Consider Emergency Reserve Fund alternatives. The King County Task Force agrees that money should flow faster into the Education Construction Account. Lowering the level of the emergency reserve would deposit money for the first time into the Education Construction Account. This change could be accomplished by legislative enactment or by submitting it to the voters for approval. This recommendation would give school districts more flexibility to respond to the need for facilities with creative community solutions.
Legislative action is needed.
School districts should be able to collect the unused portion of the state property tax under appropriate conditions. We are not certain that a double bond or levy failure is the appropriate or the only trigger for such authority. The King County Task Force also recommends that school districts be authorized to borrow funds on a short-term basis secured by this new revenue stream. Require constructability reviews, building commissioning, value engineering and professional construction managers on new school construction projects and provide funds for such purpose . While the King County Task Force agrees in principle with this recommendation and the cost efficiencies it intends, there is concern that school districts have the funds to conduct these studies.