BY PEPPER FISHER
Port Angeles – The Port Angeles School District sold the first bonds last week to raise funds to build two new schools.
School Superintendent Marty Brewer broke the news on KONP’s Todd Ortloff Show on Thursday. Brewer said that while the voter-approved levy will pay for the new Stevens Middle School, the district is authorized to sell $140 million in bonds to pay for a new high school and a new Franklin Elementary School.
“We’re working to keep interest rates and costs down to our local tax base. You know, there’s no need to sell $140 million dollars in bonds today. So we took a $30 million chunk of the bond sale to hire consultants and management teams and contractors to start the work. And so, that $30 million will get us through what we call soft costs, through probably December of 2026, and then we’ll have a second bond sale that will be specific to the hard costs of the project, which is building the buildings.”
Brewer said that despite the volatility of the market right now, he’s pleased with the first round of sales and the interest rate they were able to set of 4.3%.
Brewer, in his final year as superintendent after coming to the district in 2018, inherited the daunting challenge of having to find the funding to renovate or replace some seriously outdated buildings. He presented 3 questions to the community in his first days.
“What are we doing well? What do we need to improve upon? And why can’t we pass capital? And so, out of that question came the brainchild around the 30-year plan. And because the two key initiatives that kept coming back in those conversations is, 1: You know, we don’t understand what your real need is, because you went for the high school. Didn’t pass. Went for the middle school, didn’t pass. What’s next? And then number two, inconsistent tax rate. So, out of those conversations came those two very critical points, that are not just important today, but they’re important in the future.”
What that future holds, according to the plan, is the Port Angeles community investing a quarter of a billion dollars to build three new schools by 2029.
When asked about declining enrollments and what his thoughts are about the district’s ability to fill those new classrooms in 4 years, Brewer had a bold prediction.
“You know, I’m glad this is recorded because five years from now, seven years from now, you can replay this. When you build new schools, particularly high schools, people come. And so, I would predict today that as we open up these new schools, especially Port Angeles High School, we will reverse our enrollment decline to an enrollment ascent. When we have safe, well-lit, well-ventilated spaces that show that this community invests in our students, families will come here.”
Brewer will be succeeded next year by current Assistant Superintendent Michelle Olsen. Olsen has served as principal at Jefferson, Roosevelt and Dry Creek Elementary Schools in the past 15 years.
(Photo: Brewer addresses attendees of an education forum)