Enrollment has grown by over 7,300 students (or 31%) since 2008.This is the equivalent of 10 large elementary schools. Growth is expected to continue, with an additional 3,500 students (11%) by 2030. 83% of our schools will be over capacity by 2030. Due to rapid enrollment growth Lake Washington School District has run a number of ballot measures since 2010 in an effort to reduce overcrowding and address aging facilities. In addition, the district has also implemented short-term solutions such as boundary changes, program shifts, and the addition of portables at schools. LWSD still has critical capacity needs that must be addressed. Click here to learn more about pass ballot measures.

A Facility Advisory Committee (FAC) met from November 2019 through January 2021. The FAC provided recommendations for future facility projects to accommodate our rapid enrollment growth and continue to provide learning environments that promote excellence for students. The board considered these recommendations, received information and feedback from the Levy Advisory Committee and considered multiple options for addressing short and long-term capacity needs in seven study sessions between January and September 2021. Click here for more information on the FAC.

It will provide classroom space for 2,350 students by: 

• Add a new elementary school on underdeveloped land on Redmond Elementary Campus, with up to 24 classrooms = 550 students
• Additions at Finn Hill, Kirkland and Redmond Middle Schools = 600 students
• Additional high school capacity for about 1,200 students
• Acquiring property for future schools

*The capital projects department is currently evaluating options to address high school capacity across the district. Options could include:

• Additions at high schools
• Siting choice schools on westside and eastside of district
• Campus with flexible space to address secondary capacity now and K12 in the future

Total cost for all the projects is $295 million, allowing for construction inflation, sales tax, and other fees in addition to construction costs. These project cost estimates take into account cost-conscious design and construction methods recommended by a community-based task force.

The district carefully tracks residential development, births and other factors that affect enrollment projections. The district learns where developments are planned and keeps in touch with the developer to collect the latest information on their timeline for building and for sales. The district tracks carefully how many students come out of which type of development to predict the number of students who will come from new developments. King County births are tracked to determine how many of those children likely will end up in our schools in kindergarten in five years’ time. The district also knows who is currently in our schools and the likely retention rates through each grade. The district also works with Flo Analytics, an outside demographer, to prepare long-term enrollment projections. Some highlights from the report: 

Rapid growth in housing: 

• King County is the 4th largest county in the country by population growth from 2010-2018 
• Kirkland – Downtown Kirkland and Totem Lake over 5,500 units 
• Redmond – Likely to see the most continued growth out of all the cities within the district; Downtown City Center and Marymoor Village over 3,200 units. We anticipate growth of 600 more students just in downtown Redmond within the next 3 years.
• Sammamish – Sammamish Town Center 1,274 units remain to be built 

Rapid growth in business:

• Microsoft renovation/expansion of Redmond campus.
• Facebook research facility beginning construction on Willows Road
• Google expansion in Kirkland. 
• Amazon bringing 25,000 employees to eastside 
• Marymoor Village area will include a mix of employment uses to accommodate 9,300 employees; in 2024 a light rail station and a 1,400 stall garage will open

The charts below show the projected capacity challenges with expected enrollment growth:

While COVID temporarily slowed our overall enrollment growth, we are still catching up from the growth in our area over the last decade while continuing to plan for future enrollment growth. Our high schools have grown 7.9% over the last two years. Middle schools have grown almost 10% in the last 5 years. We are expecting 600 more students in central Redmond in the next few years. 

The district along with our cities and counties regularly collaborate to plan. We have quarterly meetings with leadership and board/council members to discuss current issues. Staff meet annually with cities regarding updates on 20-year comprehensive plan and growth targets. We incorporate comprehensive plan change into our short and long-term development and enrollment projections by school. Our facilities department and cities conduct annual meetings as required by the GMA and King County Countywide Planning Policies. These are collaborative meetings where district and jurisdictions can discuss code and zoning changes, identify pending and potential development activity, and work on potential areas for school siting and understanding district needs. In addition, we have joint use agreements with our cities for joint use of facilities and fields. The cities have made capital improvements to district fields for use by both the district and city programs.

The district maintains an annually updated Six-Year Capital Facility Plan that looks at demographics, enrollment projections, and programming to help determine potential capacity needs. Capacity needs determine additional space needs at existing schools, and possibly new schools, based on established capacity standards. 

Portables are temporary classroom solutions by providing flexibility in handling changes in school populations and programming needs. There are already a significant number of portables throughout the district and the Facility Advisory Committee recommended projects that will reduce the reliance on portables over the long-term. In addition, there is a limit to the number of portables we can place on each campus. Each portable has to receive a permit from the local city or King County. Depending on the jurisdiction and on the specific piece of land the school sits on, we may not be able to add any portables at all, or we may be able to add a few. Keep in mind that adding classrooms via portables without expanding other spaces, such as cafeterias, gyms, libraries and bathrooms, puts pressure on the ability to serve all students in those spaces. Also, portables are not an inexpensive solution. Each classroom portable costs about $450,000 to purchase, prepare the site and install.

Construction projects are designed and constructed in accordance with the Washington Sustainable School Protocol (WSSP). New schools are constructed with solar-ready infrastructure. See our website for additional information on Green Building Design. 

Lake Washington School District is a recognized leader in sustainability practices and education in the region. See the Sustainability section of our website for more information.

The Building Excellence Capital Levy authorizes an average of $49.2 million per year over six years. The levy rate is estimated to be an average of $0.52 per $1,000 of assessed value. This rate combined with previously approved construction measures will total $1.32 per thousand assessed value. The tax rate for construction levies will decrease over time as past bonds are paid off and prior construction levies expire.

The 2022 Building Excellence Construction Levy is step one in a three-step plan to provide permanent classrooms for students and address aging facilities and reduce reliance on portables through 2034. The Building Excellence Plan identifies the specific projects needed and a long-term funding plan that allows all required projects to be completed by 2034.

The image below shows our construction needs through 2034. Please note: Projects are listed in reverse order, with the 2022 Construction Levy items listed at the bottom.

Here are the details of the plan through 2034:

• Step #1 – Construction Levy (February 2022)
  • Step 1 of the Building Excellence Plan funds $295 million or 15% of the identified school construction needs. These construction needs are considered critical over the next four years. This levy provides funding to build critical classroom space across our district:
    • Due to change in enrollment since the levy passed, the plan to add a new elementary school on the Redmond Elementary campus has changed to enlarge Rockwell Elementary. This change was approved the the LWSD school board. See the press release for more information.
    • Additions at Finn Hill, Kirkland and Redmond middle schools, providing capacity for 600 more students.  
    • Additional high school capacity for about 1,200 more students.
    • Acquisition of property for future schools.  
• Step #2 – Bond (Future – 2024)
  • Step 2 of the Building Excellence Plan funds $971 million or 49% of the identified school construction needs. These needs include both adding new student space and replacing aging facilities. This levy provides funding to build critical classroom space across our district and addresses aging schools:
    • Elementary School: Rebuild and expand Alcott Elementary and Smith Elementary, Add a new elementary school in Lake Washington area.
    • Middle School: Rebuild or expand Kamiakin Middle School.
    • High School: Build a fifth comprehensive high school.
    • Other: Refurbish JHS fieldhouse/pool, Add space for early learning in Lake Washington area.
• Step #3 – Renewal of Construction Levy (Future 2028)
  • Step 3 of the Building Excellence Plan funds $705 million or 36% of the identified school construction needs. These needs are new student space, replacing aging facilities, reducing our reliance on portables. This levy provides funding to build critical classroom space across our district and addresses aging schools:
    • Elementary School: Add two new elementary schools (location TBD). 
    • Middle School: Rebuild or expand Evergreen Middle School.
    • High School: Add additional high school capacity to Lake Washington area (TBD). 
    • Other: Add space for early learning in Juanita area.