"The district will likely try to pass another bond issue or a levy to accommodate the growth, but wants to have public forums, most likely this fall, to figure out what type of ballot measure is most likely to win support, Reith said.
And a bond issue wouldn't solve the underlying problem: that the junior highs and high schools in the west end have low enrollments, while the east-end schools are crowded.
The district receives impact fees from developers when new homes go up, but those fees account for less than half the amount the district needs to build new schools for the students who will move into those houses, Reith said.
For example, the developers of Redmond Ridge, in unincorporated King County, must pay the district $7,040 for each new home they build, Reith said. But the district estimates it would need to collect almost $20,000 for each new home to make up for the cost of constructing a new school to accommodate the development's students.
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Katherine Long: 206-464-2219 or klong@seattletimes.com. News researcher Gene Balk contributed to this report."
most of the "growth issues" could have been foretold by paying attention to the 2000 census and adding a percentage for growth (as they're supposed to do). They also should have taken into account the City of Redmond's Long Term Growth 20 year plan. So, because they didn't use the tools available to them, we as citizens have to pay more -- both financially and with our children's education -- for their mistakes.
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