The $149 million dollar school construction bond measure will rebuild:

Valhalla Elementary School

Panther Lake Elementary

Lakeland Elementary

Sunnycrest Elementary

Lakota Middle School

as well as the Transportation, Nutrition Services, and Maintenance departments, all of which are currently among the oldest facilities in the district.

Additionally, $20 million in State Match Funding will provide important upgrades for 24 more schools and facilities, according to the FWPS web site.

All district facilities built before 1990, except for Federal Way High School and the district's central offices, will receive high-priority repairs and upgrades such as roofs, heating systems and new plumbing and wiring, thanks to the approximately $20 million in state match grants triggered by the bond's passage.

The construction of these buildings will take place through 2012.

The district will be able to time construction projects to coincide with the payoff of existing debt and keep the tax rate at the current rate, $4.19 per thousand dollars valuation.

Federal Way Public Schools collects less in property taxes than many neighboring districts.

A bond measure is a major investment in the future of our community. The district has a history of providing scrupulous financial management, using levy and bond dollars carefully and conservatively.

The 1999 bond funded the construction of Todd Beamer High School and Sequoyah Middle School, the rebuilding of Truman High School, and major renovations and upgrades at nearly every other school in the district. These projects were brought in on budget, on time, and below the promised tax rate.

Federal Way Public Schools has an A1 rating from Moodys and an A+ rating from Standard & Poor's financial rating services.

This district spends a larger portion of its budget on the classroom and students than any other school district in the state with more than 10,000 students.

Recent construction projects completed by the district have won awards for creating exceptional learning environments, on budgets that were extremely conservative compared to those of comparable projects around the state.

The May 15 bond measure will allow the district to provide more streamlined, cost-effective services to schools, parents, and the community.

Why Should We Rebuild Our Schools?

Simply put, because all of our students deserve an equal chance to be successful and to learn vital skills. To do that, all schools should be designed and built to provide a comfortable, safe and technology-rich learning environment.

But why rebuild instead of remodel? In Federal Way, over 60 percent of our school buildings are 35 years old or older. Roofs, furnaces, and electrical, plumbing, and ventilation systems are showing their age, and are costly to replace and repair.

The board considered renovating the schools, however a report prepared by independent consultants advised that rebuilding in most of these cases was the most cost-effective solution.

As the district has grown, some of its current facilities have reached their capacity to provide essential functions.

For example, the bus yard, maintenance and the district's warehouse coexist on a site on 320th Street and 11th Place South. When this site was selected, 320th was not the busy thoroughfare it is today. The city of Federal Way's efforts to improve traffic flow in the downtown core have made it necessary to relocate our bus yard and warehouse/maintenance building.

Similarly, the current central kitchen building, built in 1967, is operating at maximum capacity. The new buildings where these services will be located will also provide the district with space for other support services as the district grows and changes.