Sammamishreview051315

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eview R sammamish

Locally owned 50 cents

may 13, 2015

www.sammamishreview.com

Erika mitchell pens new spy thriller, page 10

Committee OKs $518 million plan for Issaquah schools By Neil Pierson npierson@sammamishreview.com A committee of parents, principals and other educational leaders has approved a plan that would ask Issaquah School District voters for more than a half-billion dollars to build four new schools and modernize several others.

At a May 6 meeting, the district’s bond feasibility and development committee approved a package that would raise $518.5 million in voter-approved funds. The bond measure would likely appear on ballots in spring 2016. The final item to be added to the proposal is a big one: $120 million for a fourth comprehensive high school. The school

would likely be built for a core population of 1,500 – smaller than Skyline and Issaquah high schools, but bigger than Liberty, which finished an expansion and modernization project last year. Another $148.5 million would go toward building a new middle school and two new elementary schools. That would give the district a total of six middle schools

and 17 elementary schools. Superintendent Ron Thiele said locations haven’t been chosen for any of the new schools, and the Issaquah School Board would likely discuss those specifics in a private executive session to avoid a possible spike in real estate prices. Thiele is expected to review the proposal, and the school

board will likely set its own timeline for bringing a bond measure to a public vote. The proposal includes $97 million for property acquisition costs. Officials have previously said large plots of land inside the district boundaries are becoming increasingly scarce, and increasSee SCHOOLS, Page 2

County plans to take out 40 fewer trees in latest trail plan By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com

Buddy system By Greg Farrar

A dozen eighth-grade girls and boys throughout the Issaquah School District gathered in a giving effort April 25 at Beaver Lake Middle School to build Buddy Benches for the district’s 15 elementary schools. Above, industrial arts teacher Patrick Ford (left); Evan Baker, a Sunny Hills Elementary fifth-grader who helped come up with the idea last year; and Beaver Lake Principal Stacy Cho work on one of the benches. At right, John Adams, an Issaquah Middle School eighth-grader working single-handedly on his third Buddy Bench, drills a plaque on the bench for Clark Elementary School, as Beaver Lake student Jackson Brooks works in the background on another bench.

SLIDESHOW See more photos from the April 25 Beaver Lake Middle School Buddy Bench project at www.sammamishreview.com.

On April 24, King County planners completed work on the much anticipated 95 percent plan for South Sammamish, Segment A of the East Lake Sammamish Trail. The plan was designed in reaction to strong criticism from city officials and residents along the trail. The revisions apparently were released to Sammamish city officials shortly after April 24 and, as of last week, were under study by city staff. City Manager Ben Yazici said he had not seen the plans as of mid-last week and declined any comment on the whether the revised plans for the trail now include more suggestions from

Newspaper publication dates are changing The publication dates of the Issaquah Press Inc. newspapers — The Issaquah Press, Sammamish Review and SnoValley Star — are changing. The Press and the Review, which currently come out on Wednesdays, will be delivered on Thursdays beginning next week. The Star, which currently comes out on Thursdays, will be delivered on Fridays beginning next week. Deadlines for letters to the editor, community news and

the city and the public. “I don’t have the complete plan in front of me,” Yazici said, “nor do I have a complete assessment.” Along with a summary of the plan, the complete redesign was released on the county’s website May 7. The county received 170 comments from residents and others, said Frank Overton, a capital projects managing supervisor for the county. In response to those comments and others, Overton said the county made numerous changes to the previous, highly criticized plan. For example, the number of significant trees slated for removal dropped from 69 to 29, Overton said. In one location, See TRAIL, Page 2 calendar items for all three weekly newspapers will remain at noon Friday. The classified advertising and camera-ready advertising deadline for The Press and the Review will move to 11 a.m. Mondays. The classified advertising and camera-ready advertising deadline for the Star will move to 11 a.m. Tuesdays. Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID Kent, WA Permit No. 71 POSTAL CUSTOMER

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