Newcastle Community Conversation (DFCC) — Question 2 by newcastlenews

Newcastle Community Conversation (DFCC) — Question 3 by newcastlenews

Newcastle Community Conversation (DFCC) — Question 4 by newcastlenews

Newcastle Community Conversation (DFCC) — Question 5 by newcastlenews

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 increasingly expensive, going for $1 million to $2 million per acre. The district needs roughly 10 acres to build a new elementary school, 20-25 for a middle school, and 40-45 for a high school.

The plan also calls for expanding and remodeling five elementary schools, two middle schools and the district’s central administration building for a total of $128 million.

The five elementary schools targeted are Cougar Ridge, Discovery, Endeavour, Maple Hills and Sunset. They would each receive facelifts costing $7 million to $9 million. Endeavour, built in 1996, is the newest of those buildings, and has yet to get any major upgrades.

The proposal calls for Pine Lake Middle School to be rebuilt – likely into a multistory building – at a cost of $71 million. Beaver Lake Middle School would get $8.5 million for more minor upgrades.

Expanding the district’s administration building for $7.5 million was maybe the most debated portion of the plan.

Jake Kuper, Issaquah’s chief of finance and operations, said the space is not meeting current needs. With the district expecting to add 1,500 to 2,000 students in the next five years, more central staff will need to be hired, and the building doesn’t have the space to house them.

The committee looked at the possibility of leasing additional administrative space, but believed expanding a district-owned building would be more cost-effective in the long run.

Kuper said Issaquah has “the lowest overhead in King County,” spending about 2.5 percent less on administrative costs per student than the average school district. Along with more office space, the district would like to add room for large meetings, such as professional development conferences, which are often being held at neighboring schools because the board room isn’t big enough.

“That’s one goal as well, is to stop encroaching on our neighboring buildings,” Kuper said. “This facility is just maxed out from a usage standpoint.”

Issaquah is already using more than 100 portable classrooms — every school has at least one — and the bond proposal would spend $6 million on more.

Of the remaining funds, $1 million would purchase land to expand the district’s transportation facilities, $6 million would go toward project management needs, and $12 million would be set aside for contingencies and a reserve fund for future projects.

Every Issaquah school had a parent representative on the committee, which held three meetings, and the group reached a consensus quickly enough that a meeting scheduled for May 20 won’t need to take place.

Jonathan Grudin, who has children attending Pacific Cascade Middle School and Issaquah High School, said he was impressed with the foresight and research district officials put into their proposals.

“This is a controversial issue, because there are people in here who are very skeptical of government, and yet …everybody was convinced that this was the right thing to do,” Grudin said.

Committee members Dawn Peschek and Alicia Veevaert, who co-chair the Volunteers for Issaquah Schools group, also see needs in and around their children’s schools.

Peschek, who has children at Maple Hills Elementary and Maywood Middle School, indicated there’s an issue of maintaining equity for all students.

“It’s still a nice school … but it needs to be upgraded,” she said of Maple Hills. “It’s old. It’s from 1969. So it’s time, and the other schools in the area have been upgraded.”

Veevaert, whose children attend Pine Lake and Skyline, said she was excited to see Pine Lake addressed in the new proposal, since it was a late cut from the district’s 2012 bond       measure.

“You look around Sammamish, you look around down here in the corridor, downtown Issaquah, and you can’t help but notice that we’re already outgrowing our schools,” Veevaert said.

Mayor Steve Buri, Newcastle Police Chief Melinda Irvine and Issaquah School District Superintendent Ron Thiele were among the attendees at a community conversation about teen drug abuse in the area.

The event represented the first step in the Issaquah Drug Free Community Coalition’s attempt to raise awareness of its mission and services in Newcastle. The coalition, acting under the umbrella of the Healthy Youth Initiative, has already held similar events in Issaquah and Sammamish.

The Drug Free Community Coalition’s purpose is to prevent and reduce youth alcohol, marijuana and prescription drug abuse within the Issaquah School District service area, which includes parts of Newcastle.

The group invited prominent Newcastle leaders, split everyone into small groups and asked questions about local drug abuse.

Participants were asked what “worrisome activities” they had seen around town, what the root causes of these activities were and what could be done to prevent these challenges.

Several attendees noticed teens appear to have a more “relaxed” attitude about marijuana since its legalization. Others noted a lack of “economic barriers” making it easier for youth in the affluent Newcastle community to acquire drugs.

The discussion produced a plethora of valuable responses, all of which we’ve published on our website here.

While this conversation was geared toward the adult attendees, the coalition often works directly with students. Last year, the group held a student panel about drugs at Liberty High School.

The only thing missing at the conversation was a Renton schools representative. Newcastle is a bit disjointed in that two school districts serve its students.

Rich Mellish, Newcastle Elementary’s principal, as well as a few of his teachers joined the conversation, as did the Issaquah School District’s superintendent and a local school board member.

The conversation ultimately isn’t whole without bringing in both sides of Newcastle.

The Issaquah Drug Free Community Coalition is a great organization empowering youths to make good choices. Newcastle certainly benefits as the group works to increase its presence here in the city.

Learn more about the Healthy Youth Initiative’s Drug Free Community Coalition at www.healthyyouthinitiative.org.

State law mandates an increase in instructional time for the 2015-16 year, but Issaquah will implement the switch a year earlier. To meet the requirement of 1,080 instructional hours, middle school and high school students will get out of class 45 minutes later on Wednesdays next year.

“This is the right thing to do for our students,” Superintendent Ron Thiele said in a news release. “Increasing instructional time is in alignment with our stakeholder values and the district’s mission and goals for students.”

The Issaquah Education Association, the union that represents classroom teachers, also approved the change. Get schedules for each of the district’s nine secondary schools at www.issaquah.wednet.edu/schools/belltimes.aspx.

Richard Mellish will take over as Newcastle Elementary School’s principal, Issaquah School District Superintendent Ron Thiele announced in an email to the school community.

Mellish comes to Newcastle from the Mercer Island School District, where he served as principal of West Mercer Elementary School.

“If there is one core value that I would share initially, it would be the value of community,” Mellish said. “I believe that for students to grow and learn at their best, strong collaboration and partnerships among the staff team and with our families is critical.

“I understand that Newcastle is built on a strong foundation of partnership, and I hope to support, deepen and further encourage quality collaboration, trust and engagement among the whole learning community.”

Thiele said Mellish is a dedicated educator, leader and skilled administrator.

“One of his strengths is working with staff and parents in promoting a culture of collaboration to develop a dynamic educational environment for students and staff alike,” Thiele said.

Mellish replaces outgoing Principal Marla Newton. Newton left at the end of the school year to take a job as a principal at a Federal Way School District elementary school.

Newcastle Elementary Principal Marla Newton announced May 30 that she has taken a position in the Federal Way School District.

“Marla truly has a heart for students and while she will be missed in Issaquah we wish her the very best in this next phase of her career,” said Issaquah School District superintendent Ron Thiele.

The search for Newton’s replacement will begin in earnest, but first, Thiele wants to know what traits the community would like to see in their new principal. Families can offer feedback in an online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Newcastleprincipal14 until 4 p.m. June 9.

“Along with our selection committee, I will work to ensure your next principal will inspire and lead Newcastle to new levels of achievement and hope to have this person hired by late June,” Thiele said.

Apollo Elementary School, Newcastle Elementary School and Liberty High School were among the winners.

“We are overjoyed that 10 of our schools are receiving this recognition,” Superintendent Ron Thiele said in a news release. “It is a testament to our district’s commitment to excellence, and evidence of the effort our teachers and administrators put in every single day to assure our students are achieving at the highest level possible.”

Apollo received special recognition in reading; Newcastle was honored for overall excellence and special recognition in reading; and Liberty earned the honor for high progress.