Auburn’s Spicciati ‘cautiously optimistic’ about schools’ bond measure

So far, capital facilities bond was passing with 60.2 percent of 19,518 ballots cast

By Chris Chancellor • November 9, 2016 1:30 pm
Auburn School District superintendent Alan Spicciati and other supporters celebrate early returns Tuesday night for King and Pierce counties. Between the counties, the capital facilities bond was passing with 60.2 percent of 19,518 ballots cast to rebuild six schools and construct two new ones. RACHEL CIAMPI, Auburn Reporter

Cautiously optimistic.

Those were the words that Superintendent Alan Spicciati used Tuesday night to describe his feeling that Auburn School District’s $456 million levy to rebuild six schools and construct two new ones would pass.

Spicciati said school bonds usually trend upward as votes come in after election night. He based that on his past administrative experience as a teacher and administrator in the Highline School District for 21 years before he assumed his current position in July 2015.

That trend appeared to continue as King and Pierce county officials released updated election results Wednesday morning. Between the counties, the capital facilities bond was passing with 60.2 percent of 19,518 ballots cast.

“I’m very proud of the citizens that went to bat for our kids,” Spicciati said. “I’m very appreciative of the effort that staff put in on the behalf of schools and the school district.

“This is very strong support for the school district and the kids. It’s consistent with everything I’ve experienced.”

The bond would replace five elementary schools built between 1945 and 1965 – Terminal Park, Dick Scobee, Pioneer, Chinook and Lea Hill – along with Olympic Middle School. The latter building opened in 1957.

The $456 million levy, which would add an estimated $1.02 per $1,000 of assessed property value, also would fund two new schools. During a series of public forums, Spicciati said district officials are considering locations near the old Valley 6 Drive-In Theaters, which shuttered in December 2012, on the north end of the city, and in the Lea Hill and Lakeland Hills neighborhoods. Lakeland Hills Elementary is the school district’s largest, with 725 students.

All the new buildings, Spicciati said, will be designed for 650 students. He said some of the older schools were only built to handle 400-500 students, which has resulted in more portables. He said 102 portables serve 2,500 students district wide this year.

“We know that the needs are real,” Spicciati said. “Our schools are overcrowded right now, and they’ll just get more crowded.”

If the measure is unsuccessful, Spicciati said, school board members will “reflect” on the outcome and determine whether to run another bond measure.

“If we don’t pass, we would take some time to find out what the story is in the community, and we would do a lot of listening,” Spicciati said. “But we also need to do communication because I’m convinced if we can tell the story of how crowded our schools are — and how quickly we’re growing as a district — the community will understand and will be supportive.”

District officials are preparing for a successful measure. Spicciati said they are working toward finalizing a contract with an architect to rebuild Olympic Middle School. He said that building, which would be scheduled to open for the 2019-20 school year, would be the first school to be rebuilt because the old building would be used to house elementary school students from the other schools that are being constructed.

“We’re very excited because this election is about the present and the future,” Spicciati said. “Having this bond will enable Auburn to serve its kids and families well for decades into the future.”