Schools and Libraries Bonds

           

            Oct. 8: Rotary Connects at The Backyard Public House, 1811 W. Broadway, starting at 4:30 p.m.  A special meeting of Club 21’s Rotary International Committee and other clubs meet at 4 p.m.

            Oct. 15: Meet Rotary 5080 District Gov. Bev Reed at noon at Nectar in Kendall Yards.

            Oct. 22: Turn in ticket sales money and wine bottle donations at noon at Nectar in Kendall Yards for our Nov. 2 “Dine Out Spokane for Kids” event.

            Oct. 29: No meeting scheduled on the fifth Monday.  On this date, however, some prep may be needed for the fund-raiser.

            Nov. 2: FUND-RAISER!! Dine Out Spokane for Kids presents “Wine & Craft Beer Tasting Under the Big Top”. Time: 5:30-8:30 p.m.  Kalispel Golf and Country Club located at 2010 W. Waikiki Road (the former Spokane Country Club).

 

Briefly: Turkey thoughts: With space available, club members, spouses and guests can sign up for “Tom’s Turkey Drive.”  President Lenore Romney is coordinating this “Rotary Serves” monthly event. 

            While KREM’s Tom Sherry is the lead personality, the Turkey Drive has seven major sponsors, including 2^nd Harvest, which distributes meals to about 11,000 Inland Northwest families.  Club members can volunteer on Saturday, Nov.17, at 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the Rosauer’s store on 29^th (11 volunteers needed), or from 9:45a.m. to noon at Rosauer’s at the North Y (4 volunteers needed).  Email Lenore if you want to serve at one of the locations.

            Volunteers help process turkey and food donations in the parking lot.     

 

 

Less than one month remains for the club’s fund-raiser on Friday, Nov. 2.

 

Under the direction of Club President Lenore Romney, the well-planned event will be in the Kalispel Golf and Country Club’s big white tent. 

 

At the Oct. 1 meeting, tickets were distributed and sign-ups continued to connect with wineries and wine shops which can support the wine-tasting, dinner and other events designed to raise about $15,000 for various Holmes Elementary School activities and other needy students in the West Central near-North Side venues.

 

The $75 tickets include wine tasting with antipasto appetizers and an Italian buffet dinner.  The event will include a Wine Grab whereby participants pay a fee to randomly select a numbered cork and then “win” the wine bottle with the corresponding number. 

 

Romney said Oct. 22 is “turn-in day.”  Ticket sales proceeds and unsold tickets should be brought to the meeting that Monday.  That also is the day to turn in wine bottle donations for the Wine Grab.

 

Foremost, sponsor donors are needed to help raise at least one-third of the goal.  That is less than previous fund-raising totals in recent years.

 

The event will be in Kalispel’s large tent, which is heated and accommodates well more than 150 guests.  Wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages will be available.

 

Electronic tickets are available through Eventbrite.  Folks may donate to our fundraiser by clicking on the tickets button whereby they will see the option to purchase a ticket to attend the November 2^nd event or to Donate to Rotary’s Projects.

 

Photos of Holmes Elementary activities and events will be displayed at the event. Music will be provided.  Holmes Principal Stephanie Lundberg and perhaps others will speak and a “call for the cause” paddle raise will follow.

 

As Romney says, “There are lots of things to do and not much time.”

 

 

With a one-time possibility and a novel “innovative partnership” Spokane voters will make a $572 million decision about School District 81 schools and Spokane libraries this fall.

 

At the Oct. 1 club meeting, Mark Anderson, Andrew Chanse and Rick Romero outlined the details.  Anderson is District 81’s associate superintendent. Chanse is executive director of the city’s library system.  Romero is a financial advisor to Mayor David Condon.

 

Romero is helping with the downtown stadium project advisory vote, also on the Nov. 6 ballot.  Though Romero described himself as “chief meddler” for the city, among other things he helped design the successful $64 million bond proposal for renewal of Riverfront Park.

 

Two bonds are on this ballot: the $495 million for three new middle schools and other major improvements, and the $77 million to build three new libraries and four existing libraries.

 

Voters also will consider an advisory issue on whether to build a stadium to replace Albi Stadium.

 

Space in this bulletin does not allow for details all of the issues involved in the ballot measures, but more information is available in newspapers, on-line sources and other avenues.

 

Essentially, the one-time nature of the bond opportunity arises from the state’s famous McCleary decision which said the state’s schools were under-funded and over-crowded.  Small classrooms force building more schools.  The state is expanding in some districts, including Spokane District 81, to accommodate the construction.

 

Thus, as Anderson outlined, the plan is to build new middle schools in northeast Spokane (Foothills), the south area of town (Mullan) and the west side (Albi).  Major improvements are planned at Shaw, Glover and Sacajawea Middle Schools. (Salk was rebuilt last year.)  A cafeteria is planned at Lewis and Clark High and Libby Center in East Spokane will be improved.  6^th graders will be

moved to middle schools from elementary schools in the reorganization.

 

The partnership is driven by school district and city land swaps.

 

City land at Albi would go to a new school.  So will land near Gonzaga Prep and land south of 60th, which Anderson noted some people call “the dog park” site.

 

Meanwhile, libraries will partner with the school district in several areas.  The Hillyard Library will relocate to Shaw Middle School.  A new East Side Library will be built near the Liberty Park Aquatic Center.  The popular Shadle Library will double in size.  Indian Trail and the South Hill Library will be improved.  And the Downtown Library will be opened to the first floor areas now used for storage.  Chanse said a small café would be added.

 

Since the school district boundary and the city are not contiguous and operate separately two bonds were necessary.

 

With the state assuming more of the cost, the estimated local tax rate in 2019 would drop about $2.20 per $1,000 of assessed property value.  With the bond package, the local investment would be 98 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, resulting in a net reduction of $1.22 per $1,000 of assessed value for residents.  With those totals, the bonds would cost $16 a month based on a median home value of $200,000 – 0.79 cents for schools and 0.19 cents for libraries.   If passed in District 81, the state would add $58 million to Spokane’s $495 million for a $553 million total.

 

Anderson said some operating costs would increase after all of the buildings are constructed, but he added that the State Supreme Court mandates would be required anyway in the near future and construction costs would be higher then.

 

Chanse said that because most Spokane libraries “were a 30-year design, mostly for taking books off the shelves,” and were not designed for interactive on-line activities, meeting spaces and quiet times.  Renovations are necessary and these remodeling projects will be “about a wash” with current facilities, he said.

 

Of the advisory on the ballot for a high school stadium replacement, Anderson said Albi’s only tenant now is the Greater Spokane League.  WSU and EWU no longer schedule games there. He also said three high schools do not have enough space to build their own football stadiums.

 

Romero said “there is a lot of energy on the North Bank,” the suggested replacement site near the arena.  Asked if a parking garage would be needed, he said maybe not. “There are 6,000 parking spots within 1,500 feet” of the proposed site, he said, though that would include private lots.  For example, Romero said, while the Rock Pointe Center is mostly full during week-day mornings and afternoons, those 1,500 spots often are empty when games and events usually are scheduled on nights and weekends.

 

For those of a certain age, some club members recalled, along with Anderson, how, in 1979 some 13 elementary schools in District 81 replaced old facilities.  Holmes was among the list.  That investment transformed the school district and revitalized the city.  Passage of the two bond issues might also be transformative.