Thank you for your engagement with the Facilities Task Force. Below are some of the questions we have received. As we hear more questions, we will add them here. You can find links to resources and information on the right.
Pending School Board approval, a bond measure including these recommended projects could be presented the community in November 2024.
If the School Board approves the recommendation from the Facilities Task Force at their Nov. 29, 2023 meeting, the district will begin bond planning. This includes conceptual design and planning, and continuing to communicate information to the community.
All of the information from the study and survey is available on the Facilities Task Force webpage. Costs for each project are in the Supplemental Documentation beginning on page 16. Each project estimate includes escalation to 2027 at 21.55 percent, 10 percent estimated contingency and general conditions costs and 30 percent for soft costs. Soft costs include engineering, permits and project management expenses.
The estimates provided by King Architecture align with industry standards and local costs of projects in our area. These are meant to be estimates. If the bond is approved by voters, there will be a bidding process for a contractor.
Additionally, if the building were to be renovated, instruction would be disrupted by the noise and other logistical considerations during the time that construction would be occurring.
The new middle school would be built on the same property as the current Meridian Middle School. The school would be built in the west field. The east field along Hannegan Road would be athletic fields. A draft site plan is included in the Long Range Educational and Facilities Plan on page 15.
Yes, as with any new construction it would be built with all legally required safety and accessibility standards and codes. A core value of Our Commitments is belonging. We want all of our students, staff and visitors to feel welcome and to access our schools without barriers.
If we introduce fifth graders to middle school a year earlier than we currently do, it can aid in a more seamless transition into adolescence. This early entry allows students to cultivate vital social and emotional skills like resilience, empathy, and conflict resolution, all within a nurturing environment led by experienced educators who specialize in working with adolescents.
Our middle school offers a wider range of extracurricular activities, elective courses, and special programs compared to what is available at the elementary level. Including fifth graders in middle school can introduce them to a broader array of educational experiences and interests. This change could create a more balanced K-12 experience, allowing students to spend a similar number of years in each building.
It would also reduce capacity issues related to parking, drop-offs, pick-ups, and classroom overcrowding at the elementary level by moving approximately 160 students to the middle school campus.
If the task force chooses to include this in their final recommendation, the district would continue to research, plan and invite family feedback, so that we can create a learning environment that is supportive and beneficial for all of our students.
This is not something the task force has discussed but could consider if community feedback encourages this. From 1974 to 1991, Meridian Middle School was a 5-8 school. Fifth graders returned to the Irene Reither Primary School campus when the new Ten Mile Creek Elementary School was opened in 1991.
At the time that Irene Reither Elementary was built, per requirements of the state funding, the school could only be designed to exceed 10 percent of current enrollment. This meant we quickly ran out of space at IRE as our community continued to grow.
The City of Bellingham provided this information. The Cordata area alone (within Meridian School District) has 1,006 new homes since 2002. This includes 547 single-family homes, 78 duplex homes, 249 mixed use/multi-family homes and 132 subsidized public housing units.
We believe Meridian is a great place for all students. This includes students who live within our district boundaries and those who live outside our district boundaries. Several of our nonresident students who struggled in their home district, thrived when they transferred to Meridian School District. In addition, there are Meridian graduates who live in our neighboring districts and want their children to have that shared experience of attending Meridian schools. This speaks to how these parents value their experience at Meridian.
According to OSPI, “A student’s school and resident school district is based on where the student resides. In some circumstances, a family may ask to transfer their student to a school outside of their resident district. This is called a nonresident student transfer. You may also hear it referred to as an out-of-district transfer, interdistrict transfer, choice transfer, variance, waiver, or school choice.” RCW 28A.225.225 and School Board Policy 3141 guide whether these students’ applications are accepted or denied.
Annually, families complete the Choice Transfer paperwork which allows them to continue attending Meridian’s schools. Approximately 25% of Meridian School District’s total enrollment is nonresident students. This is a substantial number of students who are vital to Meridian’s budgeting and planning process. For these families, Meridian offers better opportunities for their student. We believe Meridian is a great place for students, and nonresident students add to the rich culture and traditions of Meridian.
The answer to this is complex. Like every public school district in the state Meridian accepts choice students. The state has identified specific reasons which schools can deny a choice transfer, see RCW 28A.225.225. Unless the students meet one of the specifically identified reasons, a district should not deny the choice student. The state provides funds based on student enrollment and there is no discernment between resident and choice students.
RCW 28A.225.225 includes language about accepting students of our staff members. “Except for students who reside out-of-state and students under RCW 28A.225.217, a district shall accept applications from nonresident students who are the children of full-time certificated and classified school employees, and those children shall be permitted to enroll.”
As we look closer at choice transfers throughout the district, the numbers become more intricate. MP3 is an Alternative Learning Experience (ALE) program designed to serve students from across the state and hosts campus classes two days per week. As such, MP3 serves the largest number of choice students at 170 total students. These 170 choice students served by MP3 comprise 76% of total enrollment. This is the largest percentage of choice students in the district.
Irene Reither Elementary has 132 transfer students which comprises 17.5% of the total enrollment. Of the 132 choice students, 20 are students of staff members who live outside of our boundaries. There are 38 students whose family lives within Meridian School District who choose to attend a public school in a neighboring district. This number does not include those families who choose to send their students to a private school outside of our district. These numbers reflect a net change of an additional 74 students or 9.85%.
Meridian Middle School has 58 choice students which comprises 16.2% of the total enrollment. Of the 58 choice students, 8 are students of staff members who live outside of our boundaries. There are 21 students whose family lives within Meridian School District who choose to attend a public school in a neighboring district. This number does not include those families who choose to send their students to a private school outside of our district. These numbers reflect a net change of an additional 29 students or 8.1% of its total enrollment who choose to attend the middle school.
Meridian High School has 136 choice students which comprises 27.2% of the total enrollment. Of the 136 choice students, 11 are students of staff members who live outside of our boundaries. There are 58 students whose family lives within Meridian School District who choose to attend a public school in a neighboring district. Again, this number does not include those families who choose to send their students to a private school outside of our district. These numbers reflect a net change of an additional 67 students, or 13.4%.
Just over ten years ago, this trend was reversed. Meridian had more students choosing to transfer out of our district, than students transferring in. We are proud to be a district that people want to be part of.
The study and survey recommended either an expansion of the Ten Mile building (estimated to cost $37 million) or build a new elementary school (estimated to cost $50 million) to accommodate the projected enrollment numbers (Supplemental Documentation, page 17). However, the cost of either project in addition to a new middle school would exceed our overall bond capacity for the district. Because of this, the task force recommends building the new middle school large enough to accommodate fifth graders. This would alleviate overcrowding at the current IRE. The task force recommends a new elementary school as part of long-term planning for the district to be added to a future bond (10+ years).
No, currently Meridian Middle School, MP3, and MHS do not have standby generators. Irene Reither Elementary has a generator that was installed in 2013 during construction. This generator supports our fire suppression system pumps, water distribution system, limited emergency heating functions, and a portion of Building A including the main office to support building operations.
The new band/choir room would be constructed where the “old” cafeteria is, behind the auditorium. The space would be renovated to provide sufficient space for band and choir. A draft site plan can be found on page 21 on the Long Range Educational and Facilities Plan Study and Survey.
This depends on a number of factors. The task force first needs to finalize their recommendation to the School Board. If the School Board approves their recommendation, the district will proceed with planning for a future bond measure. The community would then need to vote on the bond measure. If the community approves the bond measure, then planning on the new school building would begin. From educational specifications and design, to construction to opening, building a new middle school could take up to three years. Educational specifications and design would not begin until after a bond was voted on and approved by the community. Several different possible timelines drafted by King Architecture are included in the study and survey beginning on page 29.
Fees from sporting events goes to the ASB fund. These are separate funds and cannot be used for facilities.
The seasons the field is currently in use (effective 2022) are fall and spring. Leading up to 2022 it was only used in the fall for football. We currently are using it for high school football and varsity soccer only. We currently have to limit the use of the grass field in order to maintain its quality for game play. With the addition of synthetic turf, we would be able to allow all levels of football and soccer on the field, as well as giving us the opportunity to add lacrosse (fall/winter) and girls flag football (fall/winter). It also would allow us to extend use to outside community groups (club soccer, club lacrosse, rugby, club football, etc.). With current conditions, we do not allow anyone besides high school football and varsity soccer on it. They are only allowed to play games on the field. No practices are held on the field. Fall, winter and spring sports seasons would benefit as well as all students in Meridian.
Yes. Community members would need to reserve the field or tennis courts through the athletic department. Those spaces would be treated similar to how we rent out our current gym space.
The plan is to run the bond in November 2024. If the bond fails, we will want to gain community feedback and adjust before running a bond again. Every time you go out for a bond there is a cost associated with it. We are trying to process as much as we can with the community now so we can anticipate the needs of the district.