2025 School Bond

2025 Mercer Island School Bond FAILS to address:

  1. declining academic performance

  2. the entire funding picture

  3. problematic School Board oversight

Declining Academic Performance

  • 1 in 4 students are not on track for college-level learning without remedial classes [i]

  • Projects identified in bond have no direct linkage to improving academic performance

  • Performance is indicative of enrollment decreasing by 557 students (not adjusted for off-Island students) [ii]

  • General feeling of loss of focus on academic achievement with parent satisfaction survey decreasing from 68% to 59% [iii]

The Entire Funding Picture

  • In 2026, the first full year of the bond, the median assessed homeowner’s local school taxes will increase 40% [iv]

  • Future funding projections for the school district:

    • $116MM Bond in 2027

    • $136MM bond in 2029

    • $150MM bond in 2031 [v]

  • This 2025 School Bond will rank Mercer Island as the highest ranked bond+levy funding per student out pacing the nearest district by $2k/student [vi]

  • The City Council is discussing funding for a new $105MM Public Safety Building in 2025 [vii]

  • We also assume the City Council will float a $100MM bond for a new City Hall in 2027

Problematic School Board Oversight

  • Moody’s Rating downgraded the District’s bond rating from:

    • Aaa to Aa1 in 2022 and

    • Aa1 to Aa2 in 2024 [viii]

  • Since AY-2019, G/F spending increased 21% while enrollment decreased by 14% [ix]

  • Since AY-2019, G/F reserves depleted from 9.9% in 2019 to 3.6% today [x]

  • Board member social media posts do not set a good example for our students

Levy Comparison in Districts with Similar Assessed Values

The “dance” we Islanders play is for the District to swing for the fence only to be rejected for more accountable bonds.  This is what played out when Islanders rejected school bonds in 1990 and 2012 for more focused and accountable bonds in 1993, 1994, 1996, and 2016.

[i] https://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/ReportCard/ViewSchoolOrDistrict/100146

[ii] https://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/ReportCard/ViewSchoolOrDistrict/100146 & 43 Off-Island Nonresident Enrollment added to OSPI’s reported enrollment decrease.  https://go.boarddocs.com/wa/misd/Board.nsf/files/DDV5UX11FFE5/$file/2024-2025%20Nonresident%20Enrollment%20Update_Rev.pdf

[iii]Parents opinion in the District preparing students for the future decreased from 68% in 2023 to 59% in 2024 https://www.mercerislandschools.org/programs-and-services/student-learning-services/district-surveys

[iv] See Piper/Sandler 12/13/24 Bond Planning Presentation p.7 annual property taxes on the 2024 median assessed value home is 2025: $3,191  2026: $4,473 a 40% increase

[v] P317 slides 11&12 of the MISD Long-Range Facilities Plan 2023/24 Update https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1708116902/mercerislandschoolsorg/iunufum8xecvd5bs9xyj/240111MISDLRFPUpdateforBoardStudySession.pdf

[vi] Data analyzed from Comparable Districts from Piper Sandler 10/24/24 Bond Planning Presentation p.29 Student Enrollment from State of Apportionment Report Jan 31, 2025.  See Chart at bottom of  https://www.miforss.com/2025-school-bond

[vii] https://www.moodys.com/credit-ratings/King-County-SD-400-Mercer-Island-WA-credit-rating-600039351/summary

[viii] See MISS white paper: Reserve Level and Credit Ratings v.1/Reserve Levels

[ix] See MISS white paper: Reserve Level and Credit Ratings v.1/GF Analysis

[x] See MISS white paper: Reserve Level and Credit Ratings v.1/Reserve Levels