools – Evergreen and Tyee – and Pacific Middle School, plus fund critical capital needs and improvement projects across the district.

Voters must approve a capital construction bond by 60 percent for the funding measure to pass.

If approved, here is the estimated timeline:

- Rebuild Evergreen High School – open in fall 2025
- Rebuild Tyee High School – open in fall 2025
- Rebuild Pacific Middle School – open in fall 2027

Three new schools built with funding from the previous 2016 bond were completed on time and under budget, continuing Highline’s 20-year track record of on-time, on-budget construction.

The district decided to run a bond now for these reasons:

1. Previous school bonds replaced aging schools for students in Des Moines and Burien. The 2022 bond would replace aging schools in SeaTac and White Center so students across our district have safe and modern places to learn.
2. The designs for new schools at Evergreen, Tyee and Pacific were funded by the 2016 bond.
3. This funding measure would not raise the current tax rate due to expiring taxes.
4. The 2016 bond projects were completed $10 million under budget—this savings is being applied to the costs of the 2022 projects, decreasing the cost to taxpayers.
5. Approval of this bond would trigger $34 million in additional funding. The funds would come from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Port of Seattle for noise mitigation, and from the state School Construction Assistance Program.

Capped Bond Amount
The bond would raise $518,397,000. The district can only collect that amount and not more. If property values go up more than projected, the tax percentage rate goes down per $1,000 of value.

Critical Capital Improvements Fund Included in Bond
The $17 million fund for critical capital needs and improvements in the November 2022 bond includes roofing, painting, emergency repairs and other improvements districtwide like replacing the Sylvester Middle School dirt field with synthetic turf.

More details and answers to questions are available on Highline’s 2022 Bond website: highlineschools.org/bond.