EDMONDS, Wash. — Next year, Adel Sefrioui's daughter will start kindergarten at Edmonds Elementary, a school that at 58 years old is decades older than her dad.
A limping boiler and outdated security system have Sefrioui concerned.
"We have a lot of work to do in getting these replaced," Sefrioui said.
Fifteen of the 34 schools in the Edmonds School District are at least 50 years old, including 54-year-old College Place Middle where principal Andrea Collins called the gym locker room a "1970s special."
Classrooms are overcrowded. In one class, there are four too few seats for the 32 students.
There are more than 100 points of entry at College Place, something heavily discouraged in post-Columbine America.
There's no sprinkler system in the science room, limiting the types of experiments that can be conducted.
Sidewalks are crumbling. Old, square televisions hang, unplugged from the walls.
Bathrooms aren't accessible to kids with disabilities. In fact, there are only 11 toilets for 600 students.
"We just have to control our bladders," Collins said. "We understand where we need to go throughout the day."
Parents are now proposing a $700-million bond and levy package that would build or replace 5 schools, upgrade technology and improve existing buildings.
"Come see our space," Collins said. "I invite you to come. Let's make it a learning opportunity."
With everything more expensive these days, the Edmonds School District may face an Election Day perception problem.
When voters see the words "bond" or "levy" on the ballot they could assume their taxes are going up, but administrators said that's not the case.
Tax rates are expected to stay at $2.65 per $1,000 of assessed home value.
"We have estimated a tax rate that is stable," said Lydia Sellie, the district's executive director of business and finance.
Proposition 2 renews a capital levy that expires at the end of this year.
$120 million would go to technology and network upgrades, teacher training and take-home tablets over four years.
Proposition 1, the new bond, would replace a 2021 levy. $594 million would be earmarked for school construction.
"We would replace that levy with these bonds and the goal is to keep tax rates level by doing so," Sellie said.
Keep in mind, the state does not pay to build new schools.
Without them, Sefrioui believes everybody loses.
"It lowers the performance of our system altogether which impacts every kid," Sefrioui said.
Levies require a simple majority to pass. Bonds require a 60% vote.