​RTC contradicts themselves again by projecting property values increasing 6 percent a year, yet they don’t account for any building cost increases. This is preposterous.

​Their plan is a gross miscalculation. Levy funds are received as taxes are paid, taking years to save enough to start building.

Compounding the problem, construction gets more expensive every year while levy revenue remains flat.

This creates shortfalls, causing more delays, resulting in even higher costs. These costs far outpace interest, eliminating a levy as a viable option.

RTC states zero additional costs are associated with their levy proposal, but that’s impossible.

To do the equivalent work of the bond, levies require higher tax rates and have higher total costs. The last bond was paid off four years early, and this bond lowers our local tax rate from 2018.

This transcript taken from the original letter published in the Tacoma News Tribune on February 7, 2019

​​We moved to Gig Harbor instead of Puyallup, because of the schools.

We have three children who all went through PSD schools, graduated from college and are enjoying successful professions. I want our current students to have the same opportunity. Since we elected our school board members, that is, we chose them, we should respect their leadership and follow their recommendations.

Just because a small, vocal group of people disagrees does not make that group correct. None of them are our elected representatives. As a community, we have a responsibility to our kids, and delaying this decision is not in their best interest.

I urge all of you to get out and vote yes on the PSD Bond issue by Feb. 12 and invite your friends to do the same.

We need to get this passed!

​This transcript taken from the original letter published in the Peninsula Gateway on February 7th, 2019

They propose an alternative capital levy plan, which results in higher yearly tax bills for property owners, not lower. Levies do not raise enough money to outpace construction inflation. They make school projects more expensive.

Perhaps most importantly, this fanciful plan is being pushed by the same folks who just five months ago ran one of the most negative, misleading and vicious primary campaigns for state House this district has witnessed.

Their antics were rejected then and they should be rejected now.

Don’t fall for claims of a “better away” to fund schools through a levy. The present bond package is the “best way.”

​This transcript taken from the original letter published in the Tacoma News Tribune on February 5th, 2019. 

The district has been forced to address this shortfall by using an ever-increasing number of portables at each of the eight elementary schools. However, as enrollment is projected to soon reach 900 students over current capacity, there simply isn’t space for more portables. The only answer is to build new elementary schools (two are now needed) and replace our two oldest with new, larger schools to handle both current and future enrollment projections and address the smaller K-3 class sizes mandated by the Washington state supreme court McCleary decision.

The state currently requires that facility construction funding come from local taxpayers through either a capital levy or a capital bond measure. The last capital measure approved by PSD voters was in 2003 when 60.89 percent of voters authorized up to $45 million in bonds primarily to modernize Purdy Elementary and Harbor Ridge Middle schools. Those 20-year bonds will be paid off this year, a full four years early.

Since then, five capital measures have been at the polls: In 2011, a $78 million bond garnered 57.67 percent approval; in 2013, a $50 million levy got 48.67 percent; in 2014 a dual $60 million bond and $55.9 million levy received 49.08 percent and 47.08 percent, respectively. Last April’s $220 million bond came just 240 “yes” votes short of passage with 58.96 percent approval. Unfortunately, with each failure and the passage of time the cost of new facilities continues to escalate and overcrowding increases, straining existing, aging facilities even further.

For those that will not approve any tax measure that is placed before them, I don’t expect to change your minds. I would, however, like to appeal to those who may be ambivalent or leaning against it because you feel we are taxed too much already. If that is you, I would like you to consider the following reasons for why your vote to approve this bond is actually crucial to keeping more of your own money.

There are three primary reasons why bonds are the preferred method for school construction over capital levies. The first is because funding is available as soon as the bonds are sold, whereas with a levy sufficient funding is often not available for several years, until the taxes are collected to fund specific projects. Second, since bond funding is repaid over many years, bond measures can request larger amounts than levies because taxes are collected in smaller amounts over two decades or more. A capital levy of an equivalent dollar amount would require a significantly higher tax assessment over each of the four or six years the levy is approved for.

With facilities construction needed immediately, a bond measure would allow construction much sooner, with a smaller annual tax hit to the voter. By paying the 2003 bonds off early, after refinancing them twice and saving taxpayers millions, PSD has demonstrated accountability for the resources the voters have entrusted to them.

But what about that third reason to support a bond measure over a levy?

Well, who do you believe should fully pay for school facilities construction? Should current taxpayers, many of whom may be on limited incomes or seniors, pay for the entire cost of these facilities, or is it more equitable to share the burden of these costs with future taxpayers who choose to move here to raise their families? With a bond measure, costs are shared among both current and future taxpayers who each pay smaller amounts over the additional years as bonds are repaid.

This is the responsible taxation of citizens that should be approved for the common benefit of all.

Shawn Jensen is commissioner at large of Key Pen Parks and a fire commissioner for District 16. He lives with his wife, Sami, in north Key Peninsula. The couple’s six children attend or attended school in PSD.

This transcript taken from the original column published in the Key Peninsula News on February 1, 2019.

As I visit our schools, I see dedicated groups of educators, engaged families and community members trying to make the best of aging, overcrowded facilities. It is time for us to make our children and the quality of their education our number one priority. This bond will build two new elementary schools, plus replace our two oldest, Evergreen and Artondale. Please join me in voting “yes” for the upcoming bond. 

This transcript taken from the original letter published in the Key Peninsula News on February 1, 2019.

Today our schools are in bad shape. They’re old, crowded and decrepit. Nearly a third of elementary students are in portables. We haven’t passed a school bond since 2003 or built a new school since 1992.
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Think of how much Gig Harbor has grown and changed during that time.

There’s no question that building and renovating schools is expensive. But kicking the can down the road won’t make these problems go away.

Ultimately, these schools are our responsibility. The longer we wait, the more it will cost.

Gig Harbor is a great place. It’s worth the investment.

This transcript taken from the original letter published in the Tacoma News Tribune on January 29th, 2019. 

Jarvis, who has worked 54 years in education including 31 as a superintendent, was hired after the failure of a PSD bond in April 2018. That 20-year, $220 million measure would have financed school construction and renovation throughout the district. A supermajority of 60 percent voter approval was needed but, according to the Pierce County Auditor, out of 23,068 votes cast the bond lost by 240, or 1.04 percent.

The Key Peninsula voted against it by 206 votes.

Jarvis said he reassessed the district’s immediate needs and recommended the school board offer a second bond issue to voters specifically to build two new elementary schools and rebuild two existing elementary schools in Gig Harbor and on the KP to relieve overcrowding and replace aging infrastructure.

The new bond issue of $198,550,000 would be collected at an estimated rate of 79 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.

“Right now your tax rate on the (existing) levy and your tax rate on the old bond from 2003 is $2.32 per thousand,” Jarvis said. “In 2020, we pay off the 2003 bond, the levy rate goes down to $1.50 and the rate will be $2.29 combined or less.”
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Jarvis said there are 66 portable classrooms in use at PSD elementary schools and that there is no room for more. “We’re over 1,000 kids beyond the capacity of our elementary schools. Another way to look at that is we have two entire schools of kids and teachers in portables because we’re out of space.”

Increased enrollment following a slump in home buying after the Great Recession 10 years ago, combined with smaller class sizes recently mandated by the Legislature, have contributed to overcrowding. “We had the biggest kindergarten class coming in this fall that we’ve seen in 25 years, right on the heels of the last two classes that were the biggest in the last 20 years,” Jarvis said.

​After evaluating the needs of the district, Jarvis said the priority was to house students in permanent school buildings. “I’m not trying to tell people that we’re going to double-shifting or that your kids are unsafe…A great teacher in an old school can still do some wonderful stuff, but compared to what we could do with an appropriate building it’s not even close.”

“The painful part is we had to leave a bunch of needs on the table,” he said. “This district, contrary to some rumors, has spent good money on maintenance, but certainly can’t keep up with the needs of this aging fleet of schools.”

Board member Marcia Harris added later, “We reconstituted the audit and finance committee and brought outside people on as an oversight committee that reported back to the board and the public on how the money is being spent. The commitment from the school board is that we want that accountability.”

The plan is to build one new school on district property off Harbor Hill Drive (between Costco and the YMCA), a second at a site to be determined, and to rebuild both Artondale and Evergreen Elementary schools where they are without closing them down or moving students during construction.

“There are eight permanent classrooms and six portables at Evergreen for a total of 14,” Jarvis said. “They will have 18, including 10 more permanent classes than they have now. Evergreen is going to continue to grow these next 10, 15 years, and we’re trying to build not for the minimum but for as much as we can do.

“Somewhere on the other side in Gig Harbor we’re going to be doing some boundary changes because of the growth, but not here (on the KP),” he said, referring to school attendance areas within the district.

“Elementary school No. 10, that elegant name, is still up in the air. We own the Bujacich (Road NW) site (on Swede Hill opposite the McCormick Forest Park), but there are some issues, like no sewer connection. We’re trying to move very carefully without driving up the price of land if we have to buy (a new site).”

Audience members raised numerous concerns about the bond, starting with the price.

“Some of the people who are opposed to the bond say it can be done for around $100 million,” said one attendee.

“You cannot do what I just described for $100 million,” Jarvis said. “Once in a while, somebody says to me ‘I don’t want you to spend that much money on a school, I want it cheap.’ And the answer is you can’t do a school cheap and you should never do a school cheap, because cheap means you cut the codes or the materials or the safety or something.”

Others asked about using existing buildings instead of constructing new ones.

“We didn’t find anything,” Jarvis said. “I looked, for example, at the district office. If necessary we could lease office space but that building itself is so old, we’d spend as much money bringing it up to code to turn it into a school.”

Another question was raised about the wisdom of using a bond instead of a levy.

“I’ve had a long career and I’ve used a lot of capital levies; it’s the wrong tool for this,” Jarvis said. “A bond issue says we’re all going to pay for a number of years, including the next owner of that house and the one that’s being built, and people will share in that cost over time.

“The other problem is with a six-year levy you get one-sixth of the money each year for six years. You have to wait to get enough money to do the project and by the time you waited the cost of that construction has gone up so much you’ve actually lost ground.

​“I’d love to have a levy at 50 percent (required voter approval) instead of a bond at 60, but there’s not enough money there to do the work that needs to be done and we’ve got a lot of work after this round, so we can’t afford to be further behind when we finish,” Jarvis said. “That’s opinion, but it’s opinion based on experience.”

This transcript taken from the original column published in the Key Peninsula News on January 26, 2019.

We have not passed a school bond since 2003. The only funding mechanism for school infrastructure is through bonds. The old 2003, 20-year bond was paid off early, which allows this bond to replace it and not impact our local school property tax rate. Good schools reflect positively on our community and become an investment in our future. We need to provide the kids of today with an excellent education just as our parents and grandparents provided us back in the day.

Please join my family in voting yes for the Feb. 12 PSD Bond!

This transcript taken from the original letter published in the Peninsula Gateway on January 24th, 2019

Bonds are proven to be the best way to build schools. Like a mortgage, bond funds are available up front at a lower rate because payments are spread out over time to current and future taxpayers. This keeps the tax rate low.

We can’t afford to wait. We’re already experiencing an overcrowding crisis. One-third of all our elementary students are being taught in portables, and enrollment continues to grow every year. This bond will enable our district to build two new schools, rebuild and expand two existing schools and repair critical infrastructure. Most importantly, by adding 77 new classrooms, it addresses our greatest need: space for students to learn.

Please support this bond. Your yes vote now couldn’t matter more.

This transcript taken from the original letter published in the Peninsula Gateway on January 24th, 2019

Our area isn’t growing as fast as others, but we are still growing steadily. I think others are discovering our secret and, in some cases, our kids are returning to raise our grandkids. Have you noticed all the new houses? I was shocked the other day when I drove around the backside of Palmer Lake and saw all the new houses.

A little history: The original Evergreen was built in 1955, making it the second oldest in the district. There was a modernization in 1988 and the gym addition in 2001, but there are only eight classrooms in the main school and the original school infrastructure was only built to handle the permanent classrooms. Plus, the portables are isolated from the main building.

The district will place a school bond on the February ballot that will fund the replacement of Evergreen in 2021. The new Evergreen will have 18 permanent classrooms, which will eliminate the need for portables. As citizens we will have a chance to weigh in on the design, to include better pick-up and drop-off, security, parking and even a community room. Our local students deserve this. Join me in voting yes for our Key Peninsula kids.

This transcript taken from the original letter published in the Key Peninsula News on January 1, 2019.
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As you think about how to vote on the school bond coming up in February, I urge you to remember that these children—your neighbors—will one day be your doctor, your mechanic and your policy maker. And remember, this is not a new tax. It replaces the previous bond that expires this year. Your local school tax rate will actually go down a bit when this bond passes.
When one of us is lifted up, we are all uplifted. Great communities support great schools, and our KP community is our strength. Vote yes for us all.

This transcript taken from the original letter published in the Key Peninsula News on January 1, 2019.

During my time here, I have been delighted to experience the excellence of district programs and staff. Peninsula is so attractive that people want to work here, and that enables the schools to hire excellent staff.

After acknowledging so many wonderful aspects of the district and community, I was shocked to examine the status and background of our school facilities. The inconsisten i8cy of the condition and inadequacy of the facilities is perplexing. In reference to the repeated failures of capital proposals, one of the first requests from the school board of directors was to use my experience to assist in answering the question, “Where do we go from here?”

On Oct. 11, 2018, I presented my answer to that question by proposing a new capital issue for the February ballot. That proposition emerged from an intense review of the accumulated analyses of studies and recommendations of the past 15 years. Very little needs to be added to the prior conclusions that the facilities deficits are real and very stark. I came to believe that the major work was to determine the highest priority and focus for new efforts. I quote a friend out of the aerospace industry—“You can eat the facilities for a while and then they eat you.”

The facilities are starting to eat the Peninsula School District. Student growth has been handled by acquiring portable, temporary classrooms. We now have the equivalent of one-third of our elementary children and staff in portables, and we have exhausted the places to put more. Virtually all of the temporary solutions to house more children will displace other programs to find space. 

And the growth keeps coming. Current large kindergarten classes will require more space each year just to move through the system. New homes continue to be built and families with children are replacing the empty nesters. Therefore, our proposal includes building two additional elementary schools in addition to replacing and expanding two of the oldest elementary schools, Evergreen and Artondale. While collectively adding 77 more classrooms, Evergreen alone would go from eight permanent classrooms to 18.

An exciting feature of replacing an aging, deteriorated Evergreen is to envision the use of the new school by the Key Peninsula community. Essential planning for a new facility includes serving the KP area for decades as a school and community center. That planning process can begin as early as January and engage community members and educators.

The entire proposal was structured to fund the school construction in the most economical, affordable manner. This proposal is smaller than the 2018 bond and with the passage of the 2019 bond issue, school tax rates still will be lower than they have been in recent years. Our community already has the lowest school tax rate in Pierce County and will continue to do so.

A bond issue, the method used by nearly every district in the state for new building construction, spreads the cost over the life of the building so that all users in the future also contribute to the cost. It also allows us to build high quality facilities in a shorter period of time than a levy.

Some may suggest a capital levy instead of a bond. A capital levy would put the entire burden for the cost on current residents, resulting in a higher tax burden over the next six years. After those six years, we would be further behind where we are now.

In short, the facilities are in dire need and this plan will begin to implement solutions.

For more information, go to psd401.net/bond.

This transcript taken from the original column published in the Key Peninsula News on January 1, 2019.