Solve the Capacity Crisis
Mercer Island schools are bursting at the seams – we need more classrooms as soon as possible. But classrooms alone won’t solve the problem: common spaces such as hallways, libraries, gyms and lunchrooms are all today severely overburdened.
All three of our elementary schools are well over capacity. Over 600 kids in are in portable classrooms. 
With an additional 129 kids expected to swell K-8 enrollment by 2015 – these are kids already on the Island – and demographic projections showing even more growth in the number of students across the district, we have an urgent need to solve this capacity crisis to protect the quality of our great school system.
Too Many Kids, Not Enough Classrooms
Instructional Programs Impacted
You may be shocked to learn that hallways routinely serve as instructional spaces in our K-8 schools. Or that art and science classes, lacking dedicated space and appropriate facilities, are curtailed in what teachers can teach. Overcrowding affects the quality of instruction, here on Mercer Island!
Student Learning Compromised by Overcrowding
Why Not Add More Portables, Build an Addition or a New School?
It might seem like there is an easy solution. But if we build one new elementary school, that wouldn’t relieve the crowding in the middle school. We have only a few more positions for portable classrooms. 
A school addition would still require a major reconfiguration of the existing building to expand common spaces—leaving us with a remodeled 60 year old building that would need to be rebuilt too soon down the road. A lot of smart people considered all the options in depth, with plenty of public input and scrutiny, and concluded the most prudent path for Mercer Island is to rebuild four schools over the next eight years.
Why One New School or Remodels Can’t Solve the Problem
Surrounding Districts Have Solved This Problem
School Districts in Issaquah, Bellevue, Renton and Kirkland have faced growing enrollment and aging facilities. They have opted to expand capacity and modernize facilities by rebuilding schools, not remodeling older facilities.
