29-05-2025
Ephrata schools mulling bond package for spring 2026
May 29—Correction: The term defease was misstated as defuse in the first quote of this story. It has been corrected below.
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Facility Study Group meeting discussed several options for potential bond packages for the upcoming school year.
"We really began this work about a year and a half ago when it became apparent that we were going to need to defease some of the dollars that were associated with the 2019 bond," Ephrata School District Superintendent Ken Murray said. "We weren't going to be able to complete all the projects that we believed we were going to be able to in that bond."
No decisions have been finalized at this time; however, the district did discuss the community's input for the Community Facility Survey in regard to a potential 2026 bond along with information from building surveys.
"As we approach the end of another incredible school year, I want to take a moment to say thank you — for your continued support, partnership and most recently, your thoughtful participation in our Community Facility Survey," Murray said in a statement.
Surveys
The district has completed both a community survey and a survey of the conditions of the buildings across the district.
"The bond process starts with a survey of your facilities. Our architect comes in and takes a look at the conditions of our facilities, to really identify where your facility needs are the greatest," Murray said.
The study analyzed seven schools within the district. A higher rating means the building is in better condition.
An engineering consultant reviewed the district's facilities and their current conditions and found that the Grant Elementary and Parkway Intermediate campuses were in need of significant remodeling or replacement. (See graphic attached to this story.)
According to the district survey of the community, residents expressed Grant and Parkway elementaries as being the highest priority. Then, improving the high school was also a serious priority, but slightly lower than the elementary schools. The performing arts center was discovered as the third priority following elementary schools and high schools.
Other top priorities include safety and security for students, gym facilities, and preference for current grade configurations with neighborhood schools. There was no strong preference for the historical preservation of any building.
"We know that not all of our schools have seen the same level of modernization," Murray said in a statement. "And as a district that is considered property-poor, we face very real limitations in the funds we can generate locally to update and improve our facilities. That's a key reason why we're committed to listening, learning and planning carefully—always with students at the center."
Funding models
Right now, the district is discussing eight potential funding models for the potential bond. Four of the models range from $4.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value up to $4.80 per $1,000. Each model has a $0.10 difference per $1,000. The projected bond amounts for these models range from $59.5 million to $66.7 million, according to a presentation by the Ephrata Facility Study Group.
There are also four potential models for a $0.50 step down in 2039 with the same range of $4.50 to $4.80 per $1,000. The projected bond amounts for these models range from $55.7 million to $62.8 million.
"It's as if you took $0.50 cents and took it off at the tail end, so you took a step down," Public Relations Director Sarah Morford said. "So, it goes from $4.60 to $4.10 or something like that in the later years of planning. That allows you to be able to bring in another levy or another bond without a massive impact on the taxpayers, because you're planning for it. In summary, it is starting to whittle the amount of money taxpayers are paying for the bond and it's being dropped to help accommodate an additional tax later, if needed."
Three options
Option one is replacing Grant Elementary, adding a gym to Parkway Intermediate and adding to plus modernizing the Ephrata High School Performing Arts Center and Beezley buildings.
In this plan, Grant Elementary would be demolished and a new 26-classroom school would replace it. The anticipated cost for this project is $47.5 million with $37 million coming from local funds.
At Parkway, a gymnasium would be added, which would cost around $7.4 million, all of which would be local funds.
A new auditorium would be installed in the Beezley Building on the Ephrata High School campus, a new gym added, decommissioning of the performing arts center gym, demolishing the performing arts center auditorium, modernizing the Beezley class wings, adding a new main and event entry, adding a new office suite and adding two additional classrooms. The proposed cost for the high school is around $42.5 million, with $23 million protected to come from local funding.
The total cost for this proposed plan is $97 million, with around $67 million coming from local funds.
Option two also includes replacing Grant Elementary. However, instead of adding a gym at Parkway Intermediate, the entire school would be replaced with a new 20-classroom school building at a cost of around $32.8 million. About $23.3 million would be local funds.
Option three also includes replacing Grant Elementary, nothing being done to Parkway Intermediate and modernizing and adding to the Ephrata High School Performing Arts Center and Beezley buildings as noted in Option One.
The projected cost of this plan is around $90 million, with around $60 million coming from local funds.
Looking forward
The Ephrata School District has not adopted any proposed bond packages to place on a ballot for voters. However, they will meet one more time on June 2 before the school year ends. Then, the district will reconvene in September to finalize one of these plans.
"Right now, we are taking all of that feedback that we've gotten through surveys, through community surveys, staff surveys, through our architect, looking at our facilities, and then really trying to identify, taking all of that into account, what's an appropriate bond package," Murray said. "That's what we're trying to build right now, is put together a bond package for a board to consider for a potential 2026 bond."
