WHAT?
Special Election School Bond (April 22, 2025) Approved 5-0 by MISD School Board
- Finish Islander Middle School ($100M)
- Essential & necessary updates on High School Campus ($64M)
- Exploration of the future of elementary schools ($1M)
- Bonds are only for Buildings, Levies are for Learning.
- The state does not provide any resources for school buildings.
- MI School Buildings (except Northwood) were built in the 1950s!
- Bonds require 60% to pass. The last bond in 2014 passed with 74% of the vote.
HOW MUCH?
$165M total bond. Tax collected only from Mercer Island property owners
- Current school-related property taxes $1.44 per $1,000 of assessed home value
- 2025 Bond additional $.45 per $1,000
- New Rate: $1.89 per $1,000
- Increase of $450 per year for every $1M value of your home
- Mercer Island taxpayers pay 20-60% less in local school taxes than Bellevue, Issaquah, Lake Washington and Northshore. Even after this bond, we will be considerably less.
- In today's dollars, this bond is about the same as the 2014 bond.
WHY NOW?
- Committee of experts and community members met for 2 years to develop this reasonable and measured next step to take care of aging school buildings.
- If we wait, it will cost more.
- A "NO" vote on this bond will only make problems worse. A "NO" vote does not change the school board or school district policies regarding enrollment or curriculum.