The North Kitsap School District is asking voters in a November special election to pass a six-year capital levy to raise about $32 million, aiming to fund two key areas from 2025-30: facilities and technology.
North Kitsap School District board members Mike Desmond (chairman), Breanna Martinez (vice chair), Beverly Godfrey, Stacey Mills and Edward Wright unanimously approved the levy measure during a regular meeting Thursday at the district administration building in Poulsbo. A levy requires 50 percent plus one vote in favor in an election to pass.
During the levy planning process, the district’s Facilities Advisory Committee met eight times between April and July, held three community forums and toured four schools — Pearson, Suquamish and Wolfle elementary schools and Kingston Middle School — to identify priorities.
According to the proposed levy, the funds would be used to “construct, modernize and remodel school facilities throughout the district to improve health, safety and security consistent with priority projects identified by the district’s Facilities Advisory Committee.” Projects include site accessibility improvements and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) improvements, parking/transportation/bus boarding and alighting improvements, building security improvements such as secure entry porches, cameras and fencing, renovation of classroom spaces to reduce the use of portables, construction/renovation of playgrounds, fields, athletic facilities and buildings, and mechanical, electrical, plumbing and exterior roof/wall/system upgrades to extend the life of existing buildings.
Funds will also be allocated for the purpose of “upgrading, acquiring, implementing, modernizing and improving the district’s technology systems, facilities, projects, equipment and infrastructure.”
The estimated levy allocation by school is as follows: Wolfle Elementary $1,904,000, Pearson Elementary $6,145,500, Gordon Elementary $1,295,000, Poulsbo Elementary $606,000, Suquamish Elementary $5,001,000, Vineland Elementary $2,756,500, Kingston Middle School $2,843,500, Poulsbo Middle School $1,507,500, Kingston High School $1,102,500 and North Kitsap High School $1,778,500.
NKSD currently raises funds through two four-year levies approved by voters in 2022: a $73 million operating levy and a $35.3 million capital levy. Those levies run through 2026. The district had hoped to address major capital project needs through a 20-year, $242 million bond that was on the ballot in February, but voters overwhelmingly rejected the measure.
With no bond funding set aside, the district hopes to fill the gaps and address its most critical needs with a six-year capital levy. If approved by voters, the measure would raise the bulk of its funds in the first two years — $10 million in 2025 and $11.5 million in 2026 — before decreasing to $2.5 million in 2027, $2.575 million in 2028, $2.652250 in 2029 and $2.732 million in 2030.
The estimated costs to property owners over the six-year tax period are $0.74 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2025, $0.82 in 2026 and $0.17 from 2027 through 2030.
Because the 2022 capital levy expires at the end of 2026 and this six-year levy will significantly reduce collections from 2026 onwards, the NKSD may reconsider another bond proposal/capital levy proposal in two years’ time.