Budgets, population growth, a new elementary school and economic development were among the topics that the Kent School Board and the Covington City Council discussed during a joint meeting Oct. 1. at the district’s headquarters.

Both governing bodies found in the meeting at the district’s administration center that they have similar challenges, as well as a number of overlapping areas of interest. The latter include Covington Elementary School, which is more than 50 years old and is in desperate need of renovation or replacement, according to district officials.

Board member Bill Boyce said a new school “will be a big celebration for all of us because we know it’s way overdue. The staff and students definitely deserve a new place.”

For the city, if a new school is built on a new site, that will free up the property the existing school is on now for future re-development.

The school district’s business services director, Fred High, said that money from the 2006 capital improvements bond measure approved by voters has been set aside for Covington Elementary, and the 45-day waiting period following the board’s surplusing of the land will soon be up. That means any party interested in purchasing it – such as Regency Centers, a national developer that wants to buy the neighboring property and build a Target-anchored shopping center – will have first crack quite soon.

“We’ve committed about $200,000 in engineering for getting it ready to roll,” High said. “The challenge right now is how we pay for (building) it. Our preferred method would be to sell the existing (school) site, and that would generate enough cash to build the new school. We do have some other properties we could sell, as well.”

The plan, High said, is to get the new school planned for 156th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 256th Street built and open by Sept. 1, 2010. He said that the new Covington Elementary would be nearly identical, though a bit larger, than the new Panther Lake Elementary the district has planned. Based on the costs for Panther Lake, the district is anticipating Covington Elementary to cost around $26 million to build.

Another reason for a new or improved elementary school is due to the growth Covington has experienced in recent years.

David Nemens, Covington’s community development director, said the city has grown much more quickly compared to King County in general. Covington’s population has increased by 30 percent, he said, while King County has grown by 9 percent.

“Covington has a very young population, one-third under 18 years of age,” Nemens said.

That growth brings young families, which raises a number of issues, School Board member Jim Berrios said.

“Where are the kids playing? What other options do they have? We have programs at the schools,” Berrios said. “But you have to have other activities for them, and that’s a concern. Are there opportunities through the city or the parks program so that the kids at the teenage level have jobs during the summer?”

Places for kids to play was on Mayor Margert Harto’s mind, as well. She asked if there might be a way for the city to have access to school facilities.

Covington Community Sports (CCS), “which provides youth sports for children in our city, is serving kids not just in our city but also east in unincorporated King County,” Harto said. “We feel that this is a time to put that conversation on the table and look at how that population is being served out there.”

Covington programs have access to school facilities in the city limits, but CCS serves children who live outside the city but attend Kent district schools, including Grass Lake and Sawyer Woods elementary schools and Kentlake High School.

“We’re looking for options all over the place,” Harto said. “We want to keep these young families active at a time other than 7 p.m. on a Sunday night at a gym that is more than a few miles down the road.”

On another note, Harto and board member Chris Davies agreed that the district and the city should compare notes on what’s going on in the Legislature. Davies said they could work as a team from more than one angle on issues involving the state.

Staff writer Kris Hill can be reached at (425) 432-1209 (extension 5054) and khill@reporternewspapers.com