The Kent School District bond on the April 26 special election ballot asks voters to decide on $252 million package for various school projects . The bond has a maximum term of 20 years.

Local tax payers have been supporting public schools in the areas since 1869, Chis Loftis said, executive director of communications for the Kent School District. He said the school district is large with more than 40 facilities spread over 72 square miles. Some of the facilities are more than 80 years old and need restoration. The money will be going toward many school projects, including maintenance and restoration of facilities.

“All we can ask is for folks to look at the facts and vote as they think best for our children and our communities,” Loftis said.

The projects include the construction of two new elementary schools, one in Covington and one in the Kent Valley; 20 new classrooms; improving roofs at numerous schools; improving multipurpose rooms, fields, tracks and courts at numerous schools.

According to Loftis the school district has been receiving positive feedback from the public about the addition to the two schools. With the bond, every school building will get something and tax rates will not increase from current levels. Some of the positive feedback they have received from the public specifically includes the $26 million that would go toward increasing safety and $24 million that would go to increasing energy efficiency.

One of the main reasons the school board voted for the total bond amount was because it would not raise tax rates while still meeting the needs of the school district.

Past bonds are coming to the end of their term and if the bond passes, it will be replacing the bonds that are coming to an end. Currently the school bond related tax rate is $1.40 per $1,000 of assessed property value. With the new bond, the tax rate will remain the same or less, it will not increase, Loftis said.

The biggest reason for the bond is to fix the overcrowding problem in the schools. The addition of two new schools and 20 classrooms across the district would help solve the overcrowding problem.

“More classrooms mean improved student/teacher ratios,” Loftis said. “The research is clear, the more time individual students have with qualified, well trained, well equipped and caring teachers, the better the learning and the greater their success in school and in life.”

The improvement to fields, tracks and courts would benefit the public directly, Loftis said. Athletic facilities will receive almost $18 million in renovations that will make those facilities more comfortable for the public and safer for the students.

A lot of time was put into figuring out the projects and the bond amount to be put on the ballot. In 2012, every school in the district, along with the facilities department, listed their needs as far as construction and renovation. For almost two years, a Citizens Bond Review Committee was set up to pick the projects. A lot of money is going toward the school district that has been affecting tax payers. The committee and the school district looked at the best possibilities and options that would benefit the schools and community without increasing taxes, Loftis said.