‘Important’ building repairs hinge on WSD levy approval

Washougal School District Facilities Director Jessica Beehner and her staff received an unwelcome Christmas gift this year. A district employee entered Washougal High School during the district's 2022-23 winter break and quickly discovered the high school's aging roof had sprung "multiple leaks," which caused extensive water damage the school district is still repairing. "You could physically see water leaking from the ceiling, and the carpet was soaking wet," Beehner said. "The leaks ended up causing interior damage as well, so it wasn't just the roof that had to get patched." The leaks damaged walls and ceilings inside the school and destroyed some library books, Beehner said. "For a couple of weeks in January, we had tarps up there because the weather was just too bad," she added. "It had a big effect. It definitely changed what we have planned project-wise for winter break." The school's roof is more than 20 years old and in need of replacement, Beehner said. WSD officials had planned to use levy dollars to fund the estimated $3.6 million roof replacement, but had to postpone the project after voters failed to pass the district's two replacement levies, including the Capital Levy for Educational Technology, Health and Safety Improvements, in February. The district is hoping voters will have a change of heart -- or perhaps that more voters will turn out -- and will approve both levies, which account for around 20% of the school district's revenues, in the April 25 Special Election. "Currently, my thought process has been that if the levy doesn't pass, we will just continue doing our preventative maintenance," Beehner said. "Obviously, we can't re-roof the whole high school ourselves without the levy funding, so unfortunately it would be a piecemeal thing -- we're going to have to wait until something becomes a problem." The district hired an Ohio-based roofing manufacturer in the fall of 2021, to assess the school's roof. "In many areas, UV (ultraviolet) damage and wind have caused the mineral surfacing to deteriorate, leaving exposed scrim to be visible throughout the roof system which will continue to factor into delamination, shingle blow-off, and the overall integrity of the system's waterproofing," the consultant's report states. "Based on these factors, the serviceable life of the (roof) is three to five years with continued preventive maintenance and repairs." Beehner said the leaks don't present a major threat to student and staff member safety, but could impact the building's electronics and disrupt the learning process. "They could see a water leak, or something soft and squishy," she said. "You put a bucket under a leak inside the classroom or hallway or wherever the situation is until you can get the repair done. But I would imagine if I'm a student sitting there taking a test, and all I hear is 'drip, drip, drip,' that is going to drive me crazy.' If voters knock the replacement levies down again on April 25, the school district also will need to hold off on its planned boiler-replacement project. According to Beehner, Washougal High's three boilers are also at the end of their life cycle. "On a cold December morning, one of (the boilers) gives up, and now we don't have enough power to heat the entire building, so the whole building is going to be cold," she said. "If we can't heat the entire building, you're sitting there as a student trying to learn something brand new and you're shivering and wearing a coat and can't feel your fingers to type or write notes, that's going to affect how you're absorbing that information and the whole outlook on your day." Capital project levy funds would also be used to improve security systems, install Americans with Disability Act-compliant entrances, replace carpet and vinyl flooring, and install new heating systems and controls in most of the schools. "These are all very important things for students and our staff," Beehner said. "These are things that you don't necessarily think about when you come to school in the morning, but they are things that if they don't get repaired or stop working like they currently do, will unfortunately impact the daily lives of our students, and not in a positive way. We definitely want to do what we can to provide these comfortable spaces for the kids and staff members as well." Washougal School District Superintendent Mary Templeton has said these types of planned maintenance projects are necessary to extend the lifespan of the district's facilities. "The community invested a lot in bonds to build all of the schools that we have," Templeton said. "When you take care of your buildings, and you make sure that, as an example, your roofs are not leaking, causing significant issues on an ongoing basis, they last a lot longer. But if you can't keep them up, things are going to start to shut down and break down, and you'll patch-work it, because that's how life is. But, eventually, those buildings will fall apart much sooner than they were intended than if we kept them up. "That means that potentially, a future board would have to go out and ask this community for a lot of money to build a building that maybe would not have needed to be built (had the older building been) maintaine." The replacement levy will also help to fund the district's 1-to-1 technology initiative, up-to-date computers and smart devices, classroom instructional technology, professional development and coaching, technology infrastructure and staffing, and digital curriculum and software. "I use technology in my classroom every day," said Moira Gray, a fifth-grade teacher at Cape Horn-Skye Elementary School. "I create a PowerPoint for my daily lesson, and it helps me immensely to structure the day. Student technology devices are used for teacher-directed activities, like finding sources for a writing assignment." If approved, the replacement Capital Levy for Educational Technology, Health and Safety Improvements would be assessed at $0.21 per $1,000 assessed property value (APV) for 2024, $0.84 per $1,000 APV in 2025 and $0.85 cents per $!,000 APV in 2026. The district expects to collect $950,000 in 2024, $3,950,000 in 2025 and $4,150,000 in 2026 from the replacement capital-technology levy. The district also hopes voters will approve the replacement Educational Programs and Operations (E&O) Levy, which would reduce the rate taxpayers currently pay for WSD's E&levy to $1.99 per $1,000 APV in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The E&O levy, which funds everything from athletics and art programs to counselors, nurses and other support staff not funded by state revenues, would, if approved, generate an estimated $31.5 million for the school district, including $9.5 million in 2024, $10.5 million in 2025 and $11.5 million in 2026.

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