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.

By Greg Farrar
Nolan Hoover, Hazen High School senior quarterback, fades back and looks for a receiver August 20 during the Highlanders’ first fall football practice of the 2014 campaign.

It’s not uncommon to hear speakers blaring with rap music and today’s latest hits when visiting a high-school football practice.

It is, however, rare to hear interspersed between those songs, the rich, melodic sound of a bagpipe, as was the case at the Hazen High School football team’s fall practices.

It speaks to a focus on a renewed pride in all that it means to be a Highlander, fostered by the team’s first-year head coach David Kilpatrick-White.

“It’s very clear to me that there’s something that the senior class wants to be different about the way people perceive Hazen football moving forward,” he said, “and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get that done.”

Kilpatrick-White comes to Hazen via the Bothell High School football program, where he worked with the freshman wide receivers. He replaces coach Drew Oliver, who is now at Newport high School.

He graduated from Bothell in 2003 and played for coach Tom Bainter all three years. He said he hopes to bring to Hazen much of the Cougars’ “Blue Train” mentality, characterized by fervent fans and tough, physical football teams.

Kilpatrick-White inherits a team that went 4-2 in league last year and 5-4 overall. He has some returning talent to work with, led by star defensive back Marquise Lee, and all-league performers center Parker Trewett and quarterback Nolan Hoover.

Hoover will have the opportunity to showcase his passing-game abilities in a way he hasn’t been able to before with Kilpatrick-White’s up-tempo offense.

New Hazen coach David Kilpatrick-White

“When we’re on offense, we want to try and snap the ball, ideally, every 8 seconds or so,” he said. “We want to be as fast as Oregon or Auburn and teams like that.”

Receivers Eli Azcueta and Kyle Hanis will get a lot of work in the retooled offense, Kilpatrick-White said.

On the defensive side, Kilpatrick-White said he sees a strong secondary, led by Lee at safety, and Skyline High School transfer Dae’von Bovan at corner. In addition, offensive lineman Trewett will serve as a key anchor at linebacker.

“We’re going to bring pressure,” Kilpatrick-White said. “We’re going to dictate the terms of the game to you. We don’t ever want to let the other team feel comfortable.”

The community is a big part of the football program, Kilpatrick-White said, so he wants to put an emphasis on the fans.

“We’re going to make game day at Renton Memorial an event, something people don’t want to miss,” he said. “I don’t want to give any secrets away, but we’re going to do some things differently.”

The Highlanders’ 2014 season begins Sept. 4 versus Lake Washington.

Randy Taylor

Randy Taylor will take over as Hazen High School’s interim principal for the 2013-2014 school year, replacing John Kniseley, who accepted a position at Kentwood High School.

Taylor most recently served as principal of Mount Si High School for six years, and also spent five years as the Auburn High School principal.

He holds master’s degrees in education and school administration from Central Washington University. In 2003, the Washington Library Media Association named Taylor the High School Principal of the Year.

The Association of Washington Secondary School Principals also named him the Washington State Regional Distinguished Principal in 1998 and 2009.

Pending Renton School Board approval July 17, Taylor will begin his duties immediately. His appointment will give the district time to conduct a thorough search for a permanent replacement in a process that is expected to engage staff, students and the community.

That’s not the only change to Hazen’s administration, though. Susan James will take over as the school’s new assistant principal, replacing Sam Yuhan, who accepted the principal position at Eisenhower Middle School in the Everett School District.

James most recently served as an administrative intern and English teacher at Auburn Riverside High School. She holds a master’s degree in education, curriculum and instruction. In 2009, she was named Auburn School District’s Teacher of the Year.

In June, Hazen’s dean of students Sena Camarata, announced she would be joining the staff at Skyline High School in Sammamish as an assistant principal.

Camarata also taught science at Hazen. She spent several years working as a biochemist and teaching advanced science classes.

Ed Crow, Hazen’s assistant principal, will return next year, providing experience and continuity to the school’s changing administration.

Searching high and low, high school senior girls are scouring the malls for dresses decked in lace, beads, satin or chiffon this spring. But finding the perfect dress can wreak havoc on parents’ pocketbooks.

With prom dresses priced at more than $250 at many major department or specialty stores, the perfect dress can feel out of reach, especially when you add shoes, hair, makeup, dance tickets, pictures and accessories.

So, why not achieve your daughter’s prom dreams and save a bit of cash by shopping at Stella Vintage April 12, 15 and 19?

Liberty High School seniors Alli McDonald and Kate Borgnes teamed up with their mothers and Stella’s to help girls at Hazen, Issaquah, Liberty and Skyline high schools get the dresses of their dreams for a fraction of the price.

“It is my way of being able to reach out to our community and feel like I made a difference in our local area,” Kate said. “I know there are a lot of people that are struggling right now.”

Kate said the program she, Alli and their mothers, Karen Odegard and Vanessa McDonald, have designed is a way to help every girl feel special on the only night designed specifically for seniors to celebrate their accomplishments together.

Karen Odegard “is a customer of mine and it was about this time last year we started talking. Both of us had daughters who were juniors last year, and we talked about prom dresses and how expensive they were,” said Martha Flittie, owner of Stella’s. “Eventually, it turned to talk about the economy and our daughters looking for dresses, and thinking about families that are in financial need.

“Since many girls only wear dresses once, we thought wouldn’t it be great to have some way to help girls get great dresses without having to spend all the money?”

In the past year, the girls, their mothers and Flittie have been asking for donations of prom dresses from girls throughout the area. High school students, recent graduates and college students donated dresses, many of which were only worn once.

After collecting more than 120 dresses, the girls help hand-select about 90 of them — considering style, appeal and design — to be cleaned, said Karen Odegard, Kate’s mother.

“We have some beautiful dresses that are in immaculate condition,” she added.

Since Highlands Dry Cleaning in the Renton Highlands helped sponsor some of the cost for the cleaning, the dresses will be priced between $15 and $30.

In addition, the girls said, there are stylish dresses in a wide variety of sizes.

“We have a range of sizes, which is really nice,” Kate said, “not just sixes or fours. And we have a lot of short and long gowns.”

Girls and their families don’t have to provide proof of financial need, like other programs, Odegard said. However, they will need to pay cash and will need to have student identification with them.

The idea isn’t to make money, the women said. The sale is meant to break even and if there are additional funds earned, the teens will pick a local charity to donate the rest of the money to, Odegard said.

The sale nights, which begin at 5 p.m., are meant to be as special and as fun as going to any major store, Flittie said.

To help recreate that feeling, Flittie, Odegard and McDonald have asked local hair stylists to be on hand to help girls figure out what hair style might go best with their dress, and Flittie will be on hand to give advice on accessories and shoes, some of which can be purchased at the boutique.

Only the three adults will be there to help girls choose their dresses, so they feel comfortable shopping without the presence of their peers.

“I’m just so excited to see some little girl come in and find her dream dress, try it on, have stars in her eyes and walk out with it all bagged up,” Odegard said. “We hope to find a home for every dress and make the girls feel special.”

“My hope is that we’ve made a difference in people’s lives and made people more aware that people in our area do need help,” Kate said. “I also hope that we’re leaving something behind for people to get involved with when I go to college.”

Chantelle Lusebrink: 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com.

If you go:

Prom Dreams sale

• 5-8 p.m. April 12, 15 and 19
• Stella Vintage
• 195 Front St. N., Issaquah
• 425-392-2882