Issaquah School Board seeks applicants for vacancy
January 22, 2013
A seat on the Issaquah School Board is up for grabs.
Board member Chad Magendanz left the position when he resigned Jan. 9 in order to start his new job in the state Legislature.
The remaining four board members have 90 days to appoint a new representative from Issaquah’s fourth district, from the Issaquah Highlands through the downtown corridor south to Tiger Mountain and Mirrormont.
All voting-aged residents of that area are invited to apply for the position by 4 p.m. Feb. 14. The new member would need to serve the remainder of Magendanz’s term, through November 2013.
Issaquah School District superintendent to retire in June
January 15, 2013
Steve Rasmussen, Issaquah School District superintendent, sits in his office Jan. 14. The 62-year-old educator plans to bid farewell to the district when he retires June 30. By Lillian O’Rorke
Superintendent Steve Rasmussen intends to retire June 30 after leading the Issaquah School District for six years.
Issaquah School District superintendent to retire
January 9, 2013
NEW — 10:10 p.m. Jan. 9, 2013
Superintendent Steve Rasmussen intends to retire June 30 after leading the Issaquah School District for almost six years.
Steve Rasmussen
The superintendent announced the decision Wednesday night to the Issaquah School Board.
“I have been lucky in life and have been able to do what I chose to do and that is being a teacher,” Rasmussen said to the board after the board accepted his resignation by a unanimous vote of the board. “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve with you.”
Rasmussen’s retirement caps off a 40-year career in public education in Washington that has included teaching, coaching and leading three school districts.
Issaquah School District officials propose ‘flat’ $167.5 million budget
August 14, 2012
“Flat” was the key word Aug. 8, when the Issaquah School District rolled out its draft budget for the 2012-13 academic year to the tune of $167.46 million.
But it wasn’t necessarily a bad word. In this case, flat means not only no major leaps in spending or state funding but also no major program reductions or changes in class-size allocation.
“Who thought flat state funding would be an exciting thing?” asked Jake Kuper, chief of finance and operations for the district.
When the recession hit in 2008, state funding for schools began a steep downward spiral that totaled a nearly $16 million loss for the district. During the 2008-09 school year the state paid 68 percent of the district’s bills. Since then, that rate has dropped to 60.8 percent and there, Kuper said, is where it remains stagnant.
Refinancing bonds saves Issaquah School District $3.9 million
July 31, 2012
Steve Rasmussen
With the lowest interest rates in 40 years, the Issaquah School District saved nearly $4 million July 24 when it refinanced $41.73 million of bonds originally sold in 2006.
The district also sold $55 million worth of new bonds that day.
“The sale went as good as we could have expected it,” said Jake Kuper, the district’s chief of Finance and Operations. “Not only is it a good time to build but it’s a good time to borrow, so it’s a double bonus.”
Kuper, Superintendent Steve Rasmussen and school board members Marnie Maraldo, Anne Moore and Suzanne Weaver attended the 6:45 a.m. sale of the bonds at Seattle-Northwest Securities, which assisted in the sale. Refinancing the nearly $42 million of old bonds meant the interest rate when down from 5 percent to 1.89 percent, meaning that $3.9 million will be saved over the next 10 years.
Issaquah School District bond measure amasses more votes
April 19, 2012
NEW — 12:45 p.m. April 19, 2012
Prior to the election, supporters said they would need about 14,000 “yes” votes in order for the Issaquah School District’s $219 million bond issue to pass.
They nearly had that number in hand when just the first round of election results were released late Tuesday, the day of the election. As of Wednesday, voters cleared the 14,000 ballot hurdle.
As of Wednesday, according to King County Elections, the bond has earned 14,763 votes in favor compared to 6,419 against. That translates to 69.7 percent in favor; 30.3 percent against.
The district needed a supermajority of 60 percent of the ballots cast in order for the issue to pass. If needed, the county will post new voter tallies each afternoon. Elections officials said the special ballot will be certified April 27.
Finances dominate discussion at Issaquah School Board retreat
February 21, 2012
Finances and board “linkages” were two of several items on the agenda when the Issaquah School Board held an afternoon-long retreat Feb. 8.
The big question is whether or not the Legislature will slice basic education funding during the current biennium, said Jake Kuper, district chief of finances and operations.
In the past, Gov. Chris Gregoire has said the state needs to close a $2 billion budget shortfall. According to information previously released by the Issaquah School District, Gregoire’s proposed cuts could reduce funding to area schools by $2.2 million. The Legislature has the last word on any budget shuffling and the state House of Representatives may release its version of a new budget as soon as the week of Feb. 13, Kuper said.
“I believe we will have reduced revenues from the state,” he added.
Backers promise big campaign for $219 million school bond
February 21, 2012
Issaquah City Council President Tola Marts addresses about 100 people gathered for the kickoff of the campaign promoting passage of an April 17 school bond. By Tom Corrigan
The coming push for passage of a proposed $219 million school bond issue that will appear on an April 17 ballot, may be the biggest campaign ever mounted in the name of the Issaquah School District, campaign co-chairwoman Lesley Austin said.
Austin is probably in a worthy position to make such a statement. A former Issaquah School Board member, she has worked on numerous bond and levy issues for the local schools. But Austin and others said the coming bond campaign is going to be different for a couple of reasons.
“It’s because it’s a bond and it’s a complex bond,” Austin said.
Speaking to a crowd of about 100 residents and officials — virtually all supporters of the bond — the campaign committee, Volunteers for Issaquah Schools, held a campaign kickoff Feb. 2 at the King County Library Resource Center on Newport Way Northwest.
With about $45,000 already in hand, the group hopes to raise $90,000 to help promote the bond issue, which would fund replacement of four schools, along with maintenance and refurbishing projects at other buildings in the district.
Issaquah School Board is unanimous in support for coming bond issue
January 10, 2012
Probably to no one’s surprise, at its last meeting of 2011 on Dec. 14, the Issaquah School Board unanimously passed a resolution supporting a $219 million capital bond issue that will go before voters in April.
The board voted in October to put the question on the ballot. At that point, board member Chad Magendanz voted against the issue.
Magendanz, elected board president Dec. 14, said despite his earlier vote, the bond issue has his total support. Magendanz said his earlier “no” vote was the result of a procedural issue, that he felt the board should have put off the final vote on floating the bond until a later meeting.
A campaign to promote the bond barely has left the starting blocks. Still, board member Suzanne Weaver said she has received many questions about the proposed rebuilding of Tiger Mountain Community High School.
In the original bond proposal put forth by Superintendent Steve Rasmussen, rebuilding Tiger Mountain High was interconnected with rebuilding Issaquah Middle School and Clark Elementary School. The total cost of the interrelated Tiger Mountain projects was $86 million.
Jan Colbrese steps down from Issaquah School Board after more than a decade
December 20, 2011
Issaquah School District Superintendent Steve Rasmussen was one of the many well-wishers who feted former school board member Jan Colbrese as she attended her last meeting Dec. 14. By Tom Corrigan
Joining the school board was simply a natural progression of earlier involvement with the Issaquah School District for Jan Colbrese.
After 12 years in office, she attended her last meeting of the district school board Dec. 14, at least as a member of the board.
After the meeting, Colbrese said her time on the board really was a combination of her two passions: education and public service.
“It’s everyone’s job to give back to their community,” she said.
Colbrese announced prior to the November election that she would not run for re-election. She was replaced by Bellevue resident Anne Moore, who took her oath of office Dec. 14 along with board members Brian Deagle and Suzanne Weaver.
Moore ran unopposed for Colbrese’s vacated seat. Deagle and Weaver both beat out challengers to win re-election.
Moore is no stranger to the district having served with the PTSA and on various district committees for what she said has been 14 years. Among other activities, Moore has served on bond and levy committees, including the committee that made initial recommendations for a bond question that will be in front of voters next year. Like Colbrese, she has said joining the board feels like a natural progression of her past involvement with the schools.
Neither Colbrese nor Moore made any formal comments during the Dec. 14 meeting. Later, in listing a few of her accomplishments, Colbrese talked about working through district financial problems in some tough economic times. During her tenure on the board, Colbrese said she often found herself frustrated by not having the money to do some things she and other board members felt needed to be done, adding she was especially annoyed by recent “clawbacks” adopted by the state Legislature.
“Clawbacks” are promised dollars taken away in one form or another in the middle of the school year.
