Auburn School District officials have identified three potential locations to construct a pair of new elementary schools.

Those were among the details Superintendent Alan Spicciati revealed during the first community forum Sept. 22 at Lea Hill Elementary School.

On Nov. 8, voters decide on a capital facilities bond that would rebuild six schools and build two new ones. The bond measure requires at least 60 percent of the vote to pass.

The bond would replace five elementary schools built between 1945 and 1965 – Terminal Park, Dick Scobee, Pioneer, Chinook and Lea Hill – along with Olympic Middle School. The latter building opened in 1957.

The $456 million levy, which would add an estimated $1.02 per $1,000 of assessed property value, also would fund two new, 650-student elementary schools. Spicciati said district officials are looking into locations near the former Big Daddy’s drive-in location in downtown Auburn, as well as the Lea Hill and Lakeland Hills neighborhoods. He said that was as specific as he could get for negotiating purposes.

Spicciati said the new schools are necessary to accommodate growth in the area. Spicciati said ASD had 6,142 elementary school students in 2007 and 7,340 in 2015.

In addition, Spicciati noted that the state’s implementation of all-day kindergarten and state-supported lower-class sizes in recent years has placed additional “pressure” on elementary schools. He said the district has 102 portables housing about 2,500 students this year.

The replacement of the elementary schools will ease some of that pressure. Spicciati said some of the older schools were only built to handle 400-500 students, which has resulted in more portables and other nontraditional learning spaces, such as hallways, being used to tutor students. All of the new buildings, he said, will be designed for 650 students.

“By building them a little larger, we’re able to accommodate the growth in our community,” Spicciati said.

He said the new facilities would address other issues, such as parking, and support ASD’s initiative of providing each student with one technological device by the 2017-18 school year. In 2014, the district passed a $22 million technology capital projects levy.

“The infrastructure doesn’t always support the technology in our older schools,” Spicciati said.

Including outstanding bonds and a maintenance-and-operations levy, Cindi Blansfield, the district’s assistant superintendent for business and operations, said a successful new bond would increase taxpayers’ obligation to an estimated $6.86 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Spicciati acknowledged that some people are skeptical of public-sector projects, and he said that is valid at times, but noted that ASD has a record of fulfilling its promises. He said the latest example of that was the construction of the new Auburn High School, which opened in 2014.

“It was built on time and under budget,” Spicciati said. “I think it is a building all of downtown Auburn is proud of.”

Two separate ad hoc committees have identified the five elementary schools and Olympic Middle School as most in need of replacement. The average age of those buildings is 58.8 years.

“This is a need to have, not a want to have,” Spicciati said. “There are so many shortcomings in an older school – even with great maintenance.”

He noted that all six schools are eligible for more than $79 million from the state for a rebuild because of their ages.

Because of the number of schools being rebuilt, Jeff Grose, the district’s executive director of capital projects, said they would stagger the construction schedule. He said there is enough space at Olympic to construct a new school while keeping the old building to serve as an interim elementary that students would attend for a year. Once the new schools are built, Grose said, the old Olympic building would be demolished.

ASD officials have scheduled community forums at each school they seek to replace. The next one is Monday at Pioneer, 2301 M St. SE, followed by another Wednesday at Terminal Park, 1101 D St. SE. The community forums conclude Oct. 11 at Olympic, 1825 K St. SE. All three start for 6 p.m.