Facility Advisory Committee

   To provide feedback and recommendations for current and future facility planning, informed by enrollment trends, community expectations and district programs. The facility strategy will align with the District’s strategic plan and make recommendations to update aging facilities, provide for enrollment changes and continue to provide quality learning environments.

The superintendent and school board will consider the feedback and recommendations as it plans current construction projects and future ballot measures to fund construction.

• LWSD is the 2nd largest district in the state of Washington with over 30,000 students. From 2008 through 2019, the district’s enrollment grew by 31% or 7,339 students. This represents an average of 667 students per year or the size of a large elementary school each year. The pandemic put a pause to the rapid enrollment growth and the district has experienced a small decline in enrollment of 677 students since 2019.
• In 2014, LWSD formed a 63-member Long-Term Facility Task Force (LTFTF) after three failed bonds (2010, 2014, 2014). In November 2015, the Task Force recommended a long-term strategy through 2029-30, which prioritized building new schools and enlarging aging schools to address capacity needs. 
• A Bond Advisory Committee helped develop the funding plan to implement the LTFTF recommendations. The long-term plan guides the district as we continue building toward future success. The funding plan included four phases: an April 2016 bond that was passed by voters, a February 2018 bond that was not passed by voters, and future bonds planned for 2022 and 2026. 
• In November 2019 a Facility Advisory Committee was formed to review and update the 2014 Task Force Recommendations. In January 2021, the FAC provided recommendations to the school board. 
• The Superintendent and School Board developed a Building Excellence Plan for construction needs through 2030.
• In February 2022, voters approved step one in the Building Excellence Plan, a six-year-year Capital Projects Levy measure. This measure provides critical classroom capacity at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.