For information on the bond projects that were approved by voters in February 2015, please visit our Bond webpage here.
School Safety and Facilities Planning Process
During the 2013-14 school year, a Long Range Facility Planning Committee evaluated the needs and conditions of school district facilities and prepared recommendations to ensure that Washougal school facilities support a safe, positive environment for student learning and success.
The committee’s recommendations included several priorities for the district, including improving school entrance safety as well as planning for anticipated growth. The district has grown by an average of 70 students per year over the past three years.
The committee consisted of 18 members representing Washougal area citizens, district staff, two School Board members and other individuals with professional expertise in facility planning. They reviewed nearly 300 needs identified by the district and toured school buildings over the course of several months. The evaluation separated the needs into two basic categories – facility needs that should be funded through voter-approved bonds and facility needs that should be addressed through the district’s annual budget process. The highest priority identified by the committee was the need to improve the safety and security of every district school.
To download a copy of the Long Range Facility Planning Committee’s report, please click here.
The committee’s recommendations included:
1. Security upgrades for schools/classrooms
2. Build new elementary and middle school at Jemtegaard site
3. Replace Excelsior portables with new facility at WHS
4. Replace roofing at Gause and Hathaway
5. Upgrade HVAC at Gause and Hathaway
6. Remodel bus barn (for maintenance only)
7. Relocate bus storage to District Office site
8. Upgrade site lighting at CCMS and Cape Horn-Skye
School Impact Fees
Impact fees were instituted as law in 1994 by the Washington State legislature as a means of supplementing traditional funding sources for construction of public school facilities that are specifically needed to accommodate increased enrollment because of new housing developments and availability. Fees are typically collected by the permitting agency at the time the development plat is approved or when a building permit is issued. The proposed Impact Fees are under review by local and county agencies, and will be posted once they have been approved.
Capital Facilities Plan Requirements
A 6-year Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) which includes updated school impact fee calculations is required by Clark County, in alignment with the county and cities Growth Management Act review. This is a “point in time” document, and the data is static and remains unchanged as soon as the Board of Directors adopts the plan.
The school impact fee formula was developed in 1994 by professionals that were working on the Growth Management Act, which authorizes counties and cities to adopt an impact fee ordinance. The impact fee ordinance must contain a formula that incorporates the cost of public facilities necessitated by new development, an adjustment for past or future payments reasonably anticipated to be made by new development, the availability of other public funding, the cost of existing facilities and methods by which public facility improvements are financed. Counties and cities in Washington where school impact fees are collected have adopted an ordinance with the formula that was developed in 1994.
School boards adopt an impact fee recommendation in an amount that is equal to or less than the amount calculated by the formula. In Washougal, the Board has approved the amount calculated by the formula since 2000, except in 2007, when a lower amount was recommended for multi-family fees.
The fundamental purpose of school impact fees is to mathematically assess financial costs associated with increased enrollment generated by construction of new housing. Expenditure of impact fees are specifically limited to school facilities that add capacity to serve growth, as reflected in a school district’s capital facilities plan. Impact fees are used for adding classrooms and other facilities to accommodate the increased enrollment resulting from new housing development.
The school impact fee formula was designed to mathematically calculate the portion of the added financial costs to school districts that would be shared and paid by developers and builders.
In Clark County, Capital Facilities Plans and school impact fees must be reviewed and approved by each District’s Board of Directors at least once every two years. After the school board adopts the CFP and an impact fee recommendation, the cities and county must review and take action on local CFPs. The following governmental entities must review and take action on Washougal School District’s CFP and Impact Fees:
a) Clark County Planning Commission
b) Clark County Board of County Commissioners
c) Washougal City Council
d) Camas City Council
Small Works Roster through MRSC
MRSC Rosters is a convenient service used by Washington local governments to contact businesses about small public works projects, consulting opportunities, and contracting of goods or services.
To be eligible to work on projects with the Washougal Washougal School District using the roster process, please register for free at MRSC Rosters website and select Washougal School District in your account.
CONTACT MRSC
For registration questions, please email MRSC Rosters or call at 206-625-1300.
