This is an all mail election.Ballots must be postmarked or dropped off no later than 8 p.m. the day of the election. For your convenience, Pierce County Elections has established several drop box locations in our area. You will find them at the following locations: • Graham Fire Station (near Lipoma Firs), 10012 187th St E in Puyallup • Parkland/Spanaway Library, 13718 Pacific Ave S in Tacoma• Roy Y Park and Ride, Washington 507 & Pacific Ave S in Spanaway• Roy City Hall, 216 McNaught Rd S in Roy • South Hill Library, 15420 Meridian Ave E in Puyallup

Only ballots received by the deadline will be counted. If you are registered and did not receive your ballot, or need a replacement ballot, please call 253.798.VOTE (8683).

Register to vote!Did you know that only half the people who live in our district are registered to vote?Make sure you are one of them. You can easily verify and update your voter registration online. Just visit www.sos.wa.gov/elections/voters.aspx. If you have never voted before, you can take care of that too. Just go to the site or scan the QR code and select the option that says “Register to Vote.”

Election Day: February 9, 2016

Bethel School District 516 - 176th Street EastSpanaway, WA 98387-8399

BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT RESIDENT

Non-profit org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 56

Spanaway, WA 98387

How much will it cost taxpayers? The $236,700,000 of general obligation bonds would mature within 20 years and be repaid from annual excess property tax levies. The estimated annual tax rate increase is approximately 74 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. By our conservative estimates, we expect this measure to cost the homeowner of a $200,000 home about $148 per year, or about $12.33 per month. Please see the chart below for more cost estimates.

Assessed Valuation Annual Tax Increase* Monthly Tax Increase*

$125,000 $92.50 $7.71

$150,000 $111.00 $9.25

$200,000 $148.00 $12.33

$250,000 $185.00 $15.42

$300,000 $222.00 $18.50

$350,000 $259.00 $21.58

COST TO TAXPAYERS

If the bond is approved, Pierce County will only collect the specific dollar amount authorized by voters in the school district. This fixed amount will be shared by all local taxpayers. Taxes are divided among individual businesses and property owners, based on their assessed valuation. Only the amount of money approved by voters will be collected. You may be exempt from paying this tax. There is some tax relief available through Pierce County. Taxpayers who are at least 61 years of age or have a disability can contact the Assessor-Treasurer’s office to apply for a waiver of their school taxes. Qualifying applicants will receive a reduction in the amount of property taxes due. The amount of the reduction is based on the applicant’s income, the value of the residence, and the local tax rates. To qualify, you must own and occupy a primary residence in the state of Washington and have combined disposable income of $35,000 or less. For details visit: www.piercecountywa.org/Index.aspx?NID=91 or call 253.798.2169.

*Tax increases are estimated based on the latest available information.

2016 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS AND SAFETY UPGRADES BOND

$ Cost toTaxpayers

VOTER INFORMATION | BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT

MAIL YOUR BALLOT BY FEBRUARY 9, 2016

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE? Visit www.bethelsd.com or email questions to: communications@bethelsd.org

Over the past seven years, enrollment in Bethel Schools has increased by over 1,400 students and is expected to grow by more than 3,000 students in the next ten years. There are now about 200 portable classrooms in use at our schools. Now our school board has a new plan to support students and accommodate growth.

This February, Bethel voters are being asked to approve a $236,700,000 School Improvements and Safety Upgrades bond. This measure aims to relieve overcrowding and allows for the ongoing repair and maintenance of safe, secure and healthy schools, districtwide. If approved, the state would provide another $81.9 million in state matching dollars to help...

Construct new and improved schools• Replace/Modernize Bethel High School• Replace Challenger High School• Modernize Cedarcrest Middle School • Expand Graham-Kapowsin High School • Renovate Evergreen and Naches Trail elementary schools• Construct one new elementary school • Purchase land to support growing enrollment

Resolve critical building needs• Replace roofs, lighting, windows and HVAC• Install emergency generators and security/alarm systems• Make earthquake, traffic and safety improvements• Upgrade technology infrastructure and fire protection systems• Construct sidewalks and safer walking paths• Modify kitchens

Improve athletics/recreational facilities• Construct a new district aquatic center • Install new track, lighting and synthetic turf at Graham-Kapowsin and Spanaway Lake

high schools• Develop a synthetic turf sports park near Bethel High School

* * *This bond proposal is a culmination of the hard work of more than 80 staff, parents and administrative members of the district’s Long Range Facilities Planning Team. It also reflects several years of studying facility needs, including age and condition of each building.

Roof Repair

s

School

Bethel HS X X X

Bethel MS X X

Camas Prairie ES X X X

Cedarcrest MS X

Centennial ES X X

Challenger HS X

Clover Creek ES X

Cougar Mt MS X

Elk Plain K-8 X X X

Evergreen ES X X X X X

Frederickson ES X

Frontier MS X X

Graham ES X X

Graham-Kapowsin HS X X

Kapowsin ES X X

Liberty MS X

Naches Trail ES X X X

Nelson ES X

North Star ES X

Pioneer Valley ES X

Rocky Ridge ES X X

Roy ES X X X

Shining Mt ES X

Spanaway ES X

Spanaway MS X

Spanaway Lake HS X X

Thompson ES X

Bethel Aquatic Ctr X

Bethel Sports Park X X

Elementary #18 X

Future School Site X

New Construct

ion

Renovatio

nExp

ansio

nM

oderniza

tion

Emerg

ency G

enerato

r

Kitchen Rem

odel

Fire Sprin

kler S

yste

m

Securit

y/Alar

m Sy

stem

s

Land A

cquisi

tion

Traffi

c/Pedestr

ian Safe

ty

Field

Enhance

ments

HVAC

Bethel School DiStrict – ProPoSition 1

HOW DO BONDS AND LEVIES DIFFER?Compared to levies – which cover the essential, everyday school operations and student programs that are not covered by the state – bonds can only pay for school construction. Levies require a simple majority, 50% +1 approval, from voters. Bonds require 60%. An easy way to remember the difference is “B” is for buildings and bonds, “L” is for learning and levies.

Here is a list of proposed projects in the School Improvements and Safety Upgrades Bond!

Earthquake Safety, Technology Infrastructure and Energy Upgrades will take place at various locations districtwide.

Why do we need a bond now?Just like your home, we must continuously maintain and repair our schools to keep them safe, healthy and secure for our students and staff. Since our last bond, our enrollment has increased, and building codes and learning requirements have changed. About half our schools have reached a point where they need significant modifications, renovations or complete replacements. And, we have discovered our current recreational space is not compatible with the needs of our community. School improvements and safety upgrades are critical now. Low interest rates and a competitive construction market will help make this $236.7 million investment in our schools more affordable. Plus, it would help secure over $81.9 million in state construction assistance – stretching our local dollars by an additional 36%. Taking care of basic maintenance and repair issues now, like fixing roofs and HVAC, means buildings will last longer and we will save money in the long run.

How will the bond support learning?Proposition 1 makes improvements to all schools and ensures our students have safe and updated learning environments. Bethel is one of the largest and fastest growing districts in the state. Over the past seven years, enrollment has increased by 1,400 students. Many neighborhood schools are at capacity. This bond replaces deteriorating portables and adds more classroom space to maintain reasonable class sizes.

I thought we approved a pool years ago that was never built.Many in our community have expressed those exact concerns to Superintendent Seigel over his 15 years in Bethel. According to our records a pool was included in one previous bond measure that did not pass. If voters approve, we are committed to building an aquatic center to support health, wellness and fitness opportunities for students and our community. It is a high priority. In fact, the Superintendent is recommending to the board that it be one of the first items com-pleted.

PROMISES MADE, PROMISES EXCEEDED...Thanks to sound fiscal and project management, all of the 2001 and 2006 bond projects have been completed within budget. Taking advantage of economic conditions, we saved taxpayers $13.8 million dollars on the sale of our bonds and were able to stretch our funding to expand and enhance the scope of several projects, including Thompson Elementary and Spanaway Middle schools, the Central Kitchen and Transportation Center, and the Pierce County Skills Center. All are now much larger than we originally envisioned.

We are a state leader for cost-effective construction, green school design and eco-friendly schools. With these bonds, we added over one million square feet to the district inventory, and through a robust resource conservation program we saved nearly $7 million in utility costs, were recognized for greenhouse gas reduction, and received ENERGYSTARs for all of our schools.

BETHEL HS CEDARCREST MS & ELEMENTARY #18 CHALLENGER HSBETHEL AQUATIC CENTER