The final decision on which middle school project option to pursue with a bond referendum was made by the Washington Community School Board Wednesday night.

The board approved unanimously to move forward with the $24 million project to move the 6th-8th grades to the high school, with board members Eric Turner and Jason Hamilton absent. It was noted by other board members that Turner and Hamilton are in favor of the $24 million option. Before coming to this decision the board reviewed the results of the second online survey they held for two weeks, asking for the public’s feedback on whether to renovate and build onto the current high school or build a new middle school on a new site. The survey received 370 responses, and showed a majority support for the $24 million option which would give no increase to property taxes, compared to the $32 million proposal. When asked if the person would vote yes on a bond referendum if it was for the option they didn’t prefer, 252 people said yes and 61 said no. Of those 61, 51 of those were in favor of the $24 million option and 10 were in favor of the $32 million option.

Board Member Troy Suchan commented on those who would vote no on a referendum, “We want to show them a plan, another option of how to make the learning environment better for their kids and the kids of their community and they want to tell us they don’t want to vote for it because it wasn’t their choice or something that was done in the past that they don’t like. If it’s not raising their taxes and it’s doing better for our kids, it’s absolutely ridiculous to me that you would not vote for it, and I will argue that point with anybody that I do not understand. If it’s not raising your taxes and it’s making a better environment for our children, why would you not be for that.”

The proposed high school option would include a two-story classroom addition to the building with a gymnasium addition that can be used by both the middle and high school students. The old junior high section of the building would be renovated for middle school use along with a classroom wing addition that includes a media center and choir and band rooms. The district’s next steps are to form a volunteer bond committee, have SVPA Architects update concept and costs, and set the bond election petition language during a special meeting on June 24th, for an election date on September 14th.