Summary: CFAC Presentation – June 3 School Board Meeting
The community-led Capital Facilities Advisory Committee presented its 2026 bond recommendation to the Highline school board on June 3.
The recommended bond package totals $595.4 million and focuses on aging schools, safety needs, building systems and long-term facilities planning. It includes: Sylvester, Cascade and Chinook middle schools and rebuilds and modernizes the Southern Heights site for CHOICE Academy. It would fund initial design work for Hilltop Elementary and Valley View Early Learning Center and fund critical needs for schools across the district.
The committee reviewed site conditions, building needs, cost estimates, enrollment projections, tax impacts and community feedback before reaching majority consensus.
“This recommendation reflects two years of discussion, study and difficult decisions from a committee of residents, taxpayers, parents, staff and stakeholders,” said CFAC co-chair Omaha Sternberg. “While we did not always agree, we worked together to reach a strong consensus.”
“This is not easy work. It requires hard decisions and thinking about the needs of students in our district as a whole. Not just our own neighborhood.”
2026 Bond Recommendation
CFAC’s recommendation would rebuild Highline’s three remaining aging comprehensive middle schools: Sylvester, Cascade and Chinook. It also would rebuild and modernize the Southern Heights site for CHOICE Academy, begin design work for Hilltop Elementary and Valley View Early Learning Center and fund critical needs for schools across the district.
Committee members said safety, building conditions, equity, student impact, cost, timing and feasibility shaped the final recommendation. The plan would address older campuses, aging systems, better control of access, seismic risk, and improve spaces used by students every day. It also would avoid leaving one service area behind as Highline completes the neighborhood middle school rebuilding cycle.
“This is about addressing aging campuses, reducing risk, and creating safer, more functional spaces for students every day,” said CFAC co-chair Cheryl Forbes.
CFAC's 2026 Bond Package
- Sylvester: Replacement | $180.3M
- Cascade: Replacement (at Salmon Creek Site) | $172.1M
- Chinook: Partial Rebuild & Modernization | $161.3M
- CHOICE Academy: Partial Rebuild & Modernization of Southern Heights | $30M
- Hilltop: Design & Critical Maintenance | $5M
- Valley View: Design & Critical Maintenance | $3.3M
- Big Picture: Critical Needs | $3.4M
- Critical Needs: Districtwide | $40M
Total $595.4M
Sylvester Middle School
CFAC member Erik Hustad said CFAC recommends rebuilding Sylvester Middle School at the existing site based on urgent building systems, maintenance and safety needs. He said that CFAC believes rebuilding Sylvester at the current site is the most fiscally responsible approach and would provide students with a modern, safer learning environment.
Cascade Middle School
CFAC members shared that the Cascade recommendation would move the school to the nearby Salmon Creek site. The site is four blocks away from the current Cascade campus and offers a larger, buildable area. The recommendation would allow students to stay at the current Cascade site during construction, offers a more buildable site, and is estimated to cost $44.3 million less than rebuilding at the existing site.
CFAC reviewed significant challenges with rebuilding at the current Cascade site, which now includes 100-foot wetlands buffers, a large sewer easement that angles through the center of the site, limited buildable space and the need for a more complex multi-story design on a small footprint.
Erik said the committee also reviewed community input from neighbors of the Salmon Creek site and other community members.
“Important factors in this recommendation were the cost savings, which means other projects can be included and more students impacted,” he said, “Plus the opportunity to build a better layout for Cascade students and staff.”
Chinook Middle School
CFAC recommends a major rebuild and modernization of Chinook Middle School based on aging facilities, declining building systems and equity with other neighborhood middle schools. “The recommendation includes replacing several buildings with new construction while modernizing portions of the existing campus where it makes sense to do so,” said CFAC member Terri Hewitt.
The redesigned campus would create updated learning spaces for programs like career and technical education, science, art and music, while improving safety and overall learning conditions for students.
CHOICE Academy
CFAC recommends addressing the urgent facility needs of CHOICE Academy, which is currently housed in the district’s lowest-rated school building.
The recommendation would rebuild the Southern Heights site using insurance funding already available following the 2024 arson fire, while renovating portions of the existing classroom wings.
“This project creates an opportunity to provide CHOICE students and staff with a modernized learning environment designed around the needs of the program and school community,” Terri said, “while also maximizing available insurance dollars to reduce the overall impact on bond funding.
Hilltop Elementary & Valley View Early Learning Center
CFAC also considered potential rebuilds or major modernization projects for both Hilltop Elementary and Valley View Early Learning Center.
Ultimately, members prioritized the schools and projects previously discussed based on urgency, student impact and available funding.
“At the same time,” Terri said, “CFAC recognized both schools have facility needs and recommends including funding for initial design work and targeted critical needs improvements at both sites while they await a future bond.”
Critical Needs
The bond recommendation also includes $40 million for districtwide critical needs. These funds would support repairs and upgrades to core systems such as heating, ventilation, plumbing, roofing, fire alarms, electrical systems and accessibility.
In addition, the bond recommendation sets aside $3.4 million if critical maintenance is needed for Big Picture’s aging facility, while district leaders explore future facility options. This approach gives Highline time to respond to building needs now while planning thoughtfully for Big Picture’s long-term facility future.
Tax Impact
With this recommended 2026 bond and a proposed technology levy, the district projects the total local school tax rate would be $4.89 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2027 compared to $4.47 in 2026. The tax impact for the proposed bond and tech levy is projected to be about $210 per year, or $17.50 per month, for a home with an assessed value of $500,000.
Why These Buildings, These Communities, This Plan Now?
CFAC student co-chair Ana Croasdile-Vasquez emphasized that CFAC’s recommendation focuses on serving students across Highline in our neighborhood middle schools, strengthening learning environments, and making sure no community is left behind.
“This plan reflects a balance of cost, timing, and feasibility,” she said. “It allows us to act now to manage rising construction costs, make strategic updates, and address critical needs before they become more urgent and more expensive.”
Questions & Thank You
After the presentation, School Board members asked questions. They inquired about the community feedback process and engagement, especially regarding Salmon Creek neighbors. They also asked for more information on how CFAC reduced their initial bond recommendation by $20 million.
Community Feedback
Omaha described the CFAC process. The idea to rebuild Cascade at the Salmon Creek site came up last year in September after CFAC members saw the complexity, expense and challenges of the existing site. (They learned in October, based on conceptual site plans, that tall, separate buildings, one of them four stories high, connected by a significant skybridge, would be required to replace Cascade at the existing site, while a conceptual plan for the nearby Salmon Creek site, owned by Highline Public Schools, would be a larger, more buildable site as well as less expensive.)
Feedback was received and reviewed by CFAC members through a ThoughtExchange process this spring that included voices from students, families, and many community members and Salmon Creek neighbors. Omaha also mentioned direct engagement with neighbors. (A summary of a meeting between Highline staff and some Salmon Creek neighbors was shared with CFAC members. CFAC meetings are open to the public to observe, and some were attended by Salmon Creek community members.)
Student co-chair Ana also shared that CFAC meeting summaries, site plans and concepts have been posted online throughout the CFAC process. She noted that CFAC members are selected by lottery and appointed from across Highline to bring community voice to the process.
School construction projects typically go through design development and a permitting process once funding is secured by voters passing a funding measure. Additional review by local jurisdictions and public comment takes place during that process. Site design and construction plans respond to this review process.
School Director Damarys Espinoza requested that CFAC include a more direct public engagement process in future bond planning.
Amendment to Bond Recommendation Cost
Highline CFO Jackie Bryan shared that staff made a recommendation to CFAC members following their March 30 consensus on a $615.4 million bond package. The amended bond package, approved by a digital vote, reduced the bond package by $20 million. The reduction included cutting $10 million from the Southern Heights rebuild and modernization project, to reflect a programmatic decision with the staff of two impacted programs to stay in their existing series of classrooms built in the 1990s rather than relocate to Southern Heights with CHOICE Academy. The Realistic Transition Program (RTP) and Community Based Services (CBS) support students ages 18-21 with transitional support services. CBS and RTP students need direct public transportation access via Link light rail to learn how to independently access occupational programs already set up with businesses and organizations that are accessible.
Additionally, CFAC members approved a reduction of $10 million to the critical needs fund, lowering it from $50 to $40 million, still substantially more than the previous bonds have allocated for replacing existing building systems on time, upgrading safety and accessibility, and responding to emergency facility needs.
Board members thanked CFAC members for their time, care and service to Highline students, staff and families.
Next Steps
The school board is scheduled to receive the bond package as an introduction item on June 18. The board is expected to consider whether to place a bond on the November 2026 ballot on July 1.
More Information
More details about the CFAC bond recommendation are on our Bonds and Levies website.
The June 3 School Board meeting agenda contains links the CFAC presentation slides and to a packet of additional reference materials.
Learn more about the Capital Facilities Advisory Committee on our website.