The Seattle School Board reaffirms its commitment to prudent planning for investments of capital funds to assure a quality educational program for all students.  

The district shall prepare and submit to the voters for their approval capital levy proposals. These capital levy programs, including the capital levy programs Building Excellence (BEX) and Buildings, Technology and Academics (BTA), shall be based upon the facilities master plan and include identified technology needs.  

Important principles for capital levy planning include the following:  

• Levy planning shall be consistent with the commitments identified under  Board Policy No. 0030, Ensuring Educational and Racial Equity, and ensure progress toward achieving the goals and commitments outlined under the policy; 
• All projects should align with the district’s mission, vision, and strategic plan;  
• Capital projects shall be planned to meet the district’s educational needs in the short, intermediate and long term; 
• The need for capital projects shall be based on enrollment projections, building capacity, building condition surveys, and the educational adequacy of current buildings to address educational program needs; 

• Investments shall be made to maintain and improve the physical condition and systems of buildings; 
• Investments shall be made to maintain and improve technology operations, equipment and services, including student learning and support, district systems and data, and technology infrastructure and security;  
• Annual budgets should establish a regular, consistent budgeting mechanism to fund capital major preventive maintenance activities as well as technology needs; 
• Building and system designs shall be flexible to meet the changing needs of educational programs, be responsive to the urban context of schools, include advances in technology, and not be tailored to the specific needs of any one program to the detriment of future flexibility;  
• Input from associated advisory or oversight committee(s) should be sought out and taken into consideration during the planning process. 

As part of the levy planning process, the Board shall also adopt guiding principles specific to each levy, to direct staff in presenting proposals for levy projects.  

The Board strives to reduce district operating costs and carbon emissions by using designs that create conservation opportunities and minimize negative impacts on the environment, while considering the lifecycle costs of the projects.  

Decisions shall be based on sound data, objective standards, and open processes.  

For the purposes of determining the projects to be included within each levy, the School Board hereby establishes the following priorities for the selection of levy projects. These priorities are listed in rough descending order of importance, but no single factor is determinative.  

• Racial and educational equity; 

• The health, safety and security of students, staff, and public;  
• Meeting capacity management needs to assure that short, intermediate, and long-term enrollment are matched with available space, taking into account costs and educational adequacy of facilities;  
• Building condition scores for building systems, such as exterior, HVAC, plumbing, and structural,; 
• Educational adequacy of buildings, focusing on raising student achievement;  
• History of past capital projects and future levy plans. 

Staff will provide an analysis of all proposed projects, by scoring projects against the priorities listed, together with any supplemental priorities provided by the School Board from time to time for individual levy proposals. The scoring and relative ranking of proposed projects shall be presented to the School Board for approval as part of the levy planning process.  

Following a successful levy election, staff will develop a plan to implement the levy projects which shall be presented to associated advisory and oversight committee(s), and ultimately to the School Board for approval. This plan should take into account at least the following: 

• Project rank from the project scoring and ranking process 
• Cash flow (levy collections) 
• Cost escalation 
• Need for/availability of an interim site 
• Design/construction sequence milestones (e.g. permit timeline) 

• Project complexity/phasing 
• Coordination with other BEX or BTA projects 
• Coordination with outside agencies 
• Community involvement 

The plan should address the process by which any schedule adjustments or other necessary changes would be made to the plan following Board approval.