Bond on ballot for Hood Canal

Voters in the Hood Canal School District will vote Nov. 7 on a proposed $33.5-million building bond that would create space for preschool classrooms, an ADA-accessible playground, arts, music and science, and replace a 70-year-old transportation facility.

The district states voters should start receiving their ballots about Oct. 12. A 60% majority is required for the bond to pass. A similar bond proposal failed by 80 votes in February 2020.

Passage of the bond would add a tax of $1.05 per $1,000 of home value. Superintendent Lance Gibbon said residents currently pay the lowest tax rate of the seven school districts in Mason County, and passage of the bond would make it the second lowest in the county at $1.70 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Only the Grapeview School District would have a lower tax rate at $1.44, according to the district.

Those figures "puts the 'ask' into perspective," Gibbon said.

"It matters because we have a commitment to provide a quality education and opportunities for our students," Gibbon said. The students in the Hood Canal School District should have all the educational opportunities as students in other neighboring districts "so we can help them unlock their potential," he said.

Current art classes meet on the stage in the cafeteria, and "no running water for art, which is problematic," Gibbon said. The library has no room for meetings or working on projects.

"Space is our biggest concern right now," Gibbon said.

The bond would pay for two preschool classrooms, an ADA-accessible preschool playground, spaces for visual and performing arts, a larger library with space for projects, a science lab, an engineering/technology project lab, and an ADA-accessible playground with expended covered area for students in kindergarten through the eighth grade.

The 70-year-old transportation center is deteriorating and creates worries because it's so close to the school, Gibbon said. Passage of the bond would create a new transportation center on the other side of the athletic track. If the district can persuade another district to form a transportation co-op, the district will receive matching money from the state, Gibbon said.

Currently, the school buses drop students off on the playground behind the school. Passage of the bond would create a safer bus loop in front of the school.