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Ballots are being sent out today for the election to decide whether the school district’s $26.9 million bond will pass, allowing an overhaul of Vashon High School’s athletic facilities.

The bond, listed on the ballot as Proposition 1, was approved by the Vashon Island School District board in November. A supermajority of 60 percent is needed for the bond to pass and at least 40 percent of islanders who voted in the November election need to vote in this one to validate the election.

If passed, the bond will fund a second gym at the high school that will be used for high school sports games and contain new restrooms and a weight room, the original gym will be renovated and become a storage and practice space. The bond will also fund a new track and synthetic field, renovations to the high school’s StudentLink and FamilyLink building, the creation of a multi-purpose district service facility and scheduled replacement and renovation at all three schools. More than half of the $26.9 million ($15.9 million) will go toward the construction of the new gym and renovations to the current one; $4.9 million will go toward the track and synthetic turf field; $3.58 million will go to the district facility; $1.8 million will go to projects at all three schools, and $550,000 will go to the StudentLink/FamilyLink building.

In the past week, banners and yard signs have popped up around the island touting the bond as “building a healthy community for Vashon.” The banners were created by the Campaign for a Healthy Community, an island committee formed to ensure the passage of the bond. Headed by islanders Foss Miller and former school board chair Laura Wishik, the committee also includes multiple other islanders, including former school board member Kathy Jones, current school board members Bob Hennessey and Zabette Macomber, and VISD Superintendent Michael Soltman. Allison Reid is handling the marketing and organization of the committee.

Soltman said the citizen’s committee “has to be very separate from the district,” and that, despite his, Hennessey’s and Macomber’s participation, the committee is not allowed to use any district resources. Those involved with the district are also not allowed to do committee work on district time. The group has been fundraising and getting support from the community and local sports clubs to fund the signs and banners.

The committee and other supporters at the school district and throughout the community believe that the bond will serve not only high school athletes, but create facilities that the entire community can use for recreation.

Meanwhile, opponents of the bond feel it is unnecessary and that island property taxes are already too high. The district’s quarterly Soundings newsletter published this month reports that, if passed, the bond will raise property taxes on a $460,000 home by $19 per month ($228/year).

Islander Lee Kopines said that she feels the bond is “too much, too soon” and will create even more of a hardship for those renting homes in Vashon’s expensive rental market.

“The rental market is insane,” Kopines said. “Rents are through the roof because it’s what the market will bear, but also because it’s our tax level. I’m concerned about the people serving me at The Hardware Store, the people serving coffee and the people bagging my groceries. I want them to have somewhere to live.”

She said that the school “doesn’t have to have the Cadillac,” and believes district officials and the school board should be more honest about exactly what the facilities are for.

“I don’t see them adding more gym classes or hiring another PE teacher,” Kopines said. “That gym is for one thing: basketball, that’s it. It’s a brand new gym for one sport.”

She also expressed concern about off-island students using the facilities and not having to pay for them.

Meanwhile, Soltman said that the facilities should be looked at as more of a community center. He said that any use of the facilities by off-island students would be an “incredibly small portion” of the use.

Back at the Campaign for a Healthy Community, the campaign’s website states that many Vashon community organizations use the facilities and resources of island schools.

“Unlike many Washington communities, Vashon does not have a local community center for residents to use. As a small, rural town, we must rely on the use of our school facilities for extracurricular activities and community events.”

The committee sent a letter to island families last week asking for their support of Proposition 1. The letter explains that the current, outdoor facilities, especially the track and field, are muddy and useless for much of the year.

“The grass field inside the track must be closed off for long periods when it is too wet or too dry. It too needs to be replaced,” the letter states. “The school gyms serve our entire community. Adults who cannot afford fees at private gyms can do strength training in the weight rooms and play basketball on the courts.”

The school district’s most recent bond, $47 million to fund the construction of a new high school, passed in February 2011. The high school was completed in 2014. A $75 million bond for the same project failed in March 2009.

But while the $47 million high school rebuild bond was approved in 2011, a second levy on the ballot, $3.5 million to pay for upgrading the track and field, failed.

The district’s Technology and Minor Capital Projects Levy expires at the end of 2016 and a new one will be on the ballot in April. School district officials say the levy amount will depend on the passage of the bond.

The bond election is on Feb. 9, and all ballots need to be postmarked by then.

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