The Kennewick School Board voted Nov. 4 to put a $107 million construction bond before voters in a Feb. 9, 2027 special election, setting up a campaign to replace the district's two oldest middle schools, according to NBC Right Now.
The resolution, approved at the board's regular open meeting, authorizes the measure to go on the ballot. If voters approve it, the money would replace Horse Heaven Hills Middle School and Highlands Middle School, fund improvements at other schools eligible for state matching funds, and pay for districtwide health, safety, security and infrastructure work, per NBC Right Now.
Two schools, one bond
Highlands is the district's oldest middle school, built in 1959 and renovated in 1994. Horse Heaven Hills dates to 1993. Both became eligible for state matching funds roughly six months ago, the Tri-City Herald reported via Yahoo News.
District leaders are framing the bond as a two-for-one deal. New middle schools typically cost $50 million to $60 million apiece to build, but both Highlands and Horse Heaven Hills qualify for enough state matching money to cover roughly half the cost of their replacements, Thomas Brillhart, Kennewick's assistant superintendent of operations, told the Herald. "The community would essentially be securing two buildings for the price of one," Brillhart said.
That math depends on voters approving the local bond first. The district told the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction this month that it plans to pursue the state matching dollars, and it has until October 2027 to prove it has secured bond funding to lock in the match, according to the Herald's reporting, which this outlet covered in an earlier story on the district's race against that deadline.
What it costs, and what it takes to pass
District officials say the property tax rate tied to the bond is expected to stay within the $3 range, meaning the measure would not raise the current tax burden on property owners, NBC Right Now reported. The district hasn't said publicly what that works out to in dollars for a typical Kennewick home.
Unlike the district's levies, which pay for day-to-day operations and need only a simple majority, bond measures for large capital projects require 60% voter approval to pass under Washington law, the Herald noted. That's a high bar, and it's worth watching turnout closely heading into February.
Last year, Kennewick voters approved the district's $128 million educational programs and operations levy and a replacement $42 million capital levy for security and technology, according to the Herald's reporting — a track record district officials will likely point to heading into the bond campaign.
What's still undecided
The final project list hasn't been locked down. An August contract request for architectural services listed Hawthorne and Washington elementaries as a "potential project," but neither the school board nor the district has decided whether elementary work will be part of the bond's scope, per the Herald.
Kennewick isn't the only district asking voters for school construction money this cycle. Richland School District is also weighing a bond for a possible third high school, the Herald reported, though details on that measure haven't been finalized.
Residents who want primary details on the Kennewick measure, including tax impact information and project timelines as they're finalized, can check the district's bonds and levies page. The Feb. 9, 2027 special election is a little over three months away, and the board has not yet released the final resolution text or a locked project list from the Nov. 4 meeting packet.
