The Clarkston School District won't ask voters to reconsider its recently failed construction bond in February.
Board members were silent when Clarkston School Board President Scott Dolezal called for a motion to put the bond back on the ballot during the next election, when the district also will seek renewal of its regular four-year levy.
The $60.5 million bond for rebuilding much of Clarkston High School and making improvements to other schools in the district garnered just 51 percent approval in November. School construction bonds in Washington require a 60 percent supermajority to pass.
Dolezal and board Vice President Meghan Pierce summed up public input from a bond forum last week that was organized by the school district. He and Pierce were the only board members present for the informal question-and-answer session last Monday in order to prevent having a quorum, which would have made it an official meeting.
"We tried to clarify the project and the board decision-making that went into it," Dolezal told the board members.
Nevertheless, he said, a number of people at the forum questioned whether the project really needed to cost as much as was proposed or if the bond was even necessary at all.
"It was respectful and unabashedly honest at the same time," Dolezal said.
Both he and Pierce said they went into the forum in support of trying the bond again in February and left with their minds changed. The board still has the option of floating the bond again in April, August or November, Dolezal said.
"The need is still there at the high school. The solution to that is varied in people's opinions," he said. "We have to build trust in the process."
Board member Dennis Lenz expressed concern that trying the bond again in February, so soon after voters rejected it, could cause a backlash against the levy -- especially since similar bond proposals also were defeated in 2011 and 2014.
"That's my big fear is they shoot both of them down," Lenz said.
The board also discussed the possibility of selling about 7 acres of district-owned property on Florence Lane in the Clarkston Heights, but decided to gather more information before making a decision.
The notion of selling the property to help offset the cost of construction -- though the amount is expected to be relatively small compared to a school bond -- had been proposed at an earlier meeting.
Lenz said he'd support selling the property only if the proceeds were dedicated to a specific project, such as installing a new track at Lincoln Middle School. The high school track, currently in disrepair, was set to be replaced if the bond had passed.
Superintendent Tim Winter said he and Lewiston High School athletic director Shannon Wilson will present a slate of needed projects at the next school board meeting in January.
"We'll have a menu of projects and costs," Winter said.
The board agreed to reconsider the property sale after assessing the project list.
Also at Monday's meeting, board members Scott Dolezal, Jim Nelly, Meghan Pierce and Miles Sidener were again sworn in for new four-year terms or the completion of unexpired terms, after running unopposed in the November election. Dolezal was re-elected president and Pierce vice president.
Those actions had been taken last month, but Dolezal explained it later was discovered the election was not certified until the following day.
