Noise Pollution
The District has chosen to ignore the impact noise pollution will have on student learning and well-being. Even prior to the proposed street widening and added traffic, traffic noise levels along 228th Avenue exceed legal limits during specific hours for surrounding neighborhoods. On-campus traffic noise is completely ignored in the District’s claims to meet noise code requirements. And as for the ball fields and stadium, only the noise coming directly from loudspeakers is recognized – not bands, not-site traffic, not cheers. The proposed design must be downsized to make for an environment that successful education requires.  

Environmental Devastation
Laughing Jacob’s Creek – a major stream, home to threatened Kokanee salmon and classified at the most polluted level on the State’s list for impaired and threatened waters -- originates at Beaver Lake in the City of Sammamish, and meanders through the City’s frequently flooded neighborhoods, before cascading through ravines in the northeast corner of Issaquah and into Lake Sammamish. The proposed ISD school complex sits on a bluff midway between this flood-prone basin in Sammamish and the geologically hazard ravines of Issaquah. For sixty years, the proposed school site was home to a college campus, including classrooms, dorms, church, tennis courts and playfields. The campus buildings were demolished in 2017, but the two wetlands and remaining forests continue to play a key role in maintaining the fragile condition of the Creek, its basin, the ravines, and Lake Sammamish.

If Proposition 2 of the present Levy should pass, the District plans immediately to demolish one wetland, clear cut virtually all trees, and move tens of thousands of tons of bed rock and soil, all of this in a “first stage” of imposing its outdated, sprawling suburban campus design on this fragile urban site. The intent is ultimately to level the entire campus area and cover 75% with impermeable surfaces, while installing a high number of retaining walls. Nearly all stormwater run-off, including that from a few proposed underground detention tanks, will be channeled into a small culvert in poor condition that runs under Providence Point property (but is owned and maintained by the City of Issaquah), and from there, cascade down the landslide-prone ravine and into Lake Sammamish -- all of this within a mile or two of the Seattle earthquake fault. Without the capital funds from Proposition 2, the District will be forced to face reality, to call off its ill-conceived phase 1. 

Then and Now in the Issaquah School District

2016 Bond Resolution

2022 Reality

What A Great Idea

It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time

$533,500,000 Bond Proceeds

Still need $44,000,000 to complete High School (on the April 2022 Levy Ballot) and an unfunded $34,000,000 or more to build Elementary 17

4 new schools (1 HS, 1MS, 2 Elem)

 

2 new schools built (1 MS, 1 Elem)

Purchase land for 4 schools

70 acres purchased – enough for 5 schools

High School $120,000,000 budget

High School $198,000,000 Budget

(Nov 2021 budget $182,900,000)

Overcrowded High Schools

Overcrowded Hallways, Bathrooms, and Lunch Rooms

2020 - 2021 High School Enrollment Projection – 6253 (2017 CFP)

2020-2021 High School Enrollment Actual – 5566 (2021 CFP)

2031 - 2032 High School Enrollment Projection – 6979 (2017 CFP)

2031-2032 High School Enrollment Projection – 4537 (2021 CFP)

Middle School 6 - $74,000,000 budget

Middle School 6 - $107,000,000 budget, $100,000,000 actual as of Dec 2021

Middle School 6 -

“Before purchasing the site -- due diligence -- including geotechnical work, was done,” Director of Capital Projects Tom Mullins said.

Middle School 6 -

“Unfortunately, some significant underground runoff from the mountain was not discovered during that process. After the reengineering efforts and additional review by our city partners, we feel entirely confident that the site is safe and stable.”

Elementary School 16 - $36,500,000

Elementary School 16 - $48,000,000 actual

Elementary School 17 - $34,000,000

Postponed – money not available

Original Bond Resolution 1063 – approved by voters - Remodel Admin Bldg

Bond Resolution 1093 – approved by School Board to Amend voter approved Bond resolution -

Demolish existing Admin Bldg,

Build new school on that site,

Purchase new Admin Bldg

 

Note: Admin Bldg not demolished;

Bldg being converted to early learning center

Remodel Admin Bldg $7,500,000

Purchase Admin Bldg $22,500,000 +

Remodel Admin Bldg $14,000,000

Total = $36,500,000

Discovery Remodel $9,000,000

Discovery Remodel - $14,000,000 actual

Endeavour Remodel $9,000,000

Endeavor Remodel - $11,900,000 actual

Cougar Ridge Remodel $9,000,000

Cougar Ridge Remodel - $15,000,000 actual

Sunset Remodel $7,000,000

Sunset Remodel - $11,000,000 actual

 

Sources: Board Resolution 1063, Resolution 1093, Superintendent recommended list of 2016 bond Projects, 2017 Capital Facilities Plan (2017 CFP), 2021 Capital Facilities Plan (2021 CFP), December 2021 Budget Status Report presented on March 10,2022 board meeting, Issaquah School District website