On Wednesday, May 14, the Spokane Public Schools (SPS) School Board voted unanimously to adopt a resolution to place a $200 million bond measure on the Nov. 4, 2025, ballot.
Also appearing on the November ballot, as voted by Spokane City Council on May 5, will be a 20-year, $240 million Spokane Parks and Recreation levy.
To make the most of public resources to improve schools, parks and shared spaces, these separate but aligned ballot measures would maximize taxpayer investments in Youth Wellness, Education & Workforce Development, Public Safety, Arts & Culture, and Healthy Neighborhoods & Adult Recreation, as outlined at TogetherSpokane.org.
"We can work together as a community to provide rich, youth experiences for kids that we know is going to translate into their well-being and their childhood, but it's also going to help be a catalyst for them as a working professional," Superintendent Adam Swinyard explained to KREM earlier this week, emphasizing why the school district and parks department committed to partnering.
The Together Spokane website provides information about the more than 200 proposed projects, which were carefully developed through valuable public input, data analysis, and collaboration with community partners.
In addition to the SPS and Parks partnership, several community groups, such as the Boys & Girls Club and Pacific Northwest Qualifier, have already committed to contributing $11 million in finance, infrastructure or programming to at least one or more of the proposed projects. These partnerships will reduce costs for taxpayers while adding resources for use in our community.
“The level of partnerships that have gone into this [bond] is going to take that investment and really just multiply the impact to our students and our community members, too,” said SPS Board Vice president Mike Wiser at Wednesday’s meeting.
The SPS bond resolution includes the following projects:
Rebuilding Adams Elementary and Madison Elementary
Modernizing sections of North Central High School and Garry Middle School
Constructing a new Trades High School on the Spokane Community College campus
Making essential capital improvements to 66 schools and facilities to keep technology systems current, enhance safety, meet educational programming needs, and extend the useful life of our facilities
Enhancing student and community athletic and activity infrastructure
If approved by voters and as our district continues to pay off previous bonds, the proposed bond plan extension would add approximately two cents to the existing bond bill for an estimated contribution of $1.36 per thousand of assessed property value, which is projected to increase, on average, 2%-3% to account for the rate of annual inflation. This Tax Calculator allows property owners to enter their assessed home value to see the estimated impact of both the SPS bond and Parks levy.
TogetherSpokane.org will provide up-to-date project information on both SPS and Parks projects, as well as collaborative projects. We invite the community to review SPS bond-specific projects and provide feedback on proposed projects.
IN THE NEWS
KXLY: Boys and Girls Club partners with Spokane Schools, Parks for 'Together Spokane' bond and levy, SPS School Board votes to place $200 million bond on November ballot
KREM: SPS School Board votes to place $200M 'Together Spokane' bond on November ballot
KHQ: 200M tax proposal for Spokane schools to appear on November ballots
The Spokesman-Review: Spokane Public Schools $200 million bond will appear on November ballots
The Center Square: Spokane schools, city advance $440M tax plan to November ballot