Know what the New Superintendent Needs to Dive Into? BEX/BTA Monies

Grrrrr.

Really, it's generally just me and Chris Jackins who ask hard questions about the spending of the capital levies known as BEX and BTA (Building Excellence and Buildings, Technology, and Athletics/Academics). But folks, I believe it is the ultimate slush fund for the district and it's wrong.

You might ask how can it be a slush fund when voters are told what the dollars will be used for? Because there are dollars from many past BEX and BTA levies. The district does NOT spend all of it. Some comes from "underspend" but my belief is that they hold on to dollars to get interest from it and keep that capital pot o' dollars going. (I have a hard time believing there is much "underspend" given how often Capital asks for overrun dollars from the Board. The district rarely gives a final overview of costs for each project.)

I understand having some capital funds as a rainy day solution but there are schools with real and ongoing maintenance issues and they want those issue to get a fix but don't. I find that a terrible thing. Voters surely want those dollars to be used to fix school issues. 

Here's a bit of background and why I say this:

- One thing I find deeply bothersome is when I realized - years ago now - that the district moved funding for 90% of the Technology Department from the General Fund to BEX. That would free up hundreds of millions of dollars for General Fund use. And yet, the district is running in the red. 

- Know what makes me suspicious? When the Capital Department no longer puts a link to their committee meeting agendas. That's a big red flag. Also, the last meeting minutes they have posted are from June 2025. They had no meeting in July so where are the minutes from August, September, and October? Hmmm.

- They have a quarterly report, the last one in April 2025. 

In it we learn:

• For the renovation of Mercer Middle School, they are negotiating reimbursement to the VA Hospital to relocate the hospital's fiberoptic cable. 
• Staff indicated that the moisture risk to the cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure has passed. The Committee reviewed their and the District's experiences with these moisture-related issues and ways to mitigate them. They also "presented lessons learned related to mass timber construction from the Mercer and Leschi projects at the May meeting."
• They have concerns over tariffs raising costs. 

Kids, I did not know what CLT was and looked it up. 

Mass timber projects have unique considerations for managing moisture. Although mass timber can, and usually will, get wet during construction, problems can be avoided with proper planning and the right moisture control strategies. The most effective approach begins with planning during the project design phase (well before the mass timber arrives on site) and continues throughout construction.

I am assuming the district wants to try this because it seems likely to cost less than steel. 

Mass timber can safely absorb and dry some amount of moisture, but risks occur if the wood elements cannot readily dry due to deep wetting, if water becomes trapped at mass timber interfaces such as below concrete floor toppings or roofing membranes, or if the wood experiences repeated wetting and drying cycles.

Issues are 

• if the lumber does get wet during pre-building/building, 
• stains on the wood, 
• "extensive shrinkage and swelling", 
• microbial growth (fungal and bacterial growth),
•  "decay, delimitation, and corrosion of connections and fasteners, causing a loss of structural strength."

My two concerns are that 1) Seattle is quite the damp city and 2) the costs of making sure -  from delivery to building  - that the lumber never gets wet. I would assume that's a fairly big cost over a long period of time. Maybe one of you know more. I just would hate for a new building to start failing because of the noted issues in the article and/or it becomes a sick building from microbial growth. 

In the June 2025 meeting, it stated that they had "lessons learned" on CLT from the Maple Elementary addition, Van Asselt, Maple Elementary addition, Mercer Middle School replacement and Alki Elementary addition. 

Staff noted the importance of having roofing construction activities occur beginning late spring or summer. They highlighted that mass timber and CLT structures are highly moisture sensitive and must be kept dry. 

Staff did talk about using steel vs mass timber in thinking of seismic issues. Apparently mass timber can be built the same way as steel for brace frames. 

Staff reported that they have paused designing and constructing mass timber projects to allow the District's Risk Manager to determine how to cost effectively insure the projects during construction and long term.They highlighted the benefits of these projects for climate resilient buildings, in terms of reducing carbon emissions and providing occupants with minimal air infiltration when faced with wildfire smoke or other air quality concerns. 

It was also noted that "cross laminated timber manufacturing facilities are being constructed in Washington and Oregon."

• Northgate Elementary (renamed James Baldwin Elementary) was awarded the 2024 national James D. MacConnell Award for excellence in school design.  I note that the district has to pay to enter this competition, somewhere around $800-1,000. 

From the June 2025 meeting we learn:

• Apparently the room at the JSCEE that they normally have these meetings in cannot be used for hybrid meetings. So beyond meager minutes and no agendas attached to meetings, it is not possible to attend the meetings virtually.
• The Memorial Stadium project is the largest one in BTA V which doesn't surprise me because BTA is really not a renovation levy. 
• Mr. Best (who runs the Capital Facilities department) clarified that the amount was set for the Memorial Stadium project in the BTA V levy and "would not be exceeded." "He further noted that any additional funding for the project, in excess of the budget, would be the responsibility of the Memorial Stadium Redevelopment organization." To note, the district is paying the LARGEST amount (and I'll bet will make the least amount of money off this) at $66.5M. The City is kicking in $40M with $4M from the State and around $35-40M from the various private groups involved. I'm going to keep my eye on this because we have Mr. Best's word that the district will pay no more. 

The two Board members of the committee are Gina Topp and Joe Mizrahi. I have no idea why Topp had to take this on given her role as board president.

And this all flies under the radar.