Valley Record SNOQUALMIE
101RS YEA
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 n DAILY UPDATES AT WWW.VALLEYRECORD.COM n 75 CENTS
At last
A new elementary school is on the way By CAROL LADWIG
SPORTS
LOCAL
Editor
Schools Foundation honors Educators of the Year Page 2
Mount Si athletes look ahead to spring season Page 7-9
INDEX Opinion 4 5 Puzzles On the Scanner 6 Classifieds 12-14 15 Calendar
Vol. 101, No. 43
More than two years in the making, a sixth elementary school in the Snoqualmie Valley School District got a substantial start Monday, May 16, when school district officials broke ground on the new building. The new school, designed from Cascade View Elementary School plans, will be 71,000 square feet, with 31 classrooms and a student capacity of 650. It will also be the first new school building that voters in the district have approved since 2003, when a $53 million bond to build Twin Falls Middle School was approved. Since then, the district has seen multiple bonds fail, and the current school board debated hotly for many months on whether to pursue the $244 million bond that voters did approve in February. The bond, proposing to build the sixth elementary school, make repairs to every school building in the district and completely renovate Mount Si High School over the next eight
Tossed out
Superior Court deems tribal tax-break bill unconstitutional By ALLYCE ANDREW Staff Reporter
King County Superior Court Judge Mary Roberts ruled in favor of the city of Snoqualmie against the Washington Department
Allyce Andrew/Staff Photo
Snoqualmie Valley School District officials, from left, Superintendent Joel Aune, and board members Tavish MacLean, Marci Busby, Carolyn Simpson and Dan Popp, broke ground Monday, March 16, on a new elementary school on Snoqualmie Ridge. The sixth elementary school is the first component of a $244 million bond. years, passed with 62.52 percent of the vote. Crowding at the elementary and middle school levels were key arguments in the bond supporters’ campaign, along with the need for a high school that could provide a “21st-century education,” as several
of Revenue and repealed ESHB 1287 on March 4. The bill would have given property tax exemptions to tribes on non-reservation lands purchased before March 1, 2014, and subsequently shifted the tax burden to residents. “I didn’t come into office to serve the city and government of Snoqualmie, but the citizens of Snoqualmie,” said Mayor Matt Larson, who brought his appeal to Olympia in early February, “and they, and any cities in this position, just kind of
school board members stated. Currently, the district is averaging about 2,930 students in grades K-5, 1,500 in grades 6-8, and 1,715 at the high school level. For 201516, the enrollment projections are 2,902 K-5, 1,506 6-8, and 1,798 9-12. Roughly 35 percent of the dis-
got the short shaft. There’s no accountability for what happened, no one was informed that their taxes just went up because they’re paying for what I would characterize as welfare for the rich.” Passed in 2014, the house bill was effective June 12 and gave federally recognized Native American tribes the same property exemptions as state and local governments if the land was used for “economic development.” The bill still imposed a payment in lieu
trict students are housed in portable classrooms. “Adding more classroom space for our elementary school population is a critical need in our district,” said Superintendent Joel Aune. SEE SCHOOLS, 11
of tax (PILT), which was determined by the tribe and county, but handed off to the Department of Revenue, whose sole purpose is to collect taxes, if they couldn’t reach an agreement. Judge Roberts ruled that the ayment in lieu of tax violated the state’s constitution “because it is not imposed at an equal tax rate and does not produce equality in valuing the property taxed” and moves taxation authority outside of the legislature’s hands.
The judge’s actions also halted Senate Bill 5811, which was an attempt to remove the March 1, 2014, purchase deadline for applications. “Where I think the argument breaks down on a couple of different levels,” Larson began, “one (being), where a tribe is unlike the local government, is that because they’re a sovereign nation there’s a lack of accountability and transparency.” SEE TAX BREAK, 3
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