The Middle School Bond provides for the replacement of the deteriorating,
existing Post Middle School. This bond would help ensure that students currently attending Eagle Creek Elementary and Kent Prairie Elementary have access to a middle school that offers similar levels of support as their current elementary school.
If approved, construction on Post Middle School would begin in 2025, meaning students who are currently in 4th grade at Eagle Creek Elementary or Kent Prairie Elementary would be in the new Post Middle School at the start of 8th grade.
The new school would correct the safety and security concerns of the existing Post Middle School. New construction would be earthquake resistant, have interior hallways for security, have larger classrooms to support Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) education, and be protected from fire with a fire sprinkler system. The cost of the bond is $95 million.
What will the bond fund?
A new Post Middle School would be built behind the existing school building.
Construction would take approximately three years and complete in September 2027. When the new school is complete, students and staff would move to the new building, providing a seamless transition between old and new without disrupting their education. The new construction would also provide a safe running track and athletic field. The Post/Eagle Creek Elementary/Stillaguamish Valley Learning Center/APPLE campus serves 1,500 students daily. The redeveloped Post site would include a bus lane to separate car and bus traffic for all schools, providing a safer transportation and pedestrian network across the entire campus.
Why rebuild Post Middle School instead of renovating it?
The bond costs $95 million dollars and will build a new Post Middle School, while also developing the entire campus including track, field, parking and drive lanes.
It would cost the district $101,083,448 million dollars to renovate Post Middle School, but that would not address the safety issues with the exterior entry points. Renovating would mean working within the existing limitations of Post Middle School. The school itself was built in 1981 and lacks the infrastructure to renovate effectively.
What happens if the bond fails?
Post Middle School is past its usable lifetime. If the bond is not approved, the district will continue working to ensure the school meets the basic needs of its students, however, if systems or components were to break, it would result in a disruption of student learning.